Cultural Olympiad's Unlimited programme announces commissions

The winning commissions of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad’s Unlimited programme have been announced.
Celebrating arts and culture by disabled and deaf people, the programme will fund 12 new commissions inspired by the London 2012 Games.
They include a music project by young autistic artist Dean Rodney and production company Heart’n Soul. It will use technology to connect to artists from across the world to create a “new kind of music”, as well as involve the audience as they watch the music being created.
Funding has also been provided for a new audiovisual opera by composer Simon Allen. Combining music with moving images, text, audio description, lighting and sound, a live eight-piece ensemble will create a work which aims to “play with the ways we can access artistic meaning”.
A film by Helen Petts, which explores a man’s escape from Nazi persecution because of his ‘degenerate’ art and his epilepsy, will be shown at an installation next year as part of the programme, with experimental musicians providing the soundtrack in a concert.
Other commissions include a ‘symphony of sirens’ musical project by Jeremy Colborne. It integrates warning sirens, non-traditional instruments and voice to create a new choral work.
Commenting on the winning commissions, Moira Sinclair, executive director London of Arts Council England, said: “As we announce the final Unlimited Commissions, I’m struck by the enormous diversity and scale of ambition of these artists.
“The work of deaf and disabled artists has been going from strength to strength, and we are thrilled that these extraordinary projects will help form the centrepiece of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. It promises a truly long lasting legacy of increased profile for this groundbreaking art.”
What’s more, an additional £700,000 of funding has been awarded to the £3 million programme.
“This excellent final round of commissions illustrate in a tangible way how that funding is helping creativity to flourish for those artists,” said Rt Hon Dame Janet Paraskeva, chair of the Olympic Lottery Distributor.