Collage Arts wins Inclusion & Equalities Award
Collage Arts is very proud to have been recognised as 2021 Inclusion and Equalities Organisation of Year by the Bridge Renewal Trust in their Community Impact Awards
In accepting the awards Manoj Ambasna, executive director of Collage Arts said
“We were recently asked for the diversity plan at Collage Arts, I said that would be the business plan. Diversity is in our DNA, and it informs everything we do. We have been working in Wood Green for over 35 years. We see the diversity of the area as one of its greatest asset – and we use our creative team to try to make Collage Arts and Karamel feel like home to everyone we support. The Covid pandemic has made us more determined than ever to push to be more inclusive. It is a constant process, a journey not a destination.
This award will galvanise us to work even harder with our partners, supporters and friends to continue to remove the barriers that preclude people from exploring their creativity and experience performances, screenings and exhibitions from very diverse artists.”
Collage Arts continued to work throughout lockdown and find ways to support some of the most vulnerable members of the local community.
Manoj continued, “It is impossible to create an inclusive service without an extensive network of partners. In recent months this has included Roj Women, Shelter, MIND in Haringey, Jackson’s Lane, Haringey Shed, Groundwork, Haringey Learning Partnership, Haringey Welcome, The Virtual School and 10 local junior and secondary schools.
Our latest campaigns include producing infomercials to promoting the Windrush Compensation Scheme; a programme in local schools tacking hate speech with young people in Haringey; developing drama and music programmes for young people in alternative provision or those unable to engage in traditional education models; Online training and career development courses for young, emerging creatives in Tottenham and Haringey- online showcase available here; Delivering creative arts workshops to over 50s, supporting 100 women of colour throughout the lockdown. Check out the brilliant Lockdown Monologues series.
Collage Voices, is fully inclusive youth provision offers specific pastoral support wraparound for our neurodiverse/ autistic/CAMHS-user participants. Our Saturday Voices programme is free or low cost and has engaged 120 children and young people. Collage Kids, our free pre-school provision was recently relaunched working with new storytellers of African, Asian and Caribbean descent.
Pictured: Collage Voices Ensemble performance, July 2021.
Find out how to enrol here.
Our venue offers in-kind support to local groups to provide a lifeline for those adversely affected by covid including Jacksons Lane Creative Learning department, Haringey Shed and Loads of Talent. During the pandemic we set up a 16+ ensemble performance company for a group of young actors looking for affordable and engaging training. Watch their virtual performance of Maya Angelou’s ‘Phenomenal Woman’. Twenty of these young people are now attending drama school or university. They, along with the 40 young people placed into work as part of the Kickstart programme shows our commitment to not only address diversity Collage, but to make the arts sector workforce more diverse and inclusive.
Since July, when our venue Karamel reopened, we have been showcasing one of London’s most diverse roster of performers including music/jazz, spoken word performers of colour/ women and queer cabaret performers. You can check out our event listings here.