Linda Rocco

liberty festival 2022

A three-day festival commissioned by the Mayor of London and Lewisham Council. In partnership with Arts Council England, Goldsmiths CCA, Deptford X, Music Room London, Unlimited.

Artists: Yinka Shonibare CBA, Selina Thompson, D-Fuse, DYSPLA, Poppy Nash, Drag Syndrome, Bim Ajadi, the vacuum cleaner, Joel Brown & Eve Mutso, Entelechy arts, Heart n Soul, Local Senses Collective, Agata Kik & Tim Byford, Mind the Gap, Kat Hawkins, David Johnson, Spare Tyre, Gerald Curtis, Stephen Bailey and ASYLUM Arts, Vijay Patel, David Bassadone, Susanna Dye, Ashley Knight, Yangdzom Lama, Serafina Mbasogo, Chris Pavlakis, Jameisha Prescod and Derek Williams.

Symposium: Suzanne Alleyne, Raymond Antrobus, Tilly Milburn and Del the Piggie, Arjun Harrison-Mann from Access Power Visibility, Jamie Hale, Ono Dafedjaiye, the vacuum cleaner, Tara Brown and Becky Warnock, DYSPLA, Local Senses collective, Paul Morrow and Vicky Foxcroft MP.

 

22-23-24 July 2022, in and across Lewisham

In 2022 I was the lead curator and creative producer of Liberty Festival. Liberty is the Mayor of London’s flagship In of work by artists who identify as D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent, under the social model of disability. The annual free festival offers an inclusive, accessible and cultural experience for diverse audiences. It has been presented by the Mayor of London since 2003 in high profile locations including Trafalgar Square, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Southbank Centre. Since 2019, it has developed into a touring festival, taking D/deaf and disabled arts to local communities in outer boroughs when it was embedded into his flagship programme, London Borough of Culture.

The festival developed across nine venues and public spaces, featuring over 90 D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists working across media through an intersectional approach, including performance, films, visual art and immersive tech. The programme included 14 visual art installations, a symposium, an XR area, 6 workshops including SEND schools and 21 performances. I secured and delivered a major public commission by Yinka Shonibare OBE exclusively for Liberty across three sites.