Textiles have long been part of the fabric of disabled people’s lives and history. In common with banners of the women’s suffrage movement and trade unions, disabled activists have embraced banners as a form of protest and resistance, communicating messages about identity, pride, unity and justice. Rights Not Charity tells the stories of these banners.

Curator Gill Crawshaw explores this history through the protest banners and political artwork of disabled people’s rights movements, taking in political responses to charity, accessibility, and government cuts, among other causes.

The author, Gill Crawshaw, is a curator who draws on her experience of disability activism to organise art exhibitions and events which highlight issues affecting disabled people.