Beyond Barriers: Disability Through Arts

Wed Apr 08 2026 at 06:30 pm to 07:45 pm UTC+01:00

The British Academy | London

British Academy
Publisher/HostBritish Academy
Beyond Barriers: Disability Through Arts
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How can art, performance and creativity deepen our understanding of disability - and create powerful ways to share lived experiences?
About this Event

This thought-provoking panel and exhibition will share stories that explore the impact of ableism on the possibilities of equitable futures. Discover how creativity and storytelling challenge stereotypes, amplify disabled voices, and open space for new conversations.



Speakers:

Dr Donna McCormack

Donna McCormack (they/them) is a Chancellor’s Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Humanities at the University of Strathclyde. They recently completed an AHRC Leadership Fellowship on Transplant Imaginaries. Their research interests include chronic illness and the critical medical humanities, queer and crip theories, biotechnologies (specifically organ transplantation), postcolonial and anticolonial theories, and contemporary science and speculative fiction. They are the coordinator of the Nordic Network Gender, Body, Health, as well as a founding member of the Monster Network. They also engage with film photography as part of their research and to record daily disabled and immunocompromised life. Donna is the principal investigator on the British Academy- funded project Doing Disability Futures.

Dr Ingrid Young

Ingrid (she/her) is a medical sociologist who works with qualitative methods, including arts-based and participatory methods. She is particularly interested in how experiences of and inequalities across gender, sexualities, race, disability and technologies shape sexual health and wellbeing. Her research explores sexual and reproductive health and social justice, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), LGBTQ+ health, chronic illness and disability, and health activisms. Ingrid is co-lead on the British Academy-funded project Doing Disability Futures, and is running Case Study 1 with The Love Tank.


Chair:

Professor Tom Shakespeare

Professor Tom Shakespeare FBA is a leading social scientist and bioethicist, and the Professor of Disability Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has more than three decades of experience in disability studies, with his research spanning social policy, ethics, sexuality and global development.

He previously worked with the World Health Organization, contributing to key reports including the World Report on Disability. He has authored or edited numerous influential books, such as Disability Rights and Wrongs and Disability - the Basics.

Tom has appeared on BBC Radio, spoken at the UN, and served on various councils including the Arts Council England and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. In recognition of his work, he was awarded a CBE for services to disability research.


Event schedule:
  • Doors and bar open: 18:00
  • Event starts: 18:30
  • Audience Q&A: 19:30
  • Event ends: 19:45
  • Bar closes: 20:30



Further information

Free event, donations welcome, booking required.

As tickets are free, people sometimes book and don't attend, so we have to issue more tickets than there are seats available to allow for this. Entry into this event is on a first-come, first-served basis and we recommend arriving in good time to avoid any disappointment.

Registering for a ticket does not guarantee you entrance to the SHAPE Room. If the SHAPE Room reaches capacity, you will be directed to the Wohl Gallery next door to watch a live stream of the event.

This event will also be recorded and live streamed on YouTube.

This event has live subtitles delivered by 121 Captions and a BSL interpreter.

The British Academy building is fully accessible. For further details, please visit the Accessibility at the British Academy page.

For any additional questions or specific access requirements, attendees are invited to contact the events team at [email protected]

If you have any questions about this event, please refer to our Public Events FAQs. If your question is not answered, again, please email [email protected]

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, United Kingdom

Tickets

GBP 0.00 to GBP 10.00

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