Art has the power to bring people together, break down barriers and lend a voice to the marginalized.

Giving a voice to the periphery, inclusive art is a movement that is gaining momentum in the art world. More and more artists, curators and galleries recognize the importance of representation and diversity in their work, exploring how artists are using their medium to challenge stereotypes, subvert traditional power dynamics and create a more equitable and diverse art world for all. From the streets of New York City to the galleries of Paris, inclusive art is making its mark and inspiring change around the globe.

Within this framework, the British Council is organizing the accessible arts festival "Unlimited Forum" between Feb. 2-4 in Istanbul. While showcasing works from disabled artists, cultural professionals and art institutions from Türkiye, the U.K. and the wider European region, the festival will also aim at improving the mindsets of arts and culture professionals about accessibility and diversity to create a wider impact on the perception of inclusive arts in society, changing the world one brushstroke at a time.

The program of the three-day festival, to be held at Yapı Kredi Bomontiada and its vicinity, will range from new performances and panels by local and international speakers to workshops and concerts. The festival will be free of charge and all events will include simultaneous English-Turkish translation, sign language interpretation and live captioning.

Before the commencement of the festival, Daily Sabah had a chance to interview British Council Türkiye Arts Manager and Regional Equality, Diversity and Inclusion head Su Başbuğu, artist and Art Accessibility Consultant Eser Epözdemir and founder of the ARADA Foundation Serkan Bozkurt regarding the concept of the festival.

Free art

To start with, it is crucial to grasp the meaning of the "inclusive art" concept as Eser Epözdemir elaborated: "Today, when we say inclusive art, we are talking about applications that go together with accessibility. For example, the necessity of using Turkish sign language and the Turkish Braille alphabet in museums, the availability of voice guidance in public transport, the ability to ride with a guide dog, etc. Think about the issues a parent with a baby and a stroller can experience while trying to move freely on the streets, the issues discussed when talking about access equality are actually within the same scope in this sense. When it comes to inclusiveness, the main problem is that individuals, regardless of their characteristics, can benefit from their vital rights without being exposed to discrimination and exclusion, with the necessary regulations."

Epözdemir's approach to inclusive art encompasses two dimensions. "First, from a point of view of gender, language, religion, race, etc. Examples can be multiplied. Providing an environment and content where every individual can independently experience concerts, festivals, exhibitions, theater productions, cinemas, performances, dance, operas and all forms of performance on equal terms with everyone. Secondly, enabling all individuals to have an art education and providing space, visibility and incentives if they choose to practice it as a profession," she said.

"Inclusiveness of art, like all-inclusive content, is possible by giving up the prejudice and visible and invisible discrimination that automatically assumes a person cannot do something due to their physical, personal and ethnic characteristics. A blind dancer or a deaf actor is possible. When fundamental rights are based on diversity, equality, inclusiveness, and open minds, anything is possible. Inclusive art content and practices are also directly related to individuals' right to access culture. When we talk about individuals who are disabled within the scope of the right to access culture, places, content and all practices should be made suitable for individuals with cognitive differences, orthopedic differences, blind/low-sighted, and deaf/hearing impaired individuals. These regulations include issues such as public transport, urban structure, ticket mechanisms, and inclusive and accessible content of all offered content," she added.

"We are all aware of the need to prioritize emergencies such as health, culture, education and global warming. The perspectives of those who form society and those who shape society should be rights-based. What is needed in society and what is invested in, how should the emergencies be shaped, what do sociological observations and research say or are they made for needs? We should all ask these questions. Although inclusivity and accessibility are shaped in line with the specific needs of each geography, the basic approach is creating space for individual existence and acting based on rights with real needs," she elaborated.

"Discrimination in such discourse and thought toward everyone, disabled or not, will disappear if we act based on rights. Therefore, it will be possible to create a system that thinks and acts by including individuals of all characteristics. While there is only one world, one life, and the way the world works, the solutions are actually very simple. Rather than just talking about this 'striking' situation, sharing issues on social media, and continuing with daily life, we need to start asking questions to ourselves, to rule-makers and those running the system, making demands on inclusivity and accessibility, questioning the functionality and operability of content of laws enacted as citizens, and demand their implementation. These will allow us to lead our lives in a healthier manner," she added.

