The co-founder of a thriving social enterprise has spoken of his delight at being awarded the MBE for services to dance and inclusion in the performing arts sector.
Martin Wilson, 50, of Old Cassop, County Durham, is the executive director, Tin Arts, which he set up to address the lack of provision for people with a learning disability (LD) to participate in dance and the wider performing arts.
Tin Arts is a nationally recognised leader in best-practice inclusive dance delivery.
For 20 years he and his wife and co-founder Tess Chaytor have been committed to supporting the UK dance sector to become more accessible, supporting LD artists to develop their own projects, as well as showcasing a high-quality programme of inclusive work to audiences around the UK.
They have showcased over 1,000 performances to more than 100,000 audience members, delivered 20,000 workshops and five inclusive arts festivals to more than 120,000 young dancers and their families.
In 2017 created the pioneering ‘Talent Hub’. Working with Yorkshire Dance and disability charity Inclusion North, TIN delivered a tailored residential programme, culminating in the critically acclaimed performance, HELM.
Touring the UK in 2020, this model is ground-breaking and the learning is being implemented across the UK dance sector associated with, Kala Sangam, Dance City and Northern Ballet.
This project is allowing talent pathways to be created in mainstream cultural venues across the UK for LD artists, making the artform of dance more accessible.
During lockdown TIN Arts provided vital outreach sessions with their dancers with a learning disability either over Zoom, or via recorded DVDs.
The organisation implemented pioneering arrangements to welcome learning-disabled participants back to the studio safely and staged a digital festival for children and young people with and without a learning disability.
Mr Wilson said: “I have been doing what I do for 23 years so I'm delighted. It's a privilege to be nominated and to be able to accept such an award.
“At TIN Arts we are a broad team of board, staff, artists and all the people taking part. So I'm accepting the award on behalf of the broader TIN Arts family, that shows our collective achievements over that time.
“From very small and humble beginnings, when we were just like teaching workshops in schools, at the heart of what we've done has always been about equality and creating access to the arts to those who don't have access.
“Our passion drive has always been about making sure people have the least access to culture and arts can get that access and explore their passion or well-being outcomes - or even careers as artists."
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