An online conversation hosted for London Creative Health City
In November 2023, we led an online creative conversation at the “Building It Together” Unconference hosted by London Creative Health City (London Arts & Health, supported by the Mayor of London).
It was titled Beyond Zoom: how can we develop inclusive & exciting online creative opportunities for those who cannot equitably access in-person provision?
We wanted to explore with, and challenge, our fellow creative practitioners, local arts and public sector organisations including councils and NHS to consider how to create and maintain programmes of original online-first creative health and wellbeing opportunities that were truly accessible to those who cannot leave their homes.
We spoke of our lived and ongoing living experience of exclusion because we were not able to reliably access in-person opportunities.
We also reflected on how after participating in amazing and varied creative online projects and executions seen during the pandemic, we didn’t believe that learning had been fully embedded going forwards and everyone (who could) was so relieved to get back to in-person IRL creativity and community that many who were house- and bed-bound were left with mostly token and hybrid offerings that didn’t fully meet our needs, let alone excite us.