Crip Resistance: Holding space, Building Community
Ort Gallery are thrilled to announce Resting Up Collective’s biggest programme to date!
Join Resting Up Collective (RUC) and Ort Gallery for Crip Resistance: Holding Space, Building Community, an online programme of events exploring disabled, sick, mad, and crip modes of resistance and remote community care.
From February to May 2025, this interdisciplinary collaboration will feature a series of online events including creative workshops, artist talks, live performances, and film screenings.
The programme will include a print and online publication documenting and expanding on the programme's themes. Finally, RUC will curate a book collection for Birmingham Resistance Library.
20% of the event and publication proceeds will support Gaza Sunbirds.
This programme will be running on Crip Time. As a result, we endeavour to reschedule events should any of our contributors not feel well / experience a change in capacity in the lead up to and / or on the day of the event itself.
About the Organisers:
RUC—resting up collective is an interdisciplinary group of chronically ill and disabled friends practising slowness/crip time to create, think, and interrupt neoliberal pressures and expectations on the body. We offer workshops and spaces for the crip community. We are running our second iteration of Postcards from Flaresville, a slow mail chain of care-full postcards from one resting space to another. We are slow works in progress, open to all who wish to join and help dream/organise.
Ort Gallery is a visual arts and poetry organisation based in Birmingham. We are on a social mission to redefine contemporary visual arts by rejecting the sector’s exclusivity, centring access and equity, and providing inclusive high quality art experiences. We support this mission with a care-centred approach (aka Warmth) and give artists, team members and participants autonomy over their projects.
Ort believes everyone should have access to high quality art experiences and aims to meet this standard by providing exhibition and professional development opportunities to artists, creatives and community members across all backgrounds.
We place Warmth at the heart of all our work. We recognise that galleries can be sites of oppression which centre and reproduce white normative and elitist ways of “being’ under the supposed guise of neutrality. We are interested in challenging this head on; whilst also committing to creating space for local artists and marginalised community groups across Birmingham and beyond to play an active role in shaping such practices, in the hopes of transforming ourselves, our city, and the wider arts ecology.
Programme of Events 〰️
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Saturday 8 February 2025, 13:00 - 17:30
To celebrate the launch of Crip Resistance: Holding Space, Building Community, Resting Up Collective have curated a selection of books on themes of disability, care and resistance which will be available for loan during the upcoming Browse, Borrow, Return session (13:00 - 16:30) held by Birmingham Resistance Library. To view full collection click here
We invite you to join us for this Read and Reflect Circle (16:30 - 17:30) as facilitated by Lucy Lopez and Sahjan Kooner of BRL, where they will be leading a discussion on an extract from Care Work: Dream/ing Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha.
All registered participants will receive a pdf version of this extract via email.
About the book
In this collection of essays, Lambda Literary Award-winning writer and longtime activist and performance artist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha explores the politics and realities of disability justice, a movement that centers the lives and leadership of sick and disabled queer, trans, Black, and brown people, with knowledge and gifts for all.
This event will be the only in person event as part of this programme.
BSL interpretation will be available for the duration of the Read and Reflect Circle.
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Thursday 20 February 2025, 18:00 - 20:00
Partners in art and life, Charlie Fitz and Oscar Vinter will discuss how their relationship of interdependent care has influenced their collaborative and independent art practice, specifically their filmmaking. This discussion will be followed by a screening of several of their short art films. The films explore dancing, masking, ableism, medical bureaucracy, care, the body, identity, hysteria and the occult. The session will end with an informal Q&A discussion.
Content warning: some of the films contain flashing images and may trigger those with photosensitive epilepsy. There are also mentions in the films of medical trauma and gaslighting.
Films to be screened
COL5A/FBN2 (2019) (8 minutes 36 seconds) by Oscar Vinter
Dance the Body Electric (2024) (5 minutes 40 seconds) by Oscar Vinter
I do nothing (2019) by Fitz & Vinter (1 minute 55 seconds)
Honey, it's my Hindbrain by Fitz & Vinter (2018) (1 minute 26 seconds)
Hysteric Witch short, by Fitz, work-in-progress (timings tbc)
Access
This event will include comfort breaks throughout its duration as well as live BSL interpretation. This programme will be running on Crip Time. As a result, we endeavour to reschedule events should any of our contributors not feel well / experience a change in capacity in the lead up to and / or on the day of the event itself.
TicketsIn order to ensure this programme is accessible to all, we have implemented a three tiered ticketing system: Pay As You Feel, Standard tickets priced at £5.00 (plus eventbrite fee) as well as Solidarity Tickets priced at £10 (plus eventbrite fee).
If you would like to attend this event but cannot afford to purchase a paid ticket please get in touch with us directly at info@ortgallery.co.uk
About the Artists
Oscar Vinter (he/they) is an afropean neurodivergent artist, composer and filmmaker. www.oscarvinter.com
Charlie Fitz (she/they) is a sick and disabled artist, arts practitioner, writer and member of Resting Up Collective. www.CharlieFitzArtist.co.uk
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Wednesday 2 April 2025, 16:00 - 18:00
More details to follow.
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Wednesday 16 April 2025, 18:00 - 20:00
In this online workshop, Phoebe will guide you through a short history of the importance of charms, and her own work ‘Endometriosis Charms’, before you can make your own. You will use embossing and engraving techniques to create your own hanging charms or mobiles out of foil metal and ribbon, inspired by your own identity. Materials will be provided and delivered via post.
Content warning: the workshop involves using sharp objects and points, like scissors, maths compasses, participants must feel comfortable using sharp objects for craft purposes independently.
About the Artist
Phoebe Kaniewska (She/Her) is a socially engaged artist, facilitator and curator from South London, who uses her lived experience working in healthcare, chronic illness and disability to shape her artistic practice. She strongly believes in the therapeutic benefit of art, both for the maker and audience.
Kaniewska also facilitates workshops and art practices in a variety of settings, including galleries, charities and hospitals; the young V&A, the Foundling Museum, CW+, Create and Bow Arts. She is interested in creating and caring for spaces that support, excite and interact with communities and individuals alike. Currently, Kaniewska is developing a commission for the gynaecology department waiting room at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, including 'Endometriosis Charms' - a charm necklace representing stories from 10 people with Endometriosis.
Instagram: @phoebe_kaniewska
AccessThis event will include comfort breaks throughout its duration as well as live BSL interpretation. This programme will be running on Crip Time. As a result, we endeavour to reschedule events should any of our contributors not feel well / experience a change in capacity in the lead up to and / or on the day of the event itself.
Tickets
In order to ensure this programme is accessible to all, we have implemented a three tiered ticketing system: Pay As You Feel, Standard tickets priced at £5.00 (plus eventbrite fee) as well as Solidarity Tickets priced at £10 (plus eventbrite fee).
If you would like to attend this event but cannot afford to purchase a paid ticket please get in touch with us directly at info@ortgallery.co.uk