I’m Me Lead Artist Gavin Yule, Project Facilitator Ryan Duncan and ‘Voice’ cycle participants Amy, Keith, Morgan and Nicky.
Lung Ha was one of six disability arts companies to take part in I’m Me, a two-year creative research project working with learning disabled and autistic artists to explore questions of identity, representation and voice.
I’m Me worked with learning disabled and autistic artists’ lived experiences, placing them at the centre of the research process exploring:
- Identity – how do we perceive ourselves
- Representation – how do others perceive us
- Voice – how do we make our presence in the world known
The project adapted an approach based on the Creative Doodle Book, a resource that uses open and playful tasks to encourage reflective self-expression. Through this approach, the perceptions, insights and creative understandings of the peer researchers were at the heart of both the process and the outcomes.
I’m Me was generously funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by Professor Matthew Reason from the Institute for Social Justice at York St John University.
The project began in May 2023 and culminated in June 2025 with the I’m Me Festival at York St John University, a 2-day festival incorporating performances, exhibitions & videos and showcasing the artistic talents and perspectives of the learning disabled and autistic artists involved in the project: https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/research/institute-for-social-justice/research-clusters/neurodiversity-and-learning-disabilities/im-me/im-me-festival/
We were delighted to present 2 creative responses as part of this Festival:
Listen | Hear, a short documentary showing our explorations of the I’m Me ‘Voice’ cycle:
&
Me First, a short two-hander live performance piece exploring the barriers someone may face when trying to make their voice heard, especially those with disabilities or learning disabilities.
© Brian Hartley
© Brian Hartley
© Brian Hartley
The I’m Me project was conducted in collaboration with Mind the Gap and in partnership with a network of five other disability arts companies: About Face, Confidance, Hijinx, Open Theatre and Under the Stars.
