New project will research and reveal stories behind half a century of the disability arts movement

A new project to research and reveal 50 years of stories behind the rise of the disability arts movement has been awarded nearly £250,000 of National Lottery funding.

Disability Arts Online (DAO) is hoping its project will collect previously untold stories and save them from being lost for ever, through a new accessible digital archive, an interactive timeline, and a series of podcasts.

Over three years, Cripping Culture: A Journey into Disability Arts Heritage will collect memories from disabled artists, allowing it to capture “previously untold stories and shedding new light on key moments in its history”, thanks to the £249,607 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The project’s work will include an appeal for those involved in the movement to share their memories.

The plan is to capture the stories of disabled artists and activists who were involved with disability arts through a series of oral history interviews – to be made available through a podcast in accessible formats – but the project will also seek reflections and memories from allies and audiences who experienced the work.

The timeline will include pictures, videos and materials from the disability arts movement.

DAO will work closely on the project with the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive (NDACA), which has previously brought together original art works, photographs, film footage and other material.

NDACA’s archive material will feature as part of the Cripping Culture project, with the research helping to tell the stories of the NDACA material and creating a fuller picture of the disability arts movement and its key moments.

The project also hopes to seek out stories, people and key moments that DAO is not yet aware of, including more accounts from outside London and from an intersectional perspective.

In the project’s final year, a hybrid symposium will bring together the disability arts community and celebrate the history of the movement.

DAO has been documenting the growth of disability arts since 2004, by publicising and critiquing work, reporting developments in the movement, and publishing opinion pieces.

The project will be led by DAO’s founder, Colin Hambrook, who will move to a new role as heritage project director of Cripping Culture after more than two decades as DAO’s editor.

Hambrook (pictured) said: “We are in imminent danger of losing our heritage as activists central to the movement are ageing and many elders have already died.

“Their memories, stories, and interpretation of artworks make a critical contribution to society and disabled people’s culture.

“There’s an urgent need for Cripping Culture to digitally preserve this heritage and present it through the prism of lived experience in accessible and inclusive forms.”

Trish Wheatley, DAO’s chief executive, said: “Cripping Culture is hugely significant for our organisation, alongside being of vital importance to the movement.

“My favourite part of the project is that we’ll be seeking out contributions from across the country to show how widespread this movement has been and still is today.”

Dennis Queen, DAO’s co-chair, said: “The stories and testimonies gathered through Cripping Culture will help to build a more widespread and nuanced understanding of the disabled experience.

“Anyone can become disabled at any time, yet it is very hard to find a sense of community and empowered disabled identity without a rich cultural heritage to refer to.”

To register interest in sharing your story about the disability arts movement, visit www.disabilityarts.online/cripping-culture

Picture by Disability Arts Online

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