On 2 July, Liverpool Biennial joined 29 museums and galleries across the UK to host We Are Invisible We Are Visible (WAIWAV), presented by DASH, the disabled-led visual arts organisation.

31 disabled artists disrupted 30 museums and galleries across the country with surreal interventions in recognition of the 102nd anniversary of the first Dada International Exhibition. The project, which won the 2021 Ampersand Prize, is the most ambitious showcase of work by d/Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent artists to be presented in the UK. 

In collaboration with Liverpool Biennial, artist and performer Dora Colquhuon performed an intervention titled, 'Would you like a seat?', inspired by thoughts around access. This intervention was held at Sefton Park Bandstand, Dora invited the public to take part in an assessment to decide whether they could sit down in a comfortable chair or whether they would be turned away.

The museums and galleries that took part included: Arnolfini, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Centre for Contemporary Art Derry, Firstsite, Focal Point Gallery, Golden Thread Gallery, Grizedale Arts,  Glynn Vivian Art Gallery,  Harris Museum and Art Gallery, HOME, The Hepworth Wakefield, IKON, John Hansard Gallery, Leeds Art Gallery, Liverpool Biennial, Manchester Art Gallery, MIMA, MK Gallery, Modern Art Oxford, Newlyn Art Gallery, Nottingham Contemporary, The Pier Arts Centre, Site Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate Modern, Tate St Ives, Towner Art Gallery, Turner Contemporary and VOID.

The Artists: Stav Meishar; AIM (Art In Motion); Tony Heaton /Terry Smith; Bel Pye; Kristina Veasey; Chris Tally Evans; Porcelain Delaney; Nicola Woodham; Grace Currie; Alice Quarterman; Dora Colquhoun;  April Lin 林森; Lisette Auton;  Caroline Cardus; Jenette Coldrick;  Ashokkumar Mistry;  Cheryl Beer;  Sonia Boué; Christina Lovey;  Alex Billingham; Luke ‘Luca’ Cockayne; Andrea Mindel; gobscure; Jo Munton/Stephanie Finegan; Mianam Bashir/Emma Powell; Aaron Williamson; Sam Metz;  Hayley Hindle; Anahita Harding;  ChisatoMinamimura;  Alistair Gentry.

Mike Layward, DASH’s Artistic Director said: “To be awarded the Ampersand award for this surreal intervention will not only have a massive impact on Disability arts but will show that the visual arts institutions are now open and willing to change. DASH has a long history of producing provocative interventions that continue the legacy of Dada, Absurdism and Surrealism into the 21st century.”

The WAIWAV selection panel: Lois Keidan: ex-Live Art Development agency director; Ryan Hughes: Director of Coventry Biennial; Linzi Stauvers: Head of Learning at IKON; Ashokkumar Mistry: Disabled Curator/artist; Aidan Moesby: Disabled curator/artist; Heather Sturdy: Head of National Partnerships at Tate; Ceri Barrow: Plus Tate Coordinator and Mike Layward: DASH Artistic Director. 

Read our Q&A with Dora here