How to use creativity as a tool for disability equality in the Arts

In January 2018, Blue Monday to be precise, something happened to Melissa Johns that made getting through the day even harder than for most. Naked photos, hacked from her iPhone, were leaked to national newspapers across the UK. What was most striking in the reports for Melissa, who was born without her right arm below the elbow, was the way her body was negatively depicted. Even more significantly, it wasn’t the first time she’d experienced it but it was the last time she’d let it define her, and has since written and toured the UK with her one-woman show, Snatched. Outside of acting, Melissa uses her platform to advocate for disabled artists and works as Co-Creative Lead for Bafta Award-winning organisation, TripleC (co-founded with Cherylee Houston) - a collective of disabled and non-disabled creative individuals which runs projects breaking down the barriers for people with disabilities in the arts. Listen to learn: How drama positively impacts disabled youth What TripleC does to further the opportunities of disabled artists How Melissa turned what could have been a devastating experience into one of hope and change What you can expect from Melissa’s new stage show, Snatched. ⚡Find Melissa here: https://www.bafta.org/supporting-talent/elevate/melissa-johns ⚡Learn more about TripleC here: https://triplec.org.uk/ ⚡Listen to Cherylee Houston’s podcast episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-work-better-together/id1250023032?i=1000550260034 💡Keep up to date on the latest news from Northern Power Women: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook 💡Sign up to the Northern Power Women newsletter. ❗Do you work in HR, or ED&I? Find out how you can join our full programme of events on International Women’s Day 2023 here Find out more about We Are PoWEr here. 💫