DaDa is committed to developing and making opportunities for disabled artists and improving access within arts and culture.
Through our 40th anniversary DaDaFest ‘RAGE’ we worked with more than 70 Disabled artists including Cathy Mager whose projection of Hand Ships Sail was shown on Cunard Buildings, newly commissioned works by Zack Mennell, Matt Allen, Faith Bebington and Janet Price, and sharing the work of Dolly Sen including a film of her iconic poem ‘I Want More Disabled Rage’. An audience of more than 22,000 enjoyed the performances, workshops and exhibitions of these artists, showing the immense impact of their work.
We have had the great privilege of working with many disabled artists and activists over our 40 years, including the incredible Jess Thom of Touretteshero, who recently shared her story of having to step down from her role as Co-Director due to changes in Access to Work, and we, like many disabled arts organisations, feel deeply saddened to have heard this news.
https://www.touretteshero.com/safe/2025/05/23/a-career-ending-decision/
We believe schemes like Access to Work provide disabled artists the opportunity to be equal and provide their experiences and insights to the cultural sector, creating a space where these artists can flourish and thrive.
Many of the artists in our network and those who have taken part in DaDaFest rely on Access to Work to cover costs of support workers, equipment, and travel that make working arrangements appropriate for disabled people. Without that resource many workplaces and working environments are totally inaccessible and leave disabled people excluded from arts and culture.
DaDa, like many disability led organisations, is concerned about changes that may impact on disabled artists livelihoods and careers. Without Access to Work, as Jess Thom’s story reflects, many artists will lack the underpinning support that allows them to share their work, and we will see disabled people start to fade from the sector, chipping away at the hard fought progress for equality within the arts.
A British Council report titled ‘ Time to Act: Two Years on - Data-led insights on Performing Arts & Disability in Europe’ shared that one in seven performing arts professionals had not seen any work by disabled artists over the previous two years when the report was published in 2023. The report highlighted the importance of improving access and inclusion, but latest changes threaten to see disabled artists again shunned into obscurity.
https://www.disabilityartsinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/OTM_Time-To-Act-2-report_EN_final.pdf
We are aware disabled people can be waiting months for ATW support and this in itself is exhausting and prohibitive, and spoke out about this and the importance of the scheme in October of last year.
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/disabled-artists-facing-access-to-work-cuts-backlogs-and-inflexibility/
ATW is vital to provide stability for disabled artists and the cultural sector as a whole.
We stand with those within our community who are concerned about the impact of these changes on their work and practice.
We advocate for Access to Work to be funded and administered as a vital resource for creating an inclusive arts and culture sector, rather than stripped back and treated as an optional luxury.
Useful Information and Support
Decode is a partnership between Disability Arts Online and Cathy Waller Company which provides a vital service that supports employers and empowers disabled creatives to navigate through the Access To Work application process have provided some useful information we felt it imperative to share with our network at this time.
If you or any artists/arts professionals you know will be impacted by these changes, here some things you can do:
- sign the open letter to Lisa Nandy MP (DCMS) and Liz Kendall MP (DWP) to ask them to take a series of immediate actions to ensure a full and proper consultation takes place;
- Share your experiences with us if you feel comfortable to do so, so we can better understand the core concerns of our artists, organisations and wider community to help lend our voice to this conversation. Contact us via info@dadafest.co.uk and mark it ATW