Disabled People’s Mini Histories - Episode 5: The Independence Festival 1997 - 2001 [CC, BSL, AD]

Описание: Episode 5: The Independence Festival 1997 -2001.  In 1997, Manchester kept up its tradition of being a trailblazer city when it hosted the first ever annual national festival in celebration of disabled people's arts and culture.

‘Mini Histories - From Manchester and Beyond’ are a new series of short films produced in December 2020, telling the hidden stories of how disabled people took to the streets of Manchester (and beyond) during the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s in both protest and in celebration. 

The films were produced by the Disabled People’s Archive, which is part of Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People and Archives+, part of Manchester Central Library.

Funding to produce and make the films accessible was provided by Manchester City Council and were premiered at Manchester’s annual celebrations to mark International Day of Disabled People and Disability History Month in 2020.

For more information about the Disabled People’s Archive visit: https://gmcdp.com/disabled-peoples-ar...

Transcript:
Episode 5: The Independence Festival 1997 - 2001

Before The Liberty Festival in London, before the DADA Festival in Liverpool, there was the Independence Festival in Manchester - the first national festival of disabled people's art and culture.

The annual festival ran from 1997 through to 2001, the first three years being held in Manchester, then moving to Birmingham in 2000 and onto Leeds in 2001.

The festival had a national organising committee of disabled people, and was financially underwritten for the first 3 years by Manchester City Council.

Although at the time there was a small but thriving Disability Arts cabaret circuit, apart from one or two exceptions these tended to be one off events - often tagged onto  an AGM or squeezed into other festivals.

The idea behind the national Independence Festival was to create a space and time for disabled people to come together with friends, families and allies, to 'celebrate our difference with pride', enjoy art, dance  and music - and, of course,  chill out.

The format varied slightly from year to year, although there tended to be two distinct elements of each festival. The daytime events were mostly held outdoors and consisted of market stalls, pop up workshops and alfresco performances.

The night time moved indoors for a Cabaret with established artists as well as new and emerging performers. The cabaret line-up for the first year included comedy from compeers Mandy Colleran and Natalie Markham, urban folk music from Ian Stanton and Johnny Crescendo, poetry from Julie McNamara and a set from Mat Fraser as the Thalidomide Ninja Rapper.

Although Leeds 2001 was to be the last Independence Festival, in many ways it paved the way for the Liberty and DADA festivals that followed and which would go in to blaze their own distinct trails, breaking  down barriers and defying expectations.

These festivals demonstrated that disabled people have a rich and evolving cultural identity that is not only of interest to other disabled people, but also to the wider public.

The Independence Festivals of 1997 through to 2001  showed that not only could we come together in large numbers to protest about our lack of rights or our exclusion from mainstream society, but that we could also come together in both joy and celebration.