Liverpool’s St George’s Hall and Liverpool Town Hall were lit up in recognition of United Nations International Day for People with Disabilities on Sunday 3 December.
The buildings shone in turquoise and yellow during the evening with DaDa and Liverpool City Council working together to mark the occasion.
On the same day, award winning and pioneering disability and Deaf arts organisation DaDa, presented their annual Edward Rushton Social Justice Lecture named after the local poet, activist, abolitionist, and disabled man., at Museum of Liverpool and streaming live via youtube to a national audience.
When disabled people were campaigning for anti-discrimination legislation in the mid 1990’s the colours of the campaign were turquoise and yellow. The campaign resulted in the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act which has been superseded by the 2010 Equality Act. The observance of the day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and support the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life
This year’s DaDa lecture was led by the insightful and influential disabled artist Ashokkumar D Mistry exploring ‘Reclaiming Nonchalance’, a lecture challenging art world values to envisage the worth of Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent artists working in their essential state. This year’s lecture addressed the mechanisms for valuing people, valuing everyone.
Reclaiming Nonchalance is an invitation to activate ambition through the self-care of actively thinking beyond other people’s expectations. The lecture dissected artworld mechanics and interrogated how Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent artists are valued.
A lively panel discussion was hosted by DaDa Executive Producer Ngozi Ugochukwu who was joined by panelists Kai Syng Tan (Artist / Agitator / Professor), Sonia Boué (Artist / Writer / Consultant) and Dr Linzi Stauvers (Acting Artistic Director, Education, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham) to discuss the topic. The lecture was presented in conjunction with Disability Arts Online and can be watched on demand via this link:
Rushton Lecture 2023.
Rachel Rogers and Ngozi Ugochukwu for DaDa said: “We were really pleased to find out that the city will join us on Sunday to light up key buildings in our city in recognition of The International Day of Persons with Disabilities and highlight the value of disabled peoples lives. This coincides nicely with the closing of our winter programme and the return of our Edward Rushton Social Justice Lecture, and we were thrilled that our keynote speaker was the perceptive and provocative artist, writer, researcher, activist & curator, Ashokkumar D Mistry.
“His research scrutinises differences to expand our understanding of the human condition that includes impairment and disability.
“We are thankful for the support of Liverpool City Council, the Museum of Liverpool and Disability Arts Online. We welcome everyone to check out this free lecture highlighting disability as a social justice issue that all of society needs to address.”