The impact of assumptions on safe creative spaces
Kate Lawrence-Lunniss
May, 2023
The other day, I was sitting outside a pub in the sun doing some writing. When I finished my drink, I went inside to use the bathroom before moving on. In most places now I will always look for a gender neutral or accessible toilet as this is a space I feel safe in. Using male or female bathrooms is a stressful time for me so I would rather avoid them and find an alternative. I was looking around the bar and I found the accessible toilet was locked by a radar key. As I walked away the bar person called me over and handed me the key. No questions at all, just with a smile. I felt so relieved and welcome. That simple act felt unassuming and has created an experience that has left me wanting to go back, wanting to talk about it publicly and wanting to promote the venue. It got me thinking about assumptions I have made that have left people feeling unwelcome, and the impact of interrogating our assumptions might have on an organisation.
Safe spaces
Being in a team of people who organise creative workshops and events, we often talk about creating a ‘safe space’. We want to welcome people into an arts space, whether it’s for a show, workshop or event, that is free from bias, free from potential conflict and feels emotionally and physically safe for those entering it so that they can participate with confidence and flourish. I have noticed in certain rooms I’ve been in recently, it will be announced that ‘this is a safe space’, as if I should just take their word for it and trust them immediately. These spaces are assuming they know what I need to feel safe without really knowing me at all. In reality I think safe spaces are built collaboratively and over time.
If you have never walked into a room with apprehension that you might be the only person with a certain characteristic in that space, I really recommend trying to seek out this experience. Being around others who are part of a community we align with can help us feel relaxed, empowered and self-confident. So on the contrary, knowing you are likely to be the only person from a particular community, or one of very few, is likely to mean you enter that space feeling uneasy, anxious and withdrawn. If you are the only one of a particular characteristic, and everyone else has a characteristic in common, then you might not even show up at all. For example, as a non-binary person I will know that in the majority of spaces I enter, I will be the only one. I know someone will assume my pronouns and I will need to decide if I want to correct them and stand out from a room of strangers, or leave it and try and ignore it for the rest of the session. This will leave me lacking in confidence to take part, feeling exposed and vulnerable. In this example, I am also making my own assumptions based on my experiences of the past, and so begins the cycle.
To counteract this, and for me to leave the space feeling like I did when I left the pub, means I need to have a different experience than what I am assuming. If I can share my pronouns in a way that doesn’t feel ‘othering’, through name tags with pronouns or pronoun badges for example, I will feel more able to exist in that space and more likely to come back. If there’s no invitation to share pronouns in this way, the hosts have assumed there isn’t a need. If this continues to be the case, I will assume that this and similar spaces will be the same and that I am not welcome. Both of these assumptions might be untrue, but can be easily formed. Assumptions may also be unintentional, but it doesn’t make them less damaging and I feel we have to really start taking responsibility for that to impact change. When I think about the assumptions I have made, I realise that some of them are based on one experience. That’s why it feels so important to act now and to get it right, we have to know when we’ve got it wrong.
Creating safe spaces
Creating safe spaces requires a continuous feedback cycle between organisation, staff and participants, or patrons. One of the most successful safe spaces I have been involved in, highlighted at the beginning the knowledge that is being shared by practitioners and opened the conversation for participants to join as the expert in their lived experience. Admitting fault, listening when given feedback and actioning change to show intention, nurtured this relationship and created a space where participants were able to succeed. This has meant they feel loyalty towards the organisation and each other, return as much as they can and promote it to others.
Knowing the positive impact the arts can have on a person’s well-being, it could make such a difference if we can create spaces that truly welcome everyone.