Artist, Bekki Perriman first received Unlimited R&D funding for The Doorways Project in 2014, which took the form of a photography exhibition. She has since gone on to receive a further Unlimited Commission to expand the work into a site-specific sound installation that will tour to several sites. Joe Turnbull spoke to her about the work and the experiences which shaped it.
Paul F Cockburn speaks with artist Cameron Morgan about his Unlimited-funded exhibition of paintings, TV Classics – Part 1, as part of this year’s Glasgow International.
Kaite O'Reilly's new play ’Cosy’ premiered at Cardiff’s Millennium Centre with an exploration of the sensitive subject of death - when and how it comes to us all - with a light, often irreverent touch. Review by Chloe Phillips
Artist Noëmi Lakmaier’s latest piece, Cherophobia takes the form of a 48-hour long live durational performance which will see Lakmaier suspended in mid-air using 20,000 helium balloons as part of the Unlimited Festival in September. Elinor Rowlands speaks to her about the roles of discomfort and control in her work.
Award-winning playwright Kaite O'Reilly speaks to Joe Turnbull about deaf culture, dissident sensibilities, and her Unlimited-funded "big growling play" Cosy which launches at Wales Millennium Centre on 8 March.
3 December is the United Nations' International Day of Disabled People. To mark the occassion, Senior Producer at Unlimited, Jo Verrent writes about the state of play for disabled artists.
Aaron Williamson performed his Unlimited-commissioned work Demonstrating the World at Experimentica15, a five-day festival which took place in Cardiff 4-8 November. Chloe Phillips entered this bizarre world, finding plenty to both baffle and delight a range of audiences.
In partnership with Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) and Arts Council England, BBC Four’s Live From Television Centre will feature a half hour slot from Jess Thom aka Touretteshero. Colin Hambrook caught up with the performer during rehearsals in the BBC studio at Wood Lane.
Chloe Phillips is an Associate Artist with Taking Flight Theatre, based in Cardiff. Earlier this year she received an Unlimited R&D award to work with the company to produce 'The Importance of Being Described…Earnestly?' - a pilot for a production experimenting with new ideas about audio description. She talks to Colin Hambrook about her motivation and the way the project is shaping...
Writer, poet, musician extraordinaire Jack Dean brought the full force of his Unlimited-backed 'steampunk fairytale' Grandad and the Machine to bear on the unassuming space of Camden People's Theatre from 13-15th October. Joe Turnbull went along for the ride.
Artist and activist Liz Carr has campaigned tirelessly on the issue of assisted suicide. Her first foray into the world of musical theatre, Assisted Suicide the Musical is four years in the making and already in its third incarnation. Joe Turnbull spoke to her about the journey so far.
Over a period of five weeks, Performance artist Aaron Williamson invited visitors to witness the building of an odd set of ‘absurdist’ furniture at the Shape Gallery in Westfield Shopping Centre. The pieces will become key to the performance as it becomes ready to tour later this autumn. Colin Hambrook asked Williamson and Producer Edd Hobbs about what it means to ‘demonstrate the world’.
The Boiler Room at Pleasance Theatre, Camden played host to a 4-day R&D period for Liz Carr’s Unlimited commission, Assisted Suicide The Musical with an invited audience for a showing of work in progress on Friday 18th September. Review by Trish Wheatley
Unlimited’s first exhibition at Summerhall is a series of ambitious mixed media installations by the UK’s leading disabled artists. Chloe Phillips reviews the audio description available with the exhibits at Summerhall: on show until 5 October
Unlimited’s first exhibition at Summerhall is a series of ambitious mixed media installations by the UK’s leading disabled artists. Review by Colin Hambrook
The British Council Theatre and Dance team are currently busy working on their tenth showcase since 1997 at the Edinburgh Festival. Colin Hambrook spoke to Neil Webb, Director of Theatre and Dance about the outcomes British Council are hoping for as a result of the showcase and the broader spectrum of their disability arts work across the globe
Award winning documentary maker and disabled writer Richard Butchins’ first video work '213 Things About Me' is due to be exhibited in Edinburgh as part of an Unlimited showcase by leading disabled artists at Summerhall. Colin Hambrook talked to him about the making of the work.
