About us

This New Ground is a participatory arts organisation working to elevate the voices & artistic talents of people with a learning disability. Our aim is to remove the barriers & increase access for people with a learning disability to make, participate & lead in the arts.

We provide high-quality creative learning and performance opportunities, enabling people with a learning disability to make & share art as widely as possible, live, recorded, digitally & online. We support participants to gain new skills & experience, grow aspirations, work with new people & move onto new opportunities.

Every TNG project is responsive to the people, communities & culture places it encounters. Since 2015, our work has been rooted in Hammersmith & Fulham, first as a response to gaps in provision for adults with a learning disability and growing organically into a thriving creative hub with local learning disabled voices at its heart.

Facing the exclusion & isolation of the pandemic, This New Ground has grown in ambition, developing blueprints for creative inclusivity & resilience, widening opportunities for adults with a learning disability to express themselves, to develop skills, to create & participate in their communities - through physical & digital engagement.

Today, This New Ground has extended its reach & impact by establishing a second hub in Arts Council England’s Priority Place, the City of Portsmouth, offering new opportunities for under-provisioned adults with a learning disability to engage with excellent cultural experiences, creative activities & place-based community projects. For This New Ground, this is an opportunity to touch more lives and further invest in our place-based philosophy & approach.

Below is a statement written by our TNG Collective of people and artists with a learning disability based in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Collective Statement

We might have a learning disability but people need to see us as individuals.

We are all artists.

We want more people to look at our art. Art brings us together.

We are all unique. We are welcoming.

We all have different talents and interests.

We support each other.

People should see our art and be inspired.

We want acceptance and understanding.

Unless people see our art it is pointless us making it!

Leadership

This New Ground is led by Nathalie Carrington and Lucy Groenewoud in collaboration with our Collective, Advisory Group and Artistic Associates.

Our Advisory Group has been selected to ensure that This New Ground’s projects are delivered to a high standard and to contribute to the planning of future activities and the direction of our initiative. They represent key industries, areas of interest and ensure that learning disability culture is at the heart of what we do.

Safeguarding at This New Ground

At This New Ground we will do our best to keep young people and vulnerable adults safe from abuse, neglect or harm. This is the responsibility of all staff, freelancers, volunteers or anyone working on behalf of This New Ground.

We will work in partnership with children, young people, vulnerable adults, their parents, carers and other organisations to make sure young people and vulnerable adults are safe.

Read our full Safeguarding Policy here

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

This New Ground is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion across all our activities and among our staff, board members, volunteers and participants, and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our activities and workforce to be truly inclusive and representative of all sections of society and our participants, and for each staff, board member and volunteer to feel respected and able to give their best.

Our definition of equity, diversity and inclusion recognises that all individuals are different and should be treated fairly and equally in accordance with their needs. This New Ground equity, diversity and inclusion policy looks particularly at race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion, faith, poverty and age and aims to ensure that no person is discriminated against or disadvantaged for their circumstances, identity and beliefs. At This New Ground, we are celebrating diversity positively, with all the artistic and creative opportunities it offers.