 Welcome to the second day of ITM Hull. I hope you had a nice afternoon and evening yesterday, and we're really excited moving forward into the next day. Just a few announcements that I need to say before we have our keynote speech with Jess Tom. First of all, I was very rude and didn't introduce our visual ministers. This is Holly and Claire, who are in the corner doing more than minutes. If you went to the late night meeting point last night, you would have seen the fantastic work that they took from the keynote, Shardes keynote speech yesterday. We'll do that each day, and then we will compile all three and have them on display at the farewell brunch on Sunday. So a few other things we have to run through. So the artistic program, we're very pleased, has proved to be incredibly popular. Can I just reinforce what we said yesterday? You will be unable to buy tickets from the venues apart from Hull Truck. So for the shows that are on today, which is Middle Child and Silent Uproar, you can get the tickets here. All the tickets can be bought from the box office and online, but they cannot be purchased on the door of the venue. So please, if you want to attend the shows, please do buy them in advance. A little bit of business. This afternoon at four o'clock, there's two sessions. One called professional mobility, and one that's called diversifying the workforce. Originally, diversifying the workforce was in the rehearsal room, and professional mobility was an interact. We've now swapped those over. So diversifying the workforce will now be interact, which is on the first floor, and professional mobility will be in the rehearsal room, which is through the corridor and up onto the second floor. The other thing as well as you will have seen, obviously, our blue-coated volunteers are around, and I hope that they've been really helpful to you. I'm sure that they have. You will have met them on the registration desk and in all the venues walking around the city. We're very proud of our volunteer programme in Hull, and it's a really strong, thriving, inclusive scheme. Harriet Johnson is here, who is the volunteer programme manager, and Harriet is very, very happy to talk to anyone who wants to talk to about the programme and the infrastructure for it and the way it works. That's a really great example of inclusivity in the city. So that is pretty much everything that I want to say. We've got a couple of special guests here to do some opening remarks before Jess comes on and does her keynote speech. So first of all, I can introduce Darren Henley, who's the chief executive for Marks Council England. Thank you. Thank you very much. Welcome to Hull, the Sunshine Capital of Europe. I lived here in Hull for three years and let me tell you every single day it's as sunny and as warm as this. Anything you've heard about the North Sea and what it does to our weather, completely rubbish. You're very, very welcome, especially all of the delegates from across Europe and around the world. One of the things, especially today, we want to say from the artistic community here in this country is that we are very much open for business and you are very, very welcome in our country. So we know how creativity thrives across the world because different artists from different backgrounds come together and tell their stories. So I think the most exciting thing today is that opportunity for you, artists including Peter Andre, go around the world, who get the opportunity to actually talk to each other to discover different people from different backgrounds and I think that's one of the most exciting things today. Obviously here in this great city, this was City of Culture in 2017 and it's a city that's on a journey of change and it's a city which absolutely has creativity at its heart and we're very excited about that. There's three sort of, well four, eyes that I want to leave you with in my introduction. First is the importance of internationalism and being international and that is really, really important but then inspiration. This is a city that is inspirational. It's a city that's been known for innovation and it's a city where the artists who are based here have imagination and the conference themes today around diversity and inclusion are something that's absolutely central to what we believe in and what we do at Arts Council England. There's a lot of my colleagues from Arts Council England who are here who are going to just wave to you now. That's an audience virtually made up of my colleagues. But please do talk to us. We are really interested to build greater links with colleagues from all over the world and especially across Europe. So please do come and talk to us. We are open for business, as I say, we're open for ideas and when I talk about those words about creativity and innovation obviously colleagues at British Council are really, really important as well. So I'm now going to hand over to Andrew Jones but before I do that I just to say Jess is absolutely fantastic. She's someone who we have invested in at Arts Council England over the years. She's a brilliant speaker so you'll enjoy hearing from her. But now Andrew Jones from British Council. Morning everybody. Lovely to see you here on the momentous day that never was. Maybe never will be. We'll see anyway. After the fantastic stand up warm act we've got from Darren, mine's going to be the warm down. So I'm going to stick to my notes as much as I can to get to this quickly. I do need to say some thanks to people so all of the partners in this project Arts Council England particularly Pete Massey, Jessica Farmer and Hannah Bentley from the Leeds Office to Hull City Council, Visit Britain the IETM Secretariat and everybody involved on the IETM side in making this happen. They are co-stakeholders and of course the absolutely cultured team without we couldn't have done this and they've worked incredibly hard to