Tony Heaton’s ‘altered’ Launched in Gallery 1

Last evening, we celebrated the launch of Tony Heaton’s altered with over 100 guests in attendance to experience the incredible work.

altered is a major solo exhibition by British sculptor and disability rights activist Tony Heaton OBE. The exhibition explores Heaton’s sculptural practice from his early disability rights activism and his initiation of the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive (NDACA), to more recent work that includes direct stone carving and neon text pieces.

Highlights of the show include his unique take on his multicoloured loops which were placed in Gallery 1 and in the Salmon Gallery, and his ‘Shaken Not Stirred’ sculpture featuring photographic evidence of him breaking down the sculpture with a prosthetic leg on live television as protest against the media treatment of disabled people.

At 6pm guests gathered for a speech by Director Andrew Fletcher and Tony Heaton OBE, as they both gave thanks to all the attendees and the staff at Attenborough Arts Centre who worked to bring the exhibition together. In his speech Tony reflected on his over 20 year relationship with the centre, as he helped guide previous Directors on the building of our accessible gallery and became a part of the first ever exhibition in the gallery.

Watch our interview with Tony Heaton about his work on our YouTube by clicking here.