Community Post Type: News

Award-winning DaDa has revealed its exciting 2025 festival programme which marks the Liverpool-based disability and Deaf arts-led organisation’s 40^th anniversary.

A busy line-up of film, including large-scale projection, performances, visual arts, workshops and talks are promised at this year’s DaDaFest International 40 (DDFI40) which runs from 8-31 March.

With 90% of events open to the public for FREE the organisation is encouraging supporters to help it to keep it that way through donations.

Events include a significant new photographic exhibition at the waterfront Open Eye Gallery, a stunning poetic film installation screened on the outside of the Cunard Building, thought-provoking live theatre and a special Bluecoat Weekender at DaDa’s city centre home.

DaDa, founded in 1984, develops and presents excellent disability and Deaf arts through an artistic programme that includes high quality festivals, interventions and events, fed in to by a year-round programme of engagement work with developing and established artists, young disabled, Deaf and neurodivergent people, their families and the wider community.

DaDaFest, which was launched in 2001, showcases the work of disabled, Deaf and neurodivergent artists.

The festival theme for 2025 is Rage: A Quiet Riot! which was chosen after speaking to artists about the work still to be done to achieve full equity.

Events take place at venues across the city centre and beyond as well as online.

Film

In the Film DDFI40 programme, artists showcase different shades of rage – bubbling, building and bursting in a quiet riot.

Launching DDFI40 on International Women’s Day, 8 March, Bristol-based artist and curator Cathy Mager’s Hand Ships Sail is a poetic conversation in British Sign Language in which two Deaf women share their dreams for the future as they look out over the night sky. It will be beamed on to the side of the Cunard Building from 8-10pm on the day.

A co-commission between DaDa and Culture Liverpool, Movement Megaphone is an original dance film by Patrick Bannon, an associate artist at RAWD, which explores turning up our voice through dance. It will be screened at Open Eye Gallery on Mann Island from 8-10 and 17-31 March.

And on 18 March there will be an evening of films at FACT which reflect on the festival theme including a screening of shorts created by disability artists Dolly Sen, Dora Colquhoun and Amina Atiq.

Live Performance

Artists Faith Bebbington and Janet Price unveil their visual commission Pimp my Wheelchair at Sefton Park Palm House on 9 March with a special launch event which will feature a thought-provoking catwalk-esque procession. Their exhibition features crutches, chairs and hearing aids ‘pimped up’ with sculptures inspired by plants which have natural defence mechanisms which express rage against attack.

It runs until 30 March and ahead of that on 28 March there will also be an informal event to mark the end of the exhibition and celebrate DaDaFest International 40 – Rage: A Quiet Riot including a live performance from Dora Colquhoun as well as music.

Midgitte Bardot is the alter ego of solo artist Tamm Williams. Shooting From Below, staged at the Unity Theatre on 21 March, is a work-in-progress sharing of a new show which explores people’s regressive attitudes to those with dwarfism and poses the question – who is really dwarfing who?

Then on 22 March, join the brilliantly bold Not All Your Circus Dogs at the Unity where they present Not F***ing Sorry. Co-produced by The Hale and Access All Areas, the show promises ‘shameless sexy punk crip cabaret’.

Meanwhile The Bluecoat Performance Space is the venue for Rage Reactor on 22-23 March. Open from 11am to 5pm each day, the event sees artist Zack Mennell working with an archive of NHS and DWP letters and with family photos to create a commissioned installation alongside three performances over the two days which combine poetic explorations of childhood trauma with the trauma the civil nuclear industry enacts on the land.

And The Bluecoat Garden sees an interactive performance from Dora Colquhoun on 22 March, where the fictional National Bureau for Sitting (NBFS) will assess members of the public to see whether they can take a seat in a very comfortable Chesterfield chair.

Deaf author Natalie Denny will lead a special DaDaFest International 40 Storytime at The Bluecoat Festival Hub on 22 March where she will share her much loved ‘Keisha Jones’ series.

