We are delighted to announce that GenPol will partner with the University Women In the Arts, a mentoring scheme to help improve women’s transition from studying the arts to working in the arts, on an exciting new project for 2018 – 2019. This twelve-month study aims to help female arts student, as well as organisations that support them, to deal with, tackle and help eradicate abuse, bullying and harassment within the industry.
Read more about it in this piece by Rachel Hall for The Guardian.
As pointed out by Jennifer Tuckett, Director of University Women in the Arts, “Research conducted as part of recent discussions around abuse in the arts has shown that it is often those at the start of their careers who are affected by abuse. We hope our 12 month project will allow us to provide a platform for female arts students to share their views and experiences of abuse, bullying and harassment, as well as providing a toolkit in partnership with GenPol to help teachers at school and university level to equip their students to deal with this issue and help tackle and eradicate bullying, abuse and harassment in the arts. In terms of equipping the next generation going into the arts, education has a huge role to play in tackling this issue”.
Our CEO Dr Lilia Giugni added: “As shown by GenPol’s latest report, over 50 million European women have experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence in their lifetimes, and education is crucial to prevent these abuses. While the #metoo campaign has made the world aware of the extent of gender-based violence, especially within the art industry, we now need to move the debate forward and talk solutions. Wonderful resources for effective education in this area already exist, and we do not need to reinvent the wheel. However, we do need outlets and network to exchange good practices, and more funding for research in this area. Our collaboration with the University of Women in the Arts is an exciting step forward in this direction”.
The project begins with a call out to female arts students studying at universities across the UK or who have graduated in the last two years to submit work inspired by their views and experiences of abuse, either in the arts or more generally. Chosen submissions will be published in a book to provide a platform for female arts students views and experiences, alongside a tooklit for use by teachers at school and university level or for use by students on their own.
The project will be advised by Professor Pamela Burnard, Professor of Arts, Creativities and Education at the University of Cambridge and one of the world’s leading experts on arts education. Co-editors of the book to be published as a result of the project include Jingan Young, who recently edited Foreign Goods,a book of work by British East Asian playwrights published by Oberon Books, and Titilola Dawudu, Learning and Participation Manager at the Ovalhouse Theatre who was recently selected for the Artistic Director Leadership Programme’s “Leaders of Tomorrow” scheme.
[photo credits: Malaika Shaw was a winner of the PRS Foundation’s Women Make Music fund. Photograph: PRS Foundation]
