Joy Festival 2026 - Artist Development Programme Upskilling Workshops

As part of Joy Festival 2026, you have the opportunity to hear from and collaborate with leading disability arts organisations in a series of professional and creative upskilling workshops. This is in association with our brand new Artist Development Programme. Please note, you do not need to be in our Artist Development Programme to attend the workshops.

This opportunity is for individuals who identify as D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent and/or chronically ill.

For five consecutive Mondays, we will hear from a variety of leaders in disability arts. You are welcome to sign up to one or multiple upskilling workshops. Details of each workshop are below:

Monday 7th September 2026, 3-5pm - ‘Creative Leadership: Making Space to Lead’ with Corali

Dancers from Corali will talk about how to enable learning disabled performers take a lead role in creative processes. By exploring Corali’s own methods of making original dance works, they will showcase how learning disabled creatives can grow in confidence and develop as leaders.

Monday 14th September 2026, 3-5pm - Top Tips for Self-Producing with Alison King (Chief Executive, Turtle Key Arts)
Want to understand what a producer does? Learn about the logistics behind setting up your project, budget tips, funding, how to work with a team and a producer, as well as tips on how to self produce at the beginning of your career journey.

Monday 21st September 2026, 3-5pm - ‘Pathways to Developing Disabled Leadership in the Arts’ with Extant

Artistic Director, Dr. Maria Oshodi of Extant, the UK’s longest performing arts company of visually impaired artists, will lead a session on pathways to developing disabled leadership in the arts. Referencing the different methods which Extant has established over the last 30 years, this session will explore the challenges and successes of practical and tested ideas, such as peer academy theatre training, in-house Artistic Director training and organisational dramaturgy; all through an interactive and lively approach.

Monday 28th September 2026, 3-5pm - 'Intro to Tech for Artists' with Jennifer Cashman

An introduction to the world of theatre tech including lighting and sound for artists. This workshop will explore basic technical ideas and help you learn how to communicate technical ideas to a tech team in a scratch night setting.

Monday 5th October 2026, 3-5pm - 'Presenting Me' with Access All Areas

Access All Areas’ Artistic Director, Nick Llewellyn, and Associate Director, Emma Selwyn, discuss the ideas behind some of Access All Areas’ shows. They explore autobiographical performance-making through videos and practical demonstrations. Workshop participants will reflect on how they can draw on their own experiences, and use these experiences to think through how to develop potential new contemporary shows.

Please contact: [email protected] with any questions.

Accessibility:

The Lyric Hammersmith is fully accessible. Visit the Lyric Hammersmith website for more information. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to discuss your access requirements.

If you are attending with a carer/PA you do not need to book a ticket for them.