Disability History Month

From the 16th of November to the 16th of December, the UK celebrates Disability History Month. This month is all about commemorating the long and storied history of disabled, Deaf, and neurodivergent communities in the UK, whilst also considering what we can do today to ensure that The Lowry is as accessible as it can be. With this in mind, we’ve pulled together some very exciting ways to mark the month.

Gallery Tours

Running until the 16th of December, we’ve tasked our Gallery Interpreters to consider how we view Lowry’s work through the lens of disability, and more precisely, the social model of disability. They’ll be offering new tours that focus in on a few of Lowry’s works, including The Cripples, and how we might interpret those pieces with the knowledge we have today.

HIV + Me

The 1st of December marked World AIDs Day, and to commemorate the day, we showed HIV + Me, a series of short films focussing on the lives of three individuals living in Greater Manchester, and how their HIV diagnosis has impacted their lives in our galleries. This powerful piece demonstrates the impact of HIV across the board, in communities and people often unrepresented when we discuss HIV.

Building Light Up

To celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we lit up our building in turquois and yellow, colours chosen by disabled activists. You can read more about why we’re using these colours in this fantastic article by DNS.

Accessible Lowry

At The Lowry, we want to ensure that accessibility is at the forefront of what we do. We host accessible performances throughout the year, but we’re especially taking the time this month to shout about our offer – whether that’s our relaxed performances, our audio description services, or our touch tours. You can find out more about each of these and more on our Accessible Lowry page.

The Social Model of Disability

We’re especially keen this month to get people talking about the Social Model of Disability. This theory takes the onus of blame away from disabled people, stating that they are often disabled by society. That those with impairments are rarely accommodated for in society, and therefore they are disabled by it. As opposed to the medical model of disability, which states that disability is just “someone’s bad luck”, with a focus on “fixing” a person, the social model encourages us to find ways to ensure that accessibility is built into our structures and programmes, accommodating and including disabled people at every step. You can find out more about the social model of disability in this short film.

We are committed to making The Lowry the most accessible space it can be. If you’re looking to visit our venue and have questions about access, please email access@thelowry.com for more information.