Recovery of the cultural sector must be ‘fully inclusive’ of disabled artists

Progress made towards the inclusion of Disability Arts in the UK "must not falter in this moment of crisis", says Disability Collaborative Network (DCN) in an open letter to Oliver Bowden MP, Secretary of Culture, and devolved UK Culture Ministers.

The letter warns: “The pandemic impacts on livelihoods, health, social care and creativity are all frighteningly magnified for disabled people. Worse, most disabled people operating in the creative industries are self-employed and deeply concerned about their future as a consequence of SEISS ending in August. Many disabled artists are facing long term shielding, a total loss of income, compromised independent living and the risk of invisibility in wider society.”

140 individuals and organisations have signed the letter, which says “the industry that closed in March, simply didn't work for many of us” and calls for the renewal and recovery of the wider cultural industries to be “guided by a fully inclusive approach informed by disabled creative professionals to strengthen the accessibility of the sector and implement the learning from this crisis about home working and online access”. 

DCN is a member of a new Disability Arts Alliance #WeShallNotBeRemoved which was launched less than a month ago already has over 250 members.