About Dada-South - History

ABCD, Raoul Hausmann (1924), one of the original Dada artists in the 1920s

Dada was originally an international movement among European artists and writers between 1915 and 1922, characterized by a spirit of anarchic revolt.

Dada revelled in absurdity, and emphasised the role of the unpredictable in artistic creation and challenged traditional notions of acceptability within creativity. Today, these values have resonance for disabled and Deaf artists and for Disability and Deaf Arts.  This notion of challenging the status-quo and identifying often surprising and alternative ways of creation is a key feature of Dada-South artists.

Dada-South was established in June 2003 with funding from Arts Council England by a group of disabled and Deaf artists in the south of England. The aim of Dada-South was to provide the south of England with a regional development agency for disability arts. The arts funding system in England underwent considerable reorganisation in 2003 when all of the regional arts boards were subsumed into Arts Council England. The boundaries of the regional offices are now co-terminus with the standard English Regions.  Dada-South’s original remit for disability arts development in the south of England adapted to fit the new geographic region of the south east. The original artists went on to become board members of the newly formed organisation.  Dada-South was designated Regularly Funded Organisation (RFO) status by Arts Council England, South East in 2002/3 with a funding agreement until 2004/5. Regular three year funding was renewed in 2005/6 and in 2008/9.

A consultancy undertaken by Ruby Associates (Zoe Partington-Sollinger and Barbara Lisicki) enabled Dada-South to take its first tentative steps and provided the groundwork for the organisation to grow and take shape with the appointment of its first member of staff in January 2004.

Dada-South is now a thriving and dynamic arts organisation and fulfils a vibrant role in the cultural landscape of the south east.