The Quiet Room

Partners: Disability Arts in Shropshire (Shrewsbury, England) and Berlinklusion GbR (Berlin)

Image © Berlinklusion GbR

"We are thrilled to receive Cultural Bridge funding for DASH and Berlinklusion’s collaborative, socially engaged project, 'The Quiet Room: Berlin'. Led by Artist and DASH CEO/Artistic Director, Heather Peak, ‘The Quiet Room: Berlin’ will be the gathering and organisation of a meal for the partners and those within the Berlin Disabled, neurodivergent, and D/deaf visual arts community. Rooted in Disability Justice, DASH & Berlinklusion will co-curate a safe space for connection, joy, and critical thinking around present concerns. These include intersectional access barriers, rest practices, creative leadership, and Disabled and neurodivergent art and aesthetics.

At a time when the marginalised communities we are part of and work with are facing numerous challenges - from economic hardship to alarming political shifts to the right, and the local repercussions of global conflict - it is hugely important to come together. International collaboration and friendship are central to our survival and resilience. We are delighted to have the opportunity to do this vital work."

Rachel Fleming-Mulford, Interim Co-Artistic Director, DASH

About the partners

DASH is an Artist- and Disabled-led Visual Arts organisation with a vision for a world where Disability Art is equally valued. Our mission is to cultivate spaces for extraordinary artists. For the past 20 years we have worked to affect sector change, removing barriers to access and establishing Disability Arts practice in the mainstream. We work with artists, audiences, communities and organisations to challenge inequality and implement change.

Our recently appointed new CEO/Artistic Director, Heather Peak, is a renowned, award-winning artist, with an ambitious practice that transcends traditional divisions between visual art, architecture, and activism. Heather is one of the few Autistic/ADHD artist leaders in the sector.

DASH is an Arts Council England NPO, a member of the UK-wide Plus Tate Network, and the host of New Art West Midlands. In 2021, DASH was awarded the prestigious Ampersand Award for its WAIWAV project, which worked with more than 30 mainstream visual arts organisations.

Berlinklusion is a network for accessibility in art and culture. Led by Kate Brehme, Dirk Sorge, Jovana Komnenic and Kirstin Broussard, a mix of Disabled and non-Disabled artists and arts mediators, it seeks to positively change Berlin’s cultural landscape by promoting inclusion and improving accessibility for artists, cultural workers, participants and audiences with and without disabilities.

The founders each have more than 10 years of experience working with artists or cultural participants with disabilities in Germany and abroad. They have built a network of more than 200 contacts in the field of disability arts, people with disabilities or people without disabilities who work inclusively. They create inclusive arts projects and provide communities and arts organisations with advice on accessibility, some of whom include KW Institute for Contemporary Art, HKW, The Bauhaus Archive and documenta.