Cultural safety as a foundation for allyship in disability arts

Abstract

The practice of allies – the non-disabled producers, directors, curators and facilitators who support the work of disabled arts and media makers – has not been subject to dedicated analysis. In this article, we argue that cultural safety, respect, and trust is a precursor to good allyship in the creative industries. We outline factors that influence feelings of safety or non-safety for disabled arts and media makers, and the way the legacy of the medical model makes it difficult for many arts and media workers to appreciate and enact enablers of safety as part of an allyship relationship. Education through reports and training sessions is not enough to ensure would be arts allies can establish cultural safety. What is required, we argue, is direct experience of how disabled artists and long-term allies enact cultural safety through the disability space, time and relational concepts central to disability arts, culture, and aesthetics.

POINTS OF INTEREST

• There has been little research on the work of allies in art and media industries

• Arts allies are defined as the non-disabled policy makers, producers, directors, and facilitators who support the work of disabled arts and media makers

• Arts allies often focus on logistics, infrastructure, and systems (e.g. adding ramps, hearing loops, interpreters, or other adaptations) to make arts and media projects/workplaces more accessible to disabled artists

• Allies must also consider cultural safety as part of their support of arts and media projects/workplaces. Cultural safety recognises that disabled people have a shared identity, community, and culture, based on a shared history of oppression, shared lived experience, and shared language to describe that experience, and projects/workplaces that do not respect this are alienating

• Reading reports, attending events, and participating in conversations is not enough to establish knowledge of disability identity, community, and culture

• We consider how would-be allies can acquire the exposure to disability culture in action required to create cultural safety, respect, and trust in their allyship relationships with disabled arts and media makers

Keywords:

• Allyship
• cultural safety
• critical disability studies
• disability arts
• disability media