A dozen individuals with psychosocial disability are to attend this season’s offerings of Ópera de Tenerife
Auditorio de Tenerife and the non-profit organisation AFES Salud Mental have begun working together in the Cultura Inclusiva programme, promoted by AFES Salud Mental in collaboration with the health and social care institution IASS of the Tenerife Island Council. The initiative aims to promote social inclusion and societal integration for individuals with psychosocial disabilities by effectively exercising their cultural rights.
The programme is part of the social model of disability, which identifies barriers within our society rather than in these individuals and is based on a clear premise: culture is a right and an experience to which all citizens are entitled. In this context, the Educational and Social Affairs Department of the Auditorio de Tenerife has taken specific measures of cultural mediation that, along with the technical support of AFES Salud Mental, are helping the psychosocially disabled to attend this season’s offerings of Ópera de Tenerife.
Cultura Inclusiva, in alliance with the Auditorio de Tenerife, goes beyond mere attendance at cultural activities and promotes a gathering place for diverse ways of experiencing and feeling art, affirming the right of all individuals to access auditoriums and venues offering artistic excellence. In addition to facilitating an overall understanding of the offerings, cultural mediation explains, at a deeper level, what each work means, making opera available to diverse capacities and under equal conditions.
The project is being undertaken in three stages. The first was a 5 March gathering to discuss the opera Roméo et Juliette before its premiere. The event was attended by individuals with mental health problems for the purpose of contextualising the work and making it accessible within a secure and specially adapted environment. Attendees were allowed to enter the Symphony Hall for several minutes, where they observed the stage crew at work on the production.
The group of psychosocially disabled individuals is to attend the 15 March premiere of the production in the Symphony Hall along with the rest of the spectators. Lastly, the experience is to be included in a new programme of Radio Himalia, the video podcast that AFES Salud Mental has offered over the last decade to raise mental-health awareness and promote a fairer, more inclusive view of disability.
The psychosocially disabled may experience difficulties in adapting to certain social and cultural contexts, especially in situations such as opera performances, as the format, duration and sensorial intensity can make them feel insecure if they do not have the proper means of support.
To this end, the project Cultura Inclusiva takes pre-emptive measures to prepare such individuals for the experience, providing accessible information, allowing them to anticipate the dynamics and structure of operatic works, and offering the opportunity to leave the hall without stigmatisation. To achieve this, inclusive communication principles are used within an approach grounded in dignified treatment, recognition of individual capacities, and adaptation to each person. In this sense, mediation is understood not as a simplification of the work but as a tool that enlarges the experience and strengthens the bond between citizens and culture within relevant institutions.
Ultimately, Cultura Inclusiva seeks to bolster personal autonomy, broaden participation in common cultural spaces, and raise institutional awareness of accessibility and diversity. With this initiative, the Tenerife Island Council, through the Auditorio de Tenerife and in collaboration with AFES Salud Mental, takes another step toward consolidating culture as a key tool for inclusion and social engagement.
AFES Salud Mental is a nonprofit organisation that, for over 40 years, has been actively involved in the recovery, social inclusion and defence of the rights of the psychosocially disabled. Its approach is based on promoting autonomy and empowerment, on the strength of creating associations as a driver of societal transformation, and on speaking for individuals with mental health problems so they may take the reins of their own recovery processes.