NDAF's ( NotiCGC

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W ell Arts Disability Wales had a bit of an office outing in April when we all piled up to Oswestry to the

ing Rhyn Park Arts Centre for DAShBASh two. We were entertained by that Wild Woman on Wheels, Wales' own Ruth Kaye's performance poetry, with shorts from Coventry based film maker Alan Wijgerden, new work from Blue Eyed Soul and dance from Mosaic Arts. Headlining was Panafricana featuring the master Moroccan musician Hassan Erraji, Ugandan keyboard player Francis Rwama and Marcel Kluessique, a dancer from the Ivory Coast.

The DAShBASh was yet another celebration of Disability Arts by the Shropshire organisation, DASh. DASh began life as the

Disability Arts Initiative in 1992 when Shropshire's County Arts Service was asked to organise a visual arts award

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scheme for disabled artists. Coincidentally, Shropshire Disability Consortium were seeking funds for a Disability Arts Festival. These and others came together to develop the Disability Arts Initiative. An awards scheme was set up for disabled artists covering all artforms. Then Shropshire's first Festival of Disability Arts took place in the summer of 1996. At this time, the Disability Arts Initiative also acquired a new name - DASh, an acronym for Disability Arts in Shropshire.

The Festival was a great success, demonstrating clearly the need, demand and potential for such a Festival to become a regular part of the arts calendar of the County and indeed the region.

Festivals followed in 1997,1998 and 1999. The Festival in 2000 promises to top all of these and

more, smac 2K, Shropshire Millennium Art Commissions BORDERS, will keep Shropshire at the centre of Disability Arts in the UK. In collaboration with DASh, Festival at the Edge, the Ludlow Festival, Shrewsbury Childrens Bookfest and St Martins Pageant smac 2K will present new work from the best of Disability Artists.

" S t e p a c r o s s t h e BORDERS o f P e r c e p t i o n t o v i e w s o m e o f t h e m o s t e x c i t i n g p e r f o r m a n c e w o r k o n o f f e r a n y w h e r e in t h e U K "

smac 2K is a Shropshire County Council Arts Service initiative supported by the Millennium Festival Fund. Its aim is to

DASh o n F ire! DAS l i n g s e v e r a l l a r g e s c a l e o u t d o o r e v e n t s f o r t h e S u m m e r a n d A u t u m n o f 2 0 0 1 . T h i s is t h e c u l m i n a t i o n o f DASh's 3 y e a r A 4 E p r o g r a m m e a n d t h e begs sir n e x t p h a s e o f w o r k . e v e n t s w i l l h a v e F i re , F c s , P e r f o r m a n c e , M u s i c . o n s a n d O u t r e a c h w o r l i d t o c o m m i m e n t .

DASh v & a t r a i n i n g e l e m e n t i n t o the s f o r d i s a b l e d a r t i s t s . T r a i n i n g w o u l d i n v o l v e e v e n t m a n a g e m e n t , p y r o t e c h n i c s a n d t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n a n d r u n n i n g o f c o m m u n i t y a r t s w o r k s h o p s . T h e y a l s o w o u l d l i k e t o c o m m a disa. t h e p e r t ; t o f t h e e v e n t .

T h e w i t h a u n i t y a r t s o rgs on w h i c h w o u l d c o -m a n I . I f y o u r o rga sted o r i f y o u a r e a d i s a b l e d a r t i s t w h o t h i n k s l a r g e s c a l e a n d o u t o f d o o r s , t h e n M i k e L a y w a r d , DASh's D e v e l o p m e n t W o r k e r w o u l d l i k e t o t a l k a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e a s t i m e is m o v i n g o n .

Y o u c a n c a l l M i k e o n 01743 461349, m i n i c o m 01743 444569, Fax 01743 461349 o r e m a i l s d c @ s h r o p d i s . f r e e s e r v e . c o . u k

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generate new creative partnerships through commissioning original performance works from disability artists to premier at partner festivals throughout Shropshire. All new works will then come together to form the September DASH 2000 Festival with artists and performers appearing all over the county and climaxing at Ludlow Assembly Rooms in Friday and Saturday the 15th and 16th of September.

We'll be bringing you details, images and tasters of that Festival in the next edition of ADWaith and as I've had a nice glossy brochure already I can tell you that there are some very juicy pieces on offer. But if you really can't wait any longer you can get more info by calling smac 2K direct on 07887 598219 or email smac2k@hotmail.com. Chris Tally