Free London Listings

With two years to go to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, the
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has unveiled the line up for this year's
Liberty festival, a showcase and celebration of the artistic and
sporting talent to be found within the Deaf and disabled community, in
London and across the UK.

All are welcome to attend this free event, which will see Trafalgar
Square animated with street arts, dance, aerial performance, comedy,
cabaret and children's activities. Amongst highlights of an afternoon
programme showcasing the best of disability arts and culture, Liberty
will include an exclusive preview from Graeae's new musical "Reasons to
Be Cheerful" featuring the songs of Ian Dury, an aerial collaboration
between Candoco and Scarabeus inspired by the myth of the minotaur, a
showcase of exciting new musical talent from Heart n Soul and an array
of cabaret artists, including Francesca Martinez, Steve Day and Liz
Carr.

There will also be a specially commissioned sport and arts "face off",
bringing together artist Rachel Gadsden with athletes from Wheelpower,
the sporting organisation based at Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of
the Paralympic Games. The award winning artist will capture the action
live as players are put through their paces in Wheelchair basketball,
tennis and rugby.

The idea is create an exhilarating fusion of sport and the arts
resulting in the creation of life size visual pieces that will respond
to the drama of sport and capture the inspiration, motivation and
determination of the athletes. The creation of the canvases and the
sporting action will be accompanied by music to heighten the theatrical
context, with the resulting artworks becoming an artistic record of the
Liberty festival.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: 'There are just two years to go
to the 2012 Games and disabled people are central to their success, both
in the sporting arena and through the cultural programme. This year's
Liberty festival has a fantastic line up, which showcases the dynamism
and creativity of disabled people and will provide a tantalising taste
of what's to come in two years time.

With primary funding from the Mayor of London, Liberty is being
supported by Unison; Transport for London; Arts Council England. Several
performances are being made possible thanks to an Arts Council grant,
through the Lottery funded 'Grants for the Arts'. Also involved in
developing the festival are Attitude is Everything, Shape, Artsline,
Independent Living Alternatives and Cooltan Arts

Amongst the other attractions will be an Aerial Performance area
featuring Amici Dance Theatre and Cirque Nova, as well as the
Candoco-Scarabeus collaboration, which is entitled 'Heartland'.

The Street Arts zone will have a programme that includes 'Brown Paper
Packages' by Kazzum, which will feature a large brown paper package from
which performers emerge creating scenes, landscapes and puppetry in the
style of a pop up book. Epic Arts will have a performance by Cambodian
dance students with '4D', choreographed by Chisato Minamimura, and a
dance duet by Jennie Ellis and Kathryn Langrish.

Rhinestone Rollers will appear in a new production created by Graeae
Theatre and choreographed by Marc Brew and Rachel Bagshaw - a witty
insight into dance through the ages with the help of costume changes to
transform each dance routine sequence. Chutney - a form of popular music
of Trinidad - is the inspiration for an exciting new street theatre
performance led by acclaimed Bhangra producer Kuljit Bhamra. Extant will
present 'Tandemonium', a new performance installation combining music
theatre and choreographed tandems.

A Music Programme at the foot of Nelson's Column will feature a range of
performers, including: Yunioshi - electro pop and "robot funk"; young
musicians from the Orpheus Centre in Surrey; funk/punk power trio The
Fish Police; KDNA, with vocalist Kali Perkins, plus a unique blend of
violin, keyboards, drums and voices; singer Lizzie Emeh backed by a
seven-piece band, with songs from her album Loud and Proud; plus
Graeae's Reasons to be Cheerful.

The Cabaret and Comedy area will feature artists such as Francesca
Martinez, Steve Day, Liz Carr, Keith Currie, Mackenzie Taylor, Blind
Gurl and the Crips and Cooltan poets.

Emergency Exit Arts will be curating the Children's Arts area, with an
"up in the air" theme and an Icarus like character helping participants
to harness the power of the elements as they enter a "Windy Wonderland"
of wind machines, fabric and sound. There will also be art installations
by disabled artists from arteast.

To complement the festival, attendees are also invited to visit the
National Gallery, which will be hosting BSL interpreted talks, on Sir
Joshua Reynold's 'Examination of Himself' and Claude-Oscar Monet's
'Irises'.

This year's Liberty is dedicated to the memory of David W. Morris, who
was an advisor on disability issues at the GLA and LOCOG, and who died
earlier this year. His life and work will be celebrated at the Red Jesus
Chill Out Area, which is supported by DisLIB (Disability Listen Include
Build). There will also be the premiere of David's film Together!,
produced for the UK Disabled People's Council.