Talks & Seminars
The Blue Description Project
The Blue Description Project is a new, experimental iteration of Derek Jarman’s Blue on the 30th anniversary of its release and the artist’s death.
In 1993, Derek Jarman released Blue, an epoch-defining account of AIDS, illness, and the experience of disability in a culture of repressive heteronormativity and compulsory able-bodiedness.
Though often referred to as a feature film, Blue never existed exclusively in one medium. It was screened in theatres, simulcast on television and radio, released as a CD, and published as a book, creating opportunities for many different kinds of sensory abilities—visual, aural, and textual—to experience the work.
Conceived by artists and writers Christopher Robert Jones, Liza Sylvestre, and Sarah Hayden, The Blue Description Project (2024) creates a new, elastic and experimental iteration of Blue on the 30th anniversary of its release and Jarman’s death. Reflecting Blue’s standing as a foundational work of Crip* art, the project challenges ableist hierarchies in art while focusing on the generative possibilities of difference and interdependence.
In 1994, Jarman wrote in Chroma: “If I have overlooked something you hold precious — write it in the margin.” Taking up this invitation to write in the margin, The Blue Description Project builds on the multifaceted nature of Jarman’s work through newly commissioned and expansive accessibility.
Access
The film screening will have creative captions and audio description that is edited into the main soundtrack of the film, and also captioned. It will also be British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted. The discussion afterwards will be live-captioned and BSL-interpreted.
FREE, book here: https://bit.ly/TheBlueDescriptionProject
Though often referred to as a feature film, Blue never existed exclusively in one medium. It was screened in theatres, simulcast on television and radio, released as a CD, and published as a book, creating opportunities for many different kinds of sensory abilities—visual, aural, and textual—to experience the work.
Conceived by artists and writers Christopher Robert Jones, Liza Sylvestre, and Sarah Hayden, The Blue Description Project (2024) creates a new, elastic and experimental iteration of Blue on the 30th anniversary of its release and Jarman’s death. Reflecting Blue’s standing as a foundational work of Crip* art, the project challenges ableist hierarchies in art while focusing on the generative possibilities of difference and interdependence.
In 1994, Jarman wrote in Chroma: “If I have overlooked something you hold precious — write it in the margin.” Taking up this invitation to write in the margin, The Blue Description Project builds on the multifaceted nature of Jarman’s work through newly commissioned and expansive accessibility.
Access
The film screening will have creative captions and audio description that is edited into the main soundtrack of the film, and also captioned. It will also be British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted. The discussion afterwards will be live-captioned and BSL-interpreted.
FREE, book here: https://bit.ly/TheBlueDescriptionProject
