Barvolam invites you to a lecture by Margrét M. Norðdahl, followed by a discussion. Margrét is an expert on the inclusion in the art world of people labeled as “intellectually disabled”. She is active in our Icelandic partner organization Art without Borders (List án Landamæra).
If we would be designing our educational system from scratch, would we accept that a certain group of people would not have access to formal art education or could not participate in the art world?
Were we to design our art environment from scratch, would we design it so a certain group of people would not be visible and would not get equal opportunities within it?
If the answer is yes, it goes against all social contracts we have agreed upon in the modern era. It goes against ethical standards, human rights and our goals for an inclusive society!
If the answer is no, then we should have made amends already but because we have not, the best time to do so is exactly now. The responsibility is ours!
In this lecture, Margrét reviews the opportunities available to people with disabilities in the field of art and art education. She will address the questions aforementioned and look into what actions are necessary.
Margrét M. Norðdahl is an artist and holds an M.A. degree in art teaching, Her M.A. thesis is based on results of qualitative research and examines the potential for people with intellectual disabilities to exploit the opportunities in the field of Arts.
Margrét has worked in art since 2001. She was the manager of art festival List án Landamæra / Art Without Borders for 8 years, she is a teacher at Fjölmennt, an adult education center – life-long learning for learning disabled people. She is the head of the Fine art department for people with disabilities at The Reykjavík School of Visual Arts and a lecturer at the Icelandic University of the Arts.
Margrét is chair of the Board at the Reykjavík Art Festival and a board member at Safnasafnið - the Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum at Svalbarðsströnd and the Art Without Borders festival. She has given lectures on this subject before on different platforms of art, education and disability. She has been awarded the Reykjavík Human rights awards together with Art without borders, and several other awards for her involvement in this field.
The event is part of the project ART30.2. financially supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA and Norway Grants.