Friday Late: Radical Kinship

Experience how artists and thinkers subvert the way we move, sense and co-create. Immerse yourselves in radical, interactive spaces, exploring diverse narratives around connections, rhythms and access. Through music, performances, talks and workshops, celebrate disabled ingenuity, resilience and ways of life. Embrace transformative practices of care, justice and interdependence, guiding us all to navigate future challenges. 

All events are free, and places are designated on a first-come, first-served basis unless stated otherwise. Please note, if the V&A or any of the activations reaches capacity, we will allow access on a one-in, one-out basis. If you would like to know whether spaces are still available for an event, please approach our access support staff at Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road entrances. BSL support is also available at these two locations.

A 

Deaf Rave  
The Grand Entrance, Cromwell Road  
DJ set, with pop up performances 

Join us in Deaf Rave’s electrifying DJ set and performances, showcasing their experiments with bass music genres, spoken word, hip hop, movement and sign language. Featuring Deaf DJs and talent, Deaf Rave is the leading organisation in curating accessible live events for disabled communities in UK and worldwide. The activation also features a small selection of haptic vests translating audio into vibrations and full-body sound experiences. 

B
Quiet Zone
Europe 1600–1815, level -1
The lifts are next to the Porter Gallery and Room 21, Sculpture

This is a quiet area for visitors to take a break. There are gallery benches and chairs in different rooms. You can also find cushions and seating in Room 4.


C
Practicing in Parallel
The Raphael Cartoons, Room 48a
19:00, 20:30

Duration 30 minutes

There will be invitations for audience participation. Please be aware that the graphite may leave marks and avoid interacting with contact mics and cables. Please note sounds can be scratchy or rumbling at times. Ear protection is available at the reception.

A live weaving of movement, drawing, and sound where stimming becomes shared rituals. Led by disabled artists Xan Dye and Gerald Curtis, the immersive performance invites us into a sensory dialogue in which repetition stretches time, opening space for rest, relation, and flow.

The immersive, participatory performance brings together their creative practices as outlets for stimming – rhythmic, repetitive movements that we do to self-regulate and tune into chosen sensations.

The improvisational work resists neuro-normative expectations of productivity, instead centring care, pleasure, and sensory presence

D
How was Your Journey?
The Blavatnik Hall, Exhibition Road
Drop-in from 18:30–21:15

Have a rest at the bus stop and chat about your journey to the V&A with Inclusive Design Resident, Jess Starns. Together we can think about how our individual journeys impact our day, our energy levels, wellbeing and practicalities.

Co-curated with V&A Adobe Creative Resident J ess Starns. The Adobe Creative Residency is supported by the Adobe Foundation.

E
Puffing and Wooling
Digital Studio, Learning Centre
Drop-in from 18:30–21:00

Places are designated on a first come, first-served basis

Escape from the everyday at Puffing and Wooling – a relaxing, restful and nurturing experience for all. Hosted by Tilley & Del, the event empowers us to be fully present and celebrate who we are. Reflect, unwind and express yourself through mindfulness, arts and crafts, den building, poetry and songs in an inclusive and immersive space.

F
Workshop by Andrew Omoding
Art Studio, Learning Centre
18:30 and 19:45

Duration 45 minutes

Please note, these sessions have a limited capacity. Sign up from 18.0 0 at the Learning Centre Reception desk.

Join artist Andrew Omoding in his intuitive creative processes inspired by past and present experiences. Create drums, costumes and assemblages through repurposing, wrapping, weaving and layering. The workshop enables us to revisit memories and create new associations. Co-presented by ActionSpace, it ends with an impromptu parade to celebrate the joy of creativity.

G
Screening by Crip Cinema Archive
Seminar Room 1, Level 1, Learning Centre
Films on loop from 18:30–21:00

Places are designated on a first come, first-served basis

Curated by Crip Cinema Archive, these films examine how disability shapes our sense of time, agency, and presence. On Black Pain is political and personal, confronting the historic and ongoing silencing of Black pain. Resistance Meditation bends space and time, a pulsing reflection on stillness as refusal. Crip Time captures the rhythmic replenishing of pill boxes, embodying the way time warps to meet disabled bodies.

H
Panel Discussion: Disabled in Practice, Not Theory
Hochhauser Auditorium, Level 1, Learning Centre
19:45

Duration 45 minutes

Please note that some of our speakers have weakened immune systems. To help keep everyone safe, we kindly ask you to wear a medical mask if you are able to. Complimentary masks are available at the auditorium.

How is our artistic value determined by productivity, accessibility and opportunity? Moderated and curated by Able Zine’s founder Claudia Rose Walder, the panel discussion explores access for disabled people working in creative industries. The concept of access extends beyond accessibility. Together with artists Christopher Samuel, Sabrina Tirvengadum and Zuleika Lebow, the event delves into how one can leverage the disabled community’s wisdom, methodologies, concept of time to create changes and express diverse identities. This event will be BSL interpreted.

The discussion can be accessed live on vam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/9 6 329547309

Capacity is limited.

I
Conversation with Visions
John Lyon’s Community Gallery, Learning Centre
19:20 and 20:30

Duration 20 minutes

Places are designated on a first come, first-served basis.

Explore grief for the people we have lost and futures we have imagined. Conceptualised by creative technologist Clarice Hilton, dancers Annie Edwards and Anna Seymour, the performance combines ritual, live dance and recorded motion capture.

Funded by MyWorld, it is part of their exploration of disabled representation and accessible design in motion capture. Dedicated to artist and researcher Kat Hawkins executed in collaboration with UWE, X-IO and Candoco Dance Company. The creative team is made up of Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists.

J
Loud Cane 1.0
Sculpture, Room  25
20:00, 21:00

Duration 20 minutes

Please note that the performance may produce sudden, loud sounds. The artist is available for Q&A after the performance.

Experience the performance by Carmen Papalia, a non- visual social practice artist exploring interdependence, creative accessibility and disability culture. Interacting with materials and objects, the performative sound cane translates textures into a wide spectrum of sound through his bespoke audio system.

The piece was developed during a residency in Japan, where Carmen collaborated with other sound artists

Events D, F, G are co-curated with V&A Adobe Creative Resident Jess Starns. The Adobe Creative Residency is supported by the Adobe Foundation