“If there are other little girls out there with limb differences then I want to be their representation.” ( Marshall 2020)
In my context as a theatre designer and part time lecturer in design for performance, the conversation between these two parts of my life often informs my teaching practice. I teach the first year of our BA courses and am conscious that this important year sets the tone for a student’s experience and sense of themselves within a university setting. I think that visual representation – seeing yourself in a context, is a key part of belonging. This must inform the materials that we use to teach our cohorts. As designers we need to feel empowered and included but also have the ability, through the characters we create, to empower and include our audiences.
“Through the visibility of minority artists and cultures, representation can serve as a source of inspiration, creativity, and self-expression ” (Johansson, Tienari, and Wickström. 2023)
In my practice I work with a wide range of actors of diverse backgrounds and body types covering many of the protected characteristics, who play characters that similarly represent a huge range of humanity. I have looked for ways to share this experience of various bodies and how it has educated and challenged me with my students. When making costume drawings and hair and make-up designs, I notice that they often default to white thin “fashion” body templates. I feel there is a need to disrupt this habit and give the students the opportunity to work with many types of body.
There are financial barriers to bringing in diverse models for drawing sessions that I have run. Therefore, I am planning to produce an image bank of diverse figure references for the Performance programme that both staff and students can access. I have a collection of this kind already for my teaching of character analysis, drawing and creation but haven’t effectively curated it or made it available to other staff and students.
Looking back on some work the department undertook when considering inclusion, the need for this kind of resource came up a few times:
I will need to explore various platforms for sharing within UAL, perhaps creating an EDI hub on SharePoint that everyone can draw on and add to. I will need to find someone to overview it in terms of its representation, to be sure that I balance any potential unconscious bias.
Biography:
Johansson. J, Janne. T and Wickström .A. 2023. “The Power and Burden of Representing Diversity in a Performing Arts Organization: A Recognition-based Approach.” Gender, Work & Organization 30(6): 2014–2032. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.13040.
Longstaff. J June 16th 2020. ” Woman who lost her leg after being hit by a drunk driver as a child becomes a Vogue model” Metro https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/16/woman-who-lost-leg-hit-drunk-driver-child-becomes-vogue-model-12856155/