pull this project together at really, really short notice. And special thanks must go to that for that to somebody sitting over there to Chris Wright and to his colleague Sammy Hindmarsh who led in the production of the event and have been absolutely fantastic to work with. I'd also like to thank Leeds City Council who were the sponsors of the pre-meeting for those people who went to it on Wednesday and also to Walk in Talking project and Leeds Dance Partnership for organising that. The idea of having a plenary meeting in Hull was initially proposed back in 2015 at an IETM meeting as a potential legacy project to the partnership that the British Council had with the organisers of the Hull City of Culture programme for 2017 and the idea was that we would try to develop a number of international collaborations of local artists and we would try to develop a number of international collaborations of local artists. The willingness and determination of one of those artists in particular a guy called Andy Pearson who some of you may know from the Heads Up Festival and from Ensemble 52 without him and then subsequently without the support of Alison Andrews and Richard Sobee from the Walk in Talking project we couldn't have really started the conversation so again without them we wouldn't be here today. In 2015, as I said, so that was some time before of course the ill-fated referendum that we had the following year. At that time we saw this event as being one which was going to be a celebration of the power of art to maybe transform people's lives in different ways and to show the determination of artists to do that. Obviously the outcome of the referendum but a slightly different slant on things and the exactly, yes, him. That one, the bad one and obviously it's sort of to a degree informed when we were going to try to hold that meeting so that is why we are here right now and obviously like everything else and the things really happening at the moment but it was a compelling argument to bring the event to hell on this weekend particularly in a place where 70% of the population really voted to leave there's a very, very stereotypical kind of notion of the people that have voted to leave that, you know, they may be ill-informed they may be plain stupid and that's certainly not the case and what was really apparent in the actual year of culture was how the general population of the city actually really embraced and loved the culture offer that they got which included a lot of international events. So yes, it was a compelling argument until a couple of weeks ago and of course we got an extra dose of political chaos landing on us and now we never know when we are going to leave so I was going to suggest that we could all pack our bags and maybe come back on April 12 or maybe come back on May 22 or maybe come back next year and I thought maybe later on today we could actually build into the programme an indicative vote I'd be very, very happy about that to be serious. The fact that I think the UK delegates amongst us will share my feelings that so many international delegates have actually come to this event there's somewhere between 250 and 300 international people here that the fact that they've all come when circumstances are so uncertain is quite extraordinary so the most special thanks must go out to the international people that are in the room and have come to this meeting I think it's truly, truly moving that you've come here at this moment I think it shows the strength and solidarity not only of this network but of you in solidarity with the UK performing arts sector so really, really thank you so much I'm nearly done honestly I hope the discussions you all have over the next few days will be fruitful on a personal level the art that resonates for me the more strongly is art that explores and describes the human condition in some meaningful way and with that in mind looking at art through the lens of inclusion right now I think is really, really vitally important when there's so much division around us one of the underlying reasons that people voted or so many people voted to leave doing the referendum was a lack of understanding from the political class and the privilege in our societies of the real human conditions that people face every day the conditions outside this building can be summed up in a court that I found in the Guardian recently from a Yorkshire head teacher so I'm going to read you that quote we have we have too many children with no heating in the home no food in the cupboards washing themselves with cold water walking to school with holes in their shoes and trousers that are ill fitted and completely worn out and living on one hot meal living on one hot meal a day provided at school so on that rather stern note I will end and just say that for me that's a reminder of the context of this meeting so I hope you have really, really powerful and meaningful discussions and now I'll hand over to the fantastic Jess Tom from Tourette's Hero thanks biscuit for clarity we're not in Legoland sausage biscuit I'm also going to try and operate my own slides so just a heads up we might not do them in order and the front row get ready to catch fuck biscuit hello it's so lovely to see you all fuck it biscuit my name is Jess biscuit and my sign name is yes fuck a goat biscuit fuck it I love cats chicken flying star sausage biscuit I'm an artist an activist and a part time superhero fuck it I love pitterbread I mean I don't have any strong feelings on pitterbread I fucking love pitterbread I'm going to just do an hour on pitterbread fuck sausage biscuit biscuit I have Tourette's syndrome biscuit a neurological condition that means I make movements and noises I can't control called tics biscuit pitterbread we're not doing this Tourette's fuck sausage I'm going to describe myself very briefly for anyone who might find this useful I'm a piece of