In November 2007, Dixon was awarded the annual Go Make! bursary. That years brief involved a response to a quote by the writer Ossie Stuart, who puts forward the suggestion that “…there is a temptation to represent the experience of disabled people within ethnic minority communities as a double opression.”
During his 10-week residency, Dixon worked in collaboration with the WEA learners at the Southampton’s Clovelly Community Centre. Through film, drawing, photography and installation they explored experiences of marginalization, as well as attitudes and the frustrations that result from discriminatory practices.
The residency started at the end of January 2008, with its results being exhibited in the John Hansard Gallery’s education space in May. The final outcome was envisaged to be a multi-facetted exhibition showing all projects, and allowing the shared discourses to overlap, and build upon each other.
This residency was also the subject of the ‘Experiment in 12 Parts’ lecture given at the 2008 Art and Mind Festival in Winchester. The talk “Using art as a testing ground” explored what happened when two community groups were asked to challenge their ideas of identity. Using the results of the 12 week residency, Dixon shared the experiences of those involved, asking “Can exposing a person to different ways of thinking affect their notions of self, and what happens when the inherited values of the individual are laid bare to the uncertainties of the creative process?”
The Go Make! Community Centre Residency was a collaboration between Dada-South, John Hansard Gallery, WEA Clovelly Centre, Graham Road Residents Association and Southampton City Council. This residency was part of the Dada-South Go Make! Programme to support Deaf and disabled Artists to make and show new work. The residency was supported by Arts Council South-East and Awards for All.
Dada-South was the Disability Arts Development Agency for the South-East. Dada-South’s vision was to develop a thriving Disability and Deaf Arts sector within the region with a profile and reputation for excellence and innovation through investment in disabled and deaf artists.
WEA Clovelly Community Centre is the home of the Worker’s Educational Association for Southampton. Together with its students the Centre works to widen participation, preserve heritage and develop the local community.