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who we are
The Society for Disabled Artists is a charity that celebrates artists with a wide range of disabilities and enables them to develop their art within a supportive and creative environment. Whilst there is more awareness of the need for inclusivity in today’s society than when the charity was founded in 1979, many of our members still feel excluded from mainstream art groups due to practical concerns regarding accessibility as well as feelings of isolation and a sense of being undervalued.
SODA works to counteract this, with groups organising professional demonstrations and tutorials, as well as subsidised outings and painting holidays where members’ particular needs are catered for and all activities are fully accessible. We practice inclusion not exclusion, welcoming people of all abilities and disabilities as well as those that are able-bodied. Those that are housebound or unable to travel can also benefit from SODA through our lone member scheme. By receiving and contributing to the magazine, as well as submitting artwork to national and local exhibitions, lone members feel connected to the national organisation as a wider community.
SODA works to counteract this, with groups organising professional demonstrations and tutorials, as well as subsidised outings and painting holidays where members’ particular needs are catered for and all activities are fully accessible. We practice inclusion not exclusion, welcoming people of all abilities and disabilities as well as those that are able-bodied. Those that are housebound or unable to travel can also benefit from SODA through our lone member scheme. By receiving and contributing to the magazine, as well as submitting artwork to national and local exhibitions, lone members feel connected to the national organisation as a wider community.
what we do
As well as regular group meetings held across the UK, the Society for Disabled Artists funds and facilitates the following activities:
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how we started
Sydney Nightingale founded the Society for Disabled Artists in 1979 when he realised that his advancing disabilities would soon curtail his more active pursuits and found that he could adapt painting techniques to meet his needs as his condition worsened so that painting could still be enjoyed. He had previously felt rejected when he tried to join ordinary art societies and thus wished to establish art groups where disabled people could paint & draw and exhibit their work within an environment of acceptance and encouragement. He networked with hospital staff in the Hillingdon area who were discharging patients into the community, finding a large number of people who welcomed the idea of joining an art group. At first visiting people in their homes to paint with them, Sydney Nightingale quickly deciding that it was beneficial for people to experience the companionship of other disabled artists and to get out and about in their local community.
When the organisation was registered as a charity, Hillingdon in Middlesex became SODA's first group, quickly followed by others in the local area, growing in popularity as they held regular meetings, demonstrations and local exhibitions. In 1991 the original Editor of the SODA Magazine sent an article about the benefits of SODA into Leisure Painter magazine, which garnered a great response from people across the country that wished to join, and it was from this that SODA became the national organisation it is today. From Durham to Somerset, SODA now has 7 groups spanning the country and hopefully more to come!
When the organisation was registered as a charity, Hillingdon in Middlesex became SODA's first group, quickly followed by others in the local area, growing in popularity as they held regular meetings, demonstrations and local exhibitions. In 1991 the original Editor of the SODA Magazine sent an article about the benefits of SODA into Leisure Painter magazine, which garnered a great response from people across the country that wished to join, and it was from this that SODA became the national organisation it is today. From Durham to Somerset, SODA now has 7 groups spanning the country and hopefully more to come!
Get involved
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