RECLAIMING CRIP HISTORY

In 1991, Ralph Büsing and Renate Weidner did something previously inconceivable: they founded the ‘Europäisches Behinderten-Kultur-Festival SPIRIT OF CRIPS’. In conjunction with this, Germany’s first Disability Arts Festival took place with an international scope at the Kulturzentrum Pavillon in Hannover – and it was led by two autonomous creatives with disabilities. Today, the Disability Arts Festival scene is exclusively in non-disabled hands, aside from occasional co-curators or fig-leaf consultations. A glance at history shows that this all started quite differently, and a different future is possible. In a conversation, Renate Weidner gives us insights into the two versions of the ‘SPIRIT OF CRIPS’ and talks about the courage to just do something.