Inactivism: Disability, Rest and Resistance

Inactivism: Disability, Rest and Resistance is a workshop on disability rights taking place at Galerie Simpson Artists on Saturday 14 November, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. It's part of the Being Human Festival 2026, with Disability Arts Cymru and GS Artists as partners.

The session is built around a community banner that everyone there helps to make. You'll be working with scrap appliqué, stamping and stitching, and there's no prior experience needed — all the materials are provided on the day. If you're the type who likes to come prepared, you're welcome to bring along your own scraps of non-woven cotton fabric and a small sewing kit. The workshop also honours the long tradition of disabled artists creating from home, following in the footsteps of figures like Frida Kahlo and Miss Hawtin. If you can't make it in person, you can still take part: they're inviting people to send in postcard-sized artworks made at home to be included in the banner.

There's a fair bit of history behind it. The workshop grew out of Swansea University research into the histories of disability activism and David Turner's Disability: A History of Resistance. It draws on the role the creative arts have played in that history, pointing back to the first International Day of Disabled Persons in 1993, which was marked by a 'Party for our Rights' that used performance, song and creative activity to demand accessible transport and help with the cost of living. The whole thing was devised by Delphi Campbell and James Patrick Cox, and it's facilitated by GS Artists and textiles artist Menna Buss.

It runs from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Galerie Simpson Artists, 217 High Street, Swansea SA1 1PE, and free tickets are available.