pitterbread thought it would be bread that would undermine me this morning fuck biscuit I'm going to try and describe myself biscuit I'm a 30-something white woman biscuit of average build biscuit for pitterbread of average build biscuit with curly brown hair and a very cool wheelchair biscuit fuck to my right is Katie our BSL interpreter and our stripper biscuit sausage biscuit is her job to sign everything I say biscuit including all the biscuits hedgehogs and cats and cantilever bridges yeah that'll do sausage biscuit all the slides I'll be showing biscuit a colourful hand drawn cards sharing a key idea or giving the title of each section I'll read each of these out in turn biscuit I will also show a few images which I'll describe biscuit in more detail when I get to them they're all of Stan Collin more biscuit waving a sheep I mean they're not, that's very niche sausage biscuit this is a relaxed talk so if you want to tick, shout or move about you're more than welcome please don't go out if you need to and come back in at any time sausage biscuit having Tourette's means I'm neurologically incapable of staying on message as I've already demonstrated biscuit on the plus side though it does mean biscuit I only ever have to write half a talk fuck it biscuit and awkward silences aren't something I worry about either sausage there are three things you need to know straight away I love cats that's not one of them biscuit firstly you're going to hear the words biscuit and hedgehog a lot in the next hour biscuit hedgehog Toblerone and possibly Toblerone secondly and I think you've got this already if I say something funny you're absolutely allowed to laugh fuck it in fact it would be a bit odd if you didn't fuck a goat if you didn't laugh not if you didn't fuck a goat we're relaxed but maybe not that relaxed biscuit sausage biscuit finally several times a day my tics intensify and I completely lose control of my body and speech biscuit this looks seizure like and needs similar management if that happens put grandmaster flash on biscuit if that happens my support worker will help me biscuit sausage and Chris will take over with a dance about lemon curd got that sorted great so that's genuine jeopardy biscuit biscuit biscuits without borders a call to action I believe biscuit we all share the power and responsibility for inclusivity legislation biscuit resources and knowledge have important roles to play biscuit but to build sustainable inclusive communities we need to think talk and take action together biscuit as professionals biscuit working within the art sector you are perfectly placed to make a significant contribution to catalyzing much needed change beans biscuit fear creates barriers biscuit as you can probably tell having Tourette's biscuit means I'm rarely still or quiet biscuit a fuck a goat biscuit tics turn ordinary tasks like fucking a goat not an ordinary task fuck it's very complicated biscuit when Darren says the arts council have invested in me not goat sex they haven't invested in goat sex biscuit tics can turn ordinary tasks like making a cup of tea biscuit or chopping vegetables biscuit into extreme sports fuck a goat biscuit they go everywhere I do and they're often the first thing that people notice about me sausage biscuit when in my early 20s they began to intensify and have a bigger impact on my life biscuit I started to notice the fear that crept in with them fear of me was I drunk or dangerous biscuit and my own fear of other people's unpredictable reactions to me fuck it biscuit others seemed worried about saying the wrong thing fuck biscuit a few thought I was possessed possessed out vile spirits fuck it biscuit it scared me biscuit I was frightened of losing control of my body and my identity but it was other people's assumptions biscuit judgments and laughter that worried me most biscuit I could feel this fear forming barriers in my life biscuit and fear wasn't the only problem the many unspoken rules of our society don't shout about peter andre on a train I mean it is an unspoken rule fuck it biscuit the unspoken rules particularly in our cultural spaces formed a whole wall of barriers biscuit that at times felt impenetrable biscuit I started avoiding places biscuit I perceived as quiet biscuit a donkey's rectum never given it any thought before biscuit donkey rectum biscuit and my life became increasingly restricted as a result then I had a conversation with my friend Matthew biscuit that radically changed the way I viewed my condition biscuit finding my power Matthew described Tourette's as a crazy language generating machine biscuit and told me not doing something creative with it would be wasteful biscuit this idea took root and was how I came to understand that my tips were my power and not my problem biscuit my life was changed by a single sentence and it taught me biscuit that every conversation biscuit has the potential to create change fuck together biscuit biscuit Matthew and I founded Tourette's Hero biscuit to celebrate the creativity and humour of Tourette's and to campaign for a more inclusive society biscuit Tourette's Hero has been instrumental in helping me deal with my own assumptions and I'm going to say my own assumptions and to start addressing other people's biscuit tackling fear head on biscuit it's crucial when promoting inclusivity biscuit because it's all too easy to let it lead to inaction biscuit in my experience isolation is rarely something that happens suddenly it's a gradual process of feeling increasingly shut out biscuit Tourette's Hero's mission is to change the world one sheep dog at a time it's not quite that one tick at a time this simple yet radical aim informs our practical, political and artistic approach biscuit to making work and engaging audiences my ticks and my power biscuit because they let me do things neurotypical people can't do like collide words together to create