Drake Music presents “The Art We Share,” a documentary series about the barriers to accessing music (BSL)

Drake Music, a registered charity and Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation is dedicated to creating opportunities for Disabled people of all ages to engage in high-quality music-making and developmental activities.

Their work is structured around three key areas: supporting emerging and established Disabled musicians in progressing their careers; offering learning, participation, and training opportunities for Disabled individuals and lastly collaborating with technologists and instrument developers to research and develop new accessible music technology.

“The Art We Share: Conversations with Disabled Artists” is a documentary series produced by Ysabelle Wombwell during her 2023/24 residency with Drake Music.

The series provides a unique insight into the experiences of five d/Deaf and Disabled artists, highlighting the challenges of performing and navigating in an often inaccessible world.

Through open conversation, Ysabelle explores the personal and professional lives of Jess Thom (Touretteshero) Deaf dancer and sign performer Sarah Adedeji, Sally Currie (The Dyr Sister,) Ruby Addy and Dom Smith (Soundsphere Magazine)

The series consists of five episodes titled “Why?,” “How?,” “Challenges,” “Advice,” and “Change,” each shedding light on different parts of the artists’ journeys.

Featured artist and now Drake Music Interim CEO, Sally Currie, provided the following perspective on the barriers she has faced when performing:

“As a deaf musician who has been through mainstream education, I have been so lucky with the opportunities that I have had to learn instruments and perform live, but as I’ve got older I haverealised that I do have barriers, I do have additional needs to consider when performing.

I was so grateful to Yssi for including me in these interviews and to be able to hear other Disabled artists perspectives on performing live.”

The episodes that make up “The Art We Share” all feature British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation and captions. Additionally, the artists provide audio descriptions of themselves in the series’ opening episode.

You can watch the series here.

About Drake Music:
Drake Music believes everyone has the right to express themselves creatively through music. Find out more about them here.

For further details contact Lisa Heywood (she/her) on lisaheywood@drakemusic.org