Epic Arts

"So often, society disables people. I 'm trying to get the children to believe in themselves," says Katie MacCabe, one of the founders of Epic Arts Cambodia.

 

Katie should know. She was brought up with a father who suffered from polio. She remembers, "Mentally he was very strong and growing up, i wanted to do something to bring integration between disabled, deaf and able-bodied people."

 

With Epic Arts, a grassroots organization providing art workshops and projects to disabled people - most of them children- she found her calling. She says, "Our aim in the workshop is to provide a safe place where we are mixing disabled and ablebodied children and hopefully they will take this experience into their real lives."

 

Epic Arts, established in the UK in 2001, set up its exploratory office in Phnom Penh in 2003. Katie and her husband moved to Kampot in 2005 as they "wanted to go somewhere where they's very little opportunity for disabled people." By 2006, it was registered as an International NGO in Cambodia.

 

The trained community dance teacher from the UK adds, "Dancing is not about someone's physicality. It's more about finding a movement that's integral to a particular body.

 

Although it hasn't been plain sailing- the heat, the language barrier and not to mention the unique project she was setting up- provided plenty of challenges, but her faith kept her going.

 

After meeting others who believe in her work, she has been able ot build a dedicated team of 14 staff that includes 11disable locals and Kim Sathia, a former professional dancer whowas disabled in a car accident.

 

Epic Arts now offers workshops on Khmer and contemporary dance, physical theatre, visual arts and crafts and puppetry in a number of locations including Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampot and Battambang.

 

In 2006 alone, the organization held 18 projects with almost 600 participants and staged 29 performances, boasting an estimated audience of 10,000. According to Katie, the aim of the performances, usually staged at the end of a workshop, is to change people's perception and show what disabled people can do.

 

Early last year, Epic Arts expanded its efforts to open a cafe in Kampot to provide the deaf community with a place to meet. Katie says, "For a deaf person in Cambodia, it's very isolating. They stay at home with very limited communication and they often don't know there are other deaf people. That's the essence and joy of the cafe- it's a place to belong and make new friends."

 

Katie says being involved in Stay Another Day has made a significant impact to Epic Arts, especially the cafe.

 

"For the first year, we were struggling to make a profit, and since Stay Another Day, we've started making a steady profit. It has been very helpful."

 

Initial figures for the first half of 2007 also showed a  steady increase in sales as well as visitor numbers compared to 2006.

 

She adds, "Just having people reading the booklet and getting the message out is helpful. We've had a French chef who stayed with us for over a month and re-did our menu."

 

For now though, Katie and her colleagues are busy preparing for Epic Art's immediate future, including an inclusive Arts Festival to be held in February 2008 with regional artists and fund raising for the first accessible arts center in Kampot.

 

She says, "We're trying to find more physically disabled children and local artists so that by end 2008 we're ready to start the new center  with new participants."