Focus on Impact, Not Intention: Moving from 'Safe' Spaces to Spaces of Acceptable Risk

Abstract

‘Safe space’ isn’t an actionable tool; it is an aspiration. It is through the execution of actions that aspirations are achieved. Simply stating that a creative process or environment is a ‘safe space’ because one hopes or aspires for it to be so, does not actually make safety the reality for all participants in the room. It is impossible to create truly ‘safe’ spaces, but that doesn’t mean that artists and arts educators facilitating creative processes should decrease our efforts. Instead, we should shift our focus to creating spaces of acceptable risk.