Empowered is a Bradford Producing Hub programme that brings together artists and creatives from marginalised groups for projects, workshops, and events focusing on artist and ally empowerment training and development.
Through the Empowered programme, we have so far worked with over 40 Black and Global Majority, LGBTQIA+, and Neurodivergent and Disabled artists. This work culminated in an event, Make the Change at the brilliant Mind the Gap in Bradford in September 2023.
Zines
Participants from our LBGTQIA+ and Disabled & Neurodivergent cohorts created collaboratives zine to express their shared experiences and reflections from their time on the programme. Both zines present a manifesto for a more inclusive arts and culture sector.
LGBTQIA+ artists zine
Manifesto
// WE WILL BE GENUINELY INTERESTED & INVESTED IN EACH OTHER’S PROGRESSION AND CHAMPION EACH OTHER //
// WE WILL HELP FOSTER A SENSE OF STABILITY, TO HELP FACILITATE OUR IDEAS, WITH TANGIBLE OUTCOMES //
// WE WILL DEFINE NON-NEGOTIABLES AND OUR OWN PRACTICAL NEEDS AND EXPENSES UPFRONT //
// WE WILL HELP EACH OTHER BUILD AND GROW OUR OWN INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE CREATIVE PRACTICES, AND IN TURN OUR INDIVIDUAL JOY AND COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS //
// WE WILL GATHER ONCE A MONTH TO MAKE SOMETHING. WE WILL SHOW IT WHATEVER THE OUTCOME //
// WE WILL WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE, CELEBRATING EACH OTHER’S STRENGTHS & HELPING WITH WEAKNESSES, SIMPLY BY ACKNOWLEDGING THESE OR SHARING SKILLS TO IMPROVE //
// WE WILL SHINE A LIGHT ON STORIES THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNTOLD //
Disabled and neurodivergent artists zine
Manifesto
Actively listen to disabled people
and be responsive to what you hear; and maintain that consistently, not momentarily.
Disabled-led from top to bottom
a) Representation throughout the industry
b) Dedicated and paid positions to advise
(Don’t just use disabled people on your team with other roles)
Journey to accessibility
It is never finished and is always needed, whatever you consider your provision is. Your accessibility should be holistic, adaptable and integrated.
Prevention over cure
Raise the baseline
Not an afterthought
Cultural Change
Options for everyone
An accessible world is better for everyone!
Bring our ethos of care, community, connectedness etc. to the industry and our companies, not just our participants.
Attitude is key.
Value disabled people and their creativity the same as abled people. We are not “inspirational”; we are not automatically worse/amateurish Our art is not of higher/lower quality.
Disability may inform our art, but it doesn’t define it.
We don’t need a separate category. We are artists.
Learn and understand the social model of disability, and integrate this into practice.
Make the Change
It was important to us that we took a moment to bring our Empowered cohorts together to honour the work they had done during the programme. We wanted to hold space to reflect, open up new conversations and bring new voices to the table, celebrate, express, and set ambitions, aspirations and visions for a better future.
Photography by Karol Wyszynski
Commissioned works
To help forge a legacy for our Empowered programme, we commissioned artists from our Empowered cohorts to create work in response to the theme of ‘change’, and their experiences on the Empowered programme. This culminated in the sharing of work from a range of art forms at our Make the Change event and included film, poetry, spoken word, audio, performance, print, and visual arts.
Here are the works we commissioned.
Held by the Wind
Film, 5 mins 25 seconds
Created and performed by:
Chris Cambell, Anas Data, Ayesha Fazal, Hameed Khan, Tammy Tsang
Creative Director: Nadia Emam
Movement Director: Jennifer Nevin
Camera and edit: Jack King
Produced and Project Managed by:
Nicole Joseph, Frances Murphy, Sonia Sandhu, Andrew Wilson
Commissioned by: Bradford Producing Hub
With thanks to: Kala Sangam and Displace Yourself Theatre
Frankenstein's Monstera, Charlie Myers
Found organic/living materials accompanied by film (5 mins 40 seconds)
Charlie’s work involves puppets based on non-binary/genderless mythological beings that have been edited into the binary roles of man or woman (he/him or she/her) to fit into a western framework by European colonists. They are made of organic/living materials which makes them technically alive. The work is accompanied by a short film.
Missing her accompanied by a performance of written by her on her for her, Jiayi Chen
Missing Her is a piece about foot binding. It is also a satire towards “put yourself in my place”. How many women are suffering from some weird standard and losing their real selves? Why do women have to sacrifice themselves for others’ sake? The “Walk of Fame” in Hollywood is deemed a symbol of success but the great efforts and numerous failures are often ignored.
The performance interaction is set to let the audience feel the spray of flashy success.
Lunar Garden, Katie Shepherd
Mixed media
Lunar Garden is about Katie’s growth as an artist through the spirit of her garden. This holistic growth includes using new media and resources, alongside using her creative practice to ground herself through some big life changes. Seed packets represent her vision for regenerative project ideas and areas of working.
Untitled, Sophie Powell
Risographed prints on paper
Sophie’s prints explore change through repetition and the tiny imperfections which nudge change in unexpected directions. Drawings of repeated push-ups over typed motivational phrases, capture determination to reach the end of the reps and the page. The practice itself is the change, each push-up adds to the feeling of confidence in her changing body, nudging it towards a stronger version of itself.
Transition, Uzma Kazi
Acrylic paint on foamboard
Uzma’s work uses a playful process to explore themes around her intersectional identities including race, gender, faith amongst others.
Uzma found liberation through inviting a free-flow state exploring mark-making and colour play. Uzma was inspired by a quote she discovered when practising art at school.
'I feel most deeply that I have done something creative when I have thrown myself wholeheartedly into a task and fought it through unstintingly to its conclusion and thus have won in the struggle to enlarge myself. It is a matter of sweat and tears. The creative life demands constant effort to improve one's thoughts and actions. Perhaps the dynamism involved in effort is the important thing'