On election night in the Brighton Dome Studio Theatre we learn that “Nigel Farage is at home washing his tortoise.” And Jess Thom aka Touretteshero is on fire, an irrepressible force of nature, welcoming her audience to Biscuitland with a charm and an affectionate grin that cannot fail to woo. Review by Colin Hambrook
Glasgow-based artist and musician Lea Cummings’ first solo exhibition is bright, vibrant, but somewhat vacuous – which may well be the point, says Paul F Cockburn.
This no-holds barred musical examines what it means to be the typical Ugly Girl adrift in a comically hostile universe through slapstick, music and dark humour. Starring Julie McNamara and Liz Carr, The Ugly Girl is reviewed by Roger Cliffe-Thompson as 'a classic of it's genre'.
Writer/theatre-maker and installation-artist Sheila Hill received an Unlimited research and development award to work with actor Tim Barlow to create ‘Him’. The resulting film was shown at DaDaFest 2014 as part of a session titled 'Unlimited: the Artists Voice'. Review by Liz Porter
Colin Hambrook talks to Tony Heaton, CEO of Shape who are lead partners with Artsadmin for the Unlimited programme, with a focus on the kinds of work that Unlimited might attract in the second round of applications, with a deadline set for 2 February 2015.
Combining Kazzum’s ability to create high quality inclusive playful theatre and Slung Low’s technological ‘know-how’ to make adventures for audiences outside of conventional theatre spaces, the Unlimited research and development commission Where’s My Nana? showcased at DaDaFest. Review by Liz Porter.
Art of the Living the Experiment was a show of four very different performances, which had connecting themes and strands that produced an interesting and diverse whole. Review by Cate Jacobs
Introduced by DaDaFest’s resident poet Roger Cliffe-Thompson, the poetry of Young DaDaFest poets rang out alongside Allan Sutherland reading a selection from ‘Proud’ and the award-winning Owen Lowery with his multi-media presentation of ‘Otherwise Unchanged’. Review by Deborah Caulfield
Colin Hambrook responds to 'Ship of Fools', the vacuum cleaner’s self-initiated Anti-Section action, residency and mental creative space documented as a video diary on show in 'Art of the Lived Experiment' at the core of DaDaFest 2014
Combining monologue and dance, Caroline Bowditch’s Falling in Love with Frida is a passionate reclamation of Frida Kahlo as a disabled artist and a reflection on how we are remembered by others. Victoria Wright reviews a performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the Unlimited Festival.
Victoria Wright learns never to put an elephant in an envelope after experiencing Jess Thom, aka Touretteshero, and her accomplice Jess Mabel Jones performing Backstage in Biscuit Land as part of Unlimited at the Southbank Centre.
Bekki Perriman’s installation ‘The Doorways Project’ explores homelessness through spoken word and photography. Nina Muehlemann reflects on the quiet and cautiously assembled work in the Royal Festival Hall, that is part of this Unlimited research and development award.
Sophie Partridge gives an account of inclusive dance company, Stopgap’s performance on the terrace of the Royal Festival Hall on the penultimate day of Unlimited
James Leadbitter aka the vacuum cleaner has been asking people how they would design a safe place to go mad, in a series of 3 hour workshops in the Royal Festival Hall. What would the ideal mental hospital be like? John O'Donoghue went to find out about the blueprint for a Madlove Designer Asylum.
In a funny, moving dance-theatre piece, staged in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Michelle Ryan shares her most private thoughts and feelings in a collaboration with theatre-makers Torque Show and a live score by Lavender Vs Rose. Review by Amardeep Sohi
Nina Muehlemann allows herself to fall under the colourful spell of Lea Cummings’ ‘Cosmic fields of endless possibilities’. The Royal Festival Hall’s Spirit Level foyer features magical looking paintings that were produced in a ‘meditative state’.
On the eve of the Unlimited Festival 2014 at London’s Southbank Centre, Jo Verrent talks to Bella Todd about the commissions programme and delivers some exciting partnership news set to ensure the festival’s legacy reverberates throughout the UK… and beyond.
Created with the late Adrian Howells, 'Dancer' is a gentle provocation on what it is to be a 'dancer'. Producer Lucy Gaizely answered a few of Dao’s questions about what promises to be a fun and thought-provoking show in the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre on Saturday 6 September.
