Everyone was taking about beddism, bagism, ragism, madism when John Lennon and Yoko Ono,

on march 25, 1969, five days after their wedding, the duo climbed into the bed of room 902 at the Amsterdam Hilton and called the media.

They wanted to promote ‘peace’ and to influence their mostly younger following, the next generation. This was activism, powerful, symbolic and memorable. Their use of the media to promote their cause was groundbreaking. IMAGINE what they could have done with social media?

Liz says “Bedding Out Bedding In is not just a performance, not just art, it’s real, because I am ill.  I have to consider when setting out to raise awareness of the current issues facing the disabled how I square the ‘doing it’ with the consequences on my health. This is something I really want to explore with the performance, and by the use of the twitter hashtag #beddingout.”

For many people who live, work, and manage a disability there is a huge chasm between how they present in public and what goes on behind the scenes, or the after effects of the efforts of being ‘well enough’ to perform a task.

Dawn Willis says “When people meet me they speak of a talkative, engaging, funny and lively person with an eagerness and enthusiam to ‘get invovled’ and rise to tasks. And quite possibly that is the facade I need to create in order to cope with managing in the outside world with a serious mental illness.  It shocks people wen I say that following talks, or teaching I am unable to function in daily life for a few days. It’s the unwelcome payoff. But it’s something I understand has to happen if I am to be seen as a functioning member of this society.”

Its vitally important that the public are aware that the effects of welfare reform, managing care, planning a day can have serious ‘side effects’ when someone is already coping with illness or disability.

With Bedding Out we must explore this, talk about our experiences and through art, open eyes, and minds.

Please continue to get involved.

The twitter hashtag is #beddingout, I’m on twitter https://twitter.com/RGPLizCrow

(If you prefer there’s a Facebook Page for comments, art, pics and more http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bedding-Out-Live-beddingout/156862257803853 or you can text your comments to 07784 899514 (outside UK, remove zero, and add +44).

Looking forward to hearing from you…..