We Are The People mural

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BSU unveils a new mural reflecting the experiences of disabled people

Thursday, 13 March, 2025

A team at Bath Spa University has harnessed the power of art to present their research findings on the experiences of disabled people in the South West by commissioning an artist to create a mural. 

We Are The People (WATP) is a team of disabled academics and non-disabled allies engaged in disability research and activism. The aim of their research is to explore issues that matter to disabled people in the Southwest, with a belief that research should be led by disabled people. 

The mural features data from a WATP project focused on the efficacy of Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs) – organisations that are led by and for disabled people – in the South West. This research was led by Community Researcher Peter Stannet, supported by Senior Research Fellow Dr Theo Blackmore, Research Fellow Dr Anne Parfitt and Reader in Disability Studies and Inclusion Research Dr Stuart Read. 

The mural formed the centrepiece of a showcase of WATP projects on Wednesday 12 March, as part of BSU Equality Week. The group also discussed other projects, including a zine about disability activism and advocacy, and an accessible top tips video for museums and heritage sites. 

Talking about the origins of the project, WATP Project Manager Hazel Vernon said: 

“We conducted anonymous surveys with 10 DPOs across the South West, who distributed the surveys to their members. Once we had analysed the research findings, we commissioned an artist to illustrate some of the key themes. The mural is a culmination of our research findings. We wanted to portray the findings in a visual way, as well as a traditional report." 

The words and phrases on the mural are derived from the themes that emerged from the WATP team’s research about DPOs. However, many of the words and phrases in the mural such as ‘rights and liberation’, ‘making change’ and ‘lived experience’ can be applied more broadly across the WATP project, and to other equality and diversity issues.   

The mural was created by artist Stephen Lee Hodgkins using a combination of drawing and printmaking. 

Talking about the process, Stephen said: 

“I like to work with doodles and printmaking to try and make information accessible and visually interesting. For this piece I worked with the research team to get them to come up with a list of terms that best reflect their research findings and reflections.”  

Using the list of terms, Stephen created a series of doodles focused around the keywords, or set them in letterpress type to create handmade prints using a desktop letterpress printmaking machine. 

Stephen continued: 

“I really enjoy working with letterpress type. There's something about being dyslexic and working with type in reverse that I find intriguing, but also quite difficult as well. You have to detach yourself from reading words in typical ways and get used to the forms in reverse. And to be able to do this about research about disabled people's organisations is fab too.” 

The included words are designed to showcase the breadth of disabled people’s experiences and, in a unique twist, can be read in different ways. The words and phrases can be read in any order to make a narrative or poem. Viewers can choose a font style to follow, read left to right or even up and down.  

Hazel said: 

“Our hope is that every person who sees the mural will read and interpret the words and phrases in different ways. If people see the mural more than once, they may even come up with different interpretations! We are also really happy with Stephen’s vision for the mural. As a neurodivergent artist himself, he immediately understood our research and project.” 

Talking about what inspires his work, Stephen said: 

“Many things inspire me, but I’d say [for this project] I was inspired by my late friend Barbara Stewart, who was a proud disabled poet, advocate and everyday activist. She really helped me think about the power of spoken words.” 

The WATP Disabled People’s Organisations mural will be on display in BSU’s Commons building until Sunday 23 March. There are plans to display the mural at other locations in Bath and Bristol during 2025. 

Find out more about We Are The People and their research projects on our website.