Accessible Arts / arts + disability NSW

Accessible Arts North Coast has identified a need for more disability awareness and access training in the arts context for our region to improve access for all. To this end Accessible Arts NSW is providing training on the 29th and 30th of May, with Amanda Tink & Sophie Clausen of Accessible Arts NSW at Lennox Head Community Centre.

Accessible Arts 2012 Annual Report is now available for download. Chairperson Emeritus Professor Sharman Pretty is impressed by the depth, breadth and reach of our organisation. In her first year as Chairperson of Accessible Arts, Pretty noted “The ongoing achievements of Accessible Arts would not be possible without its many supporters and volunteers, and without the tremendous dedication of its staff.”

Unlimited UK was a strand of the The Festival of the World, London 2012 Festival, which encouraged Deaf artists and artists with disability to take risks to create work that is not just unlimited but exceptional. The Festival of the World took place at London’s Southbank Centre from the 1-9 September 2012.

Disability awareness training is useful for people working at any level of an arts organisation, or in arts policy or practice.  It provides a practical understanding of disability in an arts context with information and skills relevant to all venues and types of work including festivals and public events.

Sixty people gathered at Newcastle Museum on Thursday 28 February 2013 to consider how the roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (now Disability Care Australia) can assist artists with disability to overcome obstacles and realise their ambitions.

Workshops: Parramatta : Apr and Jul 2012 : Beyond the Square is offering school holiday workshops at Riverside Theatres for students with disability.

Callout: Australia: Mar 2012: Artists are invited to make videos to promote the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Call out : National : 14 May 2012 : Entries are invited for the sixth annual Pyrmont Art Prize with cash prizes totalling $3,000

Grants : City of Sydney : Closing date 16 April : Applications for the City of Sydney's annual Cultural Grants & Sponsorships Program are now open.

Event : Ashfield, Sydney : 1 Apr : Performing arts open day for all members of the community, particularly seniors and those living with a disability.

Courses : Rozelle/Camperdown, Sydney : Starting 14 April : Enrolments are now open for the Inclusive Community Education Program (ICEP) for Term 2, 2012. These 10-week courses are specifically designed for people with an intellectual disability.

Lindy Morrison, drummer for The Go-Betweens from 1980-1989 is a passionate woman. Her tireless service to the Australian music industry as a performer and advocate was rewarded with the Order of Australia on Australia Day 2013. One of Morrison’s longest gigs, 20 years and counting, has been as musical director of The Junction House Band. Formed in 1987 the band has a full rock line up with musicians on drums, bass, electric and acoustic guitars, keys, harmonica, violin and vocals. 

What kind of creative life do you want for Sydney? The City of Sydney is asking everyone in our community this question as they develop the City of Sydney’s first Cultural Policy.

Minister for the Arts, George Souris, and Minister for Ageing and Disability Services, Andrew Constance, have announced The 2013 Arts and Disability Project Funding grant recipients, where funding totaling more than $520,000 was awarded to support projects that promote inclusion and access to the arts for people with disability.

Minister for Disability Services Andrew Constance announced the first round of Living Life My Way (LLMW) Ambassadors and Champions last week. Under the Stronger Together 2 program, the six Ambassadors and twelve Champions representing various regions around the state, will help raise community awareness about disability reform in NSW.

A national response has developed in the arts and disability sector this week following the release of the Government’s Creative Australia Policy on 13 March. The policy outlines a progressive vision to increase access to arts and culture for all Australians, yet trivializes the contribution of artists with a disability to the arts and cultural landscape of Australia. In a movement led by Arts Access Australia, artists, individuals, groups and organisations are being urged to send addressed letters to members of parliament.

The Russell Way Mid North Coast Residence, is an inclusive art project to be presented by Life Without Barriers in Nambucca Heads throughout 2013. The project won $19,000 funding from the Regional Arts Fund, and is the only project targeted towards people with disability in regional NSW to receive the federal funding.