Head Over Wheels

Head Over Wheels is a collective of multidisciplinary artists, primarily focusing on creating circus work. We work collaboratively, striving to make decisions democratically and exploring everyones ideas. We are dedicated to challenging misconceptions around disability, and breaking the stereotypes of what a ‘circus
body’ should look or move like. As an emerging company we strive to subvert the trends of glamorous and sensational circus, by making domestic and relatable work that can resonate with audiences on a person level.

We are looking to give Head Over Wheels the core foundation it needs to achieve its goals. At this early
stage in our company journey, we couldn’t be luckier to be working with and supported by CRIPtic, Graeae Theatre, & Paraorchestra. All three companies have been extremely generous in guiding and offering support as we start up and push towards our goals.

The variety of resources and consultancy that CRIPTIC is offering over the next year makes allows us space to make decisions at our own speed, ensuring that we are starting the initial framework of our company considering inclusive, ethical and accessible working practises throughout.

BLKINK Productions

At BLK INK, we’re not just about storytelling; we’re about painting the industry with a darker touch! Our mission? Unleashing narratives that reflect the beauty, power, and diversity of the global majority. And guess what? We’re proud black females shaking up the scene.

BLKINK Productions aims to establish itself by focusing on key areas such as funding, marketing, and company development. We’ll seek insights into managing a production company through research and mentorship. Acquiring funding will involve pitching to investors, pursuing grants, and securing sponsorships. Effective marketing strategies and a strong social media presence will enhance visibility.

Leveraging grants and incentives in the arts sector will provide additional support. Our focus will be on
nurturing talent, fostering relationships, and consistently delivering high-quality content to build recognition and make a lasting impact in the entertainment industry.

Rebekah Ubuntu

Rebekah Ubuntu is a creative director, multidisciplinary artist, composer, musician, university lecturer and artist mentor based between London and Kent, UK. Their current research focuses on ecologies, belonging and visionary imagination.

Rebekah has dedicated two decades to supporting artists’ growth and development as a specialist mentor/coach across formal education, community arts/music initiatives and artist development programmes. Their mentoring approach – as well as their passion for disability and economic justice – is informed by fifteen years’ experience as a clinical and community-based mental health advocate and consultant.

For the past five years Rebekah has been researching and developing strategies to address prevalent (and preventable) issues within the spheres of digital arts practice. First hand labour experience and tried and tested experiments over the past half decade have culminated in this moment of establishing an organisation with the hope of making a valuable contribution to arts and creative ecologies and beyond.

How to Be Books (Suswati Basu)

Suswati Basu is a multilingual disabled journalist and editor, former senior intelligence expert, mental health books show podcast host, and award-winning activist. She has won the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize for raising awareness on domestic violence, as well as being shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. She runs the How To Be Books platform, which looks at the intersection of society and literature from a marginalised perspective, interviewing everyone from Nobel Peace Prize winners to globally renowned scientists.

I will be joining the Incubate programme to learn more about:

• Holding accessible events, including the accessible onboarding of freelance staff
• Becoming resilient
• Access to great disabled talent
• Financial management and crowd funding
  I will be providing insight if I can into social media, content, SEO and audience as an experienced media
  professional.

Sensoria

SENSORIA will bring radical accessibility to dance and the disability arts ecosphere via a hip hop framework & state of mind- which already welcomes diverse bodies & ways of thinking within dance.

About Saskia Horton

Saskia (they/she) is a multidisciplinary artist working with dance, music & words. A violinist and hip hop dancer, they are exploring the cross-pollination of their practice with a process of healing from chronic illness, centring slowness, stillness, sustainability & play. She endeavours to host hip hop informed jam spaces & educational opportunities within dance for chronically ill, disabled & neurodivergent artists through her company- SENSORIA.

The Shouting Mute

The shouting mute is an Arts Company that promotes & showcases the talents of different and unheard voices encouraging participation in the arts for AAC users and their community. Championing people that have even more barriers to the arts and culture sector, unleashing creativity to unlock new talented writers and artists.

About Dave Young

Dave is a performance poet and artist. I consider myself an activist in the promotion of inclusive theatre and film practices. I promote self expression and creativity in everyone and by working inclusively I aim to show that the arts belong to us all. I strive to raise expectations of the capabilities of disabled people and those marginalised by society.

Ducky Elford

Ducky is looking to create a social enterprise and video game development studio focused on creating games for disabled gamers by disabled-led teams of developers.

About Ducky Elford

Ducky Elford is a neurodivergent and disabled artist, exploring the intersection between art and play. Elford creates non-normative video games, costumes, and art pieces, using various multimedia techniques that involve animation, 3D modelling, VFX, game design, and rapid prototyping. Through their work, they construct game spaces and digital artworks that delve into metaphysical, historical, and potential future realms.

Response Ability Theatre

Response Ability Theatre seeks to represent and support people whose lives have been derailed by trauma. Its productions explore contemporary experiences of social injustice with particular focus on their effects on the human psyche, treading a fine line between naturalism and poetry for visceral audience experiences that elicit intimate empathy and inspire everyday activism.

About Nell Hardy

Nell is an actor, writer, director and facilitator. Her solo show NoMad, based on her experiences of homelessness and mental health hospitalisation, completed a small UK tour last year. She believes that theatre is a vital biological process that can help us, in an ever more divisive and isolating world, to find out how to be with each other.

Flawbored

FlawBored is a disability-led theatre company that creates ensemble based work. We formed out of a need to reinvigorate the way access is considered both within shows and within the rehearsal room, believing that it should be thought about from the beginning of the process not added on as an afterthought.

DRURAE

My mission is to help the creative arts industry to be more accessible, to contribute creatively and to offer support to companies/organisations to become more inclusive.

Neuk Collective

Neuk Collective aims to support neurodivergent creatives in Scotland through advocacy, education, and community-building. In 2021 Neuk Collective published the Neuk Manifesto, a ten-point plan for a more inclusive art scene, along with a practical guide to supporting neurodivergent artists in the workplace.

Lilac Yosiphon

Lilac Yosiphon is a theatre director and writer.

Directing credits include Heroes (Work in progress, VAULT Festival 2020, nominated for an Origins Award for New Work), The Glass Will Shatter (Omnibus Theatre & UK Tour), Home Sweet Home (Stratford Circus, Jackson’s Lane & ARC Stockton), Jericho’s Rose (co-directed with Mike Cole and Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster; Hope Theatre & Theatre Deli Sheffield), One Last Thing (For Now) (Old Red Lion Theatre)