incredible new concepts donkey porn probably not a new concept donkey porn ah yeah I understand the laugh now biscuit without my unusual neurology biscuit we wouldn't have the joy of disco penguins dancing in your dreams biscuit the history of iguanas can be written in a teapot fuck or donald trump darker than an eclipse in an earthworm's mind fuck it biscuit it's not brexit biscuit through Tourette's Hero I reframe the symptoms of my condition as a creative springboard biscuit and invite people to make artwork in response some of my favourites include biscuit biscuit to stuff my mouth with pencils biscuit a line drawing on graph paper showing a man with 66 red pencils in his mouth biscuit I counted them all biscuit fuck Kanye West killed Rupert the bear yesterday biscuit Kanye is moving horribly out of the picture the body of a bloody bear lies behind him biscuit I've got limbs they're multiplying biscuit the two lead characters from the film grease sandy is on the left and Danny is on the right biscuit they're both wearing tight black dancewear and both have arms growing out of their arms which look like branches of a tree biscuit hedgehog before Tourette's Hero I found it hard to talk about Tourette's without tears recognising the creative potential of my tics and developing the language and confidence to talk about them biscuit has had a more powerful impact than I could ever have imagined changing the way we think has radical potential to unlock new ways of being and I'm about to tell you about an idea biscuit that radically transformed how I thought about myself the social model fuck it has anyone heard of the social model of disability before woo great I'm also really excited for anyone who hasn't heard of it before because I get to tell you about something brilliant for a long time thinking about disability followed either a medical or charity model these both see people as being disabled because their bodies or minds are impaired in some way as a result they focus on the needs for cure or pity both focus on what is wrong with a person and not on what a person actually needs by contrast biscuit the social model says disability isn't caused by people's bodies or minds but by how society is structured for example if I can't get into a building because it's surrounded by steps the medical model would say biscuit the problem was my wobbly legs the charity model would ask you for money to help me walk again biscuit please help me walk again don't need that biscuit but by contrast the social model identifies the steps as the disabling barrier it understands that it's normal for bodies and minds to work differently and for some people to have impairments and others not the exciting thing about the social model is that by considering difference from the outset we can create less disabling spaces systems and attitudes Gordon Brown loves cats have no idea if that's true or not any disabled people talk about the moment biscuit they learnt about the social model as an epiphany suddenly realizing that they are not the problem I passionately believe in the social model and it's the reason I call myself a disabled person rather than a person with a disability disability isn't something I drag around with me and it's not a binary state people are more or less disabled in different contexts according to their environment and circumstances biscuit telling me you don't see me as disabled is not a compliment biscuit it means you're telling me you don't see the barriers I face because of our collective failure to consider difference biscuit only if barriers are acknowledged biscuit can they be removed fuck a goat for me saying I'm disabled makes me feel strong and it means I can help find solutions to a vibrant community of people with a shared lived experience and act in solidarity with them this is particularly important at the moment because so many hard won equalities and rights are being eroded by self serving politicians both in the UK and internationally fuck a goat I love pizza and charity models are deeply embedded in our society in what we see on TV on our stages and what we read in the papers that's why I want as many people as possible to understand disability from the social model perspective connecting with this way of thinking has raised my confidence and it's been instrumental in defining how I've come to think of my body, my experiences and my expectations fuck a goat with this in mind the social model underpins much of what I'll be talking about for the remainder of this presentation fuck a goat, Peter Andre I wish we were talking about Peter my journey to the stage as a teenager I used to love going to theatres and galleries but the more my movements and noises made me stand out the harder I found it to go alone, biscuit back in 2014, biscuit when I started work on my first stage show, backstage in biscuit land I googled Tourette Theatre and nearly all the top results were accounts of people with ticks being asked to leave or sit separately fuck it, biscuit now though, biscuit is information about relaxed performance that's top of the search results biscuit I created backstage in biscuit land after a particularly distressing experience at a London theatre I was asked to move and sit in the sound booth at the interval because of the movements and noises I was making biscuit as I sat sobbing in the sound booth, biscuit, I promised myself that I would never set foot in another theatre again clearly this is a promise I didn't keep sausage but instead I decided to occupy the only seats in the house I wouldn't be asked to leave on stage biscuit as well as telling my story biscuit land promotes relaxed performance this is a growing movement that takes a flexible approach to noise and movements coming from the audience and extends a warm invitation to all the brilliant thing about a relaxed performance is that everyone can benefit this might