Approximately 62,000 tickets for the arts were bought by disabled people and their carers in 2013/14.  An estimated 1 in 5 of Scotland’s population experiences a long-term activity limiting health issue or disability.

If your organisation doesn’t have a disability equality plan in place, you may be missing out.

Delivered by flip, the experts in disability equality in the arts, this hands-on workshop session will:

• Explore the legislation, language and attitudes to disability that you need to know about;
• Present examples of good practice in inclusivity and planning from across our sector;
• Help you and your team work on a tailored Equality Action Plan for your organisation.

Make the most of this session by bringing your colleagues and working in a team of three or four: with input from our expert trainers, you will make significant inroads into your own Equality Action Planning process. Anyone with responsibility for policy or organisational development should attend, and all are welcome.

Divided into two phases, the afternoon will begin with an interactive briefing from Mairi and Robert of flip, followed by a hands-on workshop where you will work with your own team to reflect on your own policies – be they established, in progress or yet to be started.

Whatever stage your planning has reached, this session will support you to identify the next steps and the ways of achieving these in a way that is manageable and sustainable for your organisation.

Places are strictly limited to just six organisations: early booking is recommended!

Agenda:

12.45  -13.00: Registration & Coffee

13.00-15.00: Briefing: Disability Equality Training

What is disability?
Legislation – Equality Act
Attitudinal and theoretical developments
Confidence with language

15.00 – 15.15: Break

15.15 – 17.00: Action Planning with your team

Examining inclusion
Examples of good practice
Developing an equality action plan

Please note: this session is priced per organisation, based on teams of 2 – 4 attending. It is not intended to train customer service staff.

Event photo by Francisco Mallo

Meet the trainers

Robert Gale and Mairi Taylor work together as flip – Disability Equality in the Arts. flip have many years of experience of disability equality, access to the arts and delivering training in this area.

Mairi has been working in the area of arts and access since 2003, prior to establishing flip she managed a national access project for the Federation of Scottish Theatre that saw the launch of a new national theatre guide – Access Scottish Theatre.

Mairi has experience of working with theatres, galleries and museums and with a range of audiences. In 2010 – 2012 Mairi was the Project Coordinator for engage Scotland’s access project – Everyone – and worked with galleries across Scotland to embed disability into their strategic plans. During the last 5 years working with Robert as flip, Mairi has lead on some of flip’s research and development projects including VI Scotland’s AHRC Knowledge Exchange research and the National Theatre of Scotland’s NESTA project.

Mairi also works as a producer, producing ‘If These Spasms Could Speak’ (a run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a Scottish Tour and International touring), with the young company Creative Electric in Edinburgh and with disabled artists Aidan Moesby and Pum Dunbar on their Unlimited R&D commission ‘Fragmenting the Codex’.

Mairi believes that building relationships – whether with audiences, partners or collaborators – brings about real change through increased confidence and understanding.

Robert is an established figure in the Scottish arts scene, with over 14 years of experience in diverse and varied roles – including disability rights activist, actor and performer, writer, artistic director and supporter and advocate of equality of access to the arts for disabled people whether as artists or audiences.

Robert’s professional acting debut was with Theatre Workshop (Edinburgh) in ‘Nothing Ever Burns Down By Itself’ in 2002 and since then has appeared in many productions and has developed his own artistic practice – most recently instigating, co-writing and performing in ‘Girl X’ for the National Theatre of Scotland, directed by Pol Heyvaert of Belgium’s Campo. In 2011 he was awarded and undertook a Creative Scotland residency which allowed him to develop ‘If These Spasms Could Speak’.

A graduate of Glasgow University with an MSc (Hons) in Business & Management, Robert’s other role is as a director of flip – disability equality in the arts which works across Scotland to support individuals and organisations in the arts sector. Robert is also an Artistic Director of Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, Scotland’s touring company that promotes the work of disabled artists in partnership with non-disabled artists and mainstream theatre venues and companies.

If you know others who should attend, please feel free to forward an invitation or tell them about this event.

---