Identifying as a disabled artist, Claire Cunningham explores the potential of her own particular physical situation, consciously rejecting traditional dance techniques (developed for non-disabled bodies). This affects her approach to choreography and to societal notions of knowledge, value, connection and interdependence. She combines several art forms in her solo pieces, for example ME (Mobile / Evolution) (2009), and in her large ensemble work 12 created for the Candoco dance company.
In 2014 she created Give Me a Reason to Live inspired by the Mediaeval Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. In 2016 she received a commission from Unlimited and created the duet The Way You Look (at me) Tonight with the choreographer Jess Curtis. Since then, the piece has been presented all over the world. Claire Cunningham was artist in residence at the Women of the World Festival at the Southbank in London, at the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queens, at the Perth International Arts Festival in Australia. She was associate artist at Tramway in Glasgow. In 2019 she took part in Automatise Ambulatoire: Hysteria, Imitation, an exhibition organised by Amanda Cachia for the Owen’s Art Gallery in Sackville, Canada. In the same year she presented Thank You Very Much at the Manchester International Festival and won the CATS prize for best ensemble piece and best music and sound. In 2021 she was honoured at the German Dance Awards for her outstanding artistic development.
Claire Cunningham
Claire Cunningham is an artist and creator of multidisciplinary performance pieces based in Glasgow. Her dance pieces, sculptures, performances and presentations defy normativity by exploring the potential of experimental dance techniques, specifically studying the use (or misuse) of crutches.