Arts and Disability 

We work in a range of settings including day hospital’s community settings and our Artspaces to support opportunities for people, largely with learning disabilities to access cultural and expressive opportunities.

Artlink Central has a particular focus on working with people with learning disabilities. Currently we run an ongoing programme of regular music sessions for adults with learning disabilities in our Artspace in the Cowane Centre, Stirling. This has been running for a number of years and past projects have included working with Scottish Ensemble musicians as part of a partnership, worked with Opera singers, musicians from the RSNO. We have a partnership with the RSAMD community music programme, regularly bringing in students to support their placement programme. 

A key project was with Paul Rissmann, composer and animateur and three members of the Scottish Ensemble musicians to compose music with the group who then wrote lyrics for the music on the theme of Carnival of the Animals and at the end of the week-long programme, the entire Scottish Ensemble joined the group at Blairdrummond Safari Park and the pieces were performed alongside Saint Saens’ Carnival of the Animals.  

There is also a drama group for adults with learning disabilities which has offered issue-based work such as a project on understanding currency and banking ‘Banknotes’ which won an Arts and Business National Diversity Award; as well as tackling anything from Shakespeare to Kylie. The group presented at Arts Expo 2007 on their work on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.