ACE Action Plan Consultation meeting - an insider's view

- Sue Austin, Plymouth

Arriving at the Arts Council England (ACE) Action Plan Consultation event this January in Plymouth, I was met by a room full of people from varied backgrounds and experiences within the Disability Arts community. In addition to providing a useful opportunity to develop links and exchange ideas with other artists I was struck by a sense that this was an opportunity for meaningful consultation as care was taken to explain the proposed Action Plan and the background research that underpinned its development as well as there being space for extended discussion about our own thoughts and recommendations in response to the introductory presentations. It was explained that as the position with regard to funding was unclear after 2011, our input was being sort on how to spend the £125,000 which has been ring fenced for 'investing in new, effective and quality initiatives with Deaf and Disabled artists between April 2010 and 2011'. Although Ruth Hecht, Diversity and Inclusion Officer for ACESW, announced that she would be leaving the Arts Council in March, it was also reassuring to see that another Arts Council representative (Paul Goddard) was in attendance to ensure that there would be continuity in this consultation process. Under the Heading "Now is the time for Action" we were asked to consider:

• 'Are the aims and objectives right?'
• 'Can different action points be improved?'
• 'What are the priorities?' and
• 'How should Deaf and Disabled Artists be involved in implementing the plan?'

During discussion of the SWOT analysis for Deaf and Disabled Arts in the region (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) it emerged that the regions will be restructured and moving into four areas so the South West will now be included with the East Midlands. While this will open up opportunities it could also be challenging because the resulting region will be so big. It also became obvious that a great deal of thought and attention had gone in to creating an Action Plan that was grounded in a realistic assessment of the situation facing Deaf and disabled artists within the region and reflected the views of those expressed during the research processes that had fed into the document.

After an introduction to the Aim of the Action Plan (For Deaf and Disabled Artists to be an integral part of the arts and cultural sector in the South West) and the resulting Objectives (which revolved around improving the capacity and practice of Deaf and disabled artists, raising their visibility and showcasing excellence while ensuring this became embedded within the mainstream) a discussion around the concept of quality developed. Paul explained that this had wider aspects beyond the actual art work itself. As practitioners we will need to consider the quality: of engagement; of reach; of marketing materials and of the memory. We were then taken through the proposed actions and given the context of the funding that would underpin them before dividing up into three groups to address the questions we had been asked to focus on (see above).

During the feedback session that rounded up the day people reported having rich and interesting discussions and there was a general feeling that the aim of the Action Plan was ambitious but this was seen as a 'good thing' although concerns were also expressed about the size of the task, getting feedback and issues of ownership. In spite of the fact that there was a different emphasis on priority areas from group to group, the points that emerged were:

• a move away from the charity model when embedding  Deaf and disabled artists in mainstream organisations;
• ensuring that there was still support for artists who chose not to do this;
• mentoring being a successful way to facilitate the aims;
• the bursaries being an important element of the proposed package of action in addition to
• ensuring that a constructive legacy would be left by this undertaking.  

Another issue that sparked some comment was that of finding ways to support artists back to financial independence as part of this process as well as ensuring that Deaf and disabled artists were represented on any steering groups that evolved to oversee the implementation of the Action Plan.  

To finish, Ruth emphasized that she would welcome any further thoughts and conversations so please KEEP EMAILING HER to let her know what people at grass roots level are thinking.

Although naturally there were concerns expressed, the overarching impression I had from the day was that a buzz of excitement and positive engagement had been generated by the sense that this really was a meaningful consultation process, a trust that somehow the varied views expressed would be integrated into the final document and also a way would be found to keep the process responsive as it continues to evolve.

Related articles

ACE action plan consultation meeting - by Trish Wheatley, Link Up Arts
Arts Council CONsultation - author's name withheld by request

[added 22 Feb 2010]