The Paul Mellon Centre’s What is Research Now? (WIRN) series is back for 2026.

The Spring edition of the series is titled “Disabled Legacies, Beyond Access and Inclusion”. It is led by the questions: Can the legacies of Disability Art and Culture take us beyond “access” and “inclusion”? Can Disability Justice help us create and lead all of us to live better lives?

The programme – through a series of talks, performances and workshops – will explore not only histories of disability but ways of thriving and being, arguing that disability justice can be not just a subject of study but a method and mode of being. This edition is co-convened by Kenny Fries, Khairani Barokka and Sria Chatterjee.

Attend in person or join us online via Zoom — tickets available for both options.

Additional events are taking place at the Paul Mellon Centre.
Book here: https://www.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk/whats-on/forthcoming/event-category/gathering

PROGRAMME

9.30–10am: Registration at The Building Centre

10–10.10am: Welcome and Introduction by Sria Chatterjee, Khairani Barokka
and Kenny Fries

10.10–11.25am: A History of the UK Disability Arts Movement by Tony Heaton
Chair: Ashokkumar Mistry

11.25–12pm: Comfort Break with Refreshments

12–12.30pm: Crip Couture as a Research Method by Sandie Yi
Chair: Kenny Fries

12.30–12.45pm Q&A

12.45-2pm: Lunch Break (lunch not included)

Chair: Khairani Barokka
2–2.15pm: Infinite Crip Times Exist (∃ (∞tCRIP)) ⇌ All Ableist Spaces Shapeshift (a2 + s2) by Saleem Hue Penny

2.15–2.30pm: Black Trans Mad Worldbuilding and creative praxis by Syrus Marcus Ware (joining virtually)

2.30–2.45pm: Saleem Hue Penny and Syrus Marcus Ware in discussion

2.45–3pm: Q&As

3–3.15pm: Comfort Break

3.15–3.45pm: Naomi Ortiz (joining virtually) and Cat Chong in Conversation: ‘The opposite of fear is a poem’
Chair: Sria Chatterjee

3.45–4pm: Q&As

4–5pm: Drinks Reception at the Building Centre

4.15–5.45pm: Access as Contract: A Rider Writing Workshop by Roo Dhissou – *Separate Sign up required* (limited numbers). The workshop will be repeated on Saturday, 28 March.

Day 2

PROGRAMME

10–10.30am: Registration at The Building Centre

10.30–10.40am: Welcome and Introduction by Sria Chatterjee, Khairani Barokka and Kenny Fries

10.40–11.10am: Beauty and the Blind by David Johnson presentation

11.10–11.25am Q&As

11.25am–12pm: Comfort Break and Refreshments

12noon–12.25pm : Film Screenings and Q&A with Theo Jean Cuthand (joining virtually)

12.25–12.55pm: On Black Pain, screening by Jameisha Prescod

12.55–1.15pm: Q&As

1.15–2.15pm: Lunch break (lunch not included)

2.15–2.30pm: On Being Uncapturable: Crip-Ancestral Escapes from the Archives as Future Liberation by Khairani Barokka
Chair: Sria Chatterjee

2.30–2.45pm: Interstitial Overlaps by Pelenakeke Brown (joining remotely)

2.45–3pm: Q&As

3–3.15pm: Comfort Break

3.15–3.30pm: The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin’s Theory by Kenny Fries (joining virtually)
Chair and Discussants: Sria Chatterjee and Khairani Barokka

3.30–3.45pm Q&As and Concluding Remarks

3.45–4.45pm: Drinks Reception

3.45–5.15pm: Access as Contract: A Rider Writing Workshop by Roo Dhissou – *Separate Sign up* (limited numbers).