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Audio Description

No longer with us, the eight exhibiting artist-activist is Keith Armstrong (1950 – 2017), the legendary member of both the Disability Rights and the Disability Arts Movements. Keith was responsible for much of the photographic documentation of the historic fights for access. Also captured in his early photos are many of the people who would go on to become major figures in the movement, such as Allan Sutherland and Tracy Proudlock. 

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Image credit, Andy Barker

Image descriptions:

Banner image. An exhibition installation of a glass vitrine containing a red London bus placed within a plethora of protest badges and stickers on top of a patterned green fabric. Filling the wall behind the vitrine are large format photographs of various disability protests and t-shirts with protest slogans hung up on display. Slogans include 'Disability Rights Now!' and 'Rights not charity!'.

1. Set against a large hanging banner in red, yellow, green and blue that reads 'Crip Arte Spazio, The disability arts movement, DAM in Venice', a person peers into a glass vitrine that is central in the space. Filling the left hand wall and overflowing onto the floor below, are long large prints of colour photograph reels. These images depict various moments in protests from the disability arts movement.

2. Two people stand central to the image looking at large format prints of colour photograph camera reels. These images are snapshots from disability protests in the UK, showing individuals and group shots of demonstrations. Overlayed on these images are t-shirts from this protest era including slogans such as 'Disability Rights Now!' and 'Rights not charity!'.

3. A close up photograph of a large format print. The black and white photograph, slightly blurred reads 'Break the chains of segregation'. 

4. A close up photograph of one of the colour photograph reels displayed on the wall in the exhibition. A woman with curly brown hair has her eyes closed facing the camera. She is using a wheelchair and is surrounded by other people, perhaps moving in a protest.