Disabled young people failed by arts sector, Youth Music report finds

Disabled young people are being failed by the arts sector, according to a new report shared by Youth Music.

Released this week by the UK charity, the new report found that disabled youth encounter limited access and disproportionate barriers of entry into the arts sector, despite their rights being “enshrined in law”.

Revealing that disabled young people’s involvement in various forms of the arts is “lower, shorter-term, and more likely to be home-based”, the report also added that many who do get involved “frequently encounter discrimination, fear of judgement, lack of youth voice and agency, limiting expectations, and tokenism”.

Breaking down statistics, Youth Music said only 9% of the workforce in UK arts are disabled, compared to 16% in the wider UK workforce outside of the creative sector.

“We must conclude from this research that the arts sector is failing disabled young people,” said Youth Music CEO, Matt Griffiths. “The proportion of disabled people in the arts workforce is increasing, but remains woefully low. There are some brilliant people and organisations out there offering disabled people creative opportunities, but the research tells us they’re the exception, not the norm.”

Following the publishing of the report, Youth Music has launched a £2.2 million, one-off fund to improve access into the arts sector for disabled young people, and has launched a campaign called Shift The Scene. The initiative aims to provide disabled young people in the UK with long-term opportunities to get involved in the creative industry.

The fund will open for applications on 31st October, and will close on 28th November. Those whose applications are successful will be notified in March 2026.

Earlier this year, Disabled Ravers Network sought submissions from disabled, neurodivergent and deaf artists while putting together a new database.