Running through the lifeblood of Medicine is a commitment to creating a safe and supportive space for ALL. From the bottom of our hearts we welcome and encourage all races, all backgrounds, all gender identities, all abilities and all ages to attend. As we grow, we sincerely hope the diversity of our community grows with us.
Medicine is a continual work in progress and we are learning as we go – we won’t get everything right the first time. Please do get in touch if you can help us with improving our social inclusion and diversity.
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
For those unfamiliar with this term, the Oxford Dictionary defines cultural appropriation as “the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.” These adoptions may be clothing styles or items such as headdresses, aspects of traditional rituals or ceremonies such as songs, tattoos, or even movement modalities such as yoga.
What makes cultural appropriation different to cultural exchange (which is normal in our interconnected world) is that there is an element of a power dynamic in which a dominant culture takes from one it has oppressed for its own advantage (money, fashion, status etc), which the other culture specifically finds offensive or exploitative.
We recognise that festival-goers do not have bad intentions and may be engaging in cultural appropriation unintentionally, and we see this as an opportunity for education and discussion. We have a programming focus on this and related diversity topics in our programming, and also hope that people will choose to explore this important matter when conversing with people at the event.
Medicine Festival offers a safe place to have these important and relevant conversations, and to learn exactly why we must honour other cultures, and do all we can to educate ourselves about the struggles they face and do what we can to be allies and supportive where needed with regards to raising awareness when tackling cultural appropriation and systemic racism.
ACCESSIBILITY
Festival sites are not always the easiest places for people with disabilities to navigate so we are doing our best to put things in place to make your experience as trouble free as possible.
- We have a dedicated Accessibility Lead to be a point of contact on site for anyone with a disability.
- We will have two disabled toilets on site – one in the campsite, and one in the main festival site.
- Although we do not have an Accessible Viewing Area for the stages our Area Guardians will make sure you are taken care of and have a good line of sight to the entertainment.
- We can provide large print sitemaps and schedules should you need one – please contact us in advance.
Do note that there will not be metal tracks for wheelchairs to get around, and some of the ground is rough field and some paths are a bit uneven. If we have wet weather the ground will also be slippy and this will make it harder for you to navigate around site.
Please complete the form below if you have accessibility needs and are coming to Medicine this year:
We want to create a truly accessible festival and we know that hidden disabilities and neurodivergent differences can often be overlooked, so please also fill in the above form if this applies to you.