About Us
For almost 30 years Shape has been at the forefront of change, aiming to achieve access to the arts for disabled and deaf people; empowering people to enrich their lives through enjoyment of the arts and active participation.
Through our work, we have gained the respect of disabled and non disabled people alike. Shape celebrates Disability and Deaf Culture, providing a new dynamic forum for artistic, social and cultural change.
Long before legislation like the Disability Discrimination Act existed, deaf and disabled people used the arts to raise awareness of deaf and disability issues, and campaign for social equality. Today,
Shape continues to support deaf and disabled artists to challenge society's perceptions, develop audiences and promote Deaf and Disability culture into the 21st century.
Shape is core funded by:
Annual Report
Report and financial statements for year ended 31 March 2006 (pdf format)
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A Brief History
Disability and deaf arts grew out of the disability rights movement and the wider struggle by disabled and deaf people for equality and the right to participate in all aspects of society.
Informed by the radical political activism of the 1960's, disability and deaf arts had a profound effect from the start on the arts and culture of the UK. Motivated by creative ambition as well as anger and frustration at their exclusion from mainstream arts, disabled and deaf people came together to form their own organisations. These organisations provided a space where the needs and aspirations of disabled and deaf people could be realised, and their creative talents developed.
Shape was founded in 1976 by disabled and non-disabled people led by Gina Levete MBE who were angry about their exclusion from several large arts festivals and events at the time. With project funding from the Gulbenkian Foundation and others, Shape launched several projects in schools, prisons, arts centres and colleges across Greater London. As the artists and the organisation gained momentum so did its reputation, leading to revenue funding from the Association of London Government, several London Boroughs and Greater London Arts.
As the political and funding climate has changed so has the form in which Shape has delivered its services. Whilst not compromising its mission, Shape has had to weather the storm of political and popular opinion. In its early days Shape worked with everyone who was 'excluded'. In the past decade the organisation has concentrated on working to enable deaf and disabled people to access the arts.
Shape has continued to produce innovative projects. In 1988 the Shape Ticket Scheme was established creating an audience development scheme working in partnership with major London venues to enable disabled, deaf and elderly people to gain reduced price tickets for arts events and to use a free volunteer escort service. In 1992, in collaboration with the RNID, Shape founded Deaf Arts as the very first service encouraging access by deaf and hard of hearing people as artists and audiences. Both of these schemes remain unique in the UK.
To further complement its services, Shape has established a participatory arts programme, working across London, and has produced a wide variety of festivals, seminars, events and publications around the theme of the arts and disability and disability arts.
Shape was the very first organisation of its kind in the UK to emphasise the creative talents of disabled and deaf people. During the 1980's the Shape model was repeated around the UK by the establishment of regional Shape services. Many of these remain, though over the years may have changed their name, or their focus (Full Circle Arts, Manchester - formally North West Shape, Equata - formally Shape South West).
Last year over 35,000 people used Shape's services, the majority of whom were deaf or disabled. As the socio-political climate has changed and gathered pace towards equality and inclusion, the demands on Shape have increased to an unprecedented level. In the space of just 12 months Shape worked with over 100 partner organisations, advised three government departments and had an international profile in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, France, Germany, Belgium and Ireland.
In recent years Shape has won many awards. These have included the Guardian Charity of the Year (2002), the Consumers First Award (Department of Trade and Industry) and in February of last year the Liveable City Award from the Corporation of London.