The Ethical Tapestry is more than just a concept; it’s an evolving, dynamic tool for reimagining how we approach creation and collaboration in the performing arts. Rooted in ethical relationality, a concept elaborated by Dr. Dwayne Donald, the tapestry reflects the complexities of human relationships and challenges us to consciously navigate them in creative spaces.
What is the Ethical Tapestry?
The Ethical Tapestry is a multimedia framework designed to document and reflect on the interplay of relationships, power dynamics, and environmental factors in a creative process. It acts as a living record, capturing moments of connection, tension, and evolution within a rehearsal or performance space. Rather than dictating solutions, it serves as a tool for dialogue, fostering understanding and shared accountability.
By integrating ethical relationality—an approach emphasizing respect for differences and acknowledgment of historical and social contexts—the tapestry encourages participants to hold space for diverse perspectives without forcing consensus. It is particularly impactful in fostering equity and inclusion in practices like cross-cultural casting, where power dynamics and representation are at the forefront.
The Tapestry at Work: Live Experimentations
Recent workshops at Postmarginal Edmonton 2.0 and rehearsal settings at Concordia University highlighted how the Ethical Tapestry can facilitate ethical co-creation. In a hands-on session in Edmonton, led by Mũkonzi wã Mūsyoki and Peter Farbridge, actors rehearsed scenes while exploring the ethical contexts of cross-cultural casting. At Concordia University, Peter used the tapestry to navigate challenging cross-cultural material. The tapestry captured these interactions in real time, documenting the evolving relationships and providing a platform for reflection and discussion.
Participants were encouraged to engage deeply with the ethical dimensions of their work, considering questions like:
- How do historical, cultural, physical and social and environmental contexts shape our relationships in the rehearsal room?
- What does it mean to create spaces that honour difference while fostering collaboration?
- What is not being said in the space, and how can we honour that?
Beyond Representation: Cultivating Ethical Relationships
The Ethical Tapestry challenges us to move beyond performative gestures of inclusion toward cultivating genuine, ongoing relationships. It invites us to think critically about how our positionality, beliefs, and institutional structures influence the creative process. This approach is not limited to rehearsals or performances. It has applications across the arts, offering a way to embed ethical considerations into every aspect of creation, from casting to storytelling. By doing so, it enables artists and organizations to craft works that are not only representative but also resonant with the complexities of our shared and divergent experiences.
Looking Ahead
Tools like the Ethical Tapestry offer a vision for a more inclusive and ethical future in the performing arts. These practices don’t aim to erase differences but to celebrate them, fostering a culture where every voice can contribute to the creative process with authenticity and respect. This is not just about changing how we create; it’s about rethinking how we connect, collaborate, and imagine together.
Find out more about the Ethical Tapestry
A new article co-authored by Peter Farbridge and Melanie Stuckey (Centre de recherche sur le potentiel humain) has been published in Conversations Across the Fields of Dance Studies #43 (University of Michigan Press). Taking the case study of a university production of Mizu no Eki (by Ōta Shōgo), the article proposes ethical relationality, a conscious consideration of relationships with the self, others, historical legacies and social and physical environments, as an approach to the creation and rehearsal processes.
