Alan McLean co-director of describes the work of Deaf Explorer at The Myth of Inclusion Equity and Equality in October 2023

I would like to begin with why Deaf explorer have established good practice. 

It is because we understand the reason why government and the EU want inclusion and diversity. Deaf people are continually excluded, and left out, this is why the Deaf community has established strong networks and self-organising skills. 

Deaf community do this so that they can have power and control over what it is they do. Deaf people make the decisions so that quality, and relevance in the deaf community is high.  Trust in the organisations that are funded by government is low, especially in the arts because deaf culture is central to the identity and community of deaf culture, and it is not funded, or recognised. Also Deaf people identify as a linguistic minority not as a disability. It is also a diaspora with groups around the country, with larger Deaf populations in the East and West Midlands, Doncaster, Cambridge, Sunderland, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Liverpool.  

Our mission: Deaf Explorer reveals the as-yet unheard world of artists. We transform the autonomy and destiny of Deaf artists. We forge radical approaches and creative opportunities to produce contemporary D/deaf culture.  

“If we keep re-enforcing positivity in the deaf community, people who feel left behind will be able
to fly.” – Warren

We are a social enterprise; resilient with a range of income sources. 

We produce Deaf Artists work, within that statement is our best practice, because we actively work with challenges and barriers that stop deaf artists progressing in the arts. The barriers multiply when combined with protected characteristics of Race, Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, sexual preference, religion or belief. Our ethos is that Deaf artists are not just one homogeneous Deaf culture they always intersect with other kinds of cultural identity, making our practice focused on inclusion.

For example, We recently consulted with neurodivergent artists who collaborated with Deaf dancer Billy Read on the Creative City Grants, Cog in the Wheel. Deaf Explorer produced the activity. We discovered that our best practice as producers also supported neurodivergent dancers, treating them as professionals, having respect for their dance practice and the excellence in their work. Overall, they told us that we understand how they operate as neurodivergent artists. 

“Until Deaf explorer, I’d never worked with a company so supportive of my needs. You don’t know
you’re being treated wrong until you’re treated right.” – Kameel

“With a team you can all help each other, share energy to keep you motivated. Then you can
represent. Being on your own is tough.” Kevaughn

“The way we move as a unit and a team, shows me what a healthy work environment looks like.”
– Reece.

Last week we began conversations with deaf artists under the age of 30, they were inspired by the work on our website. We are proud to be supporting the next generation of deaf creatives and want to do this work in partnership with the arts sector by sharing and applying our models of best practice. 

What is it deaf explorer do? 

We are translators, hands on, literally using sign language to directly support and inform deaf artists in their first language of BSL. 

We know we must develop Deaf artist work over time, we have been working regularly with Rinkoo Barpaga, Billy Read and Ruth Montgomery since 2016. It is only this year that Rinkoo’s achieved his ambition of performing at the Edinburgh Fringe.  Pleasance Theatre Trust showed courage and supported Rinkoo proposal to remake Made in India Britain. After two awards and 4 star reviews we are planning a tour in 2023. 

How do we support an artist to achieve their ambition! Like going to Edinburgh. 

We give extra time for everything, and we budget for creative enablers, providing bilingual support in the creative process. We are much more available to artists, working beyond core hours adjusting to artists preferred method of communication, for example running projects with What’s app. 

We acknowledge that deaf artists are at different stages of progression, requiring different levels of support. 

We use R&D’s to support artists to understand the process of making work for a venue, and a wider audience than the deaf community. We focus on fund-raising for R&D’s, we do this by looking out for partners and individual expertise, deaf artists also bring partners into projects.  

Good R&D’s can make up for the absence of degree education, or experience of professional work, for example a theatre maker may not of completed a rehearsal and touring process before. 

Deaf Explorer produce R&D’s. We find the more involvement Deaf Explorer have in the artists activity, the better the project will be in terms of sector impact. Before Covid-19 we had four production grants lined up, we are still recovering from the set back. 

Finally, we have an open door and will trouble-shoot and problem solve for artists, on issues outside of the project that we are producing, issues often occur because of the style of communication by the arts sector. 

Best practice with organisations 

Deaf Explorer are under the radar of arts organisations.  Arts organisations will approach Rachael Veazey and ask for her services as a BSL Interpreter. Rachael’s response will be to suggest another way to the work. We relinquish the work to employ deaf people. 

For example,  Rachael was approached by the Birmingham Hippodrome to make access videos for deaf audiences wanting to attend the highly visual Van Gogh Installation. Rachael began by suggesting a Deaf person do the video. Now the Van Gohn installation is in its third iteration near London’s Marble Arch.  Deaf Visual artist Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq, who is well known in the Deaf community will be leading BSL tours of the exhibition. 

Women and Theatre asked Rachael to be an integrated interpreter on their project “women in lockdown’ Rachael proposed that Birmingham based Deaf women Maral Mamaghanizadeh work directly with the deaf community, so that Deaf women fully included in the online participation project. In 2022, Women and Theatre visited deaf explorer fully aware of what was possible, if they collaborated with Deaf explorer as an artistic partner rather than only as an access partner. Six deaf community actors participated in Women and theatre’s One Thousand Threads, a commission for the commonwealth games Cultural Festival. 

Similarly, Autin dance theatre, asked Rachel to be an integrated interpreter in Victoria Square in the week before the opening of the Commonwealth Games. Instead Rachael asked Sean Noone to get involved, Sean is well known in the Deaf community and brought Deaf audiences to Victoria square. Go to Zebra Access news feature. He was featured in Deaf press and social media. The BSL video promoting the activity was shared widely via deaf explorer’s social media page, involving groups who had not participated in deaf explorers activities before, like funky kids a deaf group in Walsall.  This demonstrates the importance of arts organisations adopting our best practice, of involving deaf people, so there is greater choice for the deaf community and more reason to participate and attend. 

Finally, our best practice online makes Deaf Explorer a content producer serving the linguistic minority of BSL users. Our online Festivals have revealed the potential of our audiences, Billy Read’s online dance tutorials have the importance of platforming deaf role models.