The Stage

Cultural Olympiad launches £3m disability arts fund

Published Wednesday 7 October 2009 at 17:57 by Alistair Smith

Funding totalling £3 million is to be made available to disabled artists to create a programme of work in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, it was revealed today.

As part of the Cultural Olympiad, Unlimited will be Britain’s largest ever unified disability arts programme and will aim to bring the sector into the mainstream. Half of the fund will go towards creating new work and the other half will be used for artist development and training.

Jenny Sealey, artistic director of Graeae Theatre Company and an artistic advisor to Unlimited, said: “The disability arts community has been on tenterhooks waiting for Unlimited to be unleashed. Disability arts and culture demonstrates artistic excellence crosses all boundaries and is a powerful agent for change. It enables disabled people to strive for artistic expression, champion their own destiny and combat prejudice. Unlimited is an opportunity like no other for an extraordinary programme of art, performance and spectacle – a chance to speak to the world about the quality of what we do.

“I hope the future after Unlimited will be one of new audiences, new artistic partnerships and collaborations across the creative industry with talented disabled artists rightly given equal status and profile.”

Artists can apply for commissions of between £25,000 and £50,000 and applications should be made through Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts process. Half of the funding is being made available by the Olympic Lottery Distributor and the remainder from the arts councils of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the British Council.

www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/unlimited/

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