Announcing
​
The Karen Sheader Arts Award

Photograph Credit: Derek Matthews

​We are incredibly proud to announce a brand new arts award dedicated to the memory, work and life of Disability Arts legend Karen Sheader who sadly died last year. This will be an annual award for a disabled artist working in film, music or poetry at a turning point in their career - the artforms Karen loved and excelled in. 

Karen was an activist, writer, musician, actor, filmmaker, and singer songwriter. She was also much loved and highly respected for her practice and her support and encouragement of other disabled artists and organisations. 

She started out in punk band The Fugertivs with many of her lyrics becoming iconic and still quoted to this day, and moved in to filmmaking with Steve Carolan and Del Matthews from Carpet Films, starring in one of their films, and eventually forming their own company the hugely successful Shoot Your Mouth Off films based in Hartlepool. Karen was warm, funny, insightful and intelligent, and her work was full of biting wit and political bite, giving voice to the injustices of the disability community and those with the least heard voices.  The Karen Sheader Band is where Karen collaborated with Del Matthews, Mark Scott and other musicians creating an incredible body of work.

Karen's wisdom, support and talent is very much missed, and we are honoured to pay tribute to her legacy in this way, delighted to have the blessing of Karen's wonderful daughters Katy, Victoria, and Alexandra Sheader. 
​

"We stand on the shoulders of giants like Karen.

A shining beacon in my region." 

Joe Turnbull, Disability Arts Online. 

Karen Singing at the Disconsortia DIY Cabaret. Photo Credit Kev Howard

Karen with Steve Carolan and Del Matthews. Photo Credit SYMO

​The Inaugural Karen Sheader Arts Award

For the inaugural Karen Sheader Arts Award we decided to commission an original and lasting tribute to Karen. We are delighted to have commissioned disabled artist Steph Robson to create an audio broadcast documentary about Karen's life and work in the UK Disability Arts Movement, interviewing people Karen has worked with, her friends and family, and people Karen has had a lasting impact on. 
​

"Karen gave so much inspiration and passion to

ensure that disabled people had a space and

place in the arts.” 

Steph Robson, artist.

Photo Courtesy Steph Robson aka Hello Little Lady

Steph Robson

Steph Robson, aka Hello Little Lady, is an artist and creative practitioner using visual, written, audio and participatory practices that primarily centres around the Dwarfism community’s lived experience. Making space for a community that historically has struggled for acceptance in arts and cultural settings.  Steph’s wider work explores the themes of accessibility, activism, othering and the tensions between disability and society.
​
About her commission Steph said, “It is an incredible honour and privilege to be the first recipient of the Karen Sheader Arts Award. Karen was an absolute powerhouse of a lady, artist and activist who gave so much inspiration and passion to ensure that disabled people had a space and place in the arts.”

Vici Wreford-Sinnott, Artistic Director of Little Cog said, "The loss of Karen remains something I grapple with daily - what would she say, what would she think, would she laugh at this? - and so it is  a huge honour to have had the blessing of Karen's daughters Victoria, Alex and Katy, and of her close friends and colleagues at SYMO and The Karen Sheader Band to create this annual award for disabled artists at turning points in their careers. We want the launch of the award to be a lasting tribute to Karen and know that Steph Robson, based in the North East who is a multi-disciplinary artist with a specialism in radio, would create an exceptional remembrance in audio documentary."

The audio podcast will be broadcast in the autumn with a launch event, when further information on next year's Karen Sheader Award will be available. 

Any press contacts requiring further information, please email [email protected]

"Karen has a lasting legacy full of warmth, 

talent, biting wit and political bite about the

experiences of disabled people."

Vici Wreford-Sinnott, Little Cog.