Near you and the Milky Way – Being part of cultural life, wherever you are and wish to be

All children have the right to participate in arts and cultural life. This is a building block of democracy and a legal right under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Yet many children and young people with diverse abilities rarely or never take part in, or are visible at, arts and cultural activities in public spaces.

This is a challenge we would like to try to be a small part of solving. Thanks to a two-year project grant from the Swedish Postcode Foundation, we can now carry out Nära dig och Vintergatan (Near You and the Milky Way) – Being part of Cultural Life, Whereever You Are and Wish to Be, with the project starting on April 1st 2024. In this post, we want to share more about the background of the project, its purpose, and how we plan to go about it.

Photo: Johan Danielsson

The core problem we aim to address

For several years, Kollaborativet has had the privilege of reaching many children and young people with disabilities through the performing arts experiences that form our core work, based on sensory, expressive experiences and communication. These encounters have mostly been made possible through collaboration with schools and preschools.

Reaching children together with their families during their free time, however, remains an enormous challenge. This is our experience, shared by several other independent actors specifically targeting the same audience. Institutions and municipal services, which, within their own mandates, have made certain efforts to reach families, report similar difficulties.

At the same time, our clear impression, from the dialogue we have with families, is that the availability of suitable and meaningful cultural activities is very limited and that the need is significant. Artistic and cultural experiences that clearly enhance quality of life, create a sense of community, enable communication, interaction, and allow children to experience the world according to their abilities, remain a greatly neglected area. So do the communication channels that invite families to participate and be visible in public life within the offerings that actually exist.

Our project addresses the question of how these barriers can be removed. How can relationships, trust, and knowledge be built long-term together with families? How can the knowledge be increased and the target group prioritized sustainably? How can an inclusive and accessible arts and cultural life, both in public spaces and elsewhere, become a natural part of every child and young person’s life?

What we aim to achieve

Nära dig och Vintergatan (Near You and the Milky Way) – Being part of Cultural Life, Whereever You Are and Wish to Be aims to increase participation and visibility in cultural life among children and young people with disabilities who rarely or never attend public cultural experiences.

 Through both outreach and tailored public events, the project works to build relationships and knowledge, to in the long term remove barriers so that children and their families can feel expected, welcomed, and able to participate according to their unique abilities and circumstances.

Who we primarily target

Children and young people with multiple disabilities and their families. The group of children and young people with diverse abilities is large and extremely varied. In this project, we specifically want to focus on those children and young people with multiple disabilities who rarely or never experience arts and culture in their free time alongside their families.

We reach the target group through highly targeted communication efforts within contexts where families are present, have relationships, and feel safe. This could, for example, be through interest organizations or networks. With a four-part palette of recurring public activities, tested in co-creation to be adapted in dialogue with caregivers and/or other close adults such as assistants, the target group participates and experiences performing arts in various formats, together with performers from Kollaborativet and their close adults.

How we go about it – A Palette of Four Sensory Formats

Within the project, we offer a palette of four formats, tested and developed together with the project’s target group – children and young people with multiple disabilities and their families – in order to reach more over time. We see the four formats as a prerequisite to reach the group where they are and want to be, as the target group itself is very diverse. For some children and young people, only the home can serve as a venue; for others, short-term accommodation works, while for some children it is possible – and desirable from the family’s side – to attend a tailored activity at a local library, Kollaborativet Studio, or another cultural institution, experiencing and participating in public spaces. We thus meet the diversity of functions and abilities with a palette of multiple sensory performing arts experiences.

The four sensory formats are tested and established through recurring public activities in different environments:

At Home on the Milky Way

A sensory performing arts experience offered to families in their own homes. Several families participate in the trial of the new concept in their own home environment.

A Visit to the Milky Way

A sensory performing arts experience offered to children and young people in municipal short-term care. The format is developed in dialogue and consultation with staff and family members.

The Milky Way Library

Sensory performing arts experiences are offered to children and young people and their close adults in collaboration with local libraries in Skåne. The format is developed through recurring events to which the target group is invited.

Workshop on the Milky Way

Recurring sensory workshops for the ENTIRE family, organized by Kollaborativet. An opportunity for families to experience and create art together with their children, with and without disabilities.

IMPACT THROUGH KNOWLEDGE SHARING

The project includes active outreach and dissemination within the cultural sector to share insights and the project’s relationship-building methodology. The aim is to drive increased inclusion and to inspire and demonstrate examples of how performing arts can be both created and reach audiences, in the hope that the broader performing arts ecosystem takes active steps forward, both structurally and artistically.

Photo: Johan Danielsson