Impress - Spring 2009

Impress supports promoters with a disability

About Impress

We inspire confidence. Disablity groups want to participate in our project which brings theatre and dance to local communities. Our project is used by disablity groups to increase social opportunities for deaf and disabled people in the boroughs of the Black Country (Sandwell, Dudley,Walsall and Wolverhampton)

The Apna group learn how to sell tickets

We use the arts as a tool to reach disabled people, particularly people affected by sensory impairment and learning disability in diverse minority communities. We give deaf and disabled people help to organise and promote a show by professional companies using a venue in their local community. We provide informal training to achieve this. We guide individuals to work in a team, so they gain first hand experience of putting on events.

Working Parts

Impress is part of the Black Country Arts & Disability Network called Working Parts. Increasing participation by disabled people and disabled artists is a complex problem, which through Working Parts is been tackled not by one single organisation but through partnership and collaborative interventions which can be ever expansive. Working Parts was set up as an informal partnership between Walsall Council Creative Development Team, Black Country Touring, Arena Theatre and Multistory.

Working Parts has created a website www.workingparts.co.uk that documents the work undertaken and highlights projects, partners and events.

Impress makes a difference

In the Black Country deaf and disabled people rarely attend mainstream events. Our preliminary research found that deaf and disabled people felt isolated in their community because of a lack of transport, information and and personal support outside of daytime hours. We consulted deaf and disability groups about these barriers, and this project invited disability groups to explore solutions. We worked with people with learning disabilities from a South Asian community in Dudley and Walsall, visually impaired people from Sandwell and Dudley as well as physically disabled people from Sandwell and Wolverhampton.

Organising events provided disabled people with the opportunity to use their own expertise about access to events. Working with groups we shared skills, knowledge and experience. By involving disabled people in the organisation of events we overcame barriers that disabled people face. For example, when choosing to go to a social event in the evening and weekends the barriers that deaf and disabled people experience are tranport issues, use of BSL interpreters, information in an accessible format, and personal support outside of daytime hours.

Skills for Life check out venue for their show

Importantly, Impress is about disabled people organising an event. They choose the show, time, venue and get audiences to their event by selling the tickets

How disability groups benefit

Our project reaches people who experience isolation and disadvantage within what is already a socially and economically deprived area of the country. We do this by bringing high quality entertainment to disability groups and local communities  with affordable ticket prices and at a local venues in their community. We provide informal training to achieve this. Our evaluation tells us that the project inspires individuals to consider employment and social enterprise.  The project meets the needs of disability groups by putting on events in the evenings and weekends that they feel safe and comfortable attending. They are local and accessible. Key to the project's success is the audience. Generally, more than 60 people attend each event. This demonstrates that events promoted by disabled people encourage other disabled people to participate.  Disabled people have the knowledge of how to reach people in the disability community who are most isolated. Audience figures also show that disabled people want to promote inclusive social events for the whole community as well as their peers.

We have also developed a 2 year project with the Deaf Cultural Centre, Birmingham to reach deaf people and people with a hearing impairment in the Black Country, which will start in 2009. Our skills increase the capacity of the voluntary sector to use the arts as a tool to benefit people, as well as receive investment and funding for deaf and disabled people.

The lights go up after the Effing and Blinding Cabaret in total darkness by Extant

Co-ordinator Alan Mclean asks people what they thought about the Effing and Blinding Cabaret

Audience comments about the Effing and Blinding Cabaret by Extant

Very enjoyable and  good variety of acts
Brilliant, eye opening experience really enjoyed it
Unusual
Enjoyed the professionalism of the actors
Excellent performers gave me an insight of what it feels like to be blind (quite scary)
Thought provoking how much do we really know
Exceeded expectations
Very enjoyable and original production many thanks
Really different, showed how difficult to concentrate in the dark

People and places

We faciliated 5 groups between 2007 and 2008, 36 people benefited from workshops and participation in training. There were 10 events organised by disability groups with our support and guidance. Approximately 720 people benefited as audiences and attendees.

Groups we have worked with since Impress began in 2007 include Saiba (Sandwell Active Independent Blind Association), Offsight, SVI (Sandwell Visually Impaired), Dudley M Power, Apna Group, Outside Centre, Ideal for All, Walsall Deaf Peoples Centre, Skills for life.  Groups have used venues such Dudley Muslim Association, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, the Conference Suite in West Bromwich, Arena Theatre, Forrest Arts Centre, and Crosswells Inn, Langley

An untypical promotion - Friday night in a pub in total darkness

Our goal is to sustain relationships with groups and increase the confidence of individuals to participate in the community. On a Friday night, in Febuary, a room in a local pub was in total darkness for a cabaret organised by Saiba, a group of visually impaired people based in Sandwell. Over 50 people sat down for an evening of laugher & joviality. What was unique about the event was that it was by an ambitious group of blind and visually impaired actors called Extant. Saiba had acheived their goal of reaching more than their visually impaired friends. We asked people who attended the show what they thought and the word  'Outstanding' was used over and again.  People also said ' they want to see more shows by actors with a disability'.  Twelve months before this achievement Saiba members were participating in a workshop describing their experience of visual impairment. Using their stories Artistic Director of Extant Maria Oshodi created a new play which was presented at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Three visually impaired groups attended the show as well as Pat McFadden MP (Wolverhampton South East). Individuals who attended this event are now supporting the gallery. Through visits, talks and workshops, they are helping the gallery increase it's access for visually impaired audiences. In addition Saiba have also helped Black Country Touring; with guidance from members of Saiba 'Corner Shop' a large scale site specifc theatre show, was successfully audio described and BSL interpreted. Importantly audiences from the visually impaired and deaf communities attended the shows.

Impress is more than promoting shows

Ray Gormley interviewing Saiba & Extant

Our aim is to tackle the isolation disabled people experience, building their confidence to interact with people.  Ray is not a member, as such, of any group, he is a volunteer. He produces and records Sandwell Talking Newspapers, he wants to create an audio magazine which is led by visually impaired people, following his voluntary work with Black Country Touring (BCT) he is attracting support from other organisations. By working with BCT people become connected to wider networks. For example, Ray participated in Art Speaking at Wolverhampton Art Gallery encouraging peers to attend visits to galleries. He communicated with the visually impaired community by making a recording  for Sandwell Talking Newspapers. You can watch this on You Tube.

If you would like further information about Impress, the shows or how to organise your own show please contact Black Country Touring on 0121 552 0014 or email us on us@bctouring.co.uk