Reflecting on Ideas Lab

Last week, Spectra’s Ideas Lab project came to a close with a wonderful sharing of work. I have been leading on this project since October, so it’s been a living entity in my calendar (and brain space) since then.

If you’ve not come across our Ideas Lab project before, briefly, this was an opportunity for Learning Disabled Artists that offered time, funds and support to research and develop a creative idea. We ran an application process whereby creatives pitched an idea, and three were selected to be taken forward – Rob Bate, Matt Recardo and Vicki Rainbow.

The process included two days of development time together, looking into how the artists wanted to see their idea grow, the biggest dreams they had for the idea, as well as what support they may need along the way. This was held by Kate (Creative Director) and me. Throughout working together, we’ve aimed to bring ourselves regularly to a ‘dreaming space’ – imagining how our ideas, talents and skills can be fully realised in the wider world. 

In our second day of development, we spent time exploring these different ways of thinking about our ideas*:

• The Dreamer – Leave everything practical behind and imagine your biggest daydream. How big can it be? How exciting? Who would compliment you? What award would you win? 
• The Realist – How am I going to make this happen? What’s the plan? The steps to get there? The things / people/ skills I need?
• The Critic – Does your plan match your goal? Is there anything that’s missing from your plan? How could your plan be stronger?

Each artist received £500 seed money, a pot to use however they liked to develop their ideas. The questions we explored helped artists decide how they wanted to spend their funds and provided a clear direction for their development time. As a project lead, I offered mentoring to help artists reflect on the process as we went along. I really enjoyed these check-ins with each artist, to dig into how they were feeling about the process, what was exciting, and what they were finding challenging.

It was a privilege to sit alongside the artists, seeing their ideas grow and their dreams get bigger for themselves. I did have to hold some disappointment around expectations regarding what’s actually possible with £500 when working with artistic collaborators; it’s surprising how quickly a budget disappears!

Back to last week’s closing of the project, we gathered some lovely people together at Lightwoods House to celebrate the artist’s work. It was a brilliant event (planned by Kerry, our Operations Lead, and Matt Recardo), warmly received and a fantastic recognition of the artist’s talents. 

The programme gave each artist 10-15 minutes to share their work, and answer a few questions about the process, and what’s next.

Matt (aka Cardo the Poet) used his Ideas Lab funding to create his own track, collaborating with musician Paul Carroll and fellow artist Frankling.  The track highlights Matt’s own experience growing up with Autism and how the arts helped him to develop. Matt is now hoping to get funding to create a full-length album that helps create change and end stigma about neurodivergence and marginalised demographics. We look forward to sharing Matt’s work more widely, as and when it’s released into the wild!

Rob Bate is a ‘sit-down’ comedian and performer, with a unique brand of comedy that draws on his experience of everyday life as a wheelchair user. Rob was keen to use Ideas Lab to improve his performance and develop his talent, as well as find new opportunities for gigs and networking. Rob worked on his act with a mentor, local comedian Andy White, and has started to develop a network of contacts in the comedy world. Rob has more mentoring coming up in June, too, and then watch this space for future gigs!   

Vicki Rainbow is a Birmingham-based performer and academic who loves rainbows. Vicki came to Ideas Lab with the ambition of developing a scene from her autobiographical play ‘The Highs and Lows of Tiny Rainbow’. Specifically, Vicki was keen to draw on the movement expertise that Spectra has to work on a scene in her play that explores Vicki’s journey through education. Long term, the production of the full show will feed into Vicki’s PhD on the Impact of Theatre on the Autistic Community. Vicki has already secured some funding to continue development on the scene, and we are very excited to see the full play develop in 2027. 

Whilst the Ideas Lab project has now finished for this year, the support and relationship with the artists will continue. Josie (Spectra’s Development Lead) has met the artists individually to explore possible funding opportunities and routes to continue their development. We are also looking to establish a peer network to provide an opportunity for artists to connect, share practice and access training together. In this way, we hope that the momentum built by Ideas Lab will continue, gently but steadily progressing.

In my own dreaming space, I’ve been thinking about where this project could go if limits (funding, capacity) were lifted. For Learning Disabled and Neurodivergent artists, it could be a game-changer in terms of their ability to see a creative project realised. Even with access support, the route of gaining funding and managing your own project is challenging. Whilst artists would likely be completely capable of going through this process themselves, there is a barrier there for many, whether the development of the idea, the financial aspect, the administration, or the communication required to pull together a full funding bid.

For now, we look forward to seeing where Vicki, Matt and Rob’s work grows and develops next. First stop, Ideas Lab, next stop, the world!

Ideas Lab will reopen for applications in Autumn 2026.

* Thanks to Improbable for the inspiration for this framework.