The Olympic Games come with an astounding level of buzz that hums around for years before the event, leading up to 4 weeks of sports, culture and patriotism galore. Their legacy is perhaps less discussed but Southbank Centre’s Unlimited Festival from the 2^nd till the 7^th of September is a direct descendant of London 2012: a second edition of the festival dedicated to the work of disabled artists that was at the heart of the Cultural Olympiad two years ago.

Behind a diverse programme of everything from literature via music to dance and theatre Unlimited offers a major stage to issues and perspectives that don’t get the spotlight often enough. The offer includes a family-friendly show about a learned pig, a frisky comedy with an imaginative approach to BSL interpreting and captioning and an interactive dance piece devised with a software artist. With only a couple of days left before the ribbon is cut, we talked to Unlimited senior producer, Jo Verrent about how things changed for disabled artists after the festival’s first edition, why accessibility should be part of audience development and how cuts are endangering diversity in the UK.

Run Riot: Before we turn to Southbank Centre's Unlimited Festival, could you perhaps introduce our readers to your work around diversity and the principles that drive it?

Jo Verrent: I’ve worked in the disability arts field all my life, since being told at school there was no point in me trying to become an actress as I was going deaf. I’ve never been good at being told what to do – and this just spurred me on. I think it’s this kind of experience that honed my mantra ‘difference is delicious’ – I don’t think of diversity as negative, for me it’s about texture, variety, nuance – it just adds to artistry and artistic product, rather than detracts. Art can help people experience different perspectives – and the art produced by disabled artists is no exception. It can challenge, change and confront prejudice, and simultaneously entertain simply because it’s exceptionally good art.

Run Riot: What has been the legacy of Southbank Centre's Unlimited Festival 2012? Have you noticed changes in attitudes from the wider cultural community, audiences, or the media?

Jo Verrent: I think things really started to shift for the better in the lead up to 2012, and for a short while after. Many disabled artists I know started to get more and better bookings at a wider variety of venues and events, and generally ‘being disabled’ wasn’t seen as quite as tragic. Sadly it was short lived, thanks to the recession, benefits cuts and other debates that are playing out – such as the fight to stop the legalisation of assisted suicide. Quickly the media went back to the disabled people = benefit scroungers storylines. The good news is that it’s not impacted on audiences – who want to see the work in increasing numbers, recognising it as fresh, vital and valid.

Run Riot: In 2012 Southbank Centre's Unlimited Festival was one the highlights of the Cultural Olympiad; in 2014 it’s still very much a large-scale project but with a smaller budget. Is this a cause for concern? Has it influenced your plans?

Jo Verrent: Yes and no. Southbank Centre are in charge of the festival programme, and we run the commissions element. For us, the reduction has meant better work that can be seen in more places, I think. We had to think carefully about what we could fund – ultimately looking to stretch artists gently and support sustainable progression for them. For the festival, it’s meant Southbank Centre integrating it into their festival seasons – and that can only be a good thing, again, because it means a long term embedded commitment rather than a one-off spectacular. But no one likes working with less money! It means the festival is shorter, and we can’t show some works as many times as we’d like.

Run Riot: Could you introduce us to the programme of this year’s Southbank Centre's Unlimited Festival? What is the curating approach behind it? Are there any specific themes that emerge?

Jo Verrent: The festival is brilliantly curated by Wendy Martin at Southbank Centre – it’s about 50% work funded through the Unlimited commissions and research and development awards, surrounded by an amazing range of work by other disabled artists across all disciplines. I suppose there are three main themes – which are picked up in the talks programme on Saturday afternoon. I’m chairing the first one: Talking Dirty: Disability and Desire which focuses on disability, sex and sexuality in the arts – a theme which is common in a large number of the pieces this year. Later Tony Heaton, CEO of Shape is chairing Shifting Identities: Otherwise Unchanged, which looks at acquired impairment and its impact on identity. The last session focuses on challenging perceptions of disability, looking at art works which use subversive humour to challenge preconceptions to create a fresh discourse on taboo aspects of disability. This session begins with a performance from Alex Bulmer and Liz Carr’s work-in-progress Assisted Suicide: The Musical. That should give you a flavour!

