What’s On Now
Crip Arte Spazio: The Disability Arts Movement in Venice
14 February -22nd June 2025
Venue
Attenborough Arts Centre
Shape Arts brings its landmark Crip Arte Spazio: The Disability Arts Movement in Venice exhibition to Leicester, fresh from its presentation at the world-renowned Venice Biennale 2024.
The Disability Arts Movement [DAM] aligned art with the fight for rights, broke barriers, and ultimately affected changes in UK law, while making great art about doing so.
Previously on show at the 60th Venice Biennale, CREA Giudecca in 2024 the exhibition is a joyous and exuberant celebration of the Disability Arts Movement. Showcasing over 20 of my portraits of disabled culturally diverse people who have changed the face of disability in the UK.
“Tanya Raabe Webber has been a massive contribution to Shape projects, both in the NDACA and the CRIP ARTE SPAZIO: THE DAM IN VENICE projects in particular, where her Landmark Who’s Who series were arguably among THE central and most impactful works of both projects. Tanya has also been a long term mentor, ally and consultant working with and around Shape for many years - she is a true original and true leader.”
WheelWalks
Sarah Biffin 1784 - 1850
Tanya Raabe-Webber 2024 -2025
A visual research and development following in the wheelrolls and crutchsteps of the historical disabled miniature painter, Sarah Biffin 1784-1850. I chose three galleries across the UK to visit that hold a Sarah Biffin portrait in their collection. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Compton Verney Midlands, and National Portrait Gallery.
It has been my intention to research this through curator conversations, visually respond to the portraits in their gallery environments and respond with self portraiture in the outside surrounding spaces.
WheelWalks Gallery visits
Gallery visits included curator conversations with Liz Louis, Curator, Portraiture (1700-1800), National Galleries Scotland, Oli McCall, Senior Curator, Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park and Catharine MacLeod, Senior Curator 17th Century Collections, National Portrait Gallery. These conversations have led to my thinking about how we preserve a disability cultural perspective for future historical collections with an authentic voice. ‘TRW - A Retrospective’ is in the making!
WheelWalks Artworks
These artworks are my response to three different Biffin portraits exploring creative processes and disability cultural identity. I used digital fusion, geli printing, miniature sketchbook drawing to juxtapose my self portrait alongside that of Sarah Biffin. I wanted to see how our artistic lives aligned through an imaginary time warp.
Express Collaborations
Express Collaborations is a group project built over many months. The artwork in the zine covers a variety of themes, and much of it has been made during the Express Collaboration zoom workshops. it was my intention to bring a large group of artists together, mostly online, where we discussed and made artwork in response to themes chosen by one another. Reaching as far as Australia and Sweden, the artist’s took turns leading online workshops, sharing their chosen theme and why it inspired them. Each artist then responded to this theme by making an artwork.
This process allowed the artists to share their practices with one another, whilst giving them experience in delivering workshops and working towards a group exhibition. Some of the themes include, “What’s your fairytale”, “Childhood-An Object with a Childhood Feeling.”, “Embodied Drawing –The Human Figure and Bodily Sensations.” and many more.
I delivered workshops both online and in person with the artists involved in the project, helping them develop their practice and find new ways to engage with themes and topics of their choosing. With an Express UK leg, and an Express International leg, the exhibition comprises 24 artists, 3 support studios, and 4 countries. Project Ability, Blue Room – Studio Me in Liverpool, Figment Arts in Brighton, and an artist from Inuti in Sweden and Arts Art Projects Australia have all contributed to Express Collaborations.
The many themes that intertwine through this project, and the variety of different artists involved with it over the last year, has resulted in a captivating array of imagery, ideas and collaborative artworks. Express Collaborations is a wonderful example of artists, all of whom identify as having a disability, coming together to encourage, share and grow their art practices.
Express Collaborations also culminated in a physical exhibition at Project Ability, Glasgow. Some of the artists met up at the private view and enjoyed a meeting each other after not having met in person during the project. Project Ability also hosted a sharing practice day in their studio which was thoroughly enjoyable with a yummy fresh soup and sandwich lunch. A big thanks to Project Ability for curating and hosting the exhibition and sharing Day.
“Tanya has a very open and flexible approach, listening to artists and responding with a personalised approach that meets their needs. Mentoring with Tanya has helped our artists to understand how they work as an artist, what their strengths are, and to better understand their access needs. Our creative work with Tanya has helped us to be more connected nationally, giving us a stronger voice to advocate for a more inclusive and accessible art world.”
Exhibiting artists; Corinne, Debbie Caulfield, Richard Channer, Revell Dixon, Mhairi Anne Ferguson, Yvonne J Foster, Tess Gilmartin, Grant Glennie, Eliph Hadert, Will Hanekom, Morag Macgilchrist, Simon McAuley, Ruth Mutch, Sam Neads, Magnus Östling, Jake Parker, Kirsty Pentecost, Tanya Raabe-Webber, Katya Solyanko, Cathy Staughton, Helen Thompson, Sarah Watson, Veronica Watson, Ophir Yaron.
Express Collaborations Zine - Co Curated, produced and designed by Tanya Raabe-Webber and Caroline Cardus.
“Tanya has been a friend and inspiration from the day she rolled into our gallery. We welcome every opportunity to work together, whether it’s delivering workshops with young people, a masterclass in portraiture or in-residence capturing the spirit of the studio in live drawings and studies. Her empathy, creative energy, artistic curiosity and inquisitiveness is boundless.”