Macrobert and Equality

A few years ago, I went to an event in The Arches which hoped that Scotland would become "a leader in equality." Never mind the irony of such an aim - the world does need someone to lead the charge to inclusion, as there are some pretty nasty nations copping an attitude - there's a slight worry that the Conservatives in England and Wales are proving more progressive in regard to same sex marriage than the devolved government in Scotland. There's probably an intrinsic problem in the philosophy behind equality legislation: grouping different minority interests together doesn't mean that the groups will share any agenda, and the move towards equality can mean protecting certain minorities from others. It's lucky that there are dynamic, thoughtful people involved in the dialogue - hopefully, most of them won't become politicians, but stay in the more fertile area of art and activism. Meanwhile, a couple of new art works are celebrating LGBT History Month. Up at the macrobert, the first Cultural Commissions are being presented. Sandra Alland (from Zorras, I believe) will present videos by participants from her Queer & Trans Deaf and Disabled Video Mentorship Project, an excerpt from her upcoming documentary on LGBTI Deaf and disabled artists in Scotland, and a Q&A with the filmmakers.. Lucy Holmes-Elliott (out of Lock Up Your Daughters) will display a series of illustrations and photos that form an exploration and celebration of queer Scottish Identity 6.30pm on Thursday, 28th February 2013 macrobert arts centre, Stirling This is followed by an event that does show that some minority concerns do overlap: Celebrating Intersectional Equality. Over to the press release for clarification, I think. Many LGB and T people have intersectional identities. For example: we are also disabled and/or from minority ethnic backgrounds. Our needs can be complex and we can experience unique barriers to accessing your services. Over the past five years there has been a steady increase in intersectional specific work in Scotland. Many organisations have been doing their bit to make their services more inclusive of people with intersectional identities. We will be celebrating this by exchanging stories about our work and building a timeline of intersectional work in Scotland. This timeline will be put on-line so that we can all share our intersectional work more easily and encourage each other to continue to include people with intersectional identities. We will also be listening to personal testimonies and exchanging ideas about how to make your service more inclusive of all LGB and T people. Everyone is most welcome to bring intersectional resources to distribute.  9.30am - 2.30pm on 28 February at macrobert arts centre, Stirling