"I'm Me": Peer and Creative Research with Learning Disabled and Autistic Artists into Identity, Representation and Voice

我将与学习障碍和自闭症艺术家合作，作为同行和创造性的研究人员，探索身份、表现和声音的问题。学习障碍和自闭症患者是我们社会中最边缘化、最没有发言权的群体之一。他们往往被认为是脆弱的，需要保护或照顾，但很少在公共话语中拥有突出的发言权，即使是在与残疾直接相关的问题上也是如此。残疾艺术是一个罕见的挑战这些关系的论坛，学习障碍和自闭症艺术家利用他们的创造力来维护他们的机构和身份。我的我将与Mind the Gap(MTG)合作并与六家残疾艺术公司组成的网络合作进行。通过这个网络，学习障碍和自闭症艺术家将与两名学习障碍同伴研究协会一起担任同行和创造性研究人员。我们将一起探索、批判、颠覆和重建学习障碍身份、代表和声音的问题。我们将在“创意涂鸦书”的基础上，通过反身性的方法来工作，这是一种资源，它使用开放和有趣的任务来鼓励反思性的自我表达。这一方法在2019-21年间进行了测试，当时英国各地的学习障碍群体广泛使用了涂鸦书籍，开发了一种资源，使人们能够以包容的方式探索具有挑战性和复杂的问题，如身份认同。通过这种方法，同行研究人员的感知、见解和创造性理解将成为过程和结果的核心。该项目分为三个不同的阶段。第一阶段将与MTG和Peer Research Network合作创建涂鸦书籍的修订版。除此之外，我们将与Access的拥护者、完全包容的人合作，共同创建一系列为期三个12周的同行研究周期。每个合作伙伴公司的协助者和艺术家将接受提供这些资源的培训。第二阶段将在每个合作伙伴公司提供这些同行研究周期。这一过程将引起对学习障碍和自闭症成年人如何看待身份和代表性问题的理解，并从这项工作朝着更好地理解自我倡导、机构和声音。通过引发多种表达方式的公开任务，这一过程将开发创造性的内部证词形式，包括书面、口头、视觉和其他非语言材料。第三阶段将侧重于学习障碍和自闭症艺术家的创造性成果的产生，这些艺术家利用整个同行研究网络的证词和见解。合作公司和参与的艺术家将得到来自MTG的创意制作人的支持，以发展他们对面向公众的艺术作品和纪录片的反思见解。一个由学习障碍人士领导的团队将利用这些资源编写一本书，并策划一个为期两天的I‘m Me音乐节，每个节日都旨在交流该项目的见解和生活经历。预计这些将包括艺术作品、口语、个人叙事、纪录片和现场表演。这一阶段的关键是学习障碍和自闭症艺术家参与编辑、作者和策展过程以及决策。该项目的成果将包括：1)针对学习障碍和自闭症参与者的同伴研究的新模式。2)更好地理解学习障碍和自闭症成年人如何理解身份、代表和声音。3)有影响力的、面向外部的材料，改变公众的看法，为支持机构提供培训和教育资源，并证明让学习障碍和自闭症患者的声音参与研究、公共话语和政策的价值。

I'm Me will work with learning disabled and autistic artists as peer and creative researchers to explore questions of identity, representation and voice. Learning disabled and autistic people are amongst the most marginalised and voice-less within our society. They are often perceived as vulnerable and requiring protection or care, while rarely having a prominent voice within public discourses, even with issues that directly relate to disability. The disability arts are a rare forum where these relationships are challenged, with learning disabled and autistic artists utilising their creativity to assert their agency and identity.I'm Me will be conducted in collaboration with Mind the Gap (MTG) and in partnership with a network of six disability arts companies. Through this network, learning disabled and autistic artists will act as peer and creative researchers, alongside two learning disabled Peer Research Associates. Together we will explore, critique, subvert and reconstitute questions of learning disability identity, representation and voice. We will work through a reflexive methodology based on the 'Creative Doodle Book', a resource that uses open and playful tasks to encourage reflective self-expression. This approach was tested between 2019-21 when the Doodle Book was used extensively with learning disability groups across the UK, developing a resource that enables the exploration of challenging and complex issues, such as identity, in an inclusive manner. Through this approach the perceptions, insights and creative understandings of the peer researchers will be at the heart of both the process and the outcomes.The project has three distinct phases. Phase 1 will create a revised version of the Doodle Book in collaboration with MTG and the Peer Research Network. Alongside this we will work with access champions Totally Inclusive People to co-create a series of three 12-week peer research cycles. Facilitators and artists from each of the partner companies will be trained in the delivery of these resources. Phase 2 will deliver these peer research cycles at each of the partner companies. This process will elicit understandings of how learning disabled and autistic adults view questions of identity and representation, and from this work towards greater understandings of self-advocacy, agency and voice. Through open tasks that elicit multiple ways of expression, the process will develop creative forms of insider testimonies that will include written, spoken, visual and other non-verbal materials. Phase 3 will focus on the production of creative outputs by learning disabled and autistic artists that draw upon the testimonies and insights from across the whole Peer Research Network. The partner companies and the participating artists will be supported by creative producers from MTG to develop their reflective insights into public facing art works and documentations. A learning disability led team will utilise these to construct a book and curate a two-day I'm Me Festival, each designed to communicate the insights and lived experiences from the project. It is anticipated that these will include art works, spoken word, personal narrative, documentary film and live performance. Crucial to this stage will be the involvement of learning disabled and autistic artists in editorial, authorial and curatorial processes and decision making. The outcomes of the project will include: 1) A new model for peer research with learning disabled and autistic participants. 2) Greater understanding of how identity, representation and voice are understood by learning disabled and autistic adults. 3) Impactful, outward-facing materials that shift public perceptions, provide resources for support agencies in training and education, and evidence the value of engaging learning disabled and autistic voices in research, public discourse and policy.