Access All Areas Announced as New NPO by Arts Council England

Access All Areas are delighted to announce being awarded a £125,000 annual grant for 4 years as an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation for 2018-2022. This grant will make a huge impact on the disabled artists who work with Access All Areas.

The learning disabled community is so often excluded from the cultural mainstream in the UK; Access All Areas hope the support of Arts Council England will enable them to continue to make cutting-edge work that challenges misconceptions surrounding learning disability.

Last year, Access All Areas received support from The Arts Council England's Elevate programme to develop a new artistic programme. As an NPO they'll be able to build on this work, developing cutting edge immersive theatre and supporting 17 professional learning disabled artists each year to create their own work, partnering with some of the UK's most exciting arts organisations.

Access All Areas' Take Part programme will also continue to engage people with learning disabilities with the arts - last year this reached 374 participants. The organisation will also work with venues around the UK to make theatre more accessible for audiences with learning disabilities and autism, working to make the arts more accessible for all, regardless of disability.

Nick Llewellyn, Artistic Director of Access All Areas, said:

"This transformational grant will enable a new generation of emerging learning disabled artists to author their own work, and make their stamp at the centre of the theatre industry in London and beyond. This is an exciting moment for learning disabled art in London."

Artists Emma Selwyn, Charlene Salter and Terry Huggett said: "It's really encouraging that the Arts Council are prepared to give learning disabled artists a chance. This will give us the opportunity to work with new companies in the mainstream, and will allow us to further develop our skills and grow as artists. This will make dreams come true."

Upcoming work by Access All Areas includes:

"MADHOUSE re: exit" - an immersive, satirical theatre experience exploring the institutionalisation of people with learning disabilities, supported by DreamThinkSpeak and The Barbican. Touring to London, Manchester and Cardiff in 2018, with disruptive pop-up performances across the UK before the debut performance.

"Performance Company" - Access All Areas will be working with leading venues from London Theatre Consortium to develop 3 new productions authored by artists from their company, helping artists to launch their careers.

"Performance Making Diploma" - re-launching the Guardian Award-winning Diploma for Learning Disabled Artists, in association with the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. This 2-year programme will train and nurture exciting new learning disabled talent, with 12 students per year.

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