DeafCity Hub Campaign Seeks Permanent Deaf-Led Arts Centre in London
Amanprit Arnold, an activist and urban planner, has initiated the DeafCity Hub campaign to establish a permanent arts and cultural centre in London, led by the Deaf community. This initiative has obtained a temporary 'meanwhile' space through Westminster City Council and the Oxford Street Development Corporation. Arnold, who is deaf and received cochlear implants at the age of 21, intends to modify a building following DeafSpace architectural principles. The campaign brings back a vision from 1986 for an International Deaf Cultural Centre. Despite a rise in deaf representation, the UK, home to 18 million individuals with hearing difficulties, lacks a dedicated Deaf arts centre and has only 22 deaf schools remaining. Arnold's goal is to safeguard Deaf culture and hopes the hub will serve as a model for an international network.
Key facts
- Amanprit Arnold launched the DeafCity Hub campaign to create a permanent Deaf-led arts centre in London.
- The project secured a year-long 'meanwhile' space via Westminster City Council and the Oxford Street Development Corporation.
- DeafSpace principles include wide corridors, natural light, glass and mirrors, and circular seating.
- The London College of Fashion's East Bank campus is one of the few public buildings designed with DeafSpace principles.
- The campaign revives a 1986 plan for an International Deaf Cultural Centre that was never built.
- The UK has 18 million people with hearing issues but only 22 deaf schools, down from 75 in the early 1980s.
- The British Sign Language Act received royal assent in 2022; a BSL GCSE is expected in 2028.
- Arnold's design agency, Disability Urbanism, specialises in accessibility for people with disabilities.
Entities
Artists
- Amanprit Arnold
- Rose Ayling-Ellis
- Marlee Matlin
Institutions
- DeafCity Hub
- Westminster City Council
- Oxford Street Development Corporation
- Disability Urbanism
- International Deaf Cultural Centre
- Gallaudet University
- BBC
- London College of Fashion
- Allies & Morrison
- Strictly Come Dancing
- Gladiators
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Birmingham
- England
- Scotland
- Wales
- Soho
- United States