South London venue Ovalhouse has been leading the field in offering high quality participatory arts for young people on the autistic spectrum and with complex and multiple disabilities with its programme Demonstrate! delivered in partnership with Corali Dance Company.
Ovalhouse and Corali Dance Theatre now are to publish Demonstrate! in Practice, a publication that explores the methods employed by the companies and celebrates their work over the last five years.
Project Manager: Demonstrate Andrea Tuijten said, “this report is about how Demonstrate! engages disabled children and young people in Participatory Arts, it captures their experiences on the project and describes the way young people and artist collaborate to create exciting, high-quality artistic experiences.
"Audiences come out of their performances mesmerised by level of focus, talent and artistic sophistication of the work created by the group. Parents have told us that Demonstrate! has become an important part of their child’s life, nourishing their children’s talent and confidence.
"It’s lovely to see how long-term participants are now pursuing their journey in the arts and moving on to Corali Dance Company’s Kick-Up Youth group, and have taken up music and drama lessons outside Demonstrate!”