Download the report here or read it on Issuu. The report is also available in French, Polish and German.

Download from Issuu. Scarica da Issuu. Disclaimer: Download the images ONLY if the publisher has enabled downloads on their publication! If there's no download button for a publication, it means the publisher does NOT want their publication to be downloaded! Bodies, Disability and Spaces: The social model and disabling spatial organisations, Disability & Society, 16(5), 689-706. On the negative possibility of suffering: Adorno, feminist philosophy, and the transfigured crip to come. The person with the disability may self-certify the conditions listed under disability code 6, by appearing in person with proper identification. In this situation, only the disabled person’s name and this disability code must be recorded. If, however, a doctor certified the loss of a limb, the doctor must complete all of Section C.

Launching in Athens at Onassis STEGI’s Interfaces conference on Friday 6 March is our new report outlining howaccess to the arts for disabled people as artists, audiences, and arts professionals needs to be at the heart of Creative Europe’s successor programme.

‘Disabled artists in the mainstream: a new cultural agenda for Europe’ emerges from the first European Arts & Disability Cluster meeting in The Hague on 30 November 2019, hosted by two of the core partners of Europe Beyond Access, British Council and Holland Dance Festival. The cluster represents the first time that EU arts & disability projects have gathered in order to shape policy and cultural change.

Working towards raising awareness of the barriers that disabled artists and audiences continue to face when accessing Europe’s cultural institutions, the report heralds a clear call to policymakers and funders to seriously reduce the cultural exclusion of disabled people.

Co-authored by Betina Panagiotara (dance researcher and journalist, Greece), Ben Evans (Head of Arts & Disability, European Union Region) and Filip Pawlak (artist and producer, Poland), it outlines one major policy recommendation for a new European cultural agenda and six proposals for the forthcoming 2021-2027 Creative Europe programme.

The proposals emphasise the urgency for and the huge benefits that would come from a European cultural programme that actively seeks applications that support greater cultural engagement of disabled people. It covers how to improve funding structures and design budgets that don’t discourage arts organisations from working with disabled artists, and how to ensure that theatres, venues and arts projects are actively welcoming more diverse visitors.

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The EU Parliament stresses that itrecognises access to culture as a fundamental right of all citizens (EuropeanParliament, 2018), and there are 42 million disabled people aged 15-64 across Europe(Eurostat). However, research on regional audiences find that 79% have been put off buying tickets to cultural eventsdue to problems booking access and 73% havefelt discriminated against when trying to book access (Attitude is Everythingon UK audiences). It is clear that this fundamental right is not currently beingmet.

The Interfaces conference is hosted by Onassis STEGI, another core partner of Europe Beyond Access and leading cultural institution in Greece that has delivered a dance and disability programme since 2012.

The Arts & Disability Cluster represents nine current and recent Creative Europe / Culture Projects, four Erasmus+ Projects, and four transnational projects for disabled artists, with representatives spanning 18 countries: Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Republic of Serbia, Sweden, The Netherlands, Turkey, UK, Armenia, and Switzerland. Europe Beyond Access is the largest Arts & Disability programme in Europe and is coordinated by the British Council.

With it being so long since I have written for this blog, I thought that instead of writing a piece on a random topic, I ought to tell you about the latest in my recovery process.

In December of 2015, I returned to residency for 3 months to complete my second year of Family Practice medical training allowing me to obtain a Michigan Medical License. After a prolonged battle with our Human Resources, I was allowed to return to residency to complete my second year. After this, I obtained my Michigan medical license. I then shifted my focus onto finding work. I interviewed at numerous positions, where unfortunately, I was told that these jobs ‘were not looking to hire right now’. I contemplated the possibility of opening my own practice, however was discouraged from this by every physician with whom I spoke, “it’s a money pit,” they would say, or simply “it’s really tough to open your own practice. Have you looked into being affiliated with a hospital system?” At this point, I am not sure of the possibility of clinical work in my future. This does not mean that I will not be involved in medicine in my future, but the chance of me working in a clinic, going from room to room, seeing patients is not a strong possibility. I am, however, still considering administrative medical work such as reviewing charts, going over claims, or medical consulting.

Thankfully, veiled in this rejection is the opportunity to spend more time with my family. Before the surgery, I saw my wife and son sparingly. I would spend nights at the hospital and only come home to sleep. I would miss events like sports games or school conferences. I now attend every sports game and school event and am even able to drop and pick up my children from school. I also have dinner ready every day when my wife returns home from work, and have been able to enjoy cooking, another previous interest of mine.

This ordeal has also allowed me to focus on writing; perhaps I had little or no time to write prior to my surgery, or maybe my love of writing was born after my ordeal, but I have been fortunate enough to have two of my pieces printed in the American Family Physician journal and the International Brain Tumour Association journal. (AFP: http://www.aafp.org/afp/2016/0601/p911.html, IBTA: (page 58) https://issuu.com/ibta-org/docs/ibta_2017). Writing provides me with some catharsis. I hope my writing also imparts on you similar sentiments.

Physically, I continue to improve, however my attitude and approach to my recovery has changed. I have discontinued Physical Therapy, however spend much of my time in the gym doing balance exercises. Many loved ones around me have asked me if I have ‘given up’ on the possibility of further recovery. My response is this:

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While yes, the optics of my rehabilitation have vastly changed, I continue to fight, albeit in a different way. In the recent past, I participated in Physical, Speech, and Occupational Therapy. I now have stopped these sessions, as I had to ask myself, ‘is Therapy worth it? Is it worth my time and sweat (over 15 hours each week) for the possibility of return?’ The Economist in me is shining through when I question the futility of pursuing an object with uncertain returns. But this does not mean I have ‘given up’; as I mentioned above, I continue to strive to work to beat this, but not blindly working, working smarter. The saying ‘practice makes perfect’ is often preached to anyone pursuing an endeavor. Allow me to take this a step further: it is not practice that makes perfect, but perfect practice that makes perfect. For example, I could spend 100 hours a week on my golf swing, but will I be a better player if I practiced all these hours with poor technique on my swing? Of course, the answer is no, in fact one could argue that I could emerge a worse player. Now, imagine that I instead spent that time practicing with a picture perfect swing. I would undoubtedly end up a good (if not great) golfer. My hope is that with my recovery, I am practicing now with ‘perfect technique’; in the sweet spot that will make my recovery optimal. While I have stopped the official Therapy sessions, I continue to devote much of my time performing the exercises I learned during my time with them. In addition to these physical strengthening exercises, I also work on keeping my mind sharp by reading and writing often. While the appearance of my recovery may seem slowed, I continue to work hard. Unfortunately, only time will tell if I am truly practicing ‘smarter’, as there is no precedent to my condition.

I am by no means saying the Therapy is an inviable means of rehabilitation. On the contrary, this experience has shown me the importance of therapy; I used to write many prescriptions that read, “Physical Therapy 3 times per week,” and while those were not completely empty recommendations, I now fully realize (after having gone through therapy myself) how important therapy is in a wide range of diseases and afflictions. My only point is that for me, at this stage, no one knows if going through Therapy will aid my recovery. My thinking is that the way I recover now is the best way I can pursue rehabilitation, at this stage.

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We often look for hidden lessons in our experiences; my first hope with this piece is to provide you with information of my recovery. But the idea that perfect practice makes perfect is an important one. Anyone can practice, but to practice perfectly is the only true metric to obtain excellence.