Since 2014 DaDa has annually presented our Edward Rushton Social Justice Lecture on the United Nations International Day for People with Disabilities (3rd December) to keep alive the passion and fire demonstrated by Rushton, a Liverpool poet, activist, abolitionist and disabled man.
In December 2023 we welcomed our lecture audience to Museum of Liverpool to hear from Ashokkumar Mistry, a Leicester-based, Neurodivergent multidisciplinary artist, writer, researcher, activist & curator working in the UK and internationally. Subverting technologies and ideologies, Ashok challenges conventional ways of making & viewing art and at our event he explored the theme of ‘Reclaiming Nonchalance’ and the value of disabled lives.
The event was made possible with support from our event partners and supporters Disability Arts Online, Museum of Liverpool, Liverpool City Council and Arts Council England and we are thrilled to now also be able to share the lecture, along with the panel discussion that followed, online.
Join Our Lecture Online
The Rushton Lecture will be available over on our youtube channel exclusively from 28th February 2024 following the announcement of its release on 20th February ‘World Social Justice Day’ , so catch it via the links below to enjoy the brilliant insights offered.
Context
In this lecture Ashok shortens ‘deaf disabled and neurodivergent’ to ‘disabled’. When talking about disabled people, Ashok refers to people with neither societal privilege nor equity. This distinction is important as it then allows us to better understand the socioeconomic impact of disability.
Although Ashok speaks mainly about disabled artists, the principles explored relate to how disabled people in general are valued within society. Most of the examples provided refer to the visual arts sector, though they are also relevant to performance.
Through observing this lecture we can better understand :
- The definition of and need for Creative nonchalance in a artworld
- Human value
- Value systems
- How people are devalued
- Activism
- Allyship
- What needs to change to make equity and diversity a reality
- The need for creative nonchalance in a normative artworld
Ashok introduces the lecture
“I’m going to talk about nonchalance as a disabled artist which may seem conceptual , but in my opinion, creative nonchalance is essential for every D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artist because it enables the exploration of creative ideas without trawling trauma or encouraging imposter syndrome.
The lecture will chart a course that embarks from a place where artists conform to expectations and via a biting critique of ‘established values, arrives at a milieu that sees disabled artists following their own ambition.
Start with human value and end with no human value
In order to explain nonchalance, the lecture is framed in terms of human value; which sits at the core of the change needed for equity to flourish in both our arts sector and our wider society. In order to appreciate human value I will illustrate dehumanisation by revealing the Four arrows that I have found to pierce the body of humanity and make some of us disposable in the eyes of other people.
Value systems and making OUR artworld more equitable
Finally, I will meander through a promenade of observations and value systems to unpick the prerequisites of human value, how that connects to the art we value in a host of situations and how reorienting our value system can make OUR artworld more equitable.
So please sit back and listen, I don't expect you to agree, just have the openness to listen.”
Thank you to our fantastic line up of expert panellists including Kai Syng Tan (Artist / Agitator / Professor), Sonia Boué (Artist / Writer / Consultant) and Dr Linzi Stauvers (Acting Artistic Director, Education, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham) who also join a discussion led by DaDa’s Ngozi Ugochukwu to dive deep into the topic.
Slides from the lecture can be downloaded here:
https://issuu.com/dadafest10/docs/edward_rushton_social_justice_lecture_2023.pptx
A text only file of Ashok’s lecture can be downloaded here:
https://jmp.sh/s/ECNJ6gXh4UMqnOr1D5Yl
Watch the full event with BSL and subtitles here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsYRLTkusAc