I recently sat down with Mindy Lloyd, the country director
of Epic Arts, a London-based non-profit and learned more about what this
organization is up to here in China.
Q: What is the story is the story behind Epic Arts?
A: The idea for Epic Arts first started when three friends were
attending the University of Edinburgh. Each of the three specialized in a
different area of the arts – theatre, dance, and visual arts. They wanted to
use their creative talents to start an organization, and decided over time that their common
vision was to bring people with and without disabilities
together through the arts. After many years of diligently putting away small amounts
of their savings, they made their first trip to an orphanage in Nanning, China
where they taught a group of orphans with disabilities how to dance. At the end
of their trip, the group put on a dance performance for the city of Nanning.
Since then, Epic has come back to China at least one to two times a year for
the past 11 years!
Epic Arts believes in a world where Every Person Counts (Epic)
and where people with disabilities are valued, accepted and respected. We
employ teams to run workshops, training programs and create performances. Epic
promotes integration of people of all abilities and disabilities through the
arts as a form of expression, transformation and empowerment. It celebrates the
creative potential of those with whom we work.
Q: Can you briefly
describe the current culture and environment for those with disabilities in
China? Why was it important to bring Epic to China?
A: According
to Handicap International, 6% (80 million) of China’s total population lives with
a disability. Of this number, only 2% have access to basic health services, and
80% are unemployed. Among disabled children, only 2% go to school. Many are
abandoned and placed in orphanages.
At
Epic, our goal is to encourage acceptance and inclusion through the arts and creative
exploration.
The
mother of an autistic son in Beijing said this about our work:
Chinaʼs approach to children with disabilities is to
train them into acting more “normal.” My child is autistic, and in getting to
know him over the years, his mannerisms are not “abnormal,” they are just
different. We need an organization like Epic Arts to exist in China because
your approach is about seeing the value in each individual, and helping them
achieve creative self-expression. This is invaluable.
In a
society where it is oftentimes shameful to have a disability, we hope to foster
understanding and raise awareness of the common humanity people with and
without disabilities have through our workshops, trainings and performances.
Through the arts, we hope to enable people to develop new creative skills and
build self-confidence.
Q: What type of
projects and programs have you been sponsoring in China? What have the outcomes
been like?
A: Since setting up the
China branch in March this year, we have worked with partners on three
different projects. In June, two of our dance practitioners delivered a
weeklong dance workshop at the Pengcheng Special Education School, a non-profit
school for children with learning disabilities in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province. The school has become known in China for its unusual ability to
make a difference in the lives and development of children with learning
disabilities who would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend school
because of their “extremely low I.Q.”
We also ran a two-day music and movement workshop for QingCongQuan (QCQ)
Autistic Training Center in Shanghai. All 45 children in the school
participated in the event and together, they explored movement, sounds,
instruments, and working with others. The music teacher said, “I have learned a
lot from Epic in these past few days, and hope that I will be able to
incorporate some of these new ideas into my daily classes. I also would hope
that Epic could come back to QCQ in the future and perhaps offer even more
training for our teachers.”
Our last project this
summer was with the esteemed UK disability music
charity Heart ‘n Soul. Epic was charged with helping run the China leg of their
ambitious seven-country project, the Dean Rodney Singers Project (DRS). The
project sought to create 24 songs and corresponding music videos, all over
iPads and the Internet. Sponsored by the British Arts Council, DRS was made a
part of the Paralympic Games in London 2012. Working with 72 artists from
around the world, Epic helped select the global team’s ten Chinese dancers and
musicians, with and without disabilities. During the London team’s two-day
visit, the China Director helped host and facilitate integrated workshops. DRS
was the first integrated disability arts project that most all of the Chinese
artists had ever experienced.
Several
new opportunities for partnership have surfaced in the past few months. Our
past partners have also expressed an interest in continuing to work with Epic
in the future.
Q: Is your approach in China different than in the other branches
in the UK and Cambodia?
A: Although
our vision and mission remain the same, our approach in China is inevitably different
from our other branches because of the differences in cultures. In the past few
months, we have discovered that the best way to work in China is to come
alongside schools and community groups or other registered non-profits who are
already helping those with disabilities. We offer them support in what it looks
like to build out inclusive programming.
Since
coming to China eleven years ago on our first visit, one of the most frequently
asked questions we have received is whether or not we might be able to train
the teachers at the organizations and schools in which we work. In response, we
have been building out a teacher-training program, with the view of offering
the staff of schools and organizations sessions that equip them with creative,
inclusive methods.
Q: What are your goals for the future?
A: We
hope to continue building upon partnerships with the people who might benefit
from our services. Also, an ambitious goal we have here in China is to one day
start an integrated dance company for people with and without disabilities
Q: What are Epic’s needs in China right now?
A: Our most immediate
need right now is with regards to a pilot dance intensive we are running in
Beijing. Two of Epic’s freelance dancers also run a dance workshop every week at
the Huiling Community Center, a center that tends to a broad spectrum of needs
for those with disabilities.
Through their work at
Huiling, we have identified ten dancers with learning and sensory disabilities
who would benefit from a more intensive dance program to build upon their
skills, with the view of taking them to the next level in dance.
Epic now seeks to
offer these particularly talented students an intensive eight-week program.
Currently, we are short just 3,000RMB (approximately 500USD). The program begins
in November 2012 and concludes with a big performance at a gallery in the 798
art district in Beijing. We are also setting out to bring at least two of the
dancers to Shanghai for a second performance.
Our long-term goal is
to grow this pilot into a sustainable program, or perhaps even an integrated
dance company.
* * * *
Thank you Mindy for taking the time to talk to SVG about the
great work Epic Arts is doing in China! (Mindy is expecting and we caught her just
before her maternity leave. We wish you all the best in your next chapter!) We
will check back in with Epic Arts as they grow and serve China.
If you would like to donate to Epic Arts China and support
their dance intensive in Beijing, please click on the following link: http://www.justgiving.com/epicarts/Donate
For more information, please feel free to contact us at
info@socialventuregroup.com
PHOTOS OF THE JOINT COLLABERATION BETWEEN EPIC ARTS & DEAN RODNEY SINGERS.