Fragmenting The Code(x) is a collaboration between two artists, part of a raft of a Unlimited Research and Development Project. John O’Donoghue talks to Aidan Moesby about the analysis of language at the basis of this site-specific work
Katherine Araniello first presented The Dinner Party in 2011. A development of that work, The Dinner Party Revisited, has been commissioned for 2014’s Unlimited Festival - a commission that confirms Katherine as one of the most significant Live Artists in the UK. So what does it mean to be a 'Live Artist'? Lois Keidan, Director of the Live Art Development Agency (LADA) explains.
Nina Muehlemann met artist Jo Bannon during a networking meeting with other artists and people involved with the second round of Unlimited. She talked to Jo about her Unlimited 2014 commission, ‘Exposure’ over a glass of wine.
James Leadbitter aka the vacuum cleaner, received an Unlimited research and development award for Madlove - a project which asks those with and without mental illness to collaborate in designing a ‘safe place to go mad’. John O’Donoghue talks to the artist about his idea to get people to participate in redesigning the asylum.
Since the first Unlimited Festival, the life and work of artist Sue Austin has undergone huge transformations. Nina Muehlemann talked with the artist to discuss the success of ‘Creating the Spectacle!’
As part of the second Unlimited programme, more audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy the glorious musical adventure featuring an unusual pig. Paul F Cockburn speaks with co-creator Garry Robson.
Sophie Partridge interviews Katherine Araniello about her Unlimited 2014 commission: The Dinner Party. It was just another Wednesday in the life of a Crip Arts Activist; chatty Chihuahuas, parents expected later... they got down to business!
Spanish artist Juan delGado and creator of The Flickering Darkness (Revisited) met the film’s editor Colombian filmmaker Juan Soto in a dimly lit room at the Geffrye Museum in East London. A conversation about how the artistic processes were led by their intentions in the making of the film, was transcribed and edited here by Manuel Angel Macia
Unlimited, led by Shape and ArtsAdmin, returns this September for another festival showcase at London’s Southbank Centre. Bella Todd talks to Wendy Martin, Head of Performance and Dance about her expectations for presenting the work of Deaf and disabled artists at the largest arts venue in Europe
I’m delighted to make this pre-publication announcement: Oberon books will publish five of my plays and performance texts to coincide with the World premiere of Cosy at the Wales Millennium Centre in March 2016. The news is so fresh, we haven’t yet settled on the image for the cover. I’ve been liaising with my agents and editor at Oberon about what production photographs to use after drawing up a shortlist by the fantastically talented Toby Farrow and Patrick Baldwin, who...
There are only a few days left to view Katherine Araniello’s ‘Dinner Party Revisited’ on the Live Art Development Agencies ‘LADA Screens’ platform. The audio-described version of the Dinner Party Revisited is a good example of using creative description to add another layer within a work of art - taking it beyond documentation and allying with the performance’s intention to use humour to convey subversive ideas. The describer comes alive as another...
As described in the first blog in this series, the discovery of a ‘contemporary folk archive’ of ‘How To’ videos on YouTube, set me on course to devise the central component in Demonstrating the World for Unlimited 2. The sheer volume of this unofficial, seemingly endless archive meant that ‘the world’ was practically my oyster (Yes, there are a few ‘How To Shuck/Open Oysters’ videos, such as this one seemingly presented by Star Trek’s Capt....
‘Demonstrating the World’ is a project for Unlimited 2 (delivered in partnership by Shape and Artsadmin) which had a Research and Development phase and now, in collaboration with producer Edd Hobbs, a production commission. Sometime midway through the R&D phase I encountered the wonderful contemporary folk-archive of amateur demonstration videos on YouTube. (That’s my descriptor: they do not, collectively – as yet – think of themselves as forming an archive)....
We all have to die. My next play 'Cosy' is a darkly comedic look at the joys and humiliations of ageing and how we shuffle off this mortal coil. The rising tensions between three generations of a dysfunctional family ask us to consider what choices we really have in a world obsessed with eternal youth, and whether we truly own ourselves. I recently befuddled a friend with the title ‘Cosy’. ‘But it’s about growing up, and ageing, and rubbish families and...
By Gary Thomas I should begin with a note that I didn’t go to everything, but when I did attend the Southbank Centre was buzzing, and so was I. The first thing I noticed when I walked in on the Tuesday, the opening day, was Jo Verrent & Luke Pell’s striking ‘Take Me To Bed’, on the large screen at the back of The Clore Ballroom. It’s a choreography of sleep, with familiar faces from the disability art world on a bed, sleeping in various positions. The screen is...
