Funding of over £400,000 will support disabled artists to create ambitious and high quality work
1 Apr 2014 10:51 AM
UNLIMITED yesterday
announced over £400,000 of funding to support 26 disabled artists across
the UK to create ambitious work covering all genres. Funded by the
National Lottery through Arts Council England and Creative Scotland & led
by Artsadmin and Shape, the 2014 round of the
programme aims to build on the successful legacy that was at the heart of
the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, which celebrated the work of disabled
artists on an unprecedented scale.
In addition, 17 Research and
Development awards will enable artists to develop new and ambitious
works.
Watch the Unlimited 2014
launch film
Click here for full
press release
The video is also available with audio
description, here.
On announcing the
awards, Jo Verrent, Senior Producer,
Unlimited said:
‘I can't believe
we are here so quickly and with such a stunning range of work to share and to
develop. Unlimited stands for quality and the applications we received, the
rigour of the panel and the exceptional artistic pieces selected demonstrate
the quality of work being created by disabled artists. I just can't wait to
start the real work of Unlimited – ensuring audiences across the UK and
beyond get a chance to see the very best work by the very best disabled
artists.’
Unlimited will see the selected
works staged in collaboration with arts venues and festivals across the UK.
From Monday 1 - Sunday 7 September
2014 London’s Southbank Centre will once
again present many of the Unlimited supported works in a high profile cross-art
form festival. As well as staging works there will be a chance to share in some
of the development of the R&D projects during the festival. Unlimited
partners The British
Council will also help find international touring opportunities for
supported works.
Nine major new works will be
supported by the fund, including:
- Edmund the Learned Pig
– Fittings MultiMedia Arts: a magical theatre piece for
children aged 8+ and families that fuses BSL sign language, puppets,
Aerial-circus, deaf storytelling techniques, music and song
- Otherwise Unchanged
– Owen Lowery: a poetry collection featuring poems on
various formal and informal subjects including Lowery’s experience of
hospitalisation and disability following a spinal injury, war and
love
- The Flickering Darkness
– Juan delGado: an immersive multi-screen installation
explores ideas about urban territory, displacement and
economy
You can find out more about
these projects and view the full list of commissions here.
Alan Davey, Chief
Executive, Arts Council England said:
‘Following on from the huge success of the Cultural Olympiad Unlimited
programme in 2012, these latest set of commissions aim to build upon this
legacy by developing further opportunities for deaf and disabled artists across
the country.
‘The Arts Council is proud
to support a programme that facilitates such varied, collaborative, and
pioneering work. This will no doubt encourage new partnerships and support the
distribution of work via touring and digital means, enabling more people to see
and experience great art.’
Links and further
information
See the full lists of
Unlimited commissions and the artists receiving Research and Development
awards
Find out more about how the Arts
Council supports Unlimited and visit the Unlimited website
Follow Unlimited and Arts Council England on
Twitter for updates