Last year we worked with 18 brilliant disabled creatives on our Young Artist Development Programme (YADP). Their work is featured in a new zine called “Department for Wonder and Play”, more about this here. In addition to the digital and physical publication, we’re going to spotlight each artist on the blog so you can get a deeper insight into their work and process. Over to our Solidarity Coordinator Katie, who chatted to Kit about their work.

When I asked Kit about when they started making art, Kit told me:

I’ve always created in some capacity, mostly through painting with acrylics or pen and ink illustrations. However, I love exploring different creative expressions – I write, I’ve made films, collages, zines, sewing – I’ll try any craft. I got into lino print making in January 2023 and that’s been my main medium since then.

Kit uses creative work to express themselves and process feelings that can be challenging to put into words – in a way, using art as a communication tool. They also really enjoy the process of learning:

When taking up a new craft you can see yourself improve. I love learning new techniques and seeing creating as part of a learning process. I also love creating as a point of connection and community building: whether that’s going to art classes, craft clubs or having friends over to make things. There’s always power to be found in gathering people together. Craft has often been a space people gather to organise and make social change, and I love being a part of that legacy.

Kit’s piece for the YADP is called Things I find at 4mph. They wanted to make a piece of wearable art for their wheelchair, as mobility aids can often look boring unless you pay lots of money for them. Kit explains:

I wanted to make something beautiful for my chair, something that added my individuality to it just like the clothes I choose to wear. The piece had pockets for items I might need while I am out and about, it is functional and beautiful.

Then, more importantly, the piece is about what my wheelchair gives me. It’s not only access to going out and leaving the house, it’s the things I find there, it’s being able to see nature, to eat apples in the sun, to look at birds and collect items I find along the way. Mobility aids provide me access to joy.

Kit’s work is intricate – with a duck canvas base, and lots of different objects and patches sewn onto them using wool and thread. Some of the objects on the piece are shells, beads, keys, can tabs, jewellery and other found objects. Some parts are inked onto the fabric using specially cut lino blocks.

In other projects, Kit’s work has been about processing the parts of disability which they find difficult and painful – so they wanted to use this commission to make something which centred disabled joy. Kit says:

Having not done textile art before, I struggled to pin down exactly what I wanted to do and how. I didn’t really have a clear vision for the project when I started and was really finding the piece as I went. I ended up seeing it as an exploratory practice which was really nourishing.

I also struggled in some ways to make something about my disabled experience that was purely joyful. Being chronically ill is hard and I made this piece as I was coming out of a very bad period of health. I am used to making art that is expressing the pain and frustration with my illness, so this felt a bit unnatural.

This piece helped me focus on the fact that there is space for joy – and art that is joyful is valuable.

Thanks so much Kit for telling us about what you found at 4mph!