Our last Push Me blog on Rachel Gadsden focused on her rehearsals for the premiere performances of Alchemy (UGA) on the 5th September as part of Unlimited Festival. But what many people don’t know is that Rachel is also rehearsing Starting Line, a live outdoor piece using film, visual art and performance that celebrates Stoke Mandeville as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games and the many achievements of Paralympic athletes past and present.
Starting Line was commissioned by Accentuate, the London 2012 legacy programme for the South East for the Paralympic Flame Festival Aylesbury and will be shown in the Town Square on the 28th August. The flame celebrations kick off at 2pm and the piece can be seen from approximately 8.00pm. 
Rachel told Push Me that she’s thriving on the energy that comes from working in collaboration with other artists in order that she and others can hit the headlines in this important and historical period for disabled people nationally and globally.
These next few weeks represent important times for all of us, where else in the world have so many disabled artists had the opportunity to be centre stage, and to be contributing to a vision that I certainly hope will contribute to bringing cultural change in our society.
After Rachel’s Starting Line, UGA artworks will be shown at Dada Fest and Niet Normaal and where she will be in conversation with members of the Bambanani Arts Group on the 30th August and then from the 31st August we’ll be able to see the full UGA body of 40 artworks and 7 portrait films in the Foyer of the Royal Festival Hall.
Our question for Rachel is whether she’s ready for the frantic weeks ahead?
I admit at times it has been a very hard push, but I am finally ready, and these are precious moments that we must all celebrate.
If you want to tap into the breadth of Rachel’s career to date, an ensemble of her work will be shown in Theatre of the Mind at GV Art Gallery tomorrow. Catch it if you can.