Brighton exhibition explores dyslexia, literacy and alternative ways of learning

A University of Brighton student is using craft and design to challenge the way society understands dyslexia, literacy and educational ability.

The exhibition, Making as Enquiry: Dyslexia, Functional Illiteracy, and Alternative Ways of Knowing, has been created by Sustainable Design MA student Chris Hamer and draws on his own experience of living with dyslexia.

The free exhibition at the university’s Edward Street building explores how difficulties with reading, writing and processing information can affect educational opportunities, confidence and participation in wider society.

It comes as the British Dyslexia Association estimates around 10% of the UK population is dyslexic, including more than one million schoolchildren – equivalent to around three pupils in every classroom.

Many children and adults are thought to remain undiagnosed.

Chris, who was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of eight, uses objects, materials and craft as alternative forms of communication.

His work challenges the idea that difficulties with literacy should be viewed simply as individual deficits, instead examining how education, workplaces and other institutions can create barriers for people whose ways of processing information differ from the norm.

Chris said: “I have struggled with literacy my whole life, often being shamed because of misconceptions around my ability. I received my diagnosis in the 1990s, at a time when there was less awareness about the condition. Now, my work explores how experiences that can be difficult to communicate through text can instead be expressed through making. Making is central to my research. Through working with materials, I explore the slow and reflective nature of craft which allows knowledge to emerge through objects, processes, and material engagement.

“The artefacts I create become a form of communication, holding and expressing experiences that are often overlooked within traditional academic and professional frameworks. By embracing the unpredictability and resistance of materials, I seek to transform complex social issues into tangible forms that encourage conversation. My aim is to invite people to reflect on how knowledge is created, valued, and shared, and to consider whose experiences and ways of knowing are recognised, legitimised, or excluded.”

Dyslexia is commonly associated with difficulties developing reading and spelling skills but can also affect processing speed, working memory and reading comprehension.

Under the Equality Act 2010, dyslexia can be recognised as a disability where it has a substantial and long-term impact on day-to-day activities.

Education providers are required to make reasonable adjustments where appropriate, which can include assistive technology, extra time, alternative ways of recording information and changes to how material is presented.

Chris’s project also examines wider issues surrounding dyslexia and functional illiteracy, including educational disengagement, social exclusion, reduced opportunities and pressures relating to identity and masculinity.

The exhibition forms part of Collected Futures, the University of Brighton’s 2026 Sustainable Design MA show, featuring work from postgraduate design researchers exploring social and environmental challenges.

Dr Sally Sutherland, Course Leader for the Sustainable Design MA, said: “I am immensely proud of what the students have achieved with Collected Futures. It brings together an extraordinary diversity of artefacts and ideas, demonstrating how these emerging design researchers are questioning some of the pressing and complex challenges facing society and to imagining more sustainable futures. There is some incredibly exciting and important work on display.”

The exhibition also reflects the university’s wider approach to inclusive learning. More than a third of University of Brighton students declare a disability or mental health condition, with specialist support available alongside inclusive teaching practices.

Making as Enquiry: Dyslexia, Functional Illiteracy, and Alternative Ways of Knowing is being shown at the 1st Floor Gallery, Edward Street, Brighton, until 11 September.

The exhibition is free and is open Monday to Saturday from 10am until 5pm.

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