Amina Atiq will present Pop Up Poetry in the Bluecoat Garden and Courtyard on 23 March, with specially developed work reflecting on the festival theme RAGE performed alongside some of her existing poems.

Then on 28 March, Eat Me and Preach – a collaboration between DaDa and Liverpool’s original drag dinner cabaret and club night – comes to District in the Baltic Triangle, promising a raucous evening of performance and protest.

And on 29 March, artist and performer Patrick Bannon and choreographer Alice Lapworth will host a free open dance workshop at Open Eye Gallery to learn some of the moves in Movement Megaphone, followed by a one-off live performance.

Visual Art

The visual art strand of DDFI40 opens with a new exhibition titled Rage, Riot and Revolution at the Open Eye Gallery on Mann Island. Over four decades, disabled women in Liverpool and the North West have been powerful agents of change locally, nationally and internationally, reshaping their communities and the way society views disabled people.

Launched on International Women’s Day and running until 31 March, the exhibition – featuring photography by Jan Williams of the Caravan Gallery – celebrates their resilience, ingenuity and impact.

DaDa Chief Executive and artist Zoe Partington will be Painting in Light at venues across the Liverpool City Region including, Sefton Park Palm House, Williamson Art Gallery and The Bluecoat and more to be revealed. Running from 8-31 March, the light sculptures convey stories, messages and insights into disabled people’s struggles in a world where society still excludes them from the mainstream.

The exhibition will also be available to view online with audio description and a podcast discussion to capture the story behind it.

DaDaFest @ Bluecoat will see an archive exhibition, running from 8-31 March, which charts festivals, events and exhibitions hosted at the School Lane arts centre.

Meanwhile DaDa Fellow Chris Shapiro creation Koishii (the Japanese word for ‘I miss’ in the sense of yearning), an interactive game experience will be available on the DaDa website from 8-31 March.

Matt Allen presents his new digital commission It’s Not You, It’s M.E. at the Bluecoat and online on 11 March.

Allen is an artist whose practice explores dreams, reality and anxiety and draws upon autobiographical material to create interactive artworks. He is a recipient of FACT’s 2024 Digital Artist Residencies programme, and this new work about ME and chronic fatigue is supported in partnership with DaDa.

Disabled curator Gill Crawshaw and YEP (Young Everyman Playhouse) Producers present a DaDa @ 40: Dive into Our Archive at the Liverpool Everyman theatre bar from 19-31 March. Utilising some of DaDa’s extensive archive of material and memorabilia, Crawshaw is working with the young people to share a snapshot of disability arts history from a younger perspective.

Talks and Workshops

Drop in to the DaDa Festival Hub at the Bluecoat on 9 March for A Wee Riot with Edinburgh Fringe Society, a chance to chat with members of the society’s artist services’ team about all things Fringe ahead of a new year-round artist hub which is due to open in the Scottish capital in 2026.

Liz Crow, ZU-UK and Dora Colquhoun come together in partnership with Metal Culture for a very special event at Edge Hill Station on 15 March. How f*cked are we? A Long Table discussion about the climate crisis will explore climate change and disability from local and global perspectives, using artist Lois Weaver’s Long Table format.

DaDa is thrilled to be working with ZU-UK and Maria Oshodi and co-hosting a closed Research Lab at FACT on 16 March, one of the international elements of DDFI40.

An Ignite Artists round table takes place on Zoom on 17 March, covering the topic Using Creative Workshops to Imagine Better Futures of Care for and with People with Energy Limiting Conditions. Artists Khizra Ahmed, Khairani Barokka, Julian Gray, Mish Green and Louise Kenward will discuss a research project they are involved with which is led by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University.

Meanwhile Disability Arts Online and Telepresence Stage present a Seminar and Screening at FACT on 19 March.

In the morning, two of the UK’s leading disabled-led theatre companies, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company and CRIPtic Arts, will give presentations and hold a panel discussion on the possibilities and benefits of unique online and hybrid performance outcomes they have developed. While later in the day there will be a practical workshop.

