Where Does The Violence Go?
Thinking about inclusivity in the arts might not be necessary for us all. However, there is a large portion of the public, especially those within creative industries, that strive to create fairer spaces for artistic expression - safely and in a considered way. For example, Saskia Horton (she/they), is a London-based multidisciplinary artist, dancer and spoken word performer, who has a story about the need for more inclusive thinking within the arts sector.
After becoming chronically ill, Saskia wasn’t able to fulfil their creative practice in the same way anymore. This led to a period of deep reflection about the industry and how it could be even more accessible for creative people. In addition to this, Saskia’s personal experiences as a queer, non-binary creator of mixed heritage also shaped their way of seeing the importance for art environments to offer greater compassion, understanding and accessibility.
But how can the creative industry become more accessible? Through taking the time to listen to the experiences that others are going through and offering collective empathy, even when the subject matter doesn’t directly impact you. This is the first stepping stone to closing the gap between opportunities that are available for one and other. Change doesn’t take place over night, but with more and more conversations emerging which shine a light on the specific needs that individuals have when it comes to self-expression and communication, this can lead us towards a brighter and more accessible tomorrow.
Inspired by this very idea, Saskia developed an arts initiative titled: ‘Where does the violence go?’, funded by Arts Council England. Seeking to explore the cyclical violence perpetuated against queer, femme, black indigenous, people of colour, and disabled people in the arts. Despite seeing their creations as a vehicle for social change, there has often been a failure to critically examine ways in which power structures filter down into causes, communities and creative expression.
On Friday 3rd February 2023, ‘Where does the violence go?’, met audiences for the first time at Streatham Space Project, offering space for these ideas to be addressed through the mediums of dance, spoken word, and film. In my recent interview with Saskia, we delved deeper to unpack the core contexts surrounding the initiative.
Photography by Elena Cremona
INTERVIEW
Indera: Hi Saskia, it’s great to be connected with you today. I want to start off by asking you about your thoughts on utopia and what the creative industry could look and feel like from this perspective?
Saskia: To be honest, I don't really believe in utopias. In part, because I see myself as a pessimist and a realist. But also because I don't feel like focusing on imaginary utopian futures helps us navigate our problems now. My fight is to support marginalised individuals and communities in making art, rather than an industry that (currently) forces us to prioritise profit and product over people and process.
Indera: Outside the concept of utopia, do you feel that we are moving towards a world where there is more support for marginalised individuals and communities for create art?
Saskia: I think we're moving towards it in some ways, but at the same time we're moving extremely slowly and with a lot of undue ignorance. Obviously there has been an increase in conversations around systemic racism and sexism in the arts, even a small awareness raised around gender diversity. However, I'd argue that things like transphobia and ableism are rampant as well as micro-aggressions against people of colour and working class people in particular, which over time can erode one's self-esteem, drive and sense of wanting to participate in the industry all together. So honestly, I'd say people are trying, earnestly but there needs to be a lot more active de-education if we really want to create change.
Indera: During the development of your arts initiative 'Where does the violence go?', what was the main driving force for you throughout and where did this come from?
Saskia: The development of my initiative ‘Where does the violence go?’ was primarily driven by me becoming disabled at a young age in my career. I was 24 when I was diagnosed with CFS/ME after suffering for 3 years on and off. The question was drawn from trying to understand the violence that had been done to my body, through the process of my 7 year career. How to undo it? How to navigate it and why it had been caused in the first place? There are a lot of books, literature and people making waves in therapeutic and self-help circles surrounding this questions- such as- The Body Keeps the Score, The realm of the hungry ghost, and IFS informed trauma healing. But there is a distinct lack of nuance around these conversations within industries such as dance, music and art where we are specifically mining our trauma to create art or inspire healing. Yet we are not even informed or practiced in how to do that. A lot of the working environments I was a part of were exploitative and demanded me to sacrifice my mind, my body, my time and even my creative ideas over and over for very little pay. And the lack of support systems, in the wake of my illness, is so glaringly obvious I am almost mad I didn't notice it before.
