Richard Phoenix is a musician, writer, painter and member of the punk band Sauna Youth formed in 2009. He also works with neurodivergent individuals, helping them to get together and make music, in turn making DIY scenes more accessible for everyone who wants to get involved.

In his lecture he focused on talking to us specifically about his work with acts from the learning disabled scene. In 2013, he set up the non-profit organisation Constant Flux, where he works with artists such as Zombie Crash and The Fish Police.

I found this talk personally relevant as in the past I have worked at summer music schools helping to facilitate and enhance the experience of learning disabled children. I think that it is incredibly important to use one’s own privilege to help amplify the voices of those who may find it harder to do so due to the pre-existing prejudices that western society may impose on them. This is especially true in the case of DIY music scenes, which in my own experiences I have found to sometimes be rather middle class, male and neurotypical-dominated. Sound and music can have a huge impact on everyone’s lives, and I subscribe to the belief that all forms of art should be made as accessible as possible, for every individual.

Another aspect of Richard Phoenix’s work that I appreciate is that he assists in the running of the venue DIY Space for London. This has been one of my favourite venues in London for quite a while, being very accessible to most artists that want to put on shows – I have been there quite a few times in the past. The fact that he works with the venue was something I had not been aware of in the past, so was a pleasant surprise.

He also talked quite extensively about the social model of disability, a concept I have only been introduced to since joining UAL. According to Scope, the social model of disability “says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference”. This essentially means that instead of being ‘people with disabilities’ (a term which implies the barrier is within the individual), disabled people are individuals who are surrounded by obstacles and barriers put upon them by the society they happen to be born into. I find this to be a very empowering way of looking at disability, as it aims to remove a lot of the stigma surrounding the topic and place the onus on wider society to change its values, rather than forcing disabled people to adapt to environments that aren’t suitable for them.

Something I would’ve liked to have seen from Phoenix’s talk however would have been some words from a disabled individual that he has worked with. I feel as though it would have been excellent to hear how Phoenix’s work has had an impact on their life, even if it was in a pre-recorded segment. However I appreciate this may have been difficult to organise, and perhaps speaking to an audience may not have been the most preferable way for a neurodivergent artist to get their opinions across.

All in all I found this to be a very inspiring talk, and if possible in the future I would also like to carry out work to help make art more accessible to those who may feel ostracised from the wider art world.

References

1. Phoenix, R., n.d. Richard Phoenix. [online] Richardphoenix.com. Available at: <https://richardphoenix.com/> [Accessed 8 December 2021].
2. Constantflux.co.uk. n.d. Constant Flux. [online] Available at: <https://constantflux.co.uk/about/> [Accessed 8 December 2021].
3. Scope. n.d. Social model of disability | Disability charity Scope UK. [online] Available at: <https://www.scope.org.uk/about-us/social-model-of-disability/> [Accessed 8 December 2021].