This section highlights the barriers and inequalities that participants felt can prevent people becoming involved in creative activities with their communities, as well as impeding their activist voices.
Creativity and art seen as “frivolous” – a distraction from “proper” things, e.g. sport or education.
“Can’t do more than I already do!”
“Internal barrier of, “Can I pull this off?
“Genuinely, can I pull this off?”
Confidence…..“If I do this, then I’m going to stand out. I’m going to step out into the world.”
Who is welcome? – “permission to be visible in our community”“…you don’t know if you’re rightly able to step into that and feel a bit nervous because you feel like, “Is that for me even though it’s coming to my community?”
Selection of words and phrases that came out of the research:
Racism
Cost of Living Crisis
Abelism, Class inequality
Travel and Timings of events
“Closed off” Spaces
Busy and Noisy Spaces
Trusting young people
Who has the right to occupy the space?
Capacity and taking on too much
Lack of consistency
Needing to feel/claim ownership
Who does the ‘work’ of activism?
Health issues/setbacks
Sensory barriers
