The unlikely history of disability arts

To the uninitiated, disability art conjures an image of a disabled person struggling to paint by clutching a paint brush between their teeth or toes. However, throughout the course of the disabled peoples’ struggle for equal rights, Disability Arts has played a vital role.

Whether through the medium of the protest song, the caustic wit of the cartoon or satirical performance, the disabled artist has been there alongside those who have taken their protest onto the streets. 25 years on from the inauguration of the Disability Discrimination Act, Colin Hambrook, editor of Disability Arts Online, and Dave Lupton, aka Crippen, cartoonist and writer, will take you on a journey through the archives with stories such as the disabled musicians who came together outside ITV headquarters to bring an end to Telethon; the performance artist who made headlines by hurling his artificial leg at a mountain of charity collection cans.