(Above) Signdance Collective performing during the Accentuate launch in Brighton. Photo Mark Slawinski
An ambitious transformational programme to create new opportunities for deaf and disabled people and to promote the heritage and legacy of the Paralympic Games has been launched in the South East of England.
Accentuate is designed to celebrate the South East’s role as the birthplace of the Paralympic movement at Stoke Mandeville and will deliver 15 cross sector projects spanning the worlds of arts, athletics and heritage before and during the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Launched at a showcase event at the Brighton Dome on December 3 2009, the project has a bold remit to change the view of disabled people’s achievements and will even create 200 new jobs in the region.
(Above) Left to right: Paralympians Ian Rose, Vicki Hansford and Danny Crates supporting the Accentuate launch in Brighton. Photo Leed Todd © Accentuate
“This is a great opportunity to create a cultural shift in the way society views disability,” said Programme Director Emma Slawinski. “Our projects are incredibly diverse – they range from professional development opportunities for artists to major disabled sporting events and projects celebrating the heritage of the Paralympic Games at Stoke Mandeville.”
A wide variety of agencies and bodies are signed up to the scheme ranging from Screen South and English Heritage, to Sport England and the English Federation of Disability Sports.
One of the heritage-focussed projects has been developed by English Heritage, whose Creative Landscape Programme will be working with deaf and disabled people in the South East to share and celebrate the historic environment.
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(Above) The Brighton launch included a lively panel debate about opportunities for people with disabilities. (L to r) artist Caroline Cardus, film director Ewan Marshall, actor Mat Fraser and paralympian Danny Crates, chaired by broadcaster Jill Cochrane. Photo Leed Todd © Accentuate
Participants will work with artists to interpret the landscape and heritage of the south coast and to work towards making a meaningful contribution to English Heritage’s annual Heritage Open Days programme.
Other projects include Go Public from Arts Council South East, which will develop opportunities for interventions by disabled and deaf artists to complement the 2012 Paralympic Games and Youth Screen from Screen South, which will develop film opportunities for young disabled and deaf people.
The south east already boasts a diverse and rich portfolio of disabled and deaf artists and the Accentuate project is now carrying the baton to continue the journey to ensure that not only do disabled people get the opportunities they deserve, but people’s perceptions of disability change.
Accentuate is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity whose mission is to support a wide range of cultural and sporting activities which celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) has also invested significant financial support in Accentuate, as have the regional cultural agencies.
For more information and to explore all of the Accentuate projects in full see www.accentuate-se.org.uk.
