The summer of sport is in full swing but the best is yet to come with the Paralympic Games kicking off on Channel 4 on August 28. To celebrate the upcoming Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in style, Channel 4 collaborated with us to commission a one-of-a-kind mural in the heart of Shoreditch. Created with the incredible artist Florence Burns, the mural will do much more than just catch your eye – it will also help highlight the issues and comments that Para athletes face.
There is just over a month to go until the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games commence. And in the weeks leading up to them, you might spot this Channel 4 campaign that draws attention to the well-intended yet patronising comments that people often make when watching Para-sport and talking about the achievements of Para athletes.
As the film shows, the forces of sport don’t care about disability, they make no concessions. Gravity, wind and friction are showcased as the real obstacles for elite athletes, and these are the barriers that should be at the forefront of the conversation when talking about Para athletes and their achievements, not their disability.
Whilst having a disability is an important part of a disabled person’s identity, fixation on the disability itself often detracts from their incredible sporting achievements.
The mind behind the mural, Florence Burns, is a Manchester-based artist, whose work focuses heavily on social and political issues. She has a respiratory disability called Tracheobronchomalacia and through living with chronic illness herself, understands exactly how frustrating assumptions around disability can be. She was the perfect fit to translate this important message into a visual piece of art, and with Florence’s help, the Channel 4 mural aims to remove the usual caveat that follows acknowledgments of Para athletes achievements.
Florence Burns’ Channel 4 mural will be on show at Village Underground until August 30, so make sure you stop by and visit this unmissable piece of art.