This summer, Billy Read was commissioned by Appetite Festival to take his brand-new outdoor dance performance to the streets of Stoke-on-Trent.
Forbidden Identity explores the personal struggle of a Deaf child growing up in a hearing world; denied access to British Sign Language and a Deaf community.
Using street dance, tutting, mime, and sign language, Billy collaborated with Deaf dancers Ariel Fung and Ben Randall to create the piece, with narrative support and mentorship from Deaf Theatre maker, Brian Duffy and directed by Johnny Autin (Autin Dance Theatre.)
Audiences were moved and inspired by the story of finding freedom through sign language and the support of Deaf friends.
Forbidden Identity is available for bookings for outdoor arts events and festivals.The work is twenty minutes in length and uses recorded sound.
Contact: contact@deafexplorer.com for a tour pack.
In December 2020 MENA Arts UK invited artists and filmmakers across the UK to conceive a new one-minute film, exploring the question: How should the MENA+ arts community celebrate what we have in common?
The result was eight enchanting, joyful, and thought-provoking films spanning animation, music, poetry, dance, installation and comedy.
Maral Mamaghanizadeh was one of the artists commissioned and she created a provocation, “Unveil Your Eyes.”
Maral shows the audience central Birmingham through lens of her experience as a Deaf refugee from Iran.
Deaf Explorer is delighted to provide a thought-provoking discussion for CEDIA about equality. The Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts (CEDIA) that is an exciting new initiative that seeks to engage with, promote and challenge issues of equality, diversity and inclusion across the Arts.
We will profile the stories of four deaf artists. They are central to Deaf Explorer’s mission and forge radical approaches to the making of contemporary deaf culture. The artists work across art forms and bring their lived experience into their creative work in dance, theatre, dance and visual arts.
Chairing the discussion about intersectional identity and the relationship between culture and power will be Iranian artist Maral Maghanizadeh, M.A. Birmingham School of Jewellery.
Rinkoo Barpaga is an emerging theatre-maker who started out as a Stand-Up comedian. He is brave and uses performance to tackle taboo subjects & confront audiences with complex issues.
Billy Read is a Street Dancer with the expertise to involve deaf young people in the arts. Over lockdown, he posted dance tutorials online and streamed dance workshops to schools over the past six months, leading to an appearance on Blue Peter thanking Billy for inspiring deaf children, during Deaf awareness week. Rachael Veazey is passionate about changing the lives of deaf people, and supporting the arts to be fair by improving understanding about Deaf access. Alan McLean has a background in performance art, fine art and media, and believes art by deaf and disabled artists can create social change.
Ishtiaq Hussain
Joining Deaf Explorer are; Phillip Freeman is a deaf community actor with InteGREAT theatre.
Ishtiaq Hussain is an expert at Visual Vernacular, European in origin. The art form is non-verbal visual theatre, which often describes universal experiences about life.
Background
Deaf Explorer have been invited to take part in the launch week of CEDIA Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts (CEDIA).The Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts is an exciting new initiative that seeks to engage with, promote and challenge issues of equality, diversity and inclusion across the Arts. The Centre will act as a locus across the University and City region in collaboration with our cultural partners to offer a critical and practical space for thinking and doing equality, diversity and inclusion in the Arts. The Centre will host a range of talks, public lectures, and workshops through conventional and unconventional formats.
A snapshot of the filmmaker’s experience as a Deaf migrant to Birmingham from the Congo, fusing British Sign language and hip hop street dance and their love of football. Filming in three locations near their home in Perry Barr, juxtaposing the three ‘faces’ of Aston. Deaf people live under the radar – not noticed, understood or welcomed into ‘hearing’ spaces. “I want to make this work to inspire other young Deaf people. I want to show that Deaf people can dance and should have a platform alongside hearing street and hip hop dancers.”
Suitable for: all ages
Midlands Made is a showcase of films by artists with a strong connection to the Midlands including brand new commissions and existing work
Asnath’s commission will be available to watch online through the festival 3rd – 13th June 2021
“Last night was the kick start to the Deaf Drag Workshop and it was brilliant!! We’ve got a fabulous team of Drag Artists and I can’t wait to see these characters develop!!” Big thank you to Creative Black Country and Arts Council England to include Deaf people in their programme to improve wellbeing and reduce loneliness. Deaf Explorer hope to bring the results of the Deaf Drag workshops to the Birmingham Hippodrome. in 2021. Watch this space!
As a practitioner, Asnath executes her movement /dance skills superbly as seen recently in her ‘it gets lighter from here’ dance film, titled, “Conquérir”. Asnath has the qualities to excel with the support from some professional mentoring, the opportunity to develop her dance practice by experimenting with interdisciplinary art forms. We are very excited by Asnath’s approach and future prospects and believe she is an inspirational dance artist and role model for other female, black and deaf creatives in the region and nationally.
Billy Read Received an Arts Council England DYCP to develop his International networks, Square Eye Festival commissioned new work form these innovative dancers.
Audiences were moved and inspired by the story of finding freedom through sign language and the support of Deaf friends.
Deaf Explorer 
