British Council residency highlights trust-based approach to UK–China disability arts exchange
A pilot residency bringing together disabled artists from the UK and China has offered fresh insight into how international collaboration in disability arts can be built through trust, flexibility and a strong understanding of local context.
The 2x2 Residency, supported by the British Council and Unlimited, was designed as a space for artistic experimentation and shared learning rather than the presentation of finished work. Through in-person residencies alongside regular online meetings, four artists were invited to exchange ideas and develop dialogue across different cultural and accessibility contexts.
The project avoided exporting a fixed model of ‘best practice’, instead centring artists’ lived experience and asking what meaningful support looks like in different environments. Residency Coordinator Luo Hongyu described the exchange as a dialogue between the UK’s more established institutional support systems and China’s more flexible, trust-based networks.
According to the British Council, the project offered wider lessons for organisations interested in working in China’s disability arts sector. These include the need to understand differences in disability terminology and policy context, to address practical accessibility barriers from the outset and to invest in long-term relationships rather than one-off projects.
Examples from the residency included the use of a dedicated coordinator to support communication, access and logistics, as well as activity during the Hangzhou phase that connected the artists with the wider disability arts community in China through workshops, open studios and panel discussions.
The British Council suggests the residency has helped open up new ways of thinking about disability-led international exchange, while also showing that stronger collaboration depends on awareness, access provision and growing sector confidence on all sides.