Arts for Social Change
Welcome to the Arts Disability Network
Arts Disability Network is a growing community for disabled adult artists and artists with chronic health conditions. The Network offers free support with growing an arts career, accessing funding, and navigating an often inaccessible sector through regular online workshops and training and a resource library. This is alongside community building and peer support, room to meet, share experiences, and build creative collaborations. We showcase our members through Artist of the Month which is a public-facing online gallery space.
The project is led by disabled artists, and is part of the Intercultural Roots eco-system. We’re informed by an online consultation and keen to continue to develop according to the needs of the community, so please get in touch with meg@interculturalroots.org or Contact Us (opens in a new tab) if you have suggestions, questions or ideas.
Community Spotlight
Artist of the Month
Each month we showcase the incredible talent within our community through our public-facing online gallery space.
Would you like to be considered for Artist of the Month? Then please fill out this form (opens in a new tab).
Image Description
A patchwork quilt featuring a large portrait of a woman occupying most of the composition. Along the left-hand edge runs a vertical strip of tape printed with the word "FRAGILE". The surrounding patchwork is filled with collaged medication blister packs and folded patient information leaflets, stitched into the surface. The woman has short dark hair, large green eyes framed by dark eyebrows, bright red lipstick and wears a purple jacket over a floral blouse. Her expression is direct and composed, contrasting with the fragmented medical materials that surround her.
Claire Boynton
Textile and Fibre ArtistClaire Boynton is a textile and fibre artist whose work explores identity, resistance, and transformation through stitch, collage, and storytelling. Working primarily with fabric, thread, and reclaimed materials, Claire creates bold, emotionally charged pieces that speak to women navigating midlife, marginalisation, and change. Claire began making art following a breakdown in 2024. Previously a teacher and entrepreneur, she turned to visual expression at a time when reading and writing were inaccessible to her.
Her practice is rooted in lived experience: she is a late-diagnosed autistic and ADHD woman, a survivor of the mental health system, and someone actively reclaiming her life and creative voice in midlife. She identified as disabled and lives with autoimmune illness and facial paralysis. Her work often confronts themes such as masking, adult bullying, institutional harm, and the shifting politics of the body. Drawing strength from feminist craft traditions, nature, folklore, and the symbolism of witchcraft, Claire's socially engaged practice speaks to marginalised voices and hidden histories. She lives rurally near Hull with her family, creating art that is both an act of healing and a call to collective visibility.
About 'Fragile'
Fragile confronts the absurdities and indignities of living with chronic illness through a blend of humour, honesty, and textile craft. The portrait—stitched from layers of fabric and quilted over fragments of medication packaging—speaks to the medicalisation of women’s bodies and the invisibility of their pain. Labels such as “May cause unwanted erections” are both ridiculous and revealing: they expose whose experiences medicine is primarily designed around, and who remains an afterthought. The quilt’s stitched grid references both patchwork and pathology—each square a cell under a microscope, a day endured, a pill swallowed. The title word, FRAGILE, printed in bold red, becomes both warning and accusation. By rendering a weary, unfiltered self-portrait in soft materials, the piece reclaims the language of fragility as strength. It’s a protest against being dismissed, doubted, or reduced to symptoms—a declaration that survival, humour, and creative defiance are radical acts of care.
Our Team
The Arts Disability Network is supported by a core organisational team committed to transparency and accessible working practices.
All of our team work on a part time basis
Responses may take a few days. Urgent matters will be prioritised and you will get a reply.
Myra
Checks in throughout the week
Meg
Monday
9:30am - 1:00pm
Joel
Wednesday
9:30am - 1:00pm
Research
Our Impact
Rigorous evaluation is essential to our work. We continually gather insights to measure our impact, understand the needs of our community, and secure future support for our accessible spaces. We develop in collaboration with our members, drawing on their expertise.
"Lovely to be in a space where other people get what it is like to be disabled and I don't feel like I'm constantly masking… or apologising for myself."
"Allowed me to consider access needs I may not have thought of on my own, as well as boosting confidence in applying for funding."
Comprehensive Findings
Read the full methodology, data analysis, and long-term recommendations.
Download Full Report (opens in a new tab)Executive Summary
A quick overview of our key achievements and primary areas of impact.
Read Summary (opens in a new tab)Steering Group
The Arts Disability Network is guided by a dedicated steering group.
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Nu McAdam
Artist, ADN Initial Team Member
Partners
Our Funders
We are incredibly grateful for the generous support of our funding partners who make the Arts Disability Network possible and ensure we can continue to grow.
Lloyds Bank Foundation
Arts Disability Network is currently funded by Lloyds Banking Foundation, from 2025 to 2028. Three-year unrestricted funding will sustain a fast-growing community of over 250 Disabled and chronically ill artists, following a 100% recommendation rate from members in year one.
The National Lottery
We are grateful to our previous funders, the National Lottery players' and The National Lottery Community Fund for the initial ‘Awards for All’ funding that has enabled the Arts Disability Network to be supported May 2024 - April 2025.
Adobe Community Fund
We are also very grateful to the Adobe Community Fund supported by the London Community Foundation who have further funded the Arts Disability network from October 2024 for two years.
Support Our Programme
Providing accessible programming and ensuring our artists are compensated fairly requires ongoing support. Whether you make a one-off donation, become a regular benefactor, or consider legacy giving, your contribution makes this network possible. Please contact us (opens in a new tab) if you would like to discuss making any other form of donation.
Donate Now (opens in a new tab)Looking to get involved?
Are you a disabled adult artist or artist with a chronic health condition? Join our community today.
Join the Network (opens in a new tab)