Arts and Disability | British Council

Our work in Disability Arts supports platforms, international collaborations networks and practice development for disabled artists in the UK and globally.

The British Council has been supporting arts and disability initiatives in Palestine for over a decade. Some of them include:

In 2013, artists Sarah Blanc and Kimberley Harvey from Candoco Dance Company, a world-renowned UK professional and inclusive dance company, travelled to Palestine to work with disabled and non-disabled young people to create a curtain raiser performance as part of the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival.

In 2014, at the back of a visit to Unlimited Festival in the UK, an arts commissioning programme that enables new work by disabled artists to reach UK and international audiences, British artist Rachel Gadsden was invited to Palestine to undertake an artistic research and development trip to the West Bank to create a collaborative artistic commission with Palestinian artists. This initial invitation marked the beginning of a 4-year collaboration project (2015-2019) between artists Rachel Gadsden, Ali Saeid Ashour, Amna Ali Hussein, Mahmoud Abu Daghash and Hosaam Khadair. (See video It was Paradise - Full Subtitles on Vimeo) Their artistic collaboration culminated with ‘We Cultivate Hope’ exhibition at Al-Rowwad Centre in Aida Camp, Bethlehem in September 2019.

Art to Heart

In early 2021, the British Council launched the Masarat Grants programme, a regional call supporting artists and cultural initiatives across Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen. The grants were designed to sustain artistic production under challenging circumstances. 21 projects were awarded funding, including Horizons in Palestine, delivered by Art to Heart a non-for-profit organisation founded by Soha Kuffash that works at the intersection of arts and inclusion creating opportunities and empowering persons with disabilities. Horizons brought together 16 disabled and non-disabled artists to collaborate for the first time, culminating in an exhibition of 20 artworks exploring disability and social issues. The programme also advocated for greater inclusion of disabled artists in Palestine’s cultural policies.

Sync Arabi Leadership Programme

Sync Arabi was launched in February 2023 in Amman, in partnership with Art to Heart, Sync Leadership (UK), and Shubbak Festival (UK). This five-day leadership intensive brought together eight Deaf and disabled artists from Jordan and Palestine to explore arts, coaching, and leadership as tools for transformative change.

Read more about SyncArabi through visiting the blog written by Alia Alzougbi, Artistic Director and CEO of Shubbak Festival: Sync Arabi at the raw intersection of disability and mobility justice in the arts .

A short film documenting the programme captures the journey of the participating artists and activists premiered at Shubbak festival in July 2023.

SyncArabi Delegation to the UK – July 2023

Building on the success of the Sync Arabi leadership training programme and the feedback received from participants, the British Council supported an inclusive delegation to explore the arts and disability scene in the UK. The visit which was made possible in partnership with Shubbak Festival aimed to facilitate connections with artists and establish a network of active participants and potential partners within the scene. The delegation also had the opportunity to attend part of the Shubbak Festival performances, which was announced as an accessible festival for the first time. Comprising of three disabled artists and four cultural experts/leaders from Palestine and Jordan, the visit took place in July 2023.

Art & Disability Under Siege Online Panel

In June 2023, four Sync Arabi participants took part in an online panel facilitated by Dr. Dina Kiwan (University of Birmingham) and Dr. Maha Shuayb (University of Cambridge). The discussion explored how disabled artists in Palestine and Jordan navigate structural barriers while using cultural resistance as a tool for empowerment.

Continuing the Journey: Masarat Disability Arts Grants

Building on the insights and networks formed through Sync Arabi and the delegation, the British Council and Art to Heart prepared the Masarat Disability Arts Grants Scheme 2023/2024 in partnership with Al-Balad Theatre in Amman and Daret Suheil initiative, as a consortium of implementing partners. Specifically designed to support small-scale pilot initiatives at the intersection of art and disability in Jordan and Palestine. The project spanned eight months and focused on skills development for emerging artists with disabilities, including deaf, blind, and with intellectual disabilities. The outcomes of the project were presented at the British Council’s Art and Disability Summit in Amman in November 2024.