This section of DAO provides disabled artists and writers with a space to give our readers an inside view of their art practice, share thoughts and receive comments and feedback.
These blogs provide an informative and entertaining insight into how disability and impairment are experienced from a disability perspective.
The opinions expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of DAO.
It’s now less than 3 weeks before the ‘Surroundings’ installation/performance. And I am still compiling the projected imagery and editing the soundtrack of recorded voices. The experiences that have been shared with me are precious and I feel the pressing responsibility to make this installation work, especially when one of my interviewees has written this ...
Initial: A Medical Record I never broke a limb Reading Not an arm or a leg Writing My medical history Revealing Paper cuts Risking Ink poisoning Scrawling Notes on my hand Empathising With every break That never happened My paper cuts Stinging badly.
Wow, It has been such an amazing three weeks since I last blogged for DAO. I went down to London and spoke at the Emerging Artists discussion at the Tate Exchange. (I got a charcuterie plate and ate it looking at St Paul's, it was super fancy) I had chance to see the Jenny Holzer ...
Raucous red, vibrant orange, enshrouded in midnight blue. From the dark recesses, Dragon transmits a powerful and protective veil of sound and colour. Outside, ever-multiplying, plagues of recovery model robots and care company mercenaries lie in wait... A ground-breaking inclusive electric cello experience by Jo-anne Cox, a contemporary composer and DAO Blogger. Defiant Journey is a sonic saga, ...
Volunteers play a vital role in the arts. Without them, many activities would not happen. Across the UK there are around 63,000 voluntary arts groups, regularly involving more than 10 million people participating voluntarily in cultural activities*. Step Change Studios works with volunteers who support its inclusive dance activity. Its volunteers not only make an important ...
My dad died a couple of weeks ago. I did cry but I wasn’t sure what I was crying for. There is a saying that ‘grief is love unfinished’, but for some grief is love not yet begun. I have written on DAO before about my relationship with my dad. I spent my childhood perpetually holding ...
My name is Fae Kilburn and this is my second blog, I am aiming to write one once a month, documenting my experiences as an emerging disabled artist. On March 22nd I was given the opportunity to do a presentation at the Tate Exchange along with the other three Emergence recipients. My presentation was about my life, ...
Being able to support an artist through the development of an idea to make it a workable project is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my work. We set up the artist development sessions and associate artist programme to formalise this type of support from within Disability Arts Online and Aidan Moesby is one ...
Initial; Culture Change Remembering the first time I went to the doctors and the doctor didn’t come to me. Dr Lucas’s waiting room Green leather benches Brown flock peeling walls Patient lips holding patient cigarettes Dr Lucas presses tongues down Says, ‘say ah’ Breathes the ghosts of nicotine Into fragile lungs Dr Lucas’s stethoscope Smells of home Where Mom and Dad smoke As we all did in time White ...
In this first post from Emergence Bursary recipient Lauren Saunders, she speaks openly and honestly about her varied art practice. What has led to your taking on the identity of a socially-engaged interdisciplinary visual artist? It's quite a loaded identity to have, isn't it? I'll do my best to break that down a bit! I'm your typical idealist; ...
