british council and disability arts online new publication | visual arts & disability in the uk in 2024

RA panel discussion with Hettie Judah, Cathie Pilkington, Jennifer Gilbert and Yinka Shonibare, 2023. Photo: Molly Bretton

Jennifer Gilbert was commissioned by the British Council and Disability Arts Online for a new digital publication . The publication builds on the June 2024 event ‘Reframed: Disability Aesthetics and Institutional Change in the visual arts’. The publication includes four essays, each taking a different approach to reflecting upon the current state of disability in the visual arts in the UK. Below is the essay synopsis for Jennifer’s piece and a snippet from it.

Essay synopsis – Thinking outside the tick box: How the sector can better support disabled, neurodivergent and self-taught artists by Jennifer Gilbert

‘Jennifer Gilbert presents a very personalised view from the perspective of being a gallerist and curator. She writes about the context and process of her current exhibition Kaleidoscopic Realms at Nottingham Castle which she co-curated with multidisciplinary artist Christopher Samuel. She discusses the development of a toolkit she co-produced for the Plus Tate Network: How galleries and museums can better work with and support deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent artists. Gilbert is not afraid to ask difficult questions and calls for real accountability when it comes to lack of access.’

“In the UK there is a lack of critical writing in the mainstream press about anything involving disability arts. If shows are not highlighted, wider audiences are not aware of them. Some writers have said this is due to a fear of saying the wrong thing or using the wrong language, but how about writers having conversations with disabled artists or disabled groups about the language? Disabled artists and organisations have said they would welcome the conversations, to create awareness and level the playing field. A few pieces have been emerging in the last couple of years.”

The full publication can be read or listened to online via the link below.