Scen:se at Folkteatern Gävleborg
The grant from Signatur Foundation Sweden makes it possible for Folkteatern Gävleborg to create accessible performing arts works in three different formats, as part of a major investment in the development project Scen:se.
Scen:se creates performing arts and drama education for and with children and young people with complex functional variations. The aim is for all children and young people to have the opportunity to experience art and culture regardless of functionality or needs, and to use their creative ability regardless of the type of school they attend. The new Signatur project starts in 2024 with a planned continuation in 2025-26.
SENSORY THEATRE AND CO-CREATIVE PROCESSES
Due to their disabilities, the project’s target group often experiences major obstacles in accessing art and culture. The accessible performing arts initiative, supported by Signatur will be carried out partly in collaboration with UK-based Oily Cart Theatre (https://oilycart.org.uk), a pioneer in sensory theatre work, with forty years of experience in creating performing arts for the target group. In their own words, Oily Cart Theatre “imagines the impossible and rips up the rule book of theatre to make it more accessible”. The formats are also permeated by co-creation processes with the target group and in collaboration with artists with disabilities.
AN INTERREGIONAL INITIATIVE WITH LONG-TERM GOALS
The grant from Signatur will also help the project to investigate the possibilities of creating a more lasting impact with the aim of getting the performing arts industry to work in a more inclusive and accessible way for people with disabilities. This is done through a national initiative across several regions, in collaboration with regional performing arts organisations, where the project aims to raise the level of knowledge about inclusive and adapted performing arts. Today, in addition to Folkteatern Gävleborg, Estrad Norr in the Jämtland Härjedalen region is included. Through a national tour, seminars and training initiatives, Folkteatern Gävleborg and the other partners create common areas where to reach out with the expertise that the project has accumulated. In the long term, the goal is also to create a platform for lasting programme on accessible performing arts.
Research and inclusion
Researchers will follow the project and the production, and investigate the need to make performing arts experiences accessible to children and young people with disabilities. The target group is at the forefront of the project, and the goal is to promote a change in the performing arts industry, where existing structures often create barriers. The project wants to help the target group take part in more activities and experiences. Investing in accessible performing arts also creates a more inclusive society, where all bodies and all functionalities are allowed to move, act and be seen in the public cultural space.
Read more about Scen:se and Folkteatern Gäveborg here (in Swedish): https://folkteaterngavleborg.se/program/projekt-scense/
