Author: Spectra

In this blog, Hazel, who is doing a research project with Spectra, writes about: Words by Hazel SealeafFeatured image by Kate Green The Boss. It makes me picture corny inspirational posters from the 2010s, or maybe fleets of suits marching into The Apprentice season 427. But it’s a word I’m warming to. For those of…

In this blog, Maisy writes about: In July, our Environmental Book Club put the books aside for a session and instead temporarily became the ‘Environmental Film & Video Club’. As a group, we discussed three short videos; a campaign, a short film, and a movie trailer. We shared how they made us feel, the moments…

Words and illustrations by Ruby Lewis, Community Lead Seed banks exist in soil. They can lie dormant for years, waiting for the right opportunity, to be exposed to light, for moisture to reach them, for the right conditions to arrive.

Applications to this role are now CLOSED Purpose: To evidence, analyse and demonstrate the impact of Spectra’s work  Aim: To use historical and newly collected data to create a report / resource about our current and potential impact that is both meaningful and genuinely accessible to people with learning disabilities. Terms: Freelance contract, October 2025…

Words by Hayley Guest, Creative LeadFeatured image by Tod Jones *Fade from black* The film opens on a shot of a garden. In the foreground, an intricately decorated wooden sign reads ‘Welcome to The Commons’, and behind this there are areas of lush green grass, light gravel paths, juvenile trees and curved wooden planters. In…

As we regroup for another year, part of our reflections include reviewing our action plans to recognise what we have achieved and where we can push ourselves further.  Progress So Far Below is a brief list of actions that have been achieved and embedded into our practice so far since our Anti-Racism Action Plan was…

Our vision for the exhibition was to tell the story of how Spectra works in the world; our guiding principles that drive i) what we do, and ii) how we do it. The physical, creative output from workshops represent a proportion of our delivery. We also create nourishing, sensory spaces that centre nature and play,…

Words by Maisy Neale, Marketing and Communications Lead. Earlier this month, we opened The Commons, a co-designed community garden installation at Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. As with all of Spectra’s work, the garden has been designed and co-created with radical inclusion at its core. This is reflected in the community co-design workshops and practical design…

Spectra’s Vision: Lifting the capacity of learning disabled people to influence change Role’s Purpose: To ensure Spectra fulfils its aims through collaborative, strategic leadership. To develop and oversee Spectra’s operations through the responsive, care-led, inclusive structuring and delivery of internal systems with particular focus on communications, HR and finances.  Terms: start date as soon as…

‘The Commons’, a new community garden installation, has been built by Spectra, a Sandwell-based neurodiverse creative collective. The multi-arts organisation, which works to lift the capacity of learning disabled people to influence change, has transformed the community garden of the brand new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) into a place of rest, play and nature…