Accentuate

I was excited by my first ever visit to Stoke Mandeville to observe the first phase of an Accentuate project, as yet unnamed intriguingly. Commissioned by Creative Junction as part of the Create, Compete, Collaborate (CCC) Programme, and led by visual artist Rachel Gadsden and choreographer Mark Smith of Deaf Men Dancing. A creative team of disabled artists are delivering workshops, inspiring young people and making a large-scale show celebrating the Paralympics’ journey and movement.

Drawing together past and present athletes, composers, musicians, film-makers and community groups, the ambition and scale looks set to make a vital contribution to the Cultural Olympiad. The initial presentation followed a 3-day residency and included a series of performances, artworks and reflections. The Paralympian motto, ‘spirit in motion’, was strongly evoked throughout, and whetted appetites as journeys and stories began too unfold.

Working with over 100 disabled and non-disabled young people from Buckinghamshire and around the world, including South Africa, USA, Ecuador, Brazil and Australia, legacy and transformation are at the heart of this project. The UK and International Partners are communicating with each other and the artistic team via the Create, Compete, Collaborate e-community (www.cccecommunity.creativejunction.org.uk); a resource which can be utilised by any project with the aims of CCC.

The Paralympics offer new and unique opportunities for bringing disabled artists and sportspeople together, encouraging shared understandings and profiling the talent within both communities. The work, achievements and experiences in both sector will inspire, and ensure that disabled young people are beneficiaries of, and central too 2012 and beyond. Numerous examples of the creative and sporting mix were on show, including the insights of discus gold medal winner (1984) John Harris, accompanied by a stirring soundtrack and against a backdrop of artwork celebrating unique bodies. Similarly, the different dance styles and routines choreographed by Mark Smith incorporated movements associated with sport, with sign-language providing further clarity and theatricality. The holistic and inclusive ways of working and engaging, and work created, was thought-provoking and offered a sense of what could be achieved. The interaction of the sporting and artistic communities, hitherto ploughing their own furrows and often confined to their own silos, opens up a whole world (literally!) of possibilities, and these were very much in evidence today.

Central to the work was the body and, as an artist, I was fascinated by the different interpretation placed on the human form in the sporting context, and within Stoke Mandeville itself. Trauma is often part and parcel of the experiences of those passing through the hospital and sport is often integral to recovery and re-invention. The pursuit of medals and personal bests provide important tangibles, but I was struck by how the intangibles such as camaraderie, resilience and self-determination underpin the Paralympics’ Movement. There are perhaps more parallels with my own community than I originally imagined.

The history, ethos and facilities of Stoke Mandeville provide a fitting backdrop as our cultural and sporting heritage and aspirations. With Stoke Mandeville Stadium was birthplace to the Paralympics’ Games in 1948, and the journey and celebrations of the 2012 Para-Olympic torch, athletic and artistic endeavours are very definitely ‘coming home’!