By John O'Donoghue I was a little underwhelmed last week by the Poetry Book Society’s announcement of the ‘Next Generation of 20 Poets expected to dominate the poetry landscape of the coming decade.' For one thing I’m sceptical about marketing campaigns that seek to highlight poets and poetry. The Great British Public seems as indifferent to their bards as they are to their politicians, as if the two tribes are becoming beleaguered, endangered species. And whilst...
By Emmeline Burdett Skillfully chaired by Tony Heaton, the chief executive of Shape, various disabled artists took part as panellists in the discussion: performance artist Sue Austin, dancers Marc Brew and Michelle Ryan, and the poet Owen Lowery. Introducing the debate Tony mentioned that Shape Arts had been founded by a dancer who had met a young disabled person and had been determined to refute the claim that his impairment made it impossible for him to be a dancer. All of the panellists have...
By Emmeline Burdett ‘Happy to be Me’ was chaired by Jude Kelly, featuring the disabled artists Liz Carr, Alex Bulmer, Claire Cunningham and Katherine Araniello. The subject under discussion was the ways in which disabled artists use art to get across ideas about impairment and disability which often differ markedly from those to be found in mainstream discourse. To this end, the session opened with a performance of the opening number from Liz Carr and Alex Bulmer’s...
By Richard Downes Summer can’t decide whether it should be autumn today. Reaching the end of Hungerford Bridge I hear the Buzzcocks asking ‘Ever Fallen In Love’, Diverse City’s Young Performance Company have drawn a crowd appreciative of dance and circus skills. Entering the foyer Tom Doughty and Adrian Lee from the Paraorchestra are strumming and singing to an attentive audience. The whole place is buzzing. I’ve got friends here and I’m at Unlimited a...
By Amardeep Sohi I went to the Learn How to Sign, Sing and Dance to Pharrell William’s Happy Workshop and participatory workshop Happy: a state of mind and the title of the infectious single by Pharrell Williams, which induced adults and children alike, to gather at the Southbank Centre on a sunny Sunday afternoon to sign, sing and dance. It’s not often that I abandon my pen and notebook when reviewing, but abandon them I did. Learning how to sign is engraved onto my list of...
By Lloyd Coleman Because of the nature of this free Unlimited Festival event, last Friday afternoon, audience members were able to come and go as they pleased. It was a testament to the skill and natural charm of these two men that so many chose to stay for the whole hour-long set, once we had settled into the comfy sofas and (not so comfy) chairs laid out in front of the performance area. Tom led the proceedings with his usual dry wit, which I have come to know and love through our...
By Sophie Partridge You know you've found yourself on to a good thing when entering a space and Greatest Dancer by Sister Sledge is playing! A lady `terp signs the lyrics, whilst two men dressed in dinner suits dance in front of a screen on which they are projected. On the dark floor are placed pairs of those white feet silhouettes, used in dance classes. I come in half way through the track and to my delight, it's looped again. Dancer was created by Ian Johnston and Gary Gardiner,...
Blog by Colin Hambrook I was very excited when I heard Wendy Martin talking about her reasons for programming Michelle Ryan & Torque for Unlimited. Michelle had been a dancer with the Belgian Dance Company Les Ballets C De La B and Alain had encouraged Michelle to carry on dancing after the onset of MS meant that her movement changed enormously. She was frightened to dance. She was frightened she’d fall over. And Alain said “what’s to be frightened of? You just get up and...
By Colin Hambrook It became clear this morning during the presentations of Unlimited projects in research & development that the clear thing that Unlimited is doing, is to allow the voices of individual disabled artists to come through; to experiment in new and exciting ways; and to allow something fresh to happen, outside of the often limiting constraints of companies within the disability arts sector who work to specific impairment-related agendas. I was entranced by the imagination of...
By Colin Hambrook Pete Edwards has set himself some interesting challenges for his Unlimited research and development project. Pete’s award is to explore the difficult and taboo subject of rape and sexual abuse. He wrote a play about his life story after doing a Graeae Missing Pieces training course. However, when it came to the proposal for Unlimited he put the script to one side, making the decision that he wanted to devise a piece with actors, who like himself, have different speech...
