MYA Meets; An occasional series about people we find inspiring.
At MYA, we’re always looking for the crossover between ‘art’ and ‘work’.
So at our last management meeting, we asked artist and film-maker Richard Butchins to tell us about what he does.
As a child, Richard was disabled by polio. He’s also neuro-diverse. He told us: “as a disabled artist, my work cannot NOT be about disability”.
In working on public buildings, we already design for disability. But Richard challenged us to re-think the design process. He reminded us that disabled people have a voice. They should be asked first. They have their own ideas, based on personal experience. So rather than providing something that we think might work, then expecting gratitude, the first step should be – to actually ask what people want! It seems obvious – but often ignored. And it applies to many other user groups: so disabled people are teaching us a lesson about diversity in general.
Our second take-out was: the importance of
quality. Richard works in both photography and documentary film-making.
In making films, he spoke about being unwilling to rush, or compromise, or give up. As a result he’s been commissioned by the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV, and has collected a series of awards.
His photography has an equal intensity of detail: before the shot is captured, hours go into the construction of the object, adding details of colour and shape.
In the end, if we want to do things well, there’s no substitute for time, concentration, detail.
We’re still thinking about what he said.
For more on Richard Butchins, visit his website: www.richardbutchins.art