Then the Bluecoat Festival Hub is the venue for Ignite 1:1 Artist Advice Sessions with Arts Council England on 23 March, with Deaf, disabled or neurodivergent creatives or organisations able to access the in-person advice from an ACE Relationship Manager.

There will also be an Ignite: First Time Arts Council Applicants Session on Zoom on 24 March with the webinar including an introduction to the Arts Council, its National Lottery Project Grants, developing your creative practice and tips on applying for funding.

And on 26 March Australian artists Amy Claire Mills and Bedelia Lowrenčev lead an online workshop, Sweat the System, which invites participants to move and shake their bodies through sweat and play.

Bluecoat Weekender

DaDa has called the Bluecoat its home since 2008 and has welcomed many disabled artists to the historic Liverpool arts centre during that time. Disabled people asked for a space in a cultural fun venue to meet as often disabled people are segregated

The Bluecoat Weekender on 22-23 March brings together a host of events and activities including Painting With Light, Zack Mennell’s Rage Reactor, Dora Colquhoun’s Would You Like a Seat? storytelling with Natalie Denny and pop-up poetry with Amina Atiq.

There will also be a DDFI40 Festival Hub and Quiet Space open on the weekends of 8-9 and 22-23 March which will be open to both artists and audiences for networking, informal meetings or simply to take time out.

DaDa’s chief executive Zoe Partington says: “DaDa has a rich powerful history of pioneering disability arts, and shifting culture within the arts when it comes to representation of disabled artists and the value to society of including disabled artists is immense and changes negative stereotypes.

“The impact of this work has become even more evident in the conversations we’ve had in planning our 40^th anniversary festival, with venues like The Bluecoat telling us, since DaDaFest first took place there, they have revolutionised representation of disabled artists and audiences within their venue as a direct result, and with DaDa’s influence they now work regularly with disabled artists within a venue where they have invested heavily in disabled people being present and continue to improve access.

“The festival programme is diverse and exciting, and we have worked hard to keep most of the events free for people to access. But we know that many people believe in, and want to support, the work that we do, and so we want to remind people that we are a not-for-profit organisation and they can support us to keep creating opportunities for disabled artists to be present and to curate accessible experiences for everyone to enjoy.”

For full festival details and booking visit dadafest.co.uk.

If you want to support DaDa to keep many of the events free during DaDaFest you can support its Just Giving campaign www.justgiving.com/campaign/ddfi40.

Walker Art Gallery and the John Moores Painting Prize Trust are excited to announce the jury for the 2025 John Moores Painting Prize, alongside the formal opening of the call for entries. This distinguished panel of art world and creative industry figures will assess thousands of entries to determine both the exhibition content and prize winners.

Through their collective expertise, the jury will shape one of Britain’s most anticipated contemporary painting exhibitions, with their final decisions remaining confidential until the official announcement. The First Prize winner will receive £25,000 and a prestigious solo display at Walker Art Gallery, while each artist chosen for the John Moores Painting Prize exhibition will receive an exhibiting fee.

Louise Giovanelli is a London-born artist based in Manchester who studied at Manchester School of Art and Städelschule Frankfurt. Her work has been featured in prominent solo exhibitions at venues including White Cube London and Hong Kong, Hepworth Wakefield, and GRIMM New York. She has participated in significant group shows worldwide and her work is held in numerous prestigious collections, including MOCA Los Angeles, the National Museum Norway, and the Yuz Museum Shanghai. Her practice has earned her recognition in major institutions across Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Gemma Rolls-Bentley is a leading contemporary art curator with nearly two decades of experience championing diversity in the field. Her 2024 book Queer Art: From Canvas to Club and the Spaces Between has received widespread acclaim. She specialises in amplifying female and LGBTQIA+ artists’ work, having curated for international institutions including Leslie Lohman Museum, Somerset House, and the Tom of Finland Foundation. In 2022, she curated the Brighton Beacon Collection, the UK’s largest permanent queer art display. She teaches across a number of institutions and serves on multiple boards, including Queercircle and the Courtauld Association Committee.

