What we talk about when we talk about the mainstream. Commentary on Anderson and Bigby's (2021) 'Community participation as identity and belonging: a case study of Arts Project Australia. 1 am an artist''

摘要

The Arts Project studied by Anderson and Bigby (2021) defies simple classification as either "mainstream" or "specialist". Although service users are all people with intellectual disabilities, the service is committed to operating as an arts program rather than a disability service. In this commentary piece, I argue that the Arts Project is illustrative of the challenges of distinguishing the mainstream from the specialist, and the ambiguities of these concepts that originate in vague legislation and policy directives. I argue further that any attempt at classifying a service as either "mainstream" or "specialist" requires careful and nuanced assessment of the nature of encounters, practices, and attitudes associated with a service or activity, rather than a superficial count of service users and their disability status.