A Note from Jhinuk Sakar. Jhinuk worked as a Disability Adviser at UAL, and before that as a programme coordinator at Shape Arts (a disability arts organisation focusing on supporting visual and performing arts made by disabled artists). During her work at Shape, Jhinuk gained experience of supporting high profile disabled artists and disability-led arts organisations, delivering commissions for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The commissions were offered through a programme and festival called Unlimited, which carries on today (www.weareunlimited.org.uk). Unlimited and Shape gave Jhinuk awareness of disability issues in various capacities and social justice. Shape provided her with experience of assisting with disability equality training in Brazil in anticipation of the following Cultural Olympiad in 2016. Her work at Shape was always in partnership with other disability-led creative organisations such as Heart n Soul, Candoco, Pallant House Gallery, DaDaFest, Graeae Theatre, Drake Music and more. Jhinuk currently continues her practice as an Illustrator, teaching Illustration in higher education and teaching on the Inclusive teaching & learning unit of UAL’s PG Cert course. She is also part of UAL’s Academic Study Support team. She works at House of Illustration as part of the freelance education team to deliver workshops for families, and schools including Deaf schools. Jhinuk is also Head of Community & Accessibility at Turf Projects, where she advises on access for Turf ’s programmes and supports learning disabled artists in an arts collective called MOSS. turf-projects.com/moss/ cargocollective.com/paperfig
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When I was asked to write this Peer Review, I was panicked a little, in all honesty. I’ve worked in Disability Arts, with disabled artists and disability-led arts organisations for a few years now and whilst I have knowledge of barriers to education and the Arts in particular from this work, I am always, always, always learning. That won’t end. I have not long known formally about my own diagnosis of Dyslexia, and I still struggle with knowing where I place that within my work. How do I present my period of undiagnosed study experiences to others, conscious of my neurodiversity not being seen as ‘an excuse’ for poor writing? I fear writing, I feared this request. I heard my mind racing with a run of questions: ‘Do I have enough expertise?’ ‘I am not sure I have notable lived experiences like other disabled artists I’ve worked with.’ ‘How can I justify my position within the valuable collection of voices and texts in this Terms of Reference (ToR) publication?’ I hope what I am going to say will be enough. I definitely think what I am about to say should be notable. My review starts with my own experiences. I don’t consider myself as a natural Academic, yet I began teaching recently amongst peers who have worked in academia for years and have found their confidence to do so by finding routes in, much earlier than me. Whether those people were nondisabled, disabled, white, or a person of colour, younger, older, non-binary, female or male, they navigated the system earlier than I did, and had to do so by jumping through ableist, white, middle-class