include people with learning disabilities dementia, movement disorders biscuit people on the autistic spectrum those with young children biscuit babies or just very loud laughs biscuit, fuck it, biscuit sausage when they're done right biscuit, they give the whole audience permission to relax move about and make noise this posters are more accepting and exciting theatrical environment for everybody there is so much amazing work out there and I don't want anyone to miss out because of preconceptions about who it's for or how it should be enjoyed biscuit, fuck, biscuit but disabled people shouldn't have to take to the stage to feel safe in our theatres fuck, biscuit and this is where our most recent work at Battersea Arts Centre comes in fuck it, I love pizza bread a warmer welcome inside the relaxed venue biscuit, I've been working with Battersea Arts Centre on an arts council England change maker project together we've been exploring what a relaxed venue might be like at its simplest biscuit, this will flip assumptions about theatre etiquette rather than demanding reverent silence at every show with the occasional relaxed performance a relaxed venue embeds a relaxed approach across all of its spaces and programs biscuit, over the last two years we've gone through the process of reviewing, creating testing and embedding inclusive practice at BOC beans, I love pizza bread we've been working across teams to identify barriers and develop creative solutions to them three guiding principles have emerged for what a relaxed venue will be and I'd like to share these with you now first up to create no new barriers using the social model a relaxed venue understands that people with impairments are disabled by environments, systems and attitudes relaxed venues commit to considering access at every stage of a project, biscuit to avoid creating any new barriers wherever possible biscuit, this principle is powerful and pragmatic it understands that while you might inherit barriers that need time and resources to unpick you can make a radical impact straight away by considering different types of body and mind whenever you set something up this in turn means there are less barriers for future generations to grapple with the second principle to ensure equality of experience venues go beyond just ensuring they are technically accessible to disabled people they work to ensure equality of experience while still providing opportunities to take creative risks we need parity for disabled audience members and artists whether that's being able to impulse by tickets online in the middle of the night access creative content in multisensory ways or just go to the toilet backstage fuck biscuit finally to reduce faff venues acknowledge the damage systemic barriers can have on individual and community well-being to reduce faff biscuit around access requirements by ensuring they are understood embedded and confidently provided for our environment send us messages all the time for disabled people these messages are often you haven't been thought about this isn't for you or you're a fire risk biscuit fuck a goat so faff is like fuss faff is like doing lots of stuff around something so rather than just getting to the point and doing it faff is all of the fuss around it faffing sausage faff is what we've been doing with Brexit fuck biscuit when it comes to messages in our environments biscuit I notice all of the negative messages also notice every act of inclusivity the chill out room in case I need it the floor plan arranged so I can wheel easily between tables the receptionist who speaks directly to me rather than the person pushing my chair we need to change the messages that our cultural spaces are sending so everyone is being told you're welcome thought about and valued sausage including goats I'll allow you to work that out on an individual venue by venue basis what is your goat policy the principles are simple yet they have the potential to radically change the experience of disabled people in our shared cultural spaces as audience artists workers and leaders sausage biscuit a call to action again biscuit I'd like to talk now about three key challenges facing our sector biscuit and call on you all to respond with energy creativity and commitment first the politic biscuit the politics of now white art and activism matters biscuit we're living at a time of intense change under governments that are systematically removing our safety nets many people at the hard end of this process go unrecognised we must urgently acknowledge the political climate we're living in the impact it's having on those around us and the ever increasing inequalities within our society biscuit and it can't be passive or tokenistic acknowledgement either biscuit we have to embed equalising measures in how we talk plan create and resist biscuit one of the most pernicious aspects of austerity in the UK has been the quiet adjustment of eligibility criteria biscuit from the outside equalising schemes appear unchanged biscuit but by sadly moving the goalposts of who's eligible for them many disabled people have lost vital support and too many have lost their lives biscuit so as someone who's worked with disabled children in London for over 20 years I've seen first hand your impact of these adjustments biscuit children who a few years ago would have had comprehensive support now have nothing and their opportunities to learn, play and grow are severely damaged as a result biscuit where will the next generation of disabled artists come from if young people don't have the services they need to leave their homes let alone set foot in a gallery or theatre biscuit we have to ensure young people know their rights have opportunities to build skills make friends and voice dissent we must listen to young people and ask them how we can be good allies biscuit for the struggle ahead biscuit in the nine years biscuit since