Information Tent

Find out more about the festival and our I Am Network

I Am Festival is our yearly celebration empowering Deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent young people to explore their creativity. Over the past five years, the festival has provided a platform for hundreds of young people to showcase their talents, leadership, ideas and opinions.

This year’s festival will take place from 15 May - 16 June 2023 and included a hybrid of activities across a number of schools, cultural venues, and online, all focused on the theme of Activism. Teachers and students involved in our I Am Network came together with a range of artists and arts organisations to create new artwork and performances, which you can now explore across our virtual festival stages.

By showcasing students' creativity and facilitating new artistic collaborations, the festival aims to challenge attitudes surrounding disability and provide a model for arts and cultural organisations to effectively collaborate with SEND education settings. All of the festival activities have been designed to be accessible for students of all needs and abilities, ensuring everyone can participate and no one is left out. Through I Am Festival, we hope to show that inclusion benefits everyone.

• How does the I Am Festival work?

  For many years, the I Am Festival took place at the Tate Exchange space in Tate Modern. However, the coronavirus pandemic meant we had to move the festival online. While this presented a whole new set of challenges around accessibility in digital spaces, many new opportunities also emerged, and we were able to explore how digital technology can be used to engage even more Deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse young people in creative projects.

  The 2022 festival took a hybrid approach, with activities taking place in schools, at our office and online. Our schools were lucky enough to have workshops with companies such as Graeae Theatre Company, Corali Dance and Digit Music. This blended delivery model has allowed us to engage many young people who may not have otherwise been able to take part in the physical event.

  Each festival has a theme. The theme in 2022 was theme was Unity, in 2023 the theme was Activism and our theme for 2024 is See Me, Hear Me!

  In 2023 the festival took place over a month, with activity predominantly happening locally in schools and led by the amazing teachers in our I Am Network. A New Direction have funded 5 projects in schools and hosted 4 events during the month:

  • An I Am Network meeting at the Roundhouse
  • A virtual dance celebration led by icandance
  • An in-person teacher CPD exploring choice and voice
  • An online panel discussion for the cultural sector exploring the question: How can we make activism more accessible for Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse young people?

  This year we've returned to a more traditional model, with the festival taking place predominantly in person between 11-15 March 2024. Over the week we will be hosting events for young people, teachers and students exploring, again, the theme of activism. This festival will be developed with our I Am Network and Cultural Ambassadors.

  If you’d like to find out more about I Am Festival, please get in contact with Beth: beth.robertson@anewdirection.org.uk

• Other projects you may be interested in
  • See Us! Hear Us! Be the Change! Campaign – Mouth That Roars
  • The Accessible Icon Project
  • Art, Activism, Access- Wellcome Collection
  • The Arts In Schools: Foundations for the Future
  • Making Dance Possible for All – icandance
  • Teaching for Creativity Taster Card Activities
  • Inclusive Progression Routes Toolkit
  • Spoke Word Power - Eastside