DISRUPT Toolkit launched by Guildhall School and partners
DISRUPT Toolkit launched by Guildhall School and partners
Guildhall School and partners are excited to present the DISRUPT Toolkit, a new resource for artists and organisations which challenges and unpacks the power dynamics of the cultural sector when working with communities.
The Toolkit has been co-authored by Guildhall School, Barbican, theatre companies Slung Low and Jumped Up Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, and Headway East London, a charity supporting people affected by brain injury. It follows the DISRUPT Festival, a 3-day online event which took place in July 2021 and used the pandemic-induced pause in arts activity to interrogate questions of community, locality and power structures.
Download the Toolkit or view online
The resource is designed to support artists and organisations by:
- Developing an openness to testing new processes and structures, resulting in programming that’s more aligned with community need and is more representative
- Supporting a better understanding of the nuances of co-production and community-led decision-making
- Encouraging new processes in order to move away from hierarchical, top-down structures
- Developing skills and reflection for a more equitable sector
Jo Chard, Creative Partnerships and Programme Manager Guildhall School of Music & Drama, says:
“We’ve put this toolkit into the world to challenge how and why things are done and, most importantly, who gets to make these decisions. The projects and tools suggested are disruptive because they actively attempt to do something that stifles the constant churn of capitalist productivity we see in the cultural sector. They force you to slow down, to reflect, to share.”
Three related events will take place across the country in the coming months, to disseminate and discuss the Toolkit in more depth:
Placing the Power in the Hands of our Communities
10 July, Key Theatre, Peterborough
Book here
Elders and Radical Equity
22 September, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Book here
Brain Injury and Co-Creating Evaluation
Date TBC, Barbican Centre, London
Booking opens soon