Diversity Festival
For the last 7 years ROAR have supported the delivery of the Diversity Festival at the Rotherham Show, which has been running for over 20 years, working closely with REMA (Rotherham Ethnic Minority Alliance), aiding and enabling local resident communities representing protected characteristics have a presence and a voice, and to celebrate their creativity through stage performances and workshop activity.
This involves the Diversity Festival Group working with a great many stakeholders from: communities, statutory bodies, voluntary organisations, individuals, artists, trade unions etc., raising funds, recruiting and supporting the army of volunteers needed to make the event happen, managing artists and other content, publicity and promotion, while co-ordinating all the logistics and legal requirements.
We approach the design of the content holistically, taking diversity through from the performers and organisations represented to the art forms and opportunities available. This year we were able to bring Live Coding to the event for the first time, thanks to Alex McClean from the Algomech festival.
Each year we aim to improve our offer and to make the event even more inclusive and accessible. This year we worked with the Charity SENSE to make directional signs for suitable wheelchair access to our area from designated entrances. A Prayer tent was provided and a quite space for valuable time out many families require when attending noisy public festivals.
This years main funders were: Arts Council England, UK Research and Innovation, Awards For All and RMBC.
Below are some of the many photographs from the 2019 two day event held at Clifton Park, Rotherham where over 70,000 people came during the weekend in September.
Funding from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund, has helped us to make this possible.