Blog by Colin Hambrook Unlimited kicked off today with slow, measured start. It was a day of watching films and chatting to disabled artists and friends. I made sure to see Juan delGado’s Flickering Darkness and decided it was a point in the festival I’d return to a few times during Unlimited at the Southbank Centre. It’s tucked away in the White Room on the downstairs Spirit Level of the building; an space easy to miss as you have to journey through the Tunnel of Love...
By Colin Hambrook The launch event of the day was a presentation of the series of World War I shorts commissioned made for Channel 4 by a series of artists who feature regularly on Dao: Claire Cunningham, Simon Mckeown, Katherine Araniello, Tony Heaton and Jez Colbourne. I’d thoroughly recommend going to the Channel 4 website to view the films. However, it was a treat being able to see them in the Clore Ballroom on a large scale. And to hear some of the stories behind the making of the...
I am delighted that Julie McNamara and her company Vital Xposure have received an Unlimited award for Let Me Stay. I’ve known Julie a long time now – through thick and thin you might say. And I know her well enough to say that she puts everything into whatever she turns her attention to. Let Me Stay is a treat. I saw Julie perform Let Me Stay in a makeshift theatre space – the sort of space that proves that you can make theatre anywhere, if you are good...
I am delighted that Julie McNamara and her company Vital Xposure have received an Unlimited award for Let Me Stay. I’ve known Julie a long time now – through thick and thin you might say. And I know her well enough to say that she puts everything into whatever she turns her attention to. Let Me Stay is a treat. I saw Julie perform Let Me Stay in a makeshift theatre space – the sort of space that proves that you can make theatre anywhere, if you are good...
Unlimited represents a big investment in disabled artists and the selection for this round of full commissions and research and development projects contains some really exciting work. After the huge success of the Unlimited programme in 2012, which culminated in the Unlimited Festival at the Southbank Centre it is easy to try to make comparisons. Without the backdrop of the Olympic and Paralympic Games there is less funding – and that which is available has to stretch across three years,...
Shape Arts and Artsadmin have been awarded £1.8m by Arts Council England to deliver the third Unlimited programme from 2016 until 2020.
Southbank Centre has announced the first shows to be presented as part of Unlimited Festival 2016, a six-day festival showcasing the artistic vision of disabled artists.
This darkly comic new work combines an unflinching examination of our attitudes to youth, ageing and death, with an often hilarious and moving encounter between three generations of women.
Unlimited, the commissioning programme that supports disabled artists develop ambitious and high quality work, today announced an Ambitions of Excellence Award of £759,949 from Arts Council England to build a three-year international programme. The award is also match-funded by the British Council.
On Monday 7th December 2015 Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chair of Arts Council England delivered a speech that followed up on the one he made a year ago outlining the Arts Council’s commitment to the Creative Case for Diversity at a special event held in Birmingham.
In partnership with Battersea Arts Centre and Arts Council England, the BBC is bringing live theatre back to Television Centre for Live from Television Centre. Jessica Thom aka Touretteshero will be performing a special rendition, Broadcast from Biscuit Land alongside four other 'genre-busting' theatre pieces live on BBC Four.
This year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe sees the first Unlimited exhibition, showing work by exceptional disabled artists at Summerhall’s Meadow Galleries from 5 August to 5 October.
Following over 150 million views of her signature underwater wheelchair performance and powerful TED talk, internationally acclaimed artist Sue Austin curates new work, inviting you to become ‘Immersed in 360’ at the innovative Salisbury Arts Centre this Spring.
Tom Wentworth attended the launch event for the second round of commissions for Unlimited, at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on 26th March.
UNLIMITED today announced nine new commissions spanning a wide range of disciplines by some of the most talented and ambitious disabled artists from all over the UK.
"A programme that's bucked stereotypes and packed a powerful creative punch" Bella Todd, Time Out
UNLIMITED, the £3million programme delivered by Shape and Artsadmin, has concluded its first year supporting outstanding work by disabled artists, making an unprecedented impact on the cultural sector. Here's the round up...
Unlimited, the initiative which supports disabled artists to create and present exceptional work across the artforms, announces the opening of the second round of submissions for commission funds. Disabled artists and companies who are creating new disability-led work are invited to apply.
Exceptional performance, dance and visual art from disabled artists from Tuesday 2nd to Sunday 7th September 2014 across Southbank Centre’s indoor and outdoor site, London SE1.