On behalf of the staff and trustees, it’s with great sadness that, after 22 years serving the Disability and Deaf Arts communities, I must announce the immediate closure of the London Disability Arts Forum. 

As many of you know, we’ve been living on borrowed time since December when the Arts Council announced their intention not to renew our funding. 

While LDAF lodged a very persuasive case for our continued survival, the Arts Council stood by their decision not to renew us.  Since that time, we have been engaged in attempting to find new sources of funding and identify new revenue streams, as well as continuing to deliver our bi-monthly magazine art disability culture and staging X’08: London’s 8th International Disability Film Festival.

Unfortunately, it’s time to face the hard truth; we’ve simply run out of time and money. 

On Tuesday 22 July 2008, LDAF’s Board of Trustees took the decision to wind up the organisation and go into voluntary liquidation (surely, a contradiction in terms?) and on Thursday 31 July 2008 we will close our doors for the last time. 

LDAF may be dead but we do not believe that Disability and Deaf Arts is. 

We still believe that what we did here was worth doing and that the Disability and Deaf Arts communities still need to be heard.  There’s still work to be done and we are still committed to finding some way of carrying the magazine and the film festival forward into the future. 

You may have heard the last of LDAF but maybe you haven’t heard the last of art disability culture or the London International Disability Film Festival.

Best

Patricia Place

Chief Executive
London Disability Arts Forum

Editor’s please note:
Press enquiries to David Watson (07752 791980) or Peter Kinkead (07811 352289)

London Disability Arts Forum (LDAF) is a disability-led organisation focused on promoting Disability Arts and the work of disabled artists.

LDAF was founded in 1986 by a group of disabled artists and activists frustrated by the lack of provision for disabled people in the arts world. Access to the mainstream arts was very limited and the arts in no way reflected the experience of disabled people, who comprise at least 17% of the population.

Registered as a charity in 1992, LDAF seeks to strengthen and develop the image of disability arts and culture. Read our Editor’s blog HERE

On December 3rd 2007 (the UN's International Day of Disabled Persons) LDAF hosted a debate at Tate Modern. The title of the debate was "Should Disability and Deaf Arts be dead and buried in the 21st century.” Now read on HERE

Are you a Deaf/disabled artist/creative who would like to get your work seen or be commissioned? Sign up to the d-art website www.d-art.org.uk