Michael Simpson is a British artist based in Wiltshire and winner of the 2016 John Moores Painting Prize. Having studied at Bournemouth College of Art and the Royal College of Art London, his distinguished career includes solo exhibitions at prestigious venues such as the Serpentine Gallery London, Minsheng Museum Shanghai, and Spike Island Bristol. His work features in prominent collections including Tate Modern, Long Museum Shanghai, and the Louisiana Museum, cementing his position in contemporary British art.

Dr. Zoé Whitley is a London-based, US-born curator and writer. With a twenty year history in Britain’s leading museum collections and exhibition-making galleries (V&A, Tate, Hayward, and most recently as Director of Chisenhale Gallery, 2020-2025), projects to her credit include co-curating the acclaimed touring exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power (2017-2020), curating the British Pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale, and editing the major monograph on Barkley L. Hendicks:  Solid!  She is the author of two children’s books in the popular series Meet the Artist series on Frank Bowling and Sophie Taeuber-Arp.

Zhang Enli is a prominent Chinese contemporary artist renowned for his extensive international exhibition history. Since 2000, his work has been showcased in over thirteen museums, with major solo exhibitions held across Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom in partnership with Hauser & Wirth. Notable venues include the Long Museum, Power Station of Art Shanghai, Galleria Borghese Rome, and the ICA London. His works are collected by prestigious institutions worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou, Tate Collection, and Royal Academy of Arts. In 2014, he served as a juror for the John Moores Painting Prize China.

Sandra Penketh, Executive Director of Collections and Research at National Museums Liverpool, said:

“We are delighted to announce this exceptional jury for the John Moores Painting Prize 2025. Their diverse perspectives and deep understanding of contemporary art practice will ensure a rigorous and thoughtful selection process. The Prize continues to be a vital platform for painters working in the UK today, and we look forward to seeing the innovative and challenging works that will be submitted for consideration.” 

Alongside the First Prize, the jury will award the Lady Grantchester Prize, offering £5,000, with a residency and £2,500 worth of art materials supplied by Winsor & Newton. Applications from artists in their final year of study or within five years of graduation are especially encouraged to apply for this award.

Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to vote for their favourite painting to win the Visitors’ Choice Award. The winning artist will receive £2,025.

Named after its founding sponsor Sir John Moores in 1957, the internationally renowned prize, organised in partnership with the John Moores Painting Prize Trust, continues to support artists and bring the best contemporary painting to Liverpool. The competition has awarded more than £700,000 in prize money across 32 exhibitions, showcasing more than 2,400 works of art.

Past prize winners include David Hockney (1967), Mary Martin (1969), Lisa Milroy (1989), Peter Doig (1993), Keith Coventry (2010), Rose Wylie (2014), Jacqui Hallum (2018), and Kathryn Maple (2020).

The call for entries comes ahead of the opening of a new exhibition by the First Prize winner of the 2023 edition, Graham Crowley. Opening 17 March, Graham Crowley: I paint shadows offers unprecedented insight into Crowley’s distinctive exploration of light and shadow through painting, featuring new works alongside his Prize-winning piece ‘Light Industry’.

The call for entries for the John Moores Painting Prize 2025 is now open and runs until 5pm on 24 March 2025.

For further information and to enter, visit liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/jmpp.

Liverpool Philharmonic is delighted to announce local composer Andrew Barney as the winner of the annual Rushworth Composition Prize.

The Rushworth Composition Prize is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. In association with the Rushworth Foundation, the prize has now provided 10 early-career composers with an exceptional range of opportunities to create new work and build long-term collaborative and creative relationships with Liverpool Philharmonic.