we founded Tourette's Hero the idea that positive memories are protective biscuit has underpinned much of the work we do particularly with children and young people we focus on events that build confidence and informal support networks so disabled people have positive experiences to draw on when times are tough biscuit hair truck I love cats this is a photo from one of our events this one at the Barbican biscuit a child without stretch arms looks up at colourful confetti falls around him he's surrounded by lots of people of different ages and backgrounds confetti is flying everywhere ta da biscuit we initiate structural change through creative events with our partners we work with venues to strip back and examine their rules and challenge normative privilege and insist on access for people with different types of body and mind fuck it I love goats biscuit but there is still a staggeringly long way to go before disabled people have equal access to our shared cultural life and if disability isn't part of your lived experience biscuit this inequality can easily remain invisible sausage biscuit this point was perfectly illustrated biscuit by the public's response to a recent news story biscuit a deaf mother was suing the promoter of the band Little Mix for not providing sign language interpretation for the whole of the concept after she'd asked for it biscuit what seemed to surprise and enrage many people wasn't that this family had been discriminated against but that a deaf woman biscuit would want access to a live music event at all biscuit on BBC2's Victoria Derbyshire programme biscuit a viewer complained but surely you might as well have a blind man sue tape modern because no one described the art to him I mean yes it's the equality act biscuit biscuit this response and many others like it are indicative of a society where there's an extremely limited view of who art music and theatre are for how they should be enjoyed biscuit and whether goats are permitted there's more consensus around that I think ensuring that difference is visible in cultural spaces biscuit is crucial to challenging these damaging ideas biscuit and dissolving biscuit these invisible barriers sausage I urge you to think about where you live or work what hidden messages are being sent to marginalise people there might not be a sign on the door saying no wheelchair users but that's the practical reality of every building without a lift or a ramp biscuit I am tired of going to exhibitions and having to roll past exhibit after exhibit because they're not at an accessible height or having to go through a separate entrance usually via the bins biscuit or finding the accessible toilet is being used as a bike shed biscuit over the last few years I've been fortunate to travel internationally and meet disabled people from all over the world biscuit and it's been fascinating biscuit to see how conversations around access and rights are shaped by local context I've also seen how hard it can be for artists in other countries biscuit disabled artists in particular to connect with each other with venues and with audiences biscuit this might be because of geographical economic or attitudinal barriers biscuit as an international community biscuit of creative thinkers we have to find ways to address these challenges dismantle the barriers and connect people across borders beans fuck it biscuit adjustable environments sausage dogs biscuit knowing I can adjust my surroundings to meet my changing requirements is both essential and transformative I advocate strongly for making adjustments and for speaking up if something isn't working for you a few years ago biscuit while I was being subjected to a barrage of disability hate verbal abuse on a London bus biscuit I became acutely aware of how important it is that we make the right adjustments biscuit caught up in the abuse being held at me on that bus I didn't get off ask the driver to stop or use my phone to record the abuse instead I adjusted to the situation biscuit and let it go biscuit unchallenged at a time when many individuals and organisations are under intense sustained pressure biscuit is all too easy to adjust to what is happening biscuit rather than make the necessary adjustments to systems and structures to meet our individual and collective requirements biscuit fuck it biscuit as a society we must ensure we never adjust to inequality biscuit this is an essential act of resistance when governments are making thousands of adjustments to cut people out of our society we must recognise our power to make the changes to ensure that everyone is written in biscuit equalising measures may be simple biscuit in themselves but having the insight and capacity to implement them can be much more complex sausage we need to talk, listen collaborate, innovate and improve biscuit it's not the sole responsibility of people facing systemic oppression to demand change it's a responsibility we all share biscuit to create truly inclusive communities and societies we have to be ready to remove the barriers and that might mean adjusting the physical environment the sensory landscape the way we communicate or the rules fuck it biscuit my question for our cultural institutions isn't simply what adjustments can we make sure can you make to ensure biscuit you're accessible but what adjustments can you make to ensure everyone feels safe to be themselves fuck biscuit finally biscuit the importance of rest how to make art in healthy ways biscuit earlier this month Tourette's Hero and Battersea Arts Centre collaborated on the two week festival of rest and resistance an intergenerational celebration of disability culture biscuit this is the pink and blue logo from the festival biscuit at its centre is a delicately drawn bed and a raised fist to represent the two key themes biscuit it's important to acknowledge the link between disability arts and activism as