Upcoming Events and Opportunities: 1 May 2021
Thank you for coming to check out the latest upcoming events and opportunities post available on The Disability Issue website.
Today is the first day of May, and I have a few things to tell you about what’s soon to arrive. Once again, however, there are less E&Os than I hoped – but a lot of what’s happening seems to be doing so in the more distant future. It would be daft to steal what is better to know about at a later date.
What I’ll tell you about is still interesting as well. A part of it really relates to the interview with John Kelly I was honoured to offer blog readers on Tuesday. If you haven’t learned about these arts that are available to view before, it’s something I’m sure you’ll find it truly compelling. John is a great guy, and I look forward to meeting him in the future. He’s definitely a key person to appreciate, someone who’s kept active and has helped keep disability arts alive and well at this moment in time.
Once again, the events and opportunities listed below are available for readers to experience in some way. You might watch them, you might hear them, or you might get involved with them yourself. People can access discussions about various disability arts online. There are also plenty of ways to get involved in viewing, hearing or expressing visual artwork, music, film, performing arts and literature in the future too.
If real-time interaction is needed, most people currently speak face-to-face via Zoom. If you need help setting up Zoom, then click here for help via their website. YouTube is also regularly used to show videos, and webpages often give plenty of information about the event or opportunity too.
So, once again, I have more interesting events and opportunities to share with you this week. But please, stick around to read about what’s here – and there’s a bit of information to give you after all the E&Os are shown as well.
DAC Creative Business Support Workshops
When?
5 May till 27 May
How much?
Free.
What does it involve?
Disability Arts Cymru are offering people access to six free workshop session. They relate to what is known as their Arts and Creative Biz Scheme. Those who wish to get involved will be able to explore different topics to help them thrive as either a Deaf or disabled artist or creative individual in Wales.
It’ll involve six steps, which are labelled in the following ways: Creating A Plan, Setting Up, Access To Work, Funding and Marketing, Pricing And Collaboration, and Feedback.
To sign up the course, you’ll have to get in touch with rosey@dacymru.com, but if you’d like to check out the main page that explains what happens during these workshops you can head to the DAC webpage here.
Codomodus Sylvain Presents 74 Voices Japan
When?
4 May – 9 May 2021
How much?
Free.
What does it involve?
CODOMUS Sylvain is an arts studio for mentally and physically disabled children (aged 0-18) in Nagoya, Japan. If you happen to live around that region, you should physically be able access this show easily. However, as most of my readers are from the UK, it’s not probably not going to be that easy. Still, this exhibition is displaying the work of 74 artists for the first time in three years, and will involve a talk from Kazutaka Hirota, painter and fine arts instructor at CODOMUS Sylvain.
Plus, Instagram gives us a glimpse at what has been created, and it is interesting. The platform obviously gives you the chance to label what appeals to you most too. I recommend taking a look at the work they’ve been up to, because it definitely deserves recognition.
If you’re lucky enough to be near the location, you can book tickets via link on the Instagram page too.
Unfolding Shrines Online – Now with Audio Description
When?
Now.
How much?
Free.
What does it involve?
I’m sure many people with an interest in disability arts will be well aware of the Unfolding Shrines application made available by Shape Arts just a few weeks ago. It was primarily an application that offered access to an interesting exhibition around you on your mobile phone. However, I’m not so sure it was always easy for people to use. I found plenty of space was needed to work with it well too.
However, what might now be a more accessible walk-through online exhibition is available if you struggled to see it during the first time around. It’s interesting work, and I recommend taking a look at what Jason Wilsher-Mills, Sophie Helf, Rebekah Ubuntu, and Uma Breakdown initially created in collaboration with Hot Knife Digital Media.
The most significant thing they’ve highlighted is that unlike the application, audio description is also available if you want to use the video to view the Unfolding Shrines exhibition online with audio description today.
Extraordinary Bodies: John Kelly and His Fellow Entertainers
When?
Now.
How much?
Free.
What does it involve?
Please, forgive me if I sound very demanding today. However, if you’ve never checked Extraordinary Bodies website, I recommend you call by their website. If you don’t yet know anything about the entertainment they have on offer, then please, I once again believe people should pay their respects!
Extraordinary Bodies is the UK’s leading, professional, integrated circus company. They offer bold, radical and joyous performances to others, too. Working as a leading artistic practice increases national awareness of how D/deaf, disabled and non-disabled people can work together in great ways alike.
I certainly don’t see having non-disabled people involved as a negative point of the Extraordinary Bodies company. We should learn how to collaborate with all people – in fact, we are all people. Our disabilities or impairments are personal and should be kept that way. We all have our talents and should be allowed to use them freely among others.
I can’t wait to see them live! I think they’re all so talented. They’ve all achieved such positive feedback, and it’s no surprise to me after watching the Indoor Show Trailer for “What Am I Worth?” provided to you via YouTube. A great collaboration of circus, theatre and music should make a great combination. I know I’ll never be able to ignore some like this.
Not So Much, But There’s Much More to Come
I can’t deny that this week isn’t offering us all that much when it comes to disability arts-related events and opportunities. But, like I said, do not despair! Some weeks are a lot more compelling than others, and I’ve already made note of upcoming events and opportunities that you’ll hear about in the future when the time is right.
However, I’ve decided that after releasing this events and opportunities blog post on my website, I need to take some time away from blogging. I’m not disappearing for good, but I’m not going to be publishing these types of posts anymore either. Still, I will be speaking about interesting disability arts and culture when the time seems right. But rather than having one post like this per week, there might be one or two per month, along with my interviews that will be transcribed and released when the time is right as well.
Speaking of which, on Tuesday next week, you’ll have the opportunity to hear what Justin Edgar had to tell me about how his life has unfolded and what’s happened with his work during the pandemic period. Justin is an experienced filmmaker/director who began his company 104 films in the 2000s. They’re the UK’s leading production company and training provider focusing on disability.
Justin also played a prominent role in producing an interesting film about Reasonable Adjustment (RA), for which he also provided items at the exhibition in Wakefield in January/February 2020. The exhibition was due to continue at the Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester and is currently resting there, but the pandemic obviously unfortunately cut what people were due to see there last year.
However, the exhibition was interesting because it took a great look at the social difficulties for disabled people during the early 1990s, not long before the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act was finally gathered. I recommend checking out the RA website now – it contains what was shown in the exhibition. It might be handy to look at it before you read through the interview too.
Thank you for popping by today, and I hope you managed to find some events and opportunities that appealed to you along the way as well. I wish you all the best, and will post again when the time is right.
Featured Image: Photo by Anthony Shkraba from Pexels