Andrew will receive a £1,000 cash prize and a year’s complimentary membership to the Ivors Academy, the UK’s leading professional association for music creators. The Prize offers Andrew a unique, year-long opportunity to develop his talent at Liverpool Philharmonic. He will participate in a programme of masterclasses, workshops, and mentoring sessions delivered by conductors, composers, performers, and other professionals associated with Liverpool Philharmonic.

Andrew will write a new work for performance by Ensemble 10:10, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s contemporary music group, in the autumn of 2026. He is also a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and hopes to use this opportunity to compose works for the choir in the future.

Born and raised on Merseyside, Andrew has West African, Caribbean, and Irish heritage, which forms the foundation of his artistic identity. The only musician in his family, he discovered his love for classical music at 13 when he began learning piano and bass guitar at secondary school. In 2024, after a decade of working in various professional fields unrelated to music, he made a complete career change, fully embracing life as a musician and composer.

Andrew studied French and Spanish at the University of Leeds, where he graduated with distinctions. A polyglot, he speaks ten languages. He spent a year in Canada at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) studying jazz and classical choir, and he lived in Granada, Spain for two years, teaching languages and singing with the Coro Ciudad de Granada.

Currently, Andrew is the pianist in residence with Liverpool’s newly formed Arts Bar Orchestra (ABO) under conductor Gaia Ghazaryan. He is also a proud member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir under conductor Matthew Hamilton. Committed to cultural celebration and collaboration, Andrew recently composed and performed original works for piano and voice, which were showcased at St. George’s Hall to critical acclaim during Liverpool’s Black History Month. His career is marked by ongoing international collaborations and performances, including recent concerts in Switzerland with Venezuelan folk singer Mario Espinoza.

Looking ahead, Andrew’s musical journey continues to gather momentum. He has recently been selected as an artist in residence for the prestigious Leeds Opera North Resonance Programme in 2025, where he will develop his project “ORIGINS,” which explores his heritage through music. He is also one of the mentees in the 2025 Ivors Academy’s Co:Pilot programme.

On winning the prize, Andrew said: “This opportunity is life-changing and a dream come true for me. I always knew deep down that music was my true calling but felt too scared to fully embrace it. For the first time, I genuinely believe in my potential as a composer and musician. The chance to have my music performed by the incredible Ensemble 10:10 is absolutely priceless and is the start of an exciting new chapter in my life. As a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, I’ve had the honour of performing alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and now I will have the unique opportunity to develop a closer relationship with the musicians I’ve long admired. I’m also incredibly excited to work with Stephen Pratt, whose mentorship will be invaluable as I navigate my journey as a composer. I’m profoundly grateful for this opportunity and excited for what lies ahead.”

A Highly Commended prize was also awarded to Aaron Breeze, who will have one of his compositions performed by Ensemble 10:10 in the 2025-26 season.

Zoë Armfield, Head of Learning at Liverpool Philharmonic, commented: “We are delighted to award the Prize to Andrew this year. The Rushworth Composition Prize is an integral part of Liverpool Philharmonic’s support for emerging talent in the North West. Now in its 10th year, it is incredible to see the way our composers’ careers have developed and the heights they have achieved. Classical music is an important living, breathing art form and it is so important to provide a platform for new music and champion new artists from our region. The standard of entries is always very high, and this year is no exception, so we were delighted to also award a commendation to Aaron.

Previous winners of the Rushworth Composition Prize include Nneka Cummins, whose work 3 Planets premiered at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in May 2023 and Flow State premieres with Ensemble 10:10 in March; Christopher Cook has written the soundtrack to several full-length feature films and whose compositions have been performed by the BBC Philharmonic as well as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Grace-Evangeline Mason, who premiered her new orchestral work The Imagined Forest at the 2021 BBC Proms, co-commissioned with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and premieres a new piece with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in June; and Carmel Smickersgill, who was nominated for the Ivors Academy Rising Star Award in 2020, her piece Charcoal will be performed by Ensemble 10:10 in April and is working on her second EP to be released in 2025.