D&D Satellite: How Can New & Existing Networks Help Support Artists & Arts Organisations Working With Disability?

We are DISCO DISCO - a new theatre company of artists with disabilities, born out of Club Soda in Croydon and led by Drunken Chorus.

We are relative newcomers to the disability arts scene. We’re learning all the time, and we want to connect with other organisations working in disability arts, and with artists and companies with disabilities to work on how we can all connect and support each other: to make friends, connections and future collaborations.

This is an opportunity to:

• Take stock of what networks already exist, what networks don’t exist but should, and what networks can be developed / made better.
• Ask how we can work together to create the networks we need and how they function.
• Debate the benefits (or disadvantages!?) of different types of networks / support structures
• Start conversations about not just London networks, but national and even international?
• Think about how new and existing networks can support fundraising in the sector, leading to increased funding success rates and better financial sustainability.
• Collaboration between artists with and without disabilities
• Making performance by artists with disabilities that is not for specialist audiences, but for mainstream public programmes
• Making work that is open and accessible to a wide range of audiences (including deaf, disabled, low waged)
• Work on other burning issues or hot topics that you might have. What questions aren’t we asking that we should be? What are the issues no one is talking about? What’s the big idea you really need to share?

We’d like to invite anyone who works in the arts and has an interest in or connection to disability to come and join the conversation. Whether you’re an artist with a disability, work with an organisation supporting artists with disabilities, work for a local council, are a carer… or connected to / passionate about disability arts in any other way.

We don’t have all the answers, but we want to be part of a wider movement that can come together to work things out.

We hope you’ll join us!

Chris, Sheena and the DISCO DISCO team x

This event is a partnership project with the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Programme and TMRW. Part of A Bit Of A Do - funded by Big Lottery Fund.