D&D Satellite: If inclusion is needed for excellence, why aren't enough people taking it seriously?

If inclusion is needed for excellence, why aren't enough people taking it seriously?

I am a member and volunteer of Underground Lights Community Theatre. I've always wanted to be involved in the arts but believed that kind of life was unattainable for someone like me. I felt painting and theatre were for posh people. Being a part of Underground Lights has changed my life. Although I’m not able to change events in my life, I have been able to change the way I perceive myself.  

We all - members, volunteers, staff and trustees at Underground Lights - have come together to create this invitation. We are frustrated by the lack of representation on mainstream platforms, lack of opportunities, and lack of genuinely co-created work. Everyone agrees these are “good” things but still there is so little meaningful change. It’s time to do something about it.

We are a small community theatre company and our members believe that without radical inclusion there is no excellence. But we don’t see that belief reflected by large parts of the arts sector. Why not? How can we change that? When we talk about “inclusion” and “excellence” what do we mean? How can we as a sector bring them closer together?  

This event is a space for us to come together, and navigate our way through some fundamental questions. The space and the discussion is open to all; we want to open it up to a wide and diverse range of arts practitioners, participants, decision-makers, creatives, audience members, all interested people who work within and outside the arts. 

Wherever you stand on this urgent issue we really hope you’ll join us because if any of this resonates with you in any way, we need your voice.

Underground Lights

To find out more about underground lights and our work, click here. We hope you will join us after the event for the opening night of our new performance Lights Up! Tickets coming soon!

These events are kindly supported by Arts Council England, Tudor Trust, and Belgrade Theatre.

To book your Tickets, please click here:  https://www.belgrade.co.uk/events/devoted-and-disgruntled/

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