Run Riot: How does Unlimited work with and support commissioned artists?

Jo Verrent: We have a call out for work – for the next round this begins in November – and then provide information and opportunities for artists to talk to us about project ideas. People can book surgeries around the country, or use Skype or phone, whatever suits them. The deadline for applications will be in February 2015 (we’ll announce the exact date in November when we open the application process) and we make decisions in March. Supported artists get a key worker who will help them along the process but they are the ones in charge, we are just there to support and advise. I like to think it’s like any other funding programme, but we have a greater understanding perhaps of the lived experience of impairment and so can hopefully make more adjustments along the way. We have a fund to help people apply, for example and we can be really flexible about payments. Lots of small practical things, but together they add up to mean a lot.

Run Riot: The artists taking part in the festival are to a large extent already established. What do you think the situation is like, in terms of opportunities and accessibility, for those starting out – disabled artists in higher education or on the fringe?

Jo Verrent: The scheme is for established artists – that was set by Arts Council England, the commissioning body for whom we are delivering the programme. It’s about setting a quality marker and raising the bar, giving people something to aim for. We’ve managed to draw in extra funds from Spirit of 2012 to support young disabled artists too through Unlimited Impact, which we are delighted about. Also, we have formed a strong network of allies that includes training providers, venues and promoters. For us, this is where the real magic of Unlimited starts to unfurl – this is where we can all work together to shift the cultural sector and make it more inclusive for good.

Run Riot: How do you see accessibility for audiences in the UK? What are the venues doing well and what could they be doing more of?

Jo Verrent: Access is, and will always be, patchy. There are so many conflicting pressures on venues and festivals and some still see access simply as too expensive rather than as a human rights issue. Again, I think things had started to improve, but the cuts to the sector as a whole meant lots of access services were the first things to go, or to be cut back. Access isn’t simply about providing a service though. It’s got to be about the audience development that goes with that. Think about signed performances. Deaf audiences aren’t sitting at home waiting for venues to put on a BSL interpreter! If you want Deaf audiences you have to woo them in, same as any audience segment! I think venues could do a lot more to welcome a wider range of people. I love the relaxed performances that more and more venues are offering. I love captioned shows – so many older people have lost their hearing and therefore stop attending and I love innovative uses of access. Do come and see Wendy Hoose at the Festival if you want to see a show that really uses access creatively – and hysterically – to expand its aesthetic (and who can resist a sex comedy, anyhow?).

Run Riot: In the past several years we’ve witnessed benefits reforms that put the basic needs of people with disabilities at risk, policy and rhetoric of scapegoating immigrants, report after report (the last one published on the day of the Q&A) showing the 1% of Oxbridge graduates hold an astounding percentage of high-flying jobs. When it comes to politics, politicians, policy - is diversity in the UK in danger?

Jo Verrent: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And the more society is determined by such a narrow band of people the worse things will get. We all have a responsibility to promote diversity better – and not tokenistically, but in a real, ‘get your hands dirty’, practical way. It’s got to be factored into everything we do in the cultural sector like the words in a stick of rock – right the way through everything. It's not just about programming and audiences, its about governance, employment practices, marketing – everything we do.

Run Riot: What are the Unlimited plans for 2016?

Jo Verrent: We don’t stop after 2015! Basically we just keep going, commissioning artists, supporting them to make the best work they can and take it to as many places as they can to reach the widest and most diverse audiences. In 2016 we have our next major festival – but there’ll be many events along the way in the lead up to that! To be honest, I’m trying not to think too much about 2016 yet as I turn 50 then!

Southbank Centre's Unlimited Festival

2-7 September