Liverpool disability arts charity DaDa has expanded its board as it approaches its 40th birthday

Liverpool based disability arts charity DaDa has undergone a board expansion to strengthen the Arts Council Portfolio-funded organisation.

DaDa put out a call out for new members in the spring and has now welcomed a line-up of five new members. They include stand-up comedian and writer Laurence Clarke and Erin Pritchard, senior lecturer in disability studies at Liverpool Hope University.

Also joining is artist and community engagement development manager with Options for Supported Living Christine Bithell, Barry Avison who serves as chair of BSL Celebrations and Deaf Explorer, and TV, radio and stage writer Mandy Redvers-Rowe.

Mandy, an historic board member, previously worked as a youth theatre director with The Liverpool Playhouse and was course tutor for Solid Foundations at LIPA, Applied Theatre Lecturer at Hope University, and head of participation at Collective Encounters.

She said: “As a blind writer I am keen to place characters with a different lived experience at the heart of my dramas.

“I am delighted to be invited onto the DaDa board and hope that my experience and knowledge can be useful in shaping the future of this strong disabled-led organisation.”

DaDa’s board members serve a typical term of three years before either taking a break for 12 months or moving on in order to keep perspectives fresh, with the recent recruitment

 seeking to build new areas of expertise to expand on DaDa’s work.

Alongside the new additions, board members Alison Breadon, Rob Martin and Hormoz Ahmadzadeh continue to serve with the charity.

Founded in 1984, DaDa (then Arts integrated Merseyside) announced in November 2022 that it had once again been selected as an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation.

Now in its 40th  anniversary year, DaDa is continuing its work by reimagining trusted formats, refocusing on its social justice mission and breaking down barriers and exploring ways to enable disabled artists to create challenging, entertaining and powerful work.