Disability and Creativity in Zimbabwe Redefining Artistic Potential through Inclusive Arts Practices

This study explores the intersection of disability and creativity in Zimbabwe, examining how inclusive arts practices and structural policy environments jointly shape artistic potential, creative agency, and participation among artists with disabilities. Situated within broader debates on disability rights, cultural participation and the creative economy, the research investigates how artists with disabilities negotiate structural barriers and exercise creative agency within Zimbabwe's evolving cultural landscape. Guided by an interpretivist qualitative research paradigm and critical policy analysis framework, the study employed purposive maximum variation sampling to recruit thirty (30) artists with disabilities representing diverse disability types, artistic disciplines, genders and geographical locations across Zimbabwe. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and digital portfolio analysis and analysed thematically using Braun and Clarke's six-phase framework. Data collection continued until thematic saturation was achieved, ensuring that the findings reflected recurring patterns across participants' lived experiences.
The findings demonstrate that disability does not inherently constrain creativity rather, it is socially and structurally mediated through access, policy and institutional frameworks rather it frequently serves as a catalyst for artistic innovation, resilience and adaptive expression. Participants relied on inclusive arts practices, peer support networks, mentorship opportunities, adaptive technologies and digital platforms to overcome barriers associated with inaccessible infrastructure, limited financial resources and persistent social stigma. However, the study further identifies that weak implementation of disability-inclusive cultural policies, unequal funding systems, and infrastructural exclusion significantly limit equitable participation in Zimbabwe’s creative economy, inadequate funding mechanisms and unequal access to adaptive technologies continue to constrain equitable participation within Zimbabwe's creative economy.
The study argues that sustainable inclusion requires more than individual resilience. It calls for stronger implementation of disability rights frameworks, disability-responsive cultural policies, institutional accountability, accessible creative infrastructure and targeted funding for artists with disabilities. By integrating lived experiences with broader policy analysis, the study contributes empirical evidence to scholarship on disability and creativity while offering practical recommendations for policymakers, cultural institutions, development partners and researchers committed to promoting inclusive cultural development in Zimbabwe. Future research should incorporate larger and more geographically diverse samples and undertake deeper analysis of policy implementation and institutional support systems affecting disabled creatives.

Disability and creativity; Inclusive arts practices; Disability rights; Cultural policy; Digital inclusion; Creative economy; Zimbabwe

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