Festival showcases deaf and disabled artists

A festival showcasing the talent of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists is being held in Stoke-on-Trent this weekend.

The full programme includes performances, conversations and a curated exhibition, with a sound installation, dance, music, poetry, film, photographs and drawings.

Spearheaded by Frontline Dance, the festival opened on Friday and is being held at the Potteries Museum and Arts Gallery.

Artist and performer Kayleigh Price has focused on her experiences of tension and trauma and anxiety to create a commissioned installation.

GCSE students at Newfriars College have taken a series of photographs to celebrate diversity, challenge perceptions of what people with special needs can achieve, and capture moments of happiness and joy.

Members of an arts group for autistic people and those with learning disabilities in the Stoke-on-Trent area have explored the world of protest banners to come up with their own creation for the festival.

The banner, titled Autism Doesn't Have a Look and created by The Social Agency, is on display during the festival.

Members of the group were extremely proud of their work, organisers said, and saw it as a statement and a piece of art that stirred up "powerful, emotional responses".

Inspired by protest banners created by trade unions, the group pored over books exploring the subject.

Their process also included discussions by group members, where they talked about their experiences of feeling stereotyped and misunderstood.

It was made over five weeks by 18 members of the group in textile banner-making sessions.

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