Terms we use and why they're not ideal:

Why this page might change:
We hope that this page will be continually developing as we learn and grow.
We believe that words are important. We want to keep learning about the words that people use to identify themselves. 
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'Creative' / 'Artist':
We use 'creative' and 'artist' interchangeably and they refer to the following general performing arts disciplines that we're focused on supporting:

• writer
• actor / performer
• director
• producer

We try to support as many people as we can who make or deliver creative work.

This also means want to support prose writers, visual artists, musicians, dancers, 'creative freelancers', stage managers, technicians, lighting designers, set designers... the list goes on and on. 

When a creative asks for help in an area outside of our expertise, we signpost to other support organisations. 
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'Brighton and beyond'
We know that sounds vague. That's the point.

​We want to support the local creative sector where we're based - Brighton!  Some of our projects will certainly be hyper-local and require us to focus on Brighton & Hove or south coast creatives. 

Still, we know that geography can sometimes create a barrier to access. We don't want to count people out based on where they are from or where they've ended up living.
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​So, if someone fits our criteria for support and we can find a way to make our creative relationship work - we will try not to let geography stand in our way.

Disadvantaged / Underrepresented
Both these words are less than ideal.
We are currently working on better ways to define exactly what we mean when we use these words.
However, Andrew and Michelle do know that they have experienced some barriers to accessing cultural careers that include being from working class backgrounds.  We know that we want to focus our support others with similar lived experience.
We also want to support those who face other barriers outside of our lived experience such as those artists who are Deaf and disabled and/or people who experience racism and/or people who are LBGTQ+. 

Intersectionality
We believe that the creative sector should be made by and for all people. 
We believe that many people face barriers and discrimination based on one or more aspects of their identity. When multiple barriers intersect this creates even less opportunity or further discrimination within the creative industry.
We acknowledge intersectionality and continue to learn about how we can both champion all people and improve the support we give.