18.11.2023, Heizhaus, Uferstudios, Berlin Wedding
A workshop organized by Access Point Tanz and AG Work Culture, ZTB e.V.
Documentation by Beatrix Joyce
One by one the participants of the workshop “Dismantling Barriers for a Better Work Culture” arrived at Heizhaus, Uferstudios. The workshop had been announced as an opportunity to discuss the barriers we face in the dance field and how we could dismantle them, as well as how we could improve our work culture in general. As I walked through the yard, a young, female-appearing person with big, brown eyes asked me where the workshop would be. I pointed the way, she nodded, swiftly following after me in anticipation. We entered the Heizhaus studio and were immediately welcomed by Rike, Olympia, Enrico (from AG Work Culture) and Elena (from Access Point Tanz). They had arranged the studio so it felt cosy; bean bags and pillows dotted the floor, a coat hanger in the corner collected coats, hats and scarves, soft lighting filtered into the room from the studio’s high windows. The heating was on. The room buzzed with new arrivals, people greeting each other, drinking coffee and settling down in the bean bag landscape.
Although most of us had never met before, a sense of a temporary community soon started to form. During an introduction round, each of the twenty-or-so participants was offered a moment to speak about themselves, their background and their experience with barriers in the field of dance and “Tanzvermittlung”. The majority of the group consisted of choreographers, dancers and performers, as well as dramaturges and dance scholars. A few people worked in loosely related fields such as higher education, administration and cultural production. Among our group of participants with diverse backgrounds and expertise, an array of concerns soon emerged, among which the current social climate and the relevance of dance within it. Attention was drawn to the complications and resources needed to make dance accessible, the grim future view of the Berlin funding structures for dance and the slowness of transformation within institutions. The mood was bleak, mirroring the current sociopolitical concerns in Berlin, and, well, in the world at large. It felt like we came to an unspoken consensus that we are facing hard times, and we are all feeling it.
However, amidst expressions of begrudging realities, positivity also found its way to the surface. Participants reported about the joys and rewards of seeking out encounters and connections with local communities, and about projects that sat at the intersection of art and society that brought invigorating results and hope for the future. There was much support and empathy for each other’s experiences through attentive listening and an engaged presence from all those in the room. Questions circled the space and brought our attention to the matters at hand; what is the social relevance of dance and how is it clashing with the current social reality? How come dance mediation/”Tanzvermittlung” is not valued as highly as ‘high’ artforms? How to be transparent about structural problems that affect some more than others? What forms of access are needed and who else could dance seek to address?
What is access?
For Kathy-Ann Tan, the founder of Mental Health Art Space (MHAS) in Berlin Charlottenburg, the term ‘access’, as well as the terms ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusivity’, may mean different things to different people as definitions are slippery. In a lecture teeming with references to further programmes in for example Canada, as well as personal examples, Kathy-Ann took us through how principles of accessibility can be understood, from a decolonial and intersectional perspective. Kathy-Ann talked about the importance of trust, respect and validation of different experiences, of embodied learning and normalcy as a continuum. They also spoke about acting from a place of joy and bringing more grace into institutional (as well as grassroots) structures.
An important point about access for Kathy-Ann is to avoid putting pressure on those who have specific access requirements. Rather, it should be the institution that does the work to improve access. There are many simple things curators can think about in order to make their projects or spaces more accessible. Naturally, this comes hand in hand with being self-reflexive of your positionality and what powers and responsibilities you hold. This is a core notion within decolonial practices: how can we become aware of other forms of knowledge and value them in equal measure without being extractive? How can we acknowledge our own position and privileges? If we can make shifts in our own thinking, we can make shifts in institutional thinking. Kathy-Ann sees potential in moving what they call the ‘soft architectures’ of institutions: we can tweak the system by speaking up against unjust structures and holding institutions accountable for the way they invite (or don’t invite) the public in.
What else is access?
Angela Alves, as a crip artist and performer, showed us another form of what access could mean, one that sits outside of language. In an easy-going, practical workshop, she brought us to a meditative space. First, we were asked to simply look around and observe the room we were in. We then imagined ourselves in different parts of the room, performing actions or just being there. We then reorganised ourselves in comfy positions, lying on the bean bags or the mattresses. With the lights dimmed, Angela took us through a guided meditation, contemplating notions of rest, boundaries and symptoms of illness. She helped us attune to our own individual needs by looking inwards and sensing what it might feel like to be able to express them. She brought us to a state of embodiment which quite soon transformed into empowerment: “I am here and I rest in order to own my need to rest”. Simple, but radical. And rebellious. I could feel the agency growing in my body, and with it, joy.
