The Culture Recovery Fund will help Deaf explorer continue their vital work with Deaf artists to remove barriers so they can achieve their ambitions in the arts. Deaf Explorer Director Billy Read says,
“Deaf Explorer are excited to receive this Cultural Recovery Grant from DCMS and Arts Council England.
Before Covid-19 we massively changed the lives of deaf artists. During Covid-19 our relationships with artists changed and we could not plan, find partners and fund-raise for new projects.
This grant will celebrate and raise our profile with a 2-day festival called SQUARE EYE that will bring Deaf artists together, commission new work and reach our deaf audiences.
We will also fundraise to deliver outstanding community participation projects that will involve a new generations of deaf artists.”
Dame Evelyn Glennie said, “I am delighted that Deaf Explorer has this Cultural Recovery Grant. This is a unique company with immense expertise amongst the artists that they collaborate with and support. They access producers that facilitate deaf artists to pioneer inclusive new work. The grant will help key staff return to work, fund-raise and rebuild confidence in their network of deaf artists, who have been devastated by the impact of Covid-19 on the cultural sector. New marketing and promotion will profile the company and help them find new cultural partners, wanting to improve access. I hope for them to quickly return the CIC, to a successful not for profit, inspiring the deaf community to be creative and involved in the arts.”
Examples of work developed by Deaf explorer in 2021/22
Culture Recovery Fund will allow Deaf explorer to support arts organisations to include deaf artists and involve deaf audiences in 2022/23.
“REMOTE CONTROL”
Fantastic! Loved it, kids were captivated” – Audience Member Claire Hayward
Caroline Parker MBE (Left) Simon Gleave (Middle) Rinkoo Barpaga (Right) Outdoor Performance “Remote Control” A Deaf Explorer and Open Theatre Production
“FORBIDDEN IDENTITY”
Ariel Fung, Ben Randall and Billy Read in a brand-new outdoor dance performance for Appetite, Stoke-on-Trent.
“TALE OF TRESSES”
Tale of Tresses explores the stories of female migrants and refugees through dance, jewellery, and costume. Maral’s contemporary jewellery, made with human hair, is used in performance and worn by a solo dancer. Each piece of jewellery represents an element of Maral’s identity, and the jewellery as a collection represents Maral’s intersectionality as a Deaf Female Refugee.
“MADE IN INDIA BRITAIN”
“MADE IN INDIA BRITAIN”
A new solo performance created in Rinkoo Barpaga’s first language of BSL.