Exclusive London 2012 festival commissions showcase at DaDaFest 2012

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In the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, DaDaFest 2012 is proud to announce their collaboration with the London 2012 Festival, the spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration running from 21 June until 9 September 2012 bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK. DaDaFest 2012, The UK’s leading disability and deaf arts festival will feature a ground breaking exhibition which is a part of the London 2012 Festival, plus three new works commissioned for the Unlimited Cultural Olympiad programme.

Unlimited encourages collaborations and partnerships between disability arts organisations, disabled and deaf artists, producers and mainstream organisations to celebrate the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and to create original and exciting works. Twenty-nine Unlimited Commissions have been awarded.

London 2012 Festival:

Niet Normaal: Difference on Display, which is a popular phrase in Dutch (literally translated as ‘not normal’ but also meaning ‘cool’), is a major contemporary art exhibition coming to the UK for the first time, at the Bluecoat, Liverpool from Fri 13 July – Sun 2 September as a key feature of DaDaFest 2012, and the London 2012 Festival.

The exhibition which has been shown before in Amsterdam and Berlin, addresses a definitive question of our time: ‘what is normal and who decides?’ specifically focussing on language as freedom and language as imprisonment.

Niet Normaal will display work by artists seeking out paradoxes and casting a keen eye on the world around them, and share their findings with visitors. Niet Normaal will feature paintings, installations, films, photographs and sculptures by renowned artists such as Bob and Roberta Smith, Evelien Krijl & Olivia Glebbeek, Bruce Nauman, Christine Borland, Christiaan Bastiaan, Douglas Gordon, Javier Téllez and BirgIt Deiker.

The exhibition will also feature new work commissioned, including from, Aaron Williamson and Liverpool based Laurence Clark.

This question ‘what is normal and who decides?’ is being examined through art that aims to celebrate difference in the year of London’s hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in the context of a disability and deaf arts festival.

Unlimited Commissions:

‘Inspired’ is a new performance by Laurence Clark, questioning what it means to be inspirational, Inspired is funny, thought provoking and uses humour to encourage audiences to re-examine the stereotypical way in which people talk about and view the Paralympics.

Laurence and his wife recently featured in the BBC1 documentary We Won’t Drop the Baby, narrated by David Tenant, which followed the ups and downs of the parents living with disabilities.

‘Unlimited Global Alchemy’ is led by British artist Rachel Gadsden in partnership with South African artist and activist Nondumiso Hlwele and The Bambanai Womens Group. A special screening of short films, featuring Gadsden and the Bambanani Group, shot on location in Cape Town will be shown at DaDaFest, followed by a talk with the artists.

Unlimited Global Alchemy is an exhibition of large scale visual artworks in the UK and in South Africa, fuelled by the politics and myths surrounding chronic health issues, in particular HIV/AIDS, this startling body of work offers visceral and often poetic perspectives on what it means to experience disabling conditions and to fight openly for life in the face of social taboos.

‘The Ugly Spirit’ from Liverpool based Fittings Multimedia Arts is a new backstage play by Russell Barr combining improvisation and text
Join David Hoyle in a very private audience with Jessie and Bessie, the famous Siamese twins.

Fittings’ new show takes a brand new play by Russell Barr, mixes in the extraordinary improvisational talents of David Hoyle with the vocal skills of acclaimed soprano Denise Leigh, sets it all in the undiscovered places that lurk behind the scenes and invites a select audience to take a peek into the backstage world of the famous Siamese Sisters Jessie and Bessie.

Ruth Gould, CEO of DaDaFest said: “We are delighted to present such a relevant and innovative exhibition as part of DaDaFest, and thrilled to be show casing these Unlimited commissions. All these works will provoke, stimulate debate and raise understanding to place the issues of disability, difference, and normality into an international context through local engagement”.

Ruth Mackenzie, London 2012 Festival Director, said: “All my thanks to DaDaFest for their brilliant work celebrating disabled and deaf artists, and for being a great partner to the London 2012 Festival this year with some great Unlimited commissions and the amazing Niet Normaal”

Disability Arts and Culture has grown over the last 20 years into a discernibly confident and accomplished artistic movement of expression around experiences of disability. DaDaFest was the first and is now the biggest, most comprehensive and challenging festival of Disability & Deaf Arts in the world.

Schedule:

Niet Normaal
Fri 13 July – Sun 2 September 2012
Open daily from 10am-6pm
At the Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool
FREE

‘Inspired’ Laurence Clark
Fri 31 August 2012
unity theatre
Tickets are £10/£8 Concessions
To book: Telephone: 0844 873 2888 Online: www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk
Will have British Sign Language Interpretation and be Audio Described

‘Unlimited Global Alchemy’ Rachel Gadsen
Thurs 30 August 2012 2.30pm
At the Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool
FREE booking required via the Bluecoat box office
To book: Telephone:0151 702 5324 Online: www.thebluecoat.org.uk
Will have British Sign Language Interpretation and be Audio Described

‘The Ugly Spirit’
Tuesday 21 August and Wednesday 22 August, 7.30pm
At the Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool
Tickets are £8/£6 Concessions
To book: Telephone: 0151 702 5324 Online: www.thebluecoat.org.uk
Will have British Sign Language Interpretation