An Open Letter From Leading Disabled Artists & Cultural Leaders To UK Culture Ministers

#WeShallNotBeRemoved

Over 100 leading disabled artists and cultural leaders have sent an open letter to The Secretary of State for Culture Oliver Dowden MP and devolved UK Culture Ministers, demanding safeguards to protect the future of disability arts in the UK as a consequence of COVID-19.

Signatories include high profile disabled creatives including actors Mat Fraser & Nabil Shaban, visual artists Tony Heaton & Ashok Mistry, percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, poet Jamie Hale, broadcasters Samantha Renke & Mik Scarlet, film director Justin Edgar, performer Jess Thom, theatre directors Jenny Sealey, Amit Sharma, & Vici Wreford-Sinnott and Disability Champion for Arts & Culture, Andrew Miller.

The letter warns that the pandemic has magnified inequalities for disabled people working in the creative industries and that many are facing long term shielding, loss of income and invisibility in wider society.

Disabled cultural leaders are calling on the government to extend the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) beyond August, to prioritise involvement of disabled people in cultural policy, to ensure the renewal and recovery of the cultural sector is more inclusive and offers greater access and representation.

The open letter was organised by the new UK Disability Arts Alliance #WeShallNotBeRemoved. The alliance is an emergency response led by disabled people for disabled people working across the UK's creative industries in every capacity and across artforms.

Andrew Miller, UK Government Disability Champion for Arts & Culture said: “The speed of recovery planning risks excluding many creative disabled people. So it is essential the UK Government ensures cultural renewal is planned inclusively with creative disabled people at its heart".

Jenny Sealey MBE, CEO & Artistic Director of Graeae Theatre said: “It is vital we work collectively to support each other through and after the storm of COVID-19 and ensure that our disabled community is at the heart of evolving arts policy and practice”.

Robert Softley Gale, Artistic Director of Scotland's Birds of Paradise Theatre Company said: "COVID-19 threatens everything we've worked towards unless we ensure that our response is solid and places disabled people at the centre of all discussions about our future."

Amit Sharma, Deputy Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre said: “Deaf and disabled people have made a significant contribution across the arts locally, nationally and internationally. It's taken huge progress to just get here and it cannot be right that Birmingham Rep is in a tiny group of organisations that employs disabled people at senior level within our industry. If we're not part of the conversation then there's a real danger we go backwards. We can not become invisible again”

Jo Verrent, Senior Producer of UK commissions programme Unlimited said: “Isolated and increasingly ignored by many, disabled people MUST be at the centre of the cultural sector to come, one that is both physical and virtual, includes all and excludes no one”

Charlene Salter, co-chair of Access All Areas Board of Trustees said: “Disability arts is really important because that's how we express ourselves and also being creative. We understand things better that way and we use this in our works and performances to get are voices heard. In this COV-19 situation being a person with a Learning Disability it's more scary and confusing and frustrating. It's really important that all of us - Learning Disability/disabled/autistic/Deaf - we need to be involved in the government. We are being left out in Conversations and we are part of the Community as well.”

#WeShallNotBeRemoved is a forum to advocate, to campaign and support D/deaf, neurodiverse and disabled creative practitioners and organisations through and after COVID-19. The aims of the alliance are:

●  To ensure a sustainable future for disability and inclusive arts in the UK through and after the pandemic

●  To amplify the voices of D/deaf, neurodiverse and disabled creative practitioners & disability arts organisations at a time of crisis for the arts and for disabled people

Membership of #WeShallNotBeRemoved is free, open to all individual D/deaf, neurodiverse and disabled creative practitioners and disability focused organisations operating in the UK's creative industries. Within a month of forming the alliance has attracted over 350 members.

The open letter was also sent to Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs at The Scottish Government, Lord Dafydd Ellis-Thomas, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport & Tourism at The Welsh Government, Deirdre Hargey, Northern Irish Minister for Communities and Jo Stevens, Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media & Sport.

The open letter is housed on Graeae Theatre's website, click here to read.