AsiaLIFE

Epic Arts has invited able-bodied and disabled artists to participate in SPOTLIGHT, a festival of inclusive arts. The organisers hope to change the way disability is perceived by participants and spectators alike. Words by Charis Shafer.

"It's happened very naturally and organically," says Hannah Stevens of the NGO Epic Arts. This organisation encourages expression for those living with disabilities through arts. Their most recent endeavour is an eight-day festival of inclusive arts - SPOTLIGHT. Sponsored by The Nippon Foundation, the festival will feature over 200 artists from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal and Japan. Held in Phnom Penh from Feb. 23 to Mar. 1, there will also be some events in Siem Reap.

Ability Rather Than Disability

"This isn't about putting disabled people up on stage," Hannah says eschewing the notion of displaying disabled artists as a way of eliciting sympathy. "It's about changing the way people perceive disability." This goal is clear in the organisation's promotion of the festival. It emphasises seeing the ability rather than the disability of the participating artists. They want, says Hannah, to raise the bar.

With this in mind, the festival has created two stages. One will be for young artists and one for professionals. The intention is to motivate youths to excel further in their art, according to Hannah. Because of the inclusive nature of the event, the difference between the disabled and the able-bodied becomes unimportant.

The fact that some of the members of the group are deaf becomes a non-issue for performers like the Taiko drummers from Japan. The audience focuses on their electric performance. When Hannah first saw this particular group in Laos, she was more moved by their "mind-blowing" performance than by their disability. "It's irrelevant that they're deaf," she says.

Disability in Cambodia

This kind of inclusive arts festival is especially pertinent in Cambodia. According to Disability Action Council's estimations, 4.7% of Cambodians has some kind of disability. This is one of the highest rates in the world. Many of these are landmine victims though more and more are from traffic accidents. Culturally, disabilities are traditionally seen as the result of bad karma although many organisations are working on changing people's perceptions, it is a slow process. This, along with the limited concessions made for people living with disabilities, makes daily life extremely difficult.

SPOTLIGHT will provide the disabled not only a forum for performing, but also a tool to change perceptions of them. With the attendance of many accomplished international artists, festival spectators will get to view able-bodies and disabled artists working side-by-side. Communication between other inclusive arts groups will support the work that Epic Arts has been doing for the past four years in Cambodia. Communication between these groups is an integral part of the festival.  "The aim is to bring all these people together," stresses Hannah.

Regional Response

Hannah discovered there were other groups of inclusive artists in the region when visiting a festival in Laos. Not satisfied with a small-scale festival, Hannah wished to expand what she had seen in Laos.  With the help of The Nippon Foundation, she endeavoured to create an eight-day medley of performances and workshops. She then set out to find participants.

She found artists, both able-bodied and disabled, who shared her vision of creating an inclusive festival from around Southeast Asia and the wider region. Positive feedback was everywhere. "People's responses were more overwhelming than we expected," she says. The range of artists performing at the festival shows the extent of this response.

The Taiko drummers she had seen in Laos, were one of the first participants added to the schedule. This also includes a visually impaired sculptor from Singapore, a contemporary dance company (some of whose members are deaf) from Vietnam, a visually impaired jazz pianist from Thailand and a disabled dancer from Nepal.

Creating a Network

It is for women like the Nepalese dancer that Hannah hopes to create an arts community. Lacking a company she began to dance independently. The SPOTLIGHT festival is the perfect place to start this. "It's a really good opportunity to start a network," says Hannah.

Communication between artists of various countries can lend support to those wishing to explore their art but are outside an organisation like Epic Arts. An event like this should give confidence to both participants and audience. Some of the events are especially cutting edge not only for their inclusion of the able-bodied and disabled but also for their stunning artistic innovations. The Vietnamese dance company Together Higher has Paris-trained artists skilled in contact improvisation. "It should be particularly interesting to see how Cambodians read this dance," says Hannah.

Performers will also host workshops and collaborate with local artists while they are here. Locals, both able-bodied and disabled, will be able to expand their artistic vocabulary and explore different methods and media. One example of this is that the Vietnamese dance group will liaise with the Khmer Arts Academy. "It's all about experience," says Hannah. She makes her own motivations clear. "We just want to give everyone involved as many experiences to take on board as possible."

Replicable Model

Hannah hopes other countries and arts companies will pick up on this kind of festival. She wants the festival to serve as a model that can be replicated elsewhere, creating a wider network of inclusive artists and companies. "It's useful to have a network of all these artists," she says. The creation of a network means touring companies would have better career opportunities. Continued support for inclusive arts would be another ideal outcome of the festival.
 
Seeing the possibility and not the impossibility by changing the self-perceptions of those artists with disabilities is her ultimate aim. It makes artistic skill, not disability, relevant. As Hannah confirms, "this is the goal with inclusive arts."

For more information call Epic Arts on 012 1939 485 or visit the website at: www.spotlight-inclusiveartsasia.org.