NEW VISUALITY AND FREE WHEELING, 2025
Last summer celebrated physical prowess with the Euros and Olympics, alongside York's 100 Day Culture Festival and Tour de Yorkshire, focusing on bikes and speed. This project aims to bring a similar spirit to wheelchairs, exploring themes of resilience, humor, and accessibility
Through 30 art sessions, we empowered 20 disabled individuals in York with leadership roles in cultural and physical activities Our goal was to highlight the incredible nature of wheelchairs, reminding the public that while speed might be overrated, these machines are trulyamazing.Wealsowantedtoprovide a platform for wheelchair users to share their stories, jokes, and ideas Using innovative York-based artists, we facilitated creative activities and curated exhibitions to express their hopes and delve into the meaning of accessibility withinaheritagecity
Public involvement was key. We hosted skill-sharing and collaborative largescale canvas sessions with professional artists, co-led by disabled participants Engagement was built around questions about city experiences often taken for granted by the able-bodied, such as favorite museums, snickleways, and shortcuts. Our art kiosks gathered stories and visuals from the public through engaging performances and light projections.
THEART
We empowered all participants, both disabled and able-bodied, to visually reimagine York. This resulted in the creation of both digital and physical booklets featuring wheelchair-using avatars that highlighted issues related to cultural access Thesemapsalsoinspireddesignsforposters and wheelchair spokes, a growing trend for those who personalize their wheelchairs All artistic output led to new prints of custom wheelchair accessories such as cupholders, cushions, seatbelts, and handwarmers Additionally, obsolete wheelchairs were decorated with colour and glitter and strategicallyplacedincity-centrelocations
All art created was exhibited in prominent venues including York city centre Art Gallery, independent galleries, and urban locations like Acomb Library and Tang Hall Library, as well as other high-profile public spaces. Theseexhibitionsweretimedtocoincidewith Global Accessibility Awareness Day (15/05/25) as a series of city-centre illuminations.
MEASURING SUCCESS
Throughout the project, we gathered anecdotal evidence and feedback forms Our aim was to make the activities themselves fun, engaging, and creative, even with a strong 'destination' element
A feedback day was held at the project's conclusion for all stakeholders, including Blueberry Academy, and York Council. York Council saw this project's success as a potential early demonstration of how local business partnerships could leverage creativity to enhance CVs and elevate employment aspirations Creativity, especially for disadvantaged groups, was seen as the foundational building block for this model ,
York College was also keen to strengthen relationships with prospective students who had learning differences and disabilities. The tangible proof of the project's impact was the pathways created to internships, further education, or paid employment. We reported the number of participants who had successfully progressed into these routes within one month of the project's completion
T H I S I S H O W W E R O L L
York recently saw protests concerning the removal of blue badge holders from its pedestrian "foot streets" zone, a ban that prevented all vehicles, including those with blue badges, from 10:30 am to 5 pm daily While the ban has since been lifted and access restored, the debate continued
Given York's challenging landscape of cobbles, kerbs, and historic structures, there was growing support for disabledled organizations advocating for greater accessibility to cultural experiences, which were often prioritized for the able-bodied
We were guided by initial discussions with York Accessibility Action, York Disability Rights Forum, and York People First on how best to represent their stories. Our professional artists were eager to collaborate with these groups to create new compositions As Belinda Noda of York Accessibility Action stated, "As long as we got to see the funny side as well as the more serious side, this was a blast "
Thank you, National Lottery Project Grants
We focused on fun, creativity, and accessibility and skills development and we NAILED it!
Our participants have gone onto York College, more volunteering opportunities, or started Internships. We couldn’t have done it without you.
