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Welsh artist receives Unlimited commissions as part of the world’s most ambitious programme of disability arts for London 2012 |
The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the UK Arts Councils and the British Council have today awarded £820,000 funding to a new round of major commissions for Unlimited, the ground-breaking programme that celebrates arts and culture by disabled and deaf artists on an unprecedented scale for the Cultural Olympiad. Welsh artists, Kaite O’Reilly has been awarded one of the 13 commissions announced today. The works will take place across the UK and with support from the British Council some of the commissions will see collaboration between the artists in the UK and other countries including Brazil, China and South Africa. 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 produce work like never before. The programme, with a total fund of £3m, is principally funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor, and is delivered in partnership between London 2012, Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the British Council. The new commissions for round two of Unlimited announced today include: Kaite O’Reilly: The‘d’ Monologues The‘d’ Monologues are a series of witty and provocative monologues written by Kaite O’Reilly. They are inspired by the experiences, attitudes and imagination of disabled and Deaf people from across the UK. In this second commission from Unlimited, National Theatre Wales will join forces with Kaite in a ground-breaking production, offering an outstanding showcase of talent and featuring new monologues created throughout 2011. Performed by an ensemble of new, emerging, and established disabled and Deaf performers from across the UK, disability culture and Deaf arts will take centre stage in an unprecedented production by a National Theatre. Ruth Mackenzie, Cultural Olympiad, Director, said: ‘This commission is about world-class artists creating brilliant work which will change perceptions of the work of disabled and deaf artists. Congratulations to the commissioned artists and we look forward to seeing how their work develops.’ Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Wales said: ‘We are thrilled that The‘d’ Monologues is to be a part of Unlimited. This award presents a unique opportunity to profile the skills and excellence of Deaf and disabled artists. Working with National Theatre Wales will make a significant and powerful statement about the capability of disabled artists, and I’m sure Kaite is looking forward to presenting the work to an international audience as part of London 2012.’ Artist, Kaite O’Reilly said: ‘The further Commission from Unlimited is wonderful news - it will bring Deaf arts and disability culture to a national platform. Deaf and disabled practitioners, our perspectives, experiences and aesthetics taking centre stage in a national theatre production is something that has never been done before and sets an extraordinary precedent. I'm delighted and honoured to be the playwright bringing these stories to the fore.’ Applications for the third and final round of commissions are now welcomed from disabled and deaf artists or disability arts groups wishing to create high quality work to form part of high profile showcase events across the UK. The British Council will continue their support for applications who wish to develop partnerships with any of the participating countries which include Brazil, China, Columbia, Croatia, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Venezuela. Further information on the application process can be found at www.london2012.com/unlimited. |
| web site: www.london2012.com/unlimited |
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011 |
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