In a world so focused on language, especially within the institutional or bureaucratic structures that determine the professional work sphere in the arts, it is easy to forget the importance of our senses. Our experience of the world, luckily, is not limited to language – and yet, which language you speak, how it is spoken, which words you use may all create barriers. These are invisible for some, unsurmountable for others. Angela’s workshop helped us take a step back and let language be a simple presence, like an accomplice when completing a task. Take the example of sailing: you might receive instructions about where to go, but you direct the sails. Or is it the wind that is directing them? By blurring the borders between the inside and the outside, our bodies and our environment, we enter a space that simultaneously simplifies and complexifies communication, opening up to forms of togetherness, presence and access that are not dependent on or dominated by language.
And so where does access begin?
Olympia Bukkakis and Rike Flämig dove into the question where forms of access might come from by encroaching the topic of class. In thinking about work, the history of work, what is work, which political systems (communist, capitalist) organise work in which ways, they considered access though a socio-political lens. And, as we are all democratic members of the systems that govern us and our (working) lives, they immediately opened up the discussion to the group: what is your experience of class? What does it mean to be part of a certain class or work culture and how has your upbringing, environment, material conditions and principles of work shaped your experience, and/or life choices? In smaller groups we reflected on these questions, sharing our understandings and financial limitations that shape our working lives and how our countries and social environments influenced our choices. I found myself thinking: is this a cultural exchange, or the first steps towards a revolution? It’s impossible to say. But when our time was up, our discussions were long from finished. May the discourse continue.
Working out the access
At the end of the day, it felt like we had only scratched the surface of what access can and should mean, and how barriers for a better work culture could be dismantled. Across the workshops and speakers, it seemed clear that there is an underlying approach that accompanies access: care. In caring for the space, for each other, for inclusivity in its abstraction, we can make the first steps towards accessible programmes and projects in the dance field. This was clearly a part of the DNA of the workshop; from the wonderful home-made lunch Enrico L’Abbate cooked for the entire group to the offering of preferred pronouns and practical and logistical access needs such as ramps, toilets and the day’s schedule, not to mention the stress objects Rike handed out for us to fidget with, each element of the workshop was thought through and cared for. Its starting point came from warmth and hospitality, which ultimately, is what leads to the possibility to maintain sustainable, long-term practices of accessibility. Perhaps the most convincing, least tangible definition of access came from the ‘in-between the lines’ of the workshop; smiles, brief chats between participants, moments of release and comfort in an open and safe space. These are the kind of conditions that bring access into practice, into embodiment. It is not only a way of thinking, it is a way of doing, a way of being. Utopian, perhaps, but with the taste of Enrico’s Sicilian chestnut-flour cookies still fresh in my memory, it didn’t feel so far away.
Plain language
This is a text that describes and documents the workshop “Dismantling Barriers for a Better Work Culture” that took place at Heizhaus, Uferstudios, Berlin Wedding on 18.11.2023.
The text is written from the perspective of Beatrix Joyce, who attended the workshop in person.
She describes a cosy atmosphere in the Heizhaus studio. There were bean bags and pillows to sit on and the hosts (Rike, Olympia, Enrico and Elena) provided a warm welcoming.
There were about 20 participants. They introduced themselves and described their backgrounds, professions, and interest in the topic of access in the dance field.
The participants expressed their current concerns about working in the dance field, as the scene is facing many struggles. They listened to each other attentively. It felt supportive.
The topic of access in dance includes many questions: Who has access to dance? What are the barriers that make dance less accessible? In what ways can we overcome these barriers? What resources are needed?
Kathy-Ann Tan is the founder of Mental Health Art Space (MHAS) in Berlin Charlottenburg. Kathy-Ann gave a talk, accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation, in which they spoke about access from a decolonial and intersectional perspective. They emphasised the importance of trust, respect and the validation of different experiences. Kathy-Ann advocated for institutions and organisations to take over the work of dismantling barriers that otherwise individuals may be faced with.
Angela Alves is a crip artist and performer. She took the participants through a guided meditation in which they reflected on the notions of rest, boundaries and symptoms of illness. By connecting them to their bodies and senses, she helped them find a sense of empowerment and reminded them of how it is possible to dismantle barriers in other ways than through language.
Olympia Bukkakis and Rike Flämig talked with the participants about class. They opened up discussions on upbringing, environment and the economic and material conditions and limitations that determine our choices in our working lives. The discussions were highly engaging and continued afterwards.
After the day’s activities and inspirational talks, Beatrix Joyce reflects on the care that was put into the workshop’s curation. She concludes that care is a fundamental part of bringing access needs into practice and notes how the workshop was shaped from a place of warmth and care.
Relevant links
Kathy-Ann Tan
- Mental Health Art Space (MHAS)
- Carmen Papalia (Canadian artist)
- Bodies in Translation, Canadian activist art project
- “Access Anthology” Booklet
- “Cripping the arts” Access Guide
Angela Alves
AG Work Culture
Beatrix Joyce (UK/NL) is a dance artist and dance writer based in Berlin. She trained in Contemporary Dance at Laban, London and graduated with an MA in Sociology from Goldsmiths University in 2016. She works across the domains of dance, writing and sound and creates site-specific, intermedia and immersive performances.