well as the need for opportunities for rest, solidarity and self care over 500 visitors participated in 20 events performances and residencies over 40 disabled artists contributed and a refreshingly diverse range of perspectives were shared it was encountering incredible disabled artists making exciting, challenging funny work that rescued me from my own fears and preconceptions when I was younger biscuit importantly I saw my experience as a disabled person reflected in ways that avoided tired complacent narratives often presented in mainstream media biscuit we must keep looking for ways to strengthen our communities connect talent to opportunity and make a society that is responsive, representative and relevant for everyone sausage but we can't build biscuit our art on unhealthy and unequal practices as a sector we often expect people to work long hours respond to emails 24 hours a day or work for free biscuit this unfairly disadvantages people for whom energy, money or time are limited resources it's not just the artists artists you have in your buildings that matter biscuit it's essential that we call out unhealthy work practices and nurture and care for everyone involved in this sector visibility matters because art culture and humour are great at shifting thinking biscuit and creating deeper understanding of difference but only if people with lived experience take the lead biscuit sausage change isn't always a battle biscuit I used to think that attitude change was a long drawn out process Tourette's heroes taught me it can actually happen very quickly biscuit I first realised this on a train journey with my sister when we were on our way to a hen do biscuit the train was busy I was very conscious that other passengers might be reacting to my tics biscuit a brief search of social media biscuit revealed that at least one woman had noticed me biscuit ketchup biscuit on a train with genuine Tourette's person in the same carriage biscuit here's the edited highlights biscuit biscuit I'm a baby donkey what an affliction biscuit I responded by saying it was also a gift and pointed her in the direction of our websites and a video made by two performance artists which brought some of my tics to life biscuit her next tweet had a very different tone biscuit this is amazing not affliction creativity biscuit she then asked if she could use the video biscuit in an installation about the identity that she was going to later that day biscuit I loved seeing this evolution happen in just a few short tweets biscuit and it left me feeling incredibly optimistic biscuit creating change doesn't have to be a battle it can be joyful discursive persuasive and silly biscuit if we can get people to engage we can get them to change conclusion I love cats I mean if this talk has one message it's cats are great biscuit should be ruling the art sector confidence skills and knowledge I've gained by being part of a creative community biscuit have helped me accept my body and my circumstances as they have changed sometimes people talk about access like it's a task you complete it's a level on a video game it's not it's not a task you complete it's more useful to think about it as a process working to remove barriers is something we need to engage in every single day otherwise just like other forms of systemic oppression they have a nasty habit of returning biscuit in a time of increasing division it's more important than ever that we think and act openly and inclusively every day we must make sure that we're sharing the biscuits not fighting over the crumbs biscuit changing our cultural landscape isn't too mighty a task and it's definitely not something we should just leave to big institutions politicians or people wearing capes biscuit it's something we can all do my challenge to you for today and beyond is to resist the urge to just speak to the same old people instead be open to new experiences and ideas biscuit these are crucial for forming and reflecting on your own views biscuit discussion and collaboration can help unlock new ways of reducing barriers and expanding opportunity biscuit as we head into the rest of today's sessions please talk to new people find out who they are check in with how they're doing and if you're up for it tell them about the borders you would like to shift within yourself and your community be generous and kind to each other as we undertake this challenge and do come over and talk to me I'll be the one shouting biscuit biscuit first though I'm very happy to answer any questions thank you very much so before we take any questions I'm going to do my lemon curd dance so just to say so we'll have it no really come on music please we'll take a few questions because just to be aware that the sessions we're running a little bit late but I'm sure well worth it session starts at 11.30 so any questions from the floor we'll have got a roaming mic that's going around about cats specifically please please don't ask me questions about cats I just Caroline from Australia now sadly and I miss you and I'd like to import you every day sausage a question about the festival unrest and resistance which is something that has become very present for me in my current role and I wondered whether it's going to run again yes I mean we can do it again if people invite us and give us space resources and support we need all of those things though we need to be given space, money and support and then we can make stuff happen so there could be an Australian version of the festival unrest and resistance be really amazing was that literally the question absolutely biscuit I think there are really different ways of acknowledging rest and resistance and particularly with the relaxed venues a really early idea to grow and evolve but working and testing that methodology across different types of institution and at different levels and in different ways is something that we're