'Art for all'

Serkan Bozkurt attempts to lead the way for his inclusive performance projects. "I think we have a general talent capacity, and I see frustrations as a change in the flow of talent. Our way of self-expression, which is disabled in one place, can be opened more in another direction. Sometimes, contrary to what is thought, obstacles can give us more motivation to use our other senses or our limited capacity better and to challenge ourselves. As long as the person can establish a relationship with an area of art they want, all obstacles disappear. Art is inclusive as long as we do not surround ourselves with obstructive attitudes, spaces that prevent access to art, behaviors, and violent discourse from families and the society," he said.

"Barrier-free art is an emerging concept. Art that is not inclusive can create a barrier. Even the construction of venues and the preparation of screenings without considering the transportation and communication of disabled individuals creates a great obstacle. It can be very challenging for those who face many obstacles in daily life, from withdrawing money at the bank to embarking upon a bus, as well as being an artist or spectator, in terms of clinging to life and socializing. Art spaces should be accessible, ramps should be considered, and descriptions should be arranged. It seems like it will take a long time, but at least we are making a way. I hope that more attention will be paid to disabled individuals, to remove the obstacles and to involve them in decision-making and implementation. The projects should continue being supported, and the project should find collaborators and financially sustainable support to increase visibility and motivate disabled people in the field of art. Awareness training should be imparted in academies and art institutions on accessible and inclusive art," he added.

Most of the time, society tends to approach these individuals with compassion. Yet, according to Epözdemir: "Like every citizen, the disabled individual should be able to progress by choosing a professional field in line with their education, orientation, and abilities. As an individual who does not personally experience disability and who researches and produces in the field, I can say very clearly that they are uncomfortable with situations of 'being heroic' or 'exposed to pity, extreme compassion' that disabled people frequently encounter. Solidarity is also a form of discrimination. I think that we will change this mindset when we can live in a world where every citizen is accepted as an individual rather than by definitions of disabled and non-disabled.

"The effect created by the various uses of the word disabled is the point of view that puts disabled people in the position of hero/victim because society does not see the disability of the disabled person or does not know how to approach it. Therefore, it is ideologically more correct to use and place the words 'accessible, inclusive' art. When we talk about spaces that are designed holistically according to universal design principles in the field of art, or in general, and the design is applied this way, those 'obstacles' will already be removed. The obstacles here are prejudices, misunderstood truths, and problems arising from not acting on user experience," she noted.

Unlimited Forum

Su Başbuğu on the other hand elaborated on the details of the three-day festival.

"We did our best to diversify the forum’s program both in terms of art forms and also trying to engage a diverse group of art practitioners. There will be performances, talks, workshops, music and much more. This forum is not only about bringing people together to experience disability arts but also to start talking and thinking about changing our daily and professional practices to be more inclusive. We want to ignite this conversation within the arts and culture sector. This is the main inspiration for the festival: Changing mindsets. We believe in the possibility to create platforms that would be inclusive, accessible and diverse. This festival is an attempt to showcase it and disability arts is a way to make it happen," she said.

"We will open the festival with one of the most prominent U.K. disabled art practitioners: TourettesHero, Jess Thom. I had the opportunity to see her show back in 2015 and have been carrying the need to share it with audiences in Türkiye. She is inspiring, funny and blunt. Her keynote will be followed by the world premiere of 'Urgent!' A new performance piece by ARADA choreographed by Serkan Bozkurt. The performers are early career disabled artists. It focuses on the social exclusion experiences of disabled people and their reflection on our daily communication practices. We hope this work will be picked by national and international promoters and will reach more audiences," she added.

"On the second day, Feb. 3, the day program focuses more on talks and networking. We have two panels, one based on the great work of institutions in Türkiye trying to answer the million-dollar question: 'What is Access to Culture?'; and the second panel 'Accessible Arts: Is it a Myth?' hosting international speakers who will share experiences of making performances more inclusive," she said.

The festival also attempted to be inclusive for all, coherent with its main theme.

"Our motto is ‘Arts for All.’ This is not only about adding ramps but also that we need to develop and implement inclusive content while making it accessible. In terms of content, we tried to include as many stakeholders in the program as possible, both old and new ones. We will listen to stories from Istanbul, Ankara, Tbilisi, Kyiv, London and Belgrade. We will showcase new works from emerging artists. We have developed a youth training program where we collaborate with the Yücel Culture Foundation on the training of 15 university students on inclusion, disability theory, accessibility and body perception. Those students will work as festival volunteers, and we hope they will also implement the lessons into action in their future professional and personal lives," she said.