Battersea Arts Centre is hosting a disabled-led arts festival this week as part of Wandsworth’s Borough of Culture celebrations.
Liberty Festival, which began in 2003 to highlight the disabled arts sector, will have a series of free events from Wednesday through to Sunday, led by disabled and neurodivergent creatives.
Attendees can expect to see dance performances, art installations, workshops and more.
Creative hub, CRIPtic Arts, who were nominated for a Sky Arts award on Tuesday, will produce the festival.
Their artistic director, Jamie Hale said: “We want to create opportunities for disabled people to succeed in the arts.
“Liberty being a part of the Borough of Culture is really important because it situates disabled culture as a key part of the culture we’re celebrating.
“For me, Liberty coming to Wandsworth allows people within that borough to see world-class artistry that happens to be made by disabled people right on their doorsteps.
“It allows people to come to things that maybe they wouldn’t.”
Wandsworth was voted London’s Borough of Culture this year as part of the Mayor’s initiative to bring communities together and showcase the city’s diversity.
On creating the line-up Hale said: “The festival was almost entirely programmed through a public call-out rather than through existing networks.
“We wanted to reach as many disabled creatives as possible and we didn’t want to be limited to our own networks or to any perception of nepotism.
“We wanted Liberty to be outward-facing and to draw in disabled creatives from every strand of life.”
One of the festival’s artists, AJ Venturini, said: “There aren’t a lot of festivals centred around disabled creatives.
“We need more of it and I’m excited for Liberty Festival because it’s one of the few festivals where we aren’t just an afterthought.”
Disco Neurotico is an organisation which hosts club nights for “the nervous and neurodivergent”.
Founder and co-director, Byron Vincent, praised the festival for alleviating the isolation and exclusion which those with disabilities can experience.
Disco Neurotico is partnering with Deaf Rave to host a free club night as part of the festival on 27 September.
Vincent said: “There’s something that appeals to a lot of neurodivergent people about completely losing yourself in electronic music.
“My neurodivergence affects me socially more than anything else and makes socialising very difficult for me.
“But I love people and I still want to feel that human connection. This setting is an ideal spot for that. When dancing, you’re communicating with people but you’re not having to go through the stress of communicating in a way that isn’t comfortable for people like me.”
Also on the line-up is an immersive art installation hosted by theatre company Oily Cart.
Director Rhinnanon Armstrong said the installation is about solidarity and intimacy between strangers and emphasised there being no access barriers to enjoying the art.
How to be Held is a three-hour immersive, multi-sensory, audio-led installation with 300 living plants, beanbags, and a tent roof for people to make themselves comfortable.
The installation will be exhibited for its in-person debut at Liberty Festival on 25 September.
Featured image. Credit: Ben O Neill
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