As I work with creative minded students from primary school age to graduate age, I want to understand how we can support students with intersectional identities within the creative arts from the initial curiosity, through to graduation and beyond.
Christine Sun Kim is a non-hearing artist and mother living in Berlin after emigrating from America. During this video she discusses the impact of non-hearing on her daily life, her decision not to learn to lip read and how her lived experiences inform her practice as an artist. She discusses instances when she was told ‘no’ to participating art-related classes due to her disability. She later talks about the impact motherhood has had on her work and how angry she is that many Americans are shackled with debt because of parenthood, studying or purchasing a home, contrasting this with Berlin where childcare is free. It made me wonder how many artists are not practicing because of being told ‘no’ or because of the shackles of debt.
(Accessed 23/4/26)
Chay Brown is a transman who is disabled and neuro-diverse. This video interested me because it touched upon many different viewpoints with regards to accessibility. He discussed physical accessibility, such as wheelchair access, but also how sometimes there may not be accessible toilets within the venue. He also discusses other accessibility barriers including noise, and how for neurodivergent people who have noise aversion, social events can sometimes be anxiety inducing due to busyness and noise. He described a well-planned trans community event where accessibility barriers had been considered, including a quiet board game space alongside a disco to enable all to participate.
(Accessed: 23/4/26)
Both these videos made me think about intersectional identities that may cause barriers to arts education; disability, neurodiversity, socio-economics, gender, parenthood, mental health and more. Considering my different educational hats (running clubs for KS2 children and working as a HPL* at LCF*), I must consider how these could impact students’ learning.
For primary-aged students, I ask all parents to fill in a form detailing any additional learning needs, specifically neurodiversity and disability focused, so that I can consciously plan to support my students. Currently 50% of my class have neurodiversities that parents are aware of. This is in parallel to 20% known disabilities (including mental health and neurodiversities) at LCF (see chart).
(Accessed 29.04.26: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638681486282992055)
In primary education, children are still learning to be people and may not know what they need yet. Whereas my higher education students may have more awareness of their needs, I may not know what their disabilities or neurodiversities are unless they choose to discuss them with me. Therefore, it seems essential that barriers are removed for each lesson, no matter what age.
Inspired by these references, my upcoming ‘Fashion and Textiles’ Summer workshops will include different ‘zones’: quiet zones with cushions and fashion reference books, a drawing/design table and a messy textiles area. I have also asked parents: ‘Tell me a little about your child. What do they enjoy? Is there anything that helps them feel confident or settled in a new group?’ This will enable me to consciously support children with varying intersectional needs.
Although these are not higher education students, I intend to take an essence of this level of planning into my HE work, being mindful of different and intersectional identities and needs during the planning phase. I will explore this in greater depth in my reflective report.
References:
Reference `1: Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers” – Season 11 | Art21. (n.d.). Www.Youtube.Com. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI
Reference 2: Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month 2023. (n.d.). Www.Youtube.Com. Retrieved July 16, 2026, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc
Reference 3: (Accessed 29.04.26: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638681486282992055)
AI Log:
Prompt 1: Hi Chat GPT please could you think of a good title for this relating to intersectionality and disability
*
LCF (London College of Fashion)
HPL (Hourly Paid Lecturer)