What We Do

Image: DaDa Fellow, Amina Atiq, Yemeni-scouse published poet, award-winning community activist and performance artist.

DaDa is an award winning and pioneering disability and Deaf arts organisation based in Liverpool with international reach and impact. Founded in 1984, we were one of the first disability-led arts organisations in the UK and an integral part of the campaign for greater equality and access for disabled people.

As an organisation we are known widely for DaDaFest, our biennial cross-arts festival which has nurtured and supported many renowned disabled artists from the UK and beyond since its first iteration in 2001. 

In 2020, our festival theme Translations continued a 12-year journey for the organisation using the prefix ’trans’, used for its Latin meaning, ‘through,’ with its implications of change and moving forward.

Now, the organisation wants to continue its pioneering work by reimagining trusted formats, refocusing on our social justice mission and exploring new ways to enable disabled artists to create challenging, entertaining and powerful work.  

DADA - A PLACE TO TRY, DEVELOP, BECOME

The wording follows the journey of artists engaging with the various professional artist development, and community and engagement programmes and biennial festival, who now have the space to try out new ideas, to develop themselves and their ideas by experimenting ambitiously, and fail safely with the artistic provocation and producing support to becoming developed artists in DaDaFest International biennial festival years.

TRY: giving artists the time, space and resource to think about ideas, take creative risks, experiment courageously and fail safely, and to find the best lessons from failure

DEVELOP: supporting artists to develop prototypes of their ideas, work and practice with the permission to fail safely at DaDaFest

BECOME: artists who become visible and daring arts entrepreneurs, leaders and change makers presenting high quality work at DaDaFest International

WE ARE WHAT WE DO

With a staff team who are also artists/creatives themselves know the journey that freelance artists are on; Board members who are deeply passionate about the social justice mission, and other stakeholders and audiences. We are: 

AN ARTIST DEVELOPMENT HUB

Providing seed funding for developing artists - our goal is to get them through the first phase and have prototyped something impressive enough for our biennial festivals and future touring/transfers both nationally and internationally. See DaDa Artist Development

A PRODUCING HOUSE

Commissioning, co-producing work and supporting creative risks taken by artists to present innovative work through our festivals. See DaDaFest 

A CRITICAL CONSULTANCY 

Access consultancy and creative access expertise – we act as a catalyst for breaking down physical and attitudinal barriers in the anticipation of opening up more social and artistic opportunities for disabled people. Contact our team for more information on how to work with us.