Making big change through big art: Inside the Pyramid Plan
Pyramid, the Leeds-based arts charity supporting people with learning disabilities and/or autism to get into the arts, reveals its ambitions for the next four years. Coined the ‘Pyramid Plan’, this co-written strategy is the brainchild of the charity’s Visioning Group, made up of 10 artists with and without learning disabilities, autism, or both, who lead on the strategic direction of the organisation.
Victor, Stephen Harvey and William Stapleton are Pyramid artists and members of the Visioning Group who helped write the Pyramid Plan. When asked what their motivation was behind writing the plan, William explained, “It was to talk about Pyramid and what we wanted to do.”
A major ambition for this group is to ensure more people with learning disabilities, autism, or both, will have access to the right space, equipment, time and support to discover and explore the arts.
Part of communicating this was creating a set of in-house easy-read symbols, using figures called ‘Pyramites’, and ensuring that the text in the plan was easy to understand by dropping jargon words like ‘strategy’.
“A lot of the plan was everyone working together and sprawling notes on the Smartboard and then Victor took the lead on turning it into the text in the plan,” James Hill, Director of Pyramid, said.
Stephen commented: “My favourite thing was the Pyramites and taking photos of the arrows in the corridors.”
The arrows, or ticks, are formed from Pyramid’s logo. They were designed after the Visioning Group workshopped different words like plan, dream and vision. Members worked together to design their own ticks and they were photographed in different parts of Barkston House, where Pyramid’s office is located. The artwork symbolises the organisation’s desire to change, develop and progress.
When asked what he hoped people would take away from reading the Pyramid Plan, William said: “Learn what we’re about and what we do. Pyramid is about doing art, drama and music. And that it’s good to learn new stuff and new skills.”
Stephen added: “I recommend Pyramid because you get to see everyone and you get to see people who are different and they treat you normal. It gets you out as well and you get to see some artwork. I like making artwork at Pyramid.”
The Pyramid Plan is available to read online, the pdf includes text, images and easy-read - find it here.
A plain-text version of the Pyramid Plan can be read online (size 16 font) - find that here.