Q&A with Jason Wilsher-Mills
Lynne Brackley talks to Jason about his work with SEND settings and disabled people, and how technology has empowered him to realise his dream of becoming an artist
A unique online celebration of creativity with SEND settings and disabled-led organisations
From 29 June to 03 July 2020 we opened the virtual doors of I Am At Home Festival for a week of online celebration, sharing and discussion.
Browse the online festival content and find out more below.
On 24 March 2020, over 300 students and staff from London SEND schools were due to be joining at Tate Modern for the fourth I Am At Tate Exchange Festival – our yearly celebration empowering D/deaf, disabled and neurodiverse young people to explore their creativity.
Over the past four years, the festival has provided a platform for young people to showcase their talents, leadership, ideas and opinions. However, this year, due to COVID-19, the Tate Modern closed its doors, and, sadly, the festival was postponed.
Taking the theme of ‘Power’ as inspiration, schools, artists and the Festival Assistants had been exploring the power of choice, music, love and so much more in preparation for the festival. So, continuing in this vein, we harnessed the power to adapt, and were happy to open the virtual doors to the first ever I Am At Home Festival!
Throughout the week we shared content from the teachers, artists and young people who were due to be joining us at the Tate, including blogs written by artists and SEN teachers, virtual events with disabled-led cultural organisations, along with videos, resources and more.
In 2019, we welcomed over 300 D/deaf, disabled and neurodiverse young people and 3,000 visitors to I Am At Tate Exchange Festival. For many of the young people, the festival was the first time they'd ever visited Tate Modern. This is not unusual – young people with additional needs still face many barriers when accessing cultural spaces in London. Through I Am At Tate Exchange Festival, we hope to provide a model for cultural organisations to address issues around accessibility, representation and inclusion.
While sadly the festival could not go ahead as planned this year, we were pleased to still be able to share much of the fantastic work our SEND Network, partner organisations and artist practitioners had created for this year's festival. We hope that by providing an online platform for conversation and sharing, we can help demonstrate how easy it is to create work which is accessible and inclusive, and caters to young people of all abilities.
Working with A New Direction is a truly transformative experience in so many ways for us. We have changed our working practices at Tate Exchange and throughout the building as a direct result of our collaboration with them, and we are on a valued continual learning journey. The work we see them do here at Tate Exchange is transformative in its own right – this is tangible as soon as you step into the room - and their programme with us is an annual highlight. Each year builds upon the previous one and we look forward to many years to come.
Cara Courage, Head of Tate Exchange
Spending time at A New Direction's I Am Festival impressed on me what a truly wonderful initiative it is. Over the past three years its team have built something which is equal parts inspirational, educational, impactful and joyful, while still remaining inclusive and accessible for all. Seeing so many young people - many of whom who had not been to Tate before - having the time of their lives has been such an amazing and humbling experience. In a time where increasing numbers of students with SEND are being forgotten, projects like the I Am Festival are only becoming more vital, and we at Tate are immensely proud to play our part in it.
Frances Morris, Tate Modern Director
Lynne Brackley talks to Jason about his work with SEND settings and disabled people, and how technology has empowered him to realise his dream of becoming an artist
Drama teacher & SEND Network member Tom Underwood shares some arts and culture resources specifically helpful with home learning for D/deaf, disabled and neurodiverse young people
Art teacher Jonathan Cassels tells us about his experience of teaching during lockdown at a special school, and shares his top tips for teachers
Filmmaker & cross-arts facilitator Justin Allder specialises in working with at-risk and vulnerable young people, as well as those with special educational needs. Here he shares some accessible photography activities to try at home
As part of I Am Festival, a number of schools were partnered with disabled & non-disabled artists. Creative Content Producer, Lynne Brackley, takes us through some of the work they did together
Artist Justin Allder writes about his work for I Am at Tate Exchange Festival creating filmed sensory portraits with two SEND settings
Jenny Sealy from Graeae theatre takes us through a session she ran with Sixth Form students at Highshore School exploring the theme of 'power'
Digital artist Jason Wilsher-Mills tells us more about the workshops he ran with two schools as part of I Am Festival, where students came up with their own artistic creations using iPads
Earlier this year, nine young adults who identify as disabled joined us on a work placement as part of I Am Festival
Enjoy a bank of resources uploaded to LookUp by a range of arts and cultural organisations - all accessible for SEND students
Corali Dance offer some fun ways to get creative at home. Use objects to inspire movement making, or make a dance from specific shadow shapes.
Step-by-step instructions to make a face collage using old magazines and basic equipment. Created by Beata Chryszczanowicz, The Sybil Elgar School
Videos created by Jack Tizard school staff are posted daily on topics ranging from cookery, sensory art, music and storytelling
Artist Jason Wilsher-Mills challenges you to design a character for his new VR Video Game
Justin Allder takes us through a step by step guide of how to create digital and physical photo montages. Perfect for young people with an interest in photography and collage
Flute Theatre have created a range of games based on their Pericles production, designed for autistic individuals and their families
Molly Bertrand, one of our SEND Network teachers, has created a range of fun videos for primary-aged children. Can you guess what's in Molly's suitcase...?
Watergate School were inspired by Antony Gormley's work 'Field' to create their own clay figures. Lead Teacher for Creative Learning, Molly Bertrand, takes us through a step by step guide to create your own
Highlights of a conversation detailing Corali & Garratt Park School's collaboration on a project which aimed to test new ways of working between SEND settings and cultural organisations
Tom Underwood from Garratt Park School shows us some of the work his students had prepared for a performance at Tate Modern this year, along with some of the educational tools he uses when working with students with autism
Join Andria and Nicole from Corali for a dance workshop themed around the Power of Kindness
DJ has been a familiar face at I Am Festival over the last four years, so it's great to be able to feature his work as part of I Am At Home Festival! Join him and Andria for a piece of improvised dance
Stream a spellbinding performance by Kick Up – Corali's youth company
Graeae Theatre's young artists share some creative activities and advice for D/deaf, disabled and neurodiverse students on how to stay positive and powerful during this tricky lockdown period
Part gig, part play, Reasons To Be Cheerful tells a coming of age tale that rejoices in the infectious and enduring music of Ian Dury. Now streaming in its entirety for free
An introduction to the work of Jason Wilsher-Mills, one of the artists we've been working with as part of I Am Festival
This programme is featured as part of our 2020 Review. Click the button below to see our highlights from across the year.