About Us
Questions you may haveWhat does Kaleido mean by the term ‘artist’? We will work with any disabled or Deaf artist working in the following artforms:
• dance
• literature • music • theatre • visual arts • combined arts / interdisciplinary arts Why does Kaleido refer to ‘Disabled Artists’ and not ‘artists with disabilities’?
Kaleido operates within the social model of disability which states that:
Our impairments or bodies are not the problem. Social barriers are the main cause of problems. These barriers include people's attitudes to disability, and physical and organisational barriers.
The Social Model of Disability has been worked out by disabled people themselves. Their experiences have shown that in reality most of the problems they face are caused by the way that society is organised.
We use the term ‘Disabled Artists’ in line with the social model, to describe artists with impairments who are disabled by society’s barriers.
It would be acceptable to use the term ‘artists with disabilities’, however this could be interpreted as focusing on the impairments not the social barriers. ‘Disabled people’ is the choice for most of those who identify with the Disability Movement and is the phrase recommended by the British Council of Disabled People.
What does Kaleido mean by the term disabled?
We use the term ‘disabled’ as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995. It includes physical and sensory disabilities, learning disabilities and mental health service users.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, as amended, a person is considered disabled if he or she has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial, long-term and adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Substantial means the disability must be more than just normal differences in people's individual abilities. Long term means the impairment has lasted, or is likely to last for at least 12 months or for the rest of the life of that person. Normal day-to-day activities means activities that are carried out by most people on a regular and frequent basis. To access a copy of the 2005 Disability Discrimination Act, visit the Office of Public Sector information here or you can also get the 1995 Act here.
Why does Kaleido make a distinction between a disabled and a Deaf artist?
For many people who have been completely deaf since birth and use British Sign Language (BSL) as their primary means of communication, being deaf is not being disabled, it is being part of a linguistic minority. BSL has its own grammatical structure that is different to spoken or written English. These Deaf BSL users see their deafness as not purely a description of a physical attribute but as an expression of a cultural identity. A capital ‘D’ is used (as in French, Swedish etc) to signify this cultural and linguistic difference.
Those who are partially deaf or have lost their hearing later in life may use other methods of communication such as lipreading, therefore they are described as having a sensory disability rather than being part of a unique linguistic community.
Isn’t it negative to put a disability ‘label’ on artists?
It is true that for some people, ‘disability’ is still a negative term. We understand that not all disabled people feel the same about their identity. Whilst some find it liberating to declare themselves a Disabled Artist, taking pride in their culture and using their disability to inform their artwork, for others it is not relevant to their work and they simply wish to have access to the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers. It is not our place to pass judgement, but to empower the individual’s right to choose. This is why we work with both the ‘Arts and Disability’ and ‘Disability Arts’ sectors.
What is the difference between ‘Arts and Disability’ and Disability Arts’?
Arts and Disability is seen as art and achievement despite disability.
• It often aims to integrate disabled people into mainstream activities.
• This term is applied to Disabled artists who have an impairment that is not intentionally reflected in their art. • These may be artists who do not identify themselves as part of the disability community or culture or with the politics of disability and who may see the experience of disability as negative. • It often includes Art as a therapy, and Arts programmes that may be about some aspect of disability but are not led or delivered by disabled people. Disability Arts can be described as art and achievement because of disability.
• Like ‘Arts and Disability’, it aims to include disabled people in the mainstream, but recognizes cultural differences and offers opportunities to reflect this.
• This term is used to describe Disabled artists who believe their experience of disability is an important part of their art. • Part of the art expresses positivity and pride in identifying as a disabled person as part of a community with a particular cultural and political experience relating to exclusion (or in the case of Deaf people – to linguistic difference.) • Disability Arts programmes are usually controlled and delivered by disabled people, and although therapy might be an outcome, it is the art that is the main output. Ju Gosling, Disabled Artist and campaigner, has a detailed explanation of what Disability Art is and what it is not on her blog which you can access here.
For further reading, see Allan Sutherland's brief explanation of the issues from Disability Arts Online.
A chronology of the development of Disability Arts as a movement by Allan Sutherland, director of the Edward Lear Foundation, can also be viewed at Disability Arts Online.
For some examples of Disability Art made by artists supported by Kaleido, click here.
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