Artistic Assembly
How we make decisions
Candoco makes artistic decisions through groups called Assemblies, a shared model of creative leadership that distributes decision-making across staff, artists, and external participants rather than concentrating it within an internal executive team.
Assemblies are built around disabled-led decision-making, with at least 75% of members bringing lived experience of disability. All external participants are paid and access costs are covered.
How we work together
Each Assembly is convened for a specific purpose and then disperses, with membership drawn from a growing pool of participants depending on what the decision requires.
Decisions are handled at two levels depending on their scale and impact. Smaller decisions, such as selecting artists or agreeing programme themes, are made by the Assembly directly, which will always include one or more Candoco staff members. Larger decisions with long-term or financial implications are made jointly with the Executive Director.
How do the Assemblies operate?
Assemblies operate with clear expectations around respect, access and accountability. Meetings are formally minuted, conflicts of interest are declared, and decisions are checked against Candoco’s Curatorial Statement. Governance and artistic decision-making are kept deliberately separate, with board members playing no part in Assemblies.
As far as we know, no other UK dance company is working this way. However, if yours is, we would love to hear from you to share ideas and learning!
Who can take part?
Anyone can express interest in taking part by completing this short form. Your name will be added to a database that we draw on whenever convening an Assembly. Our ambition is to grow and diversify this list over time, but we cannot guarantee that everyone who registers will be contacted.