“Your voice matters and we want it to be heard” 
Irish Theatre Institute 
#SpeakUpAction

Irish Theatre Institute today launched the Speak Up ACTiON Survey, a new online survey of arts workers and their workplace experiences. The survey will gather clear information from those in the sector on their personal knowledge of Dignity in the Workplace, so that Irish arts workspaces can be improved for everyone. 

Speak Up ACTiON is the first step in Phase II of Irish Theatre Institute’s Speak Up programme. This is a follow-up to 2018’s Speak Up & Call It Out Programme – Safeguarding the Future of Irish Theatre, a sector initiative led by Irish Theatre Institute (ITI) and supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the Arts Council, and the Irish Theatre sector. The survey is a cross arts sector initiative recognising that issues exist across a number of artforms. This new survey will inform policy and provide supports and training to create a safe and dignified workplace for all engaged in the Arts in Ireland. It will provide an overview of incidents, frequency, type and context of bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and other experiences of artists and arts workers across all publicly funded artforms. 

In parallel with the survey, a suite of training tools is being developed for arts organisations to utilise, in order to build awareness of such issues and how to respond effectively to them.   

“Any abuse of power damages people’s lives, personally and professionally, individually and collectively. The arts communities are places where people with diverse skills, backgrounds, ages and genders work together in a spirit of collaboration and co-operation. This must be supported,” said Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. “And we must provide new initiatives that- once and for all- inform policy and provide supports and training to create a safe and dignified workplace for all engaged in the arts. This survey sets out to get clear information and responses from artists and workers in the arts about their experiences with a view to improving these for everybody. I strongly urge our art communities to take part and complete this survey”.

Siobhán Bourke of Irish Theatre Institute said “The purpose of this survey is to provide a robust analysis of what people have experienced in their working lives. Through our collaborative relationships with artists, artist groupings and Resource Organisations, we are mindful of myriad conversations that continue to happen online and offline about the experiences of people working across the arts. This survey will give us a clear indication as to what is really happening and how future interventions may be shaped.”   

The Speak Up ACTiON Survey, which should take around 10 minutes to complete, can be accessed here. The anonymous survey will remain open for four weeks, with the first analysis due in June 2021. A Findings Report with further detail will follow in Autumn 2021.

Please send any enquiries to info@irishtheatreinstitute.ie.

Please note, ITI has endeavoured to ensure that the survey is fully accessible. If you would like to access a PDF copy of the survey please find it below, If you should encounter any difficulties, please email info@irishtheatreinstitute.ie and a member of the team will be in touch.