Calling all Disabled Peoples Organisations for an exciting new arts project: ACTOR

Calling all Disabled People’s Organisations! ACTOR, funded by the UCL East Seed Fund is a Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) initiative, as part of its teaching and research efforts to create opportunities for collaboration between artists, researchers, and communities, is looking for DPOs to collaborate with.

ACTOR focuses on giving students on the MSc DDI programme, researchers at GDI Hub, artists, and disabled people opportunities, technology, and tools to find a way to do what they want to do – together in East London.

ACTOR adopts an approach that brings play, exploration, and creativity together, using workshops and other interactive designs to engage and share and communicate experiences. This project creates a stimulating environment and an engaged community for the development of research directions in technology for participation, play, and self-expression.

Based in East London, ACTOR will create a platform to establish collaboration between artists and disabled people, to support the inclusion of the artists and disabled people in research conducted by GDI Hub. Through workshops with disabled groups and organizations led by artists and researchers, ACTOR will explore the shared cycle of stimulus, evocation, and response that captures human uniqueness and expresses personhood.

ACTOR serves as an opportunity to integrate arts and community collaboration into UCL East’s interdisciplinary MSc DDI program. ACTOR provides a channel for MSc DDI students to work with the East London community and disabled people groups through volunteering, knowledge exchanges, and service-learning programmes with disabled organizations and individuals.

Through this initiative, the GDI Hub will double its efforts to develop research directions in technology for participation, play, and self-expression for disabled people. It will also provide an avenue for disabled people living in East London to acquire rich experiences and insight into artistic approaches to working and communicating that they would not otherwise experience. The programme will also inspire product development for creative expression by disabled and non-disabled people through the application of sensors and physiological measurement technology.

Disabled organizations interested in collaborating should reach out to t.adlam@ucl.ac.uk

GDI Hub is currently looking to recruit a disabled person immediately for a short-term post to support its engagement work and develop collaborations with East London artists, disabled people, and disabled people’s groups.

If you are interested please email your CV and covering letter or questions to derick.omari.20@ucl.ac.uk by 1st September 2021.

Your letter should describe your interest in the post and how you plan to meet its goals. Please note, there is a fixed budget available to support this post.

Find the job description and job advert below: