Firing the can(n)on of disability arts

sean burn has been commissioned by DASH to create a short, compelling new experimental film which will mix animation, live-art, spoken word and a wholly original soundworld to challenge the absence of disability arts in the industry. The film intends on being witty, provocative and poetic and will be an utterly unique take from the outsider artist sean burn, utilising in part sean's own response to the all-consuming world of merz that Schwitters conjured up.

The commission, which has been titled 'Firing the can(n)on of disability arts' aims to raise £1,000 through crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. The funds raised will assist in the development of the project allowing for further research and equipment hire, which will make the project possible.

Paula Dower, operations director at DASH said: "Until recently, Tate Modern had a timeline of artistic movements of both the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, it did not include Disability Arts.  By creating this film we want to show that Disability Arts is not an add-on, it is extremely relevant to the history of art and artists and should not be overlooked."
 
"This film will be launched at the Awkward Bastards symposium on 5th March 2015, at mac Birmingham.  The symposium will explore what Disability Art means in the 21st Century. Awkward Bastards will bring together artists, academics and arts professionals from across the UK and the USA to explore this and much more."
 

Artist, sean burn, said: "Tate Liverpool has a constellation of visual artists up on its stairs - I don't recall any disabled artists amongst its listings, not even the legendary Kurt Schwitters - the author of What is Madness? amongst many other works. Firing the can(n)on attempts to raise the profile of disability arts, raising it amongst its peers at venues such as Tate Liverpool."
sean works across film / live arts / digital arts / installation / soundmapping / visual poetry and spoken word to challenge ownership of narratives – and has particular experience of challenging the narratives of psychiatry which is a privileged form of storytelling rather than a science. What sean creates tries giving voice to alternatives, to strategies for survival.
He was shortlisted for a Dadafest disability arts award in 2009 and in 2011 successfully completed a major artist in residence project at the New Gallery Walsall in association with DASH, 'reclaiming the languages of lunacy'.
Since 2011 he is currently an artist and mentor-in-residence with arts charity Celf o Gwmpas, Wales.
His thirty short experimental films have received many screenings worldwide, as well as at Tate Modern and the National Film Theatre Studios in London.

To make a pledge to assist in the creation of Firing the can(n)on of disability arts please visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/657655449/firing-the-cannon-of-disability-arts?ref=live