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The Disabled lockdown experience

  • Series
Artwork using watercolour and ink incorporating collaged words throughout the scene. The artwork shows a busy multi-coloured room. On the left hand side of the image a woman with rainbow coloured hair is lying in bed. On the floor there are: packets of paracetamol; toilet rolls; and a toy clown juggling first aid, corona virus and pound symbols. In the foreground the silhouette of two people stand together at a distance from the bed. A rainbow flows across the room where a television mounted on
Our Covid complicity. © Carrie Ravenscroft for Wellcome Collection.

Francesca Martinez invites four Disabled writers and the mother of a Disabled teenager to share their powerfully personal experiences of lockdown. These compelling and fascinating stories highlight the precarious situation faced by those with complex health issues, and the many challenges involved with keeping safe during a global pandemic. During the first wave, shockingly, Disabled people made up nearly two thirds of UK Covid-19 deaths.

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Lying low for lockdown and beyond

For Liz Carr the chances of catching Covid-19 are the same as for anyone else, but as a Disabled person she's at much greater risk of not getting the treatment she needs if she falls ill.

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Caring for our Disabled daughter in lockdown

Jane Holmes talks about the challenges of caring for her Disabled daughter while working and trying to stay safe during the pandemic.

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Society, not Covid-19, makes us vulnerable

Rick Burgess coped with the death of his mother in February 2020 by immersing himself in the task of protecting his community from Covid-19 and challenging the government's failure to protect and support elderly and Disabled people during the pandemic.

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Our Covid complicity

Athena Stevens thought she had a cold that she tried to ignore, but it turned out to be Covid-19. Here she reflects on how we have all put ourselves and others at risk with the choices we’ve made during this pandemic.

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How to thrive in lockdown

Gareth Berliner shares how being a Disabled person has given him the resilience and motivation to find a new creative challenge during lockdown.

About the contributors

Black and white, head and shoulders portrait of Francesca Martinez.

Francesca Martinez

Editor

Francesca Martinez is a wobbly performer, writer and campaigner whose work is known for challenging preconceptions, questioning norms and passionately celebrating human diversity. Her first play, "All Of Us" explores the impacts of austerity and opens at the National Theatre's Dorfman space next year.

Black and white, head and shoulders portrait of Carrie Ravenscroft.

Carrie Ravenscroft

(she/her)
Artist

Carrie is a queer and neurodivergent artist from London. Her art practice focuses on women’s health, late diagnosis and the mind-body connection, which she communicates through colour, characters and symbolism in detailed, linked artworks. Recent creative projects include a neuroart exhibition in collaboration with neuroscientists at the Kings College ADHD Research Lab. Outside of making art, Carrie is a a mental health support worker and art psychotherapist at Mind, the mental health charity, and volunteers as a psychedelic first aider with the charity PsyCare.

  • Season

What does it mean to be human, now?

How we can care for ourselves and for each other during extraordinary cultural, social and political shifts? Our programme brings multiple perspectives and voices both into the building and across our digital platforms, based on our collecting and commissioning activities during 2020.