Simon Phillips: Creating Accessibility

By Danny Maggs


This Capstone Project, “The Starving Artist: An Investigation into Multihyphenate Artistry” by Summer Resident Danny Maggs interrogates the concept of a “starving artist” and “true artistry” through literature review and interviews of multihyphenate artists. Through this capstone project, Danny creates and exhibits a profile for each of the artists interviewed, along with an artistic journey mapping of their artistry, and an analysis of the project’s main inquiries. Read the profiles for each artist here: Karla Estela Rivera, Thomas Kurtz, and Simon Phillips, and a complete overview of the project here.  

“I want you to get more comfortable being uncomfortable.”

Simon Phillips teaches this to students in their classes—encouraging them to express themselves in different and new ways, and think in ways they hadn’t thought before. Phillips appreciates when those in his classes express gratitude for the space that he gives them: space to process trauma, express themselves, expel stress, and connect with one another. People of all ages join his classes, and he makes an effort to be accessible to all levels and capabilities of movement. Having received his undergraduate degree in Dance and Psychology, he’s very passionate about and interested in the intersections of mind, body, and movement. Creating fun, recreational spaces where folks can both enjoy themselves and focus, and learn and grow together, is a big theme in her work. Phillips also offers classes in mediums that are not physical, like arts and crafts and creative writing. 

It is this value—accessibility—that motivates Phillips’ career. Through his own experience with inaccessibility in the arts, he’s learned how needed and important it is. Growing up in a family with low-to-moderate income, he put himself in the mindset of growing and excelling career-wise, while having no shame about his background. He states that he’s never been a starving artist. He’s been able to “hustle” for his whole career—doing work study in order to afford dance lessons, like cleaning the studio and minor admin work, and at the age of 14, beginning to teach. 

Phillips looks at accessibility through many different lenses—whether they’re providing financial accessibility or supporting physical accessibility. An experience they cite as affecting their pedagogy was teaching dance classes for the blind. His mother was an occupational therapist at the Georgia Academy for the Blind, and when she said he needed volunteer experience to boost his resume for colleges, she pitched the idea of teaching a dance class there. 

Phillips took time to consider what the students could use in a dance setting if not their sight:

“They could tap into this sensation of feeling the sun on their skin or what it feels like to be cold, or even what it feels like to be on a swing, or kick, or jump.”

This experience informed how he creates accessible and inclusive spaces in his classes now, noting that inclusion is a step beyond accessibility. 

“How can people feel actually included?”

He emphasizes representation; ensuring all people see themselves in the arts and feel empowered, and working with people of diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Phillips values community and collaboration in their practice. The bulk of their dance training was in West African dance, the culture of which is very holistic and community-oriented. 

“Everything really takes a village.”

This was an adjustment for Phillips from their training in Ballet, a more individualistic dance form. Both forms, he says, contributed to his dance practice – he appreciates the technical, anatomical, and aesthetic focus in Ballet as well as the freedom, expression, and celebration of West African movement. Emphasizing the mind-body connection, he finds both practices to be important to his own journey. 

Currently, Phillips works as an education coordinator, teaching artist, and performer. Working to bring arts into school systems and the community reflects his value of arts for all—and as a personal trainer, he emphasizes the importance of mental, physical, and cognitive well-being for those participating. 

Phillips endeavors to create spaces where everyone can engage with the arts. He believes that everyone should be able to, “really see and express themselves in many different ways, using art as the primary medium.”

Looking ahead, Phillips is planning to pursue training in clinical psychotherapy, and becoming an expressive arts therapist. Their current work, engaging with artists of all ages as both a teacher and a learner, has been fulfilling and influential. The relationships they’ve built are ones they’ll carry with them through their career. 

Phillips frequently mentions nature as a driving force in his artistry. Whether it’s the pull and flow of the tides, the orbits of the planets, or the colors of flowers, he sees art in everything. 

“I embrace my artistry in a very authentic way.”

And artistry embraces him back. 

Explore Simon Phillips’ work: