Darlington author fronts call for disability arts memories

Lisette Auton of Darlington and Vici Wreford-Sinnott of Saltburn are supporting Cripping Culture: A Journey into Disability Arts Heritage, a major new heritage project.

Led by Disability Arts Online (DAO) and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project aims to preserve and showcase the stories and impact of the Disability Arts movement through a digital archive, timeline, and podcast series.

Ms Auton, an award-winning author, spoken word artist, and playwright, said: “Sharing memories of disability arts history with Cripping Culture is vital.

Vici Wreford-Sinnott of Saltburn (Image: Supplied)

“There needs to be a permanent record to show the importance of this work in the disability arts movement and in mainstream culture.

“It legitimizes the importance of this work and the people who made it.

“Young people, and those who are older like I was, need easier and bolder ways to access sense-making history to feel empowered to become history makers.

“These stories are valid, vital, important, and urgently need to be collected.”

Contributions are welcome from anyone with a connection to disability arts, including audience members, artists, writers, curators, musicians, activists, and more.

The stories could relate to events, performances, exhibitions, artists, organisations, or any experience connected to the movement.

Ms Auton described her own introduction to Disability Arts as a turning point.

She said: “I became involved in disability arts about a decade ago, having felt increasingly isolated and also at the same time finally claiming my disabled and neurodivergent identity, rather than trying to hide or being shamed by it.

“I found a way in first of all by meeting Vici, a powerhouse of a disability artist and advocate, and then in discovering Disability Arts Online.

“Being a part of disability culture and understanding the history that came before is vitally important to me now and to those who will come along who also need to find their place.”

Ms Wreford-Sinnott, a who has campaigned for cultural equity for more than 30 years, is also championing the project.

She said: “Cripping Culture is an essential, collaborative acknowledgement of the vital, dynamic cultural histories of disabled people, shared through a disabled-led lens.

“It raises the status of groundbreaking, unapologetic, and radical contributions to culture by disabled practitioners from decades in the footnotes, whilst raising the stakes for contemporary disabled artists still campaigning for cultural equity in the arts venues, galleries, and institutions of today.

“The excellence of this work will be visible and the cultural sector will see what it is missing and will want to engage with cripped culture.”

The call for contributions is especially focused on capturing stories from underrepresented regions and perspectives, including those from the global majority and with intersectional experiences of disability.

DAO aims to uncover previously untold stories from across the North East to enrich the national record of disability arts history.

Stories can be submitted in text, video, audio, or photographic format, and access support is available for those who need it.

DAO encourages contributions in both English and British Sign Language.

Colin Hambrook, heritage project director at DAO, said: “It doesn’t matter who you are, if you have a story to tell that involves disability arts in the UK, then we want to hear from you.

“Everyone who shares a memory will play an important part in the Cripping Culture project, saving our heritage for future generations.

“It is important for the legacy of the Disability Arts movement that we capture stories of events from the North East that may have not been previously recorded.

“We want to celebrate the vast breadth of disability arts activity that has occurred across time.

“We are grateful to Lisette and Vici for helping us share this call out far and wide and would love other people to get involved too.”

Cripping Culture: A Journey into Disability Arts Heritage is a three year project and has received almost £250,000 in funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The call for contributions remains open until August 14.

To share a story, visit disabilityarts.online/cripping-culture and complete the online form.