In a special disability history month episode, Access and Support Coordinator at DaDa, Denise Kennedy, takes us on a trip to Edinburgh Fringe. While travelling around the festival, Denise catches up with disabled artists and practitioners embedding access into their performances.

Through their discussions you can gather ideas of how access can be planned into performance, hear about the experiences of disabled artists taking part in fringe, and find out about some brilliant productions currently on tour that you won't want to miss.

DaDa invited a group of disabled artists to enjoy a visitor of an exhibition by international artist Amy Claire Mills at Bluecoat.

Amy Claire Mills is a Neurodivergent and Disabled artist whose work delves into themes of advocacy, identity, and resistance. Her work ‘Deep End’, that the group explored, is a multidisciplinary installation with sculptural body supports, inflatables, plush text sculptures, quilted patchwork towel, wall mural, textile flags, carpet, at Liverpool Biennial as part of a Co-commission with DaDa.

The group were led around the exhibition by DaDa’s Access and Support Co-ordinator, Denise Kennedy, so they could explore and feed back on the access available while enjoying a sensory experience, touching the textures used and exploring ‘Deep End’ as a title.

Podcaster Tom Walker joined the tour to capture the experience and find out what the disabled artists thought.

You can catch Amy’s installation at The Bluecoat in Liverpool as part of Biennial ‘Bedrock’ until mid-September 2025.

Featured on this podcast are:

Tom Walker - Broadcast journalist and Podcast Host

Denise Kennedy - Access & Support Co-ordinator at DaDa

Denise Armstrong – Deaf Artist

Shaun Fallows – Disabled Artist

Adrian Watts - Access Liaison Officer, Liverpool Biennial

Rachel McMahon - Blue Room Staff

Tom Rooney – Blue Room Artist

In this episode, Tom Walker meets with artist and DaDa CEO Zoe Partington at The Williamson Art Gallery in the Wirral where one of her Neon Sculptures are on display as part of DaDaFest International 40.

Zoe shares how the disability slogans that inspire her ‘Painting in Light’ series were brought about by disabled activists who have tirelessly campaigned over the 40 years of DaDa’s existence.

Williamson Art Gallery manager Sam Howes reflects on how the contemporary sculpture will hopefully create conversation blending with the more traditional art it sits with in the space, and shares excitement that the Williamson will be celebrating their 100th birthday in the next few years.

Tom also has a conversation with veteran disability rights campaigner Barbara Lisicki who explains the social model of disability and what is really meant by ‘accessibility’.

You can catch Zoe’s Painting in Light series around the Liverpool City Region during DaDaFest International 40 and via an online exhibition here: https://dadafestinternational.github.io/PaintingInLight/

Power Not Pity visits ‘Pimp My Wheelchair’ at Sefton Park Palmhouse

In this episode, Tom Walker talks to artists Faith Bebbington and Janet Price who presented their commissioned art ‘Pimp My Wheelchair’ as part of DaDaFest International 40.

Janet explains to Tom “Pimp My Wheelchair was about brightening up prosthetics rather than them being dull and boring and as though they're things we should be apologetic about.”

And Faith shares the “initial idea came from people who kicked my stick from underneath me and I wanted to make my stick more blingy and more noticeable and more dangerous so that people notice it rather than ignoring it.”

The event was the start of a display of Faith and Janet’s sculptures being hosted by Palmhouse for the festival month, as well as online.

Tom speaks to Shaun Fallows and Grindl Dockery who took part in the Pimp my Wheelchair procession during the launch who share their views on the need for more disabled people being involved in conversations about issues that affect disabled people.

Tom asks are we doing enough or is a bit of ‘civil disobedience’ required to drive change.

Finally, Naomi McAllister Marketing and Community Manager at Sefton Park Palmhouse shares how having events like DaDaFest there helps the team continue to learn and grow the accessibility at the venue.

Tom Walker visits the ‘Rage, Riot an Revolution’ opening exhibition for DaDaFest International 40 at Open Eye Gallery and catches up with photographer Jan Williams of the Caravan Gallery, along with some of the women featured in her portraits.

Launching on 8th March 2025, International Women’s Day, the exhibition celebrates the achievements of female activists, artists, leaders and champions of disability activism, highlighting their essential contributions to both local and global progress.

Tom interviews one of the women featured in the exhibition, Former CEO at DaDa and founder of the first DaDaFest, Ruth Fabby. Ruth gives an overview of why DaDa was and is still needed and how it came into being 40 years ago.

Ruth highlights that while some progress has been made in improving the landscape for disabled artists, “it's not been consistent” and so there is still a way to go.

Another ‘Rage, Riot and Revolution’ subject Amina Atiq chats with Tom after performing her DaDaFest commissioned poem “Unwoven” explaining how grief and rage came together to inspire her to write.

Playwright, dramaturg and theatre-maker Kaite O'Reilly is another of the women featured in the exhibition who tells Tom “It's the absolute era for rage with what's happening in the world”. Kaite goes on to reflect on her Rushton Lecture 'The Uses of Anger'.

Tom moves on to ‘Hand Ships Sail’, a projection of a beautiful piece by Cathy Mager which was shown on the Cunard Building for DDFI40 launch night. Talking to Mick Hirst an audio describer who gives an overview of the display showing a poetic conversation in British Sign Language (BSL) –two deaf women share their dreams for the future as they look out over the night sky And Tom also catches up with Chair of DaDa Rob Martin and DaDa CEO Zoe Partington who explains “I don't think it's second nature to think about disabled artists being commissioned for everything that we do on the main stages or in the main exhibitions or the galleries. I think disabled people have to fight and really promote themselves.”

Tom Walker talks to the Everyman young writers and producers, who have been working with curator Gill Crawshaw to begin investigating DaDa’s archive, understanding the company’s 40-year history. ‘Disability Art’ is a powerful generator of change in art, culture and heritage, but disabled people’s history is often misrepresented and excluded from society. This project provides a snapshot of the immense impact disabled artists, activists and communities have made on the arts in the UK and internationally.

Tom Walker discusses the launch of DaDaFest International 40 along with DaDa’s historic relationship with The Bluecoat, talking to Bryan Biggs who leads on cultural legacies at The Bluecoat and DaDa’s Executive Producer Rachel Rogers about the significant shift in creating space for disabled artists at the venue, and the DaDa @ Bluecoat Retrospective Exhibition.