Arts and Trauma GM Network launched by Contact in partnership with Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Manchester Art Gallery and University of Manchester

In partnership with Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Manchester Art Gallery, and The University of Manchester, Contact has been awarded funding by GMCVO to develop a Greater Manchester community of practice exploring arts and trauma over 2022 – the Arts and Trauma GM Network.

Trauma, and trauma responsiveness, are key concerns for the arts and cultural sector in Greater Manchester. Our organisations collaborate closely with artists who make work exploring trauma and its impact – including trauma arising from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), health conditions, racial trauma, and trauma-related to gender and sexuality. This work is shared with public audiences, many of whom may have their own lived experience that resonates. Meanwhile, our participatory arts projects can offer people time, space, and impetus to open up about distressing events in their own lives, as well as support in accessing key services and further help. Many of the participants we work with will have experienced ACEs. 

Within this landscape, there are examples of excellent practice but also examples of risky work. Artists may be encouraged to speak about their trauma without proper support put in place. Audiences can be exposed to distressing themes without space to unpack them or reflect. Participatory sessions may be facilitated by arts workers who are not specifically trauma-informed and do not have the knowledge to be appropriately trauma-responsive. Our capacity to access appropriate professional development is limited as the sector is under-resourced and many workers are freelance or on short-term contracts. 

The network wants to build a community of practice to try and address this. Over the next twelve months it aims to do two things:

1. Create a working group who will meet monthly through 2022 to explore good practice in GM and consider practical ways to make our sector more trauma-informed. We envisage this working group being made of roughly 12 GM organisations, and we also have funding for 6 freelance individuals to be paid to take part in the working group. These individuals could be artists, facilitators, people who have taken part in arts projects as participants, or people from small arts organisations which don’t receive regular funding.

If you are interested, we want to hear from you. Freelancers will be paid £150 for a day spent working with the group, or £75 per group meeting session. We have planned for 2 days working plus 12 meeting sessions across the year.

2. Create a wider arts and trauma network open to any arts organisation, artist, arts worker, trauma-informed practitioner, or other interested party in GM – through this network we’ll share information, training offers, and details of conversation events that we will design for the sector.

How to join

Details on how to join the network and the working group can be found on Contact's website below. The application deadline for the working group is Tuesday 1 February 2022.

 

Learn more about Arts and Trauma GM Network

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