BLINK Dance Theatre secures funding to improve access to the arts and creative education for disabled young people in Wandsworth

• The Youth Music Shift the Scene Fund has launched following new research that shows Disabled young people face disproportionate barriers when accessing the arts, creative education and employment.

• BLINK Dance Theatre is one of 13 organisations nationwide selected, from 150 submissions.

Photo Credit: Jon C Archdeacon

We are buzzing to receive funding from Shift the Scene to grow a youth dance theatre of dreams; a minimally verbal, sensory-centred space for learning-disabled leaders of tomorrow, facilitated by learning-disabled leaders of today. 

Youth Music, the UK’s leading young people’s music charity, has today announced the recipients of a £2.25 million fund – Shift the Scene – designed to improve access to the arts and creative education for Disabled children and young people. 

We are delighted to share that BLINK Dance Theatre are one of the recipients, receiving £200,000 to provide creative opportunities for Disabled children and young people over 4 years, helping to ‘shift the scene’ by creating spaces where Disabled voices lead.  

Last year Youth Music published a report, Excluded by Design, which exposes the systemic barriers Disabled young people face when accessing the arts.  

The report found that Disabled young people:

• Participate less in the arts than their non-Disabled peers.

• Have shorter term engagement.

• Are less likely to be involved in community-based activity outside of the home, and are more likely to think there are not enough clubs and activities in their local area.

• Are far less likely to be employed in the arts. 

Disabled young people frequently encounter limited access to arts education, fear of judgement, and low expectations. Despite their rights being enshrined in law, in practice they’re often not met. The report finds that:

• The UK is an international leader in creative access and inclusion, yet good practice is driven by specialist organisations rather than being ‘the norm’. 

• There’s a need for greater understanding of access and inclusion practices, more consistency in approach, and greater use of the social model of disability to remove barriers to engagement.

The Youth Music report also offers practical solutions to increase accessibility to the creative arts for Disabled young people. read the full Excluded by Design report here. 

Carol Reid, Youth Music Interim Co-CEO, said: “Unfortunately the arts sector is still failing Disabled young people. Although our Excluded by Design report charts some good practice, there is still lots of work to do. We’re tackling this head-on through this £2.25million fund, made possible thanks to National Lottery funding via Arts Council England. Crucially, Shift the Scene will provide long-term investment to equalise access and help create lasting change.”