Supporting excluded artists in Sussex
Accessible creative space, exhibition venues, and workshop resources for local artists, community groups, and organisations in Lewes and the surrounding areas who face barriers to inclusion within the traditional arts or cultural sector.
Disabled Not Dead Presents CIC (application pending) will exist to support excluded artists, individuals and groups — particularly those living with disability, chronic illness, neurodivergence, or any form of social or cultural marginalisation.
Unlike a commercial studio or venue, Disabled Not Dead Presents CIC will reinvest all income and surplus into improving access, subsidising use for excluded individuals and groups, and maintaining space for grassroots creative activity. As we grow, we will aim to provide bursaries and grants to local artists looking to secure their own studio space.
Shifting the narrative around who gets to make art, who gets to be visible, and whose stories matter
For those who have felt left out, left behind, or marginalised
We understand exclusion not just politically, but personally. This project is born from lived experience — of being overlooked, shut out, or expected to disappear.
Creating & platforming work grounded in truth, creativity, care and protest
Through exhibitions, workshops, film, performance and printed matter, we provide space for real stories, complex identities, and unapologetic expression.
We will also provide physical space to support others
Local individuals, charities, CICs, and community groups are welcome to use our studios, exhibition areas and workshop spaces where available.
Community strength through community arts
Activities to include:
- Providing affordable, adaptable studio spaces to local creatives and makers
- Offering accessible workshop and gallery space for individuals and groups
- Supporting artists and community organisations with practical resources for delivering exhibitions, events, and outreach
- Providing accessible venues for exhibitions, talks, and installations
- Offering occasional access to specialist creative equipment (e.g. printmaking or visual media tools)
- Partnering with local organisations and schools to provide creative access to those who may otherwise be excluded
- Acting as a community caretaker of meanwhile-use or shared cultural spaces
- Supporting neurodivergent children and excluded youth by offering quiet, supported creative space
How these activities benefit the community:
- Increases access to arts infrastructure for people who are often underrepresented or overlooked
- Removes financial and physical barriers to participation in creative and cultural activity
- Activates unused or transitional buildings for public-facing use, improving local cultural infrastructure
- Brings currently underused buildings into public-facing use
- Offers stability and visibility to disabled and excluded creatives
- Strengthens connections between artists, peer support, charities, and local communities
- Supports place-based inclusion and wellbeing through creative practice
- Reinvests all surplus into access improvements, local artist support, and subsidised use
Get in touch to find out how to get involved...
E-Mail: info@disablednotdeadpresents.com