Disabled artists are going fully digital in Bulwell

Disabled Artists’ Network was setup in 2015 for the last five years, the group has been displaying art at Bulwell Tesco Extra on Jennison Street.

However, as a result of the pandemic the project has made the transformation to a totally digital setup by using 13 smart screens to show art, crafts, poetry, photography and now videography and animations too.

Villayat ‘Wolf’ SunkmanituIt, the group’s director, said: “It has taken five months to get this far but there are still developments that need to be made to our IT infrastructure, for which we are still seeking funding.

We didn’t feel it was right to expect vulnerable people to carry on putting up exhibitions, so we suspended our venue-based activities.

"But we’ve gone totally digital now though and we’re ready to open.

"We can put on shows but the main PC needs an overhaul and we need a robust filesharing system that our remote volunteers can access easily from different parts of the world, as well as some laptops for the work we do directly with people for when the lockdown is eventually lifted.

“We’re very grateful for the corporate and public funding and support that we’ve already had.

"We couldn’t have gotten this far without them.”

In March last year, the group changed its status to become a not-for-profit organisation and became Disabled Artists’ Network CIC (DAN CIC).

The project was set up by Wolf Photography, a Nottingham-based company that still pays the group’s daily running costs but doesn’t have any disposable income to pay for capital equipment needed by the project.

DAN CIC’s long term goal is to enable people by remaining apolitical and focusing on ‘promoting creativity as a coping mechanism’, which is their mission statement.

The venue at Bulwell has disabled parking, lifts and travelators and is accessible via buses and trams.

On site there is a toilet for the disabled and a changing room.

In the new exhibition screens one to six display the artists’ statements and their works, screens seven and eight display the Living with PTSD and Intimacy with Plants exhibitions, screens nine and 13 display small animations and videos, screen 10 displays poetry and screens 11 and 12 display content from the Wolf Photography International Camera Club.

Wolf continued: “By going totally digital, we are opening up opportunities for a wider range of people, not just the disabled.

"Young people looking to display their art won’t have to find money to frame their art or pay hiring fees or commissions.

"The more severely disabled can simply email their work in now from wherever they are in the world and we can use art to promote further understanding between different cultures.”

The group will be holding it’s official opening at Bulwell Tesco Extra on Jennison Street on Wednesday, May 26 at 7.30pm.There will also be a live broadcast of the opening on Facebook if possible, but if not, there will be a video here.

Please check the current lockdown restrictions before attending the opening.

If you would like to make a donation to the group, click here.