Indera: Thank you for opening up about your personal experiences and offering book suggestions to us. I think there is definitely an interesting point when looking at the relationship between trauma and art, and how it is expressed and interacted with. How do you think artists can engage with their feelings safely, to be fully immerse themselves in their creative processes?
Saskia: I think there is no one size fits all narrative or way of engaging with one's inner darkness (and light) in a creative process, the same way I would never tell anyone how to find 'God' or tune into something bigger than themselves in their spirituality. True art-making as a process is intimate and treading a fine-line between safety and chaos. I think those that embody it well, have an engaged awareness of themselves in relation to others, and themselves, separate to others. I have to admit I'm not even that good at it yet! I still let my projections and fear cloud my judgement sometimes. But a few things that can help are: boundaries, a breath-work/mindfulness practice & space to be human. Boundaries are rules you set in the space before the process begins- the way things will run, shared values and ways of working. Breath-work is a centralising and grounding space for everyone to come together & focus - I use Qi gong, but there are many different avenues. And lastly, allowing people space to be human means abandoning the old capitalistic work-ethic of 'leave your coat (emotions) at the door'. Instead adopting flexibility and awareness that if we are going through life changes, turbulence it might spill over, and that we should be allowed to feel. To break. To be.
Continue reading...
Indera: For the industry to become even more accessible and inclusive, what three things do you think need to change or be put into effect?
Saskia:
De-education - we were all raised under a white-supremacist, cis-hetero-patriachy and therefore need to do A LOT of work to de-educate ourselves on unconscious bias and systems of oppression at work all around us as well as beginning to de-mystify privilege and power in specific and useful ways so we can unify and support each other.
A strong implementation of self-care in individuals and systems of care within communities - not self-care as in the economised self-help industry, but a deep, gentle, and continuous checking-in process with oneself. Caring about one's well-being, mental, physical and emotional health as well as giving space for ourselves to not be okay, to malfunction, to break. Systems of care will necessarily develop when enough people become aware of this need and the need to support others in this way, beyond themselves.
Funding and resources - diverted to communities in need, who otherwise would not have access to the arts (at all). Art is not be an 'elite sport'. The right to express and impress others with ideas through art should be a human right. However, systemic barriers keep people from lower-class backgrounds or from low-income families out of dance, music and art spaces. Therefore funding needs to be re-distributed, raised and petitioned from the government to be invested in the communities that need it most, to allow them to have access.
Indera: I like that. So as a mantra, inclusivity today is: ‘de-education, self-care, and wider accessibility to resources’. Hopefully we see more of this in the future! Is there a time where you feel most understood in your creative expression; can you tell us about it?
Saskia: When I feel most understood is definitely in 'jam spaces' or in spaces where I'm curating a 'meeting of minds' of artists from different disciplines. Multidisciplinary-ism is my strong suit, as well as a mind-set I roll with. And when I feel most safe, appreciated and heard is often when I'm meeting people from completely different specialisms, because we're meeting each other so fresh, and improvising or collaborating together, there has to be a total openness and awareness. A practice of care for yourself as well as care for the other person.
Indera: Collective-empathy feels like an underlying theme here, to be the most connected with ourselves and fellow creatives. It’s been a pleasure to hear your perspective on inclusivity and listen to your journey. I look forward to seeing more about your arts initiative in the future.
To finalise, in answer to the question ‘Where does the violence go?’, it plays an intrinsic part in how we look at inclusivity on a larger scale within the arts. Violence can affect all of us at some point in our lives. By looking closely at the movement of it — both on a personal basis, and more broadly on a collective scale, we can start to erase and reinstitute systems of work, creativity and collaboration, that encompass more togetherness and connectivity than we’ve experienced in the industry so far. After all, we are living in a world where trauma can circulate across generations, so it’s about being aware of what that trauma looks and feels like. How it shows up around us. Then thinking about how we can start to change it. How to be the difference, for the better. Adopting an inclusive mind is looking at our experiences from a dual perspective, with openness to changing, evolving and growing.
— Words by Indera Tamara