Liverpool-based disability and deaf arts-led organisation DaDa is celebrating its 40th anniversary with next year's DaDaFest International – whose theme is RAGE, underlining the uphill battles faced by disabled people.
The award-winning, cutting-edge charity was founded in 1984 and has become an integral part of the campaign for greater equality and access for disabled artists.
The centrepiece of DaDa’s work, DaDaFest International, is a platform to showcase the work of disabled, deaf and neuro-divergent artists, which returns from March 8-31.
DaDa interim chief executive Zoe Partington said: "“This is a very important year for DaDa as we mark 40 years of artistic excellence, activism, advocacy, creativity, collaboration, conversation and celebration.
“I’m also delighted we can reveal the theme of next year’s DaDaFest International is RAGE. Though some progress has been made, too many decisions are still taken without involving disabled people, which has left disabled artists and communities raging that the gaps in society are still so wide. We are still so far from equity and representation at all levels in art, culture and heritage, often neglected and discriminated against at the highest levels in the arts, community and government."
Over DaDa’s 40 years it has made an important impact through advocacy and social change. We have supported Liverpool City Council on policy making about access to services and transport; we were consulted during the redevelopment of the Liverpool Everyman to make it one of the most accessible theatres in the country, and we have worked with the Unity Theatre for more than 20 years to change perceptions of disabled artists."
DaDaFest was launched in 2001 to promote disabled artists in mainstream venues. It quickly grew to become a home for UK disability arts and international artists, moving to a biennial format to assist artists to acquire funding and develop work. There have now been 13 DaDaFests, featuring more than 500 showcase events.
Previous festival participants have included Dame Evelyn Glennie, actor and comedian Liz Carr, comedian Francesca Martinez, performer Claire Cunningham, poet Amina Atiq and performance artist Brian Catling, visual artists Tony Heaton and Rachel Gadsden, and artist-activists Bobby Baker and Liz Crow. Artists have also come from Indonesia, India, Mali, Congo and South Africa, as well as across the UK.
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