Express Yourself Social Café

The Express Yourself Social Café group's collection

Held in the welcoming and inclusive space of The Black Box in Belfast, the Express Yourself Social Café is a weekly intergenerational gathering that brings together adults with learning disabilities to explore arts, creativity, and self-expression. Since its launch in April 2023, the café has flourished into a vibrant creative community, where participants not only develop their artistic skills but also build meaningful connections and collaborate with a wide range of cultural organisations. These have included Pride, Being Human Festival, NI Science Festival, and Learning Disability Pride, ensuring that the work of the group is both visible and celebrated across different creative spaces.

Express Yourself Social Café operates on the belief that creativity should be accessible, empowering, and participant-led. The group has worked collectively on a diverse range of artistic projects, from animation and leatherwork to ceramics, jewellery-making, painting, dance and music. Every activity is designed to equip participants with practical skills, allowing them to continue experimenting with their craft at home, fostering both independence and artistic confidence.

Beyond creativity, the group is also engaged in activism and advocacy, ensuring that the voices of disabled artists and creators are heard and represented in the wider cultural landscape. Deirdre McKenna of The Black Box emphasises this approach:
“Topics of interest and our direction are decided by the group, which is in the spirit of the disability activism motto ‘Nothing About Us Without Us.’ We work in collaboration with each other and this is truly a disabled-led project. We want to see ourselves reflected in the creative world and to enhance the visibility of disabled people as catalysts for cultural change.”

Through its participant-driven ethos, Express Yourself Social Café is a testament to the role of disabled artists as creators, leaders, and cultural influencers in their own right.

Special thanks to: 

Deirdre McKenna
William McClean
Lucinda Simpson
Sarah McConnell
Gabriel Murray
Mark McDonnell
Sean McClements
Helen Barbara VD
Fiona Huel
Zara Brown
Sean Brady
Gladys McConnell
Margaret Wilson
Jeffrey Roberts
Paul Holland
Billy McConnell
Simon Mark Creig
Aislin Kelly
Jake Shannon