Zoe Partington said she is ready to follow in the footsteps of other “strong, politically disabled women from the North”
A city organisation that has been championing disabled and deaf artists for decades has appointed a new CEO. DaDa recently launched its 40th-anniversary festival programme at Hope Place’s Unity Theatre and announced that Zoe Partington would be stepping into the role.
The award-winning multi-artform charity was founded in 1984 and has since become an integral part of the campaign for greater equality and access for disabled artists across the arts and cultural sector.
In 2022, Dada was confirmed as an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation until at least 2026. Since then, It has expanded its programming and board. As a final step in solidifying the organisation’s stability and future, it is now in a position to appoint a new CEO.
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A disabled artist, Zoe references her own sight loss and chronic condition in her work and is excited to lend her expertise to Liverpool-based DaDa. She said: “As a disabled woman in a leadership role, I feel honoured to follow other strong, politically disabled women from the North.
“I believe that, as disabled people, we should not let fear hold us back from striking out and being at the centre of decision-making in the cultural sector – our voices are often ignored. We will change this together in partnerships and with allies. I am so fortunate to have an amazing team and board.”
The former University of Portsmouth student is an international consultant and speaker on disability art, heritage, and architecture in relation to inclusion and accessibility. In addition to her role at DaDa, Zoe is also the creative director of Disordinary Architecture, working with cultural institutions such as The British Library, Tate Modern, and disabled people as architects and curators.
DaDa develops and presents disability and deaf arts through an artistic programme that includes festivals and events, fed into by a year-round programme of engagement work.
The centrepiece of DaDa’s work is DaDaFest International. It is set to return in March 2025, and the theme for the milestone year has been revealed as ‘RAGE – A Quiet Riot’. DaDa Chair Robert Martin said: “DaDa is turning 40 years old this year, and we are looking forward to celebrating that legacy with DaDaFest International 40 in March 2025.
“Its subject, Rage, captures the feeling amongst deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people that, whilst much has been achieved and should be celebrated, we’re still too often left out of conversations that are about us and that impact on us.
“With her brilliant track record as an artist, activist and consultant on creativity and inclusive culture, Zoe brings a rare combination of skills which, we feel, will carry DaDa forward into our next phase as a leader in, and instigator of, those very conversations. “Zoe is a hugely respected and talented person and, on behalf of everyone at DaDa and also our funders, we’re very much looking forward to seeing where she’ll take us next.”