really open to doing sausage is definitely a work in progress fuck it have a question then hello hi thank you that was brilliant my name is Hailey I'm really pleased to hear you say it's not just the artists that matter my particular interest is hidden disability neurodiversity in cultural workforce which is often a hidden thing and I guess a lot of the conversation is around audiences and artists and I think there's a degree to which the sector feels more comfortable talking about artists and audiences and we don't think enough about the systems that affect everybody I just wondered if you've got anything else to say about that it's absolutely essential that the people supporting and programming work that happens in our spaces are representative of our communities in their broader sense and it's really important particularly with thinking about hidden impairments it's really important that people are supported and feel safe talking about those access requirements or the things that the unseen barriers that they might be grappling with so that they can get the right support I think it's there is a lot of expectation from very young actually that you mask that you conceal that you adjust that it is your problem and therefore you have to hide it in order to succeed we need to change those messages and understand and sort of negotiating how we use resources in space to make sure that we are supporting each other and I think that there is a certainly as my body and mind has changed and particularly my body in terms of the sort of pain and fatigue that I experienced has increased over the last few years we can't just treat energy as a resource that everybody has in abundance we have to build practices that are much more nurturing it has to be everybody it has to be all of our all of the people running our sectors because it's about programming festivals that focus particular perspectives are important but that shouldn't be the only time that people are programmed or the only time we think about the need for rest as part of our as part of our working practice sausage the vampire slayer do we have any more questions see we'll take one more question thank you I love cats past the mic my question was really about when you have an environment that isn't inclusive and you want to make it inclusive and whether whether you almost have to sort of stop the people coming if there's a space limitation I've got a kind of particular situation that I've inherited that feels not inclusive and I'd like it to be inclusive as a culture of it not being inclusive and I never know whether you need to stop and almost start again or whether you think it is possible to kind of create an environment and for people to shift with you I was just interested if you had any thoughts about that I think it's absolutely possible to make adjustments and shift things as a gradual process I think definitely the process that Battersea has been is a shift that is continuing to happen and that is that sometimes buildings, even buildings that seem very accessible can be quite exhausting to work to be in so I think it is sometimes you need to stop and start again there are times where it's like it's better if we just think this through from the beginning and sometimes it is better to adjust make adjustments, try stuff out learn from it I think often within our sector there's this feeling that we have to get it right first time perfectly and that if we fail that somehow we should just pack it in and never try again which is ridiculous because art and creativity is about testing things out about learning from it and so certainly within BAC we have a number of interventions where we've been scaling up to the Festival of Rest and Resistance we haven't gone straight in and just done that immediately it's been a two year process of change but you have to start somewhere and I think if there's the Equality Act and we took that talks about reasonable adjustments and I think when the disability discrimination that first came in lots of venues panicked and audited their spaces and we're like these are the changes that we will make and these are the ones that are too big these are not reasonable for us to make and then they've never thought about it again and so when it comes to what's reasonable or not or to responses to barriers yeah it might not be reasonable to do something when you first identify it but is it still reasonable that that barrier remains unchanged five, ten fifteen years down the line biscuit I don't think so so it's important that we don't just and it's about that idea of adjustment we can adjust to inequality and be like well that's just this is how it is in this space we don't work with disabled people or we don't we don't work with communities in particular ways someone else will be doing that it's like we can't have that attitude we have to start somewhere and we have to be ready to fail and to learn from those failures because they're never purely failures there's always important learning shifting that happens as part of that but reach out for support there are some amazing organisations championing inclusive practice across the country in the UK and internationally use those resources don't expect disabled people to do the work for you but use their expertise one of the key ideas with becoming a relaxed venue with how we've worked with BAC is that we have not done the work for them they have done the work and we have been part of guiding and supporting that process sausage so I believe that Jesse's keynote this morning has perfectly set the tone for the rest of the day so as I say we're running a little bit high but it's absolutely fine sessions beginning at 11.30 moderators are aware we might get a little bit late so please go out explore the sessions and explore a whole across different venues but could I just give you just one more time to show appreciation for Jess Tom