Arts Disability Network is a new community for disabled adult artists and artists with chronic health conditions. The Network offers free support with growing an arts career, accessing funding, and navigating an often inaccessible sector through regular online workshops and training and a resource library. This is alongside community building and peer support, room to meet, share experiences, and build creative collaborations. In time we intend to launch a public facing online gallery space to showcase members’ work.
The project is led by disabled artists, under the umbrella of Intercultural Roots. We’re informed by an online consultation and keen to continue to develop according to the needs of the community, so please get in touch with nu.goose@interculturalroots.org or Contact Us if you have suggestions, questions or ideas.
We have created a questionnaire that is intended to survey the collective needs of potential ADN members so that we can apply for funding, resources and support to plan and better support the network. Should you opt-in, your preferred name or nickname and email address will be used to add you to our online Basecamp platform that allows asynchronous conversation and access to shared resources and planning tools. It will also help us plan for the best time of the week for most people to attend future meetings and to add you to the online meeting schedule, with meetings recorded as appropriate and shared on our Basecamp platform for those who can't attend.
'Myra Stuart is an experienced programme manager, facilitator, artist and somatic practitioner who loves to create space for individual and community empowerment and liberation. She has 8 years experience as a project manager across community engagement, public service transformation and the arts. She has facilitated regular community meetings for a variety of creative organisations as well as Citizens Advice, and local councils. She is trained in body listening (through Brighton School of Body Psychotherapy), Radical Undoing, and forum theatre(with Katy Rubin). She works with clients using the same techniques that continue to transform her own relationship with mental health and fibromyalgia, to facilitate returning to the body as home, and as a powerful processor of trauma and emotion.'
ADN Project Outreach & Disability Support Coordinator Nu McAdam
Nu McAdam
'My name is Nu McAdam and I live in Brighton as a quadriplegic, trans poet and accessibility consultant. From the perspective of somebody who's been through a lot of grief and projects into their favorite - geese. Sometimes the Goose will create a symphony of words that will come out in anger and sometimes it will be more read as classical poetry. Either way the Goose, me, is a symbol of all of the things that I have been through as a disabled person growing up in the 90s and now living in a multi-gendered multi-dimensional world.'
Founded by Krisztina Ferencz
Krisztina, the initiator and Steering Group Chair of ADN, is an interdisciplinary performing artist and educator who lives in Budapest. She comes from a dance-theatre background and has worked internationally as a performer and as an educator. Krisztina was working as a kindergarten teacher for several years, until she was diagnosed with MS in 2022. Krisztina first approached Intercultural Roots' Executive Director, Dr Alex Boyd, who helped establish the network in February 2023 alongside Candice Black, Myra Stuart, Corrie Hardaker and Wendy Van Der Haagen Boyd.
Funders
Intercultural Roots is grateful to National Lottery players' and The National Lottery Community Fund for the initial Awards for All funding that has enabled the Arts Disability Network to be supported May 2024 - April 2025. This follows a 1-year period of community consultation and careful collaboration. We are currently applying for further funds and donations to be able to support the 100+ disabled artists who have so far requested support.
- New Funding from October 2024 -
Adobe Community Fund
We are also very grateful to the Adobe Community Fund supported by the London Community Foundation who have further funded the Arts Disability network from October 2024 for two years.
Join Intercultural Roots' International Community of 600+ Practitioners and Scholars:
- Three free-of-charge online networks via Basecamp:
GIRIC - Growing Intercultural Roots in Communities - our 'arts for health and social change' network offering structured and peer support across Practice, Pedagogy and Projects
ADN - 'Arts Disability Network' - our network for artists and practitioners with disabilities and chronic health conditions led by people with a lived experience
H-NC - 'Human-Nature Connect' - our our eco-embodied and eco-somatic network for practitioners with a passion for arts that positively contribute to environmental impact
Benefactors Required:
Please Contact Us if you would like to support the Arts Disability Network through a legacy donation, trust or in any other way.
If you are able to financially support our core organisational costs and continuation, please DONATE HERE.
