Does the idea of arts, performance and film by artists with learning disabilities being seen “free” by audiences, lower the expectations of audiences who see our work? There was talk at Creative Minds Bristol on 14th October 2014 that free events means that different audiences “discover” our work – like street performance meaning that passers […]

The Creative Minds South East committee are confused! Why is the work of learning disabled artists nearly always seen as part of an arts venue or galleries education programme,  outreach or community work or even more annoyingly – arts therapy? Any ideas? Thompson Hall from Action Space and Sarah Watson from Oska Bright explain a […]

How brilliant that Australia’s amazing Back to Back Theatre stormed Edinburgh International Festival last week, with its production “Ganesh Versus the Third Reich.” The List critic Gareth K Vile said this: “It allows the company to reflect on the difficult questions, to challenge both the use of Nazi iconography on stage and the accusations that […]

Creative Minds asked me if learning disabled artists can get involved in Unlimited? Of course the answer is yes! Unlimited is open to all disabled artists – including those with learning disabilities. We have a great piece in our current programme called Dancer by an artist from Scotland called Ian Johnston and Unlimited in 2012 […]

So what do I mean when I say high quality? For me it’s not just about the materials that are used, or the training people may or may not have had. It’s about ideas, context, and heart. The ideas for me make the work. What is the piece doing and why? Is it about telling […]

Quality can be a sticky issue when we are talking about art and creativity because quality means different things to different people. Creative Minds is pushing that conversation forward and this week Jo Verrent, Senior Producer at Unlimited, tells us about how she defines quality. My name is Jo Verrent and I’m the Senior Producer […]

This film from Creative Minds Community members, Action Space London, tells us about three artists. The quality of their work and their artistic ambition shines through. What do you think? Have a look at this film and tell us what you think: http://www.artplayer.tv/video/906/action-space

We were shocked to read this article in the Guardian yesterday, which reports on how learning disabled couples are struggling to marry, because parts of society – or in this case the local authority involved – don’t believe they have the ability to make decisions for themselves. The Head of Policy at Mencap is quoted […]

This is the last day of Creative Minds talking to Gavin, who is the Director of Farnham Maltings. Today’s Creative Minds Question is: You must see a lot of theatre, dance and art – have you seen any by a learning disabled artist or company recently and if so, what did you think about it? […]

Gavin Stride is the Director of Farnham Maltings. He has been talking to us this week about measuring quality in learning disability arts. “The other observation I would make is that, sometimes, it would be good to not speak of the work as disabled art. I have a real affection for integrated casting, for making […]