Accessible Arts / arts + disability NSW

Taking the Lead

Rudely Interrupted, 5th World Summit on Arts and
Culture 2011

Arts & disability creative intersection at World Summit

Representatives from Accessible Arts together with others from the Arts Access network Australia-wide, attended the 5th World Summit on Arts and Culture in October 2011, along with 500 delegates from around the globe. Arts and disability featured throughout the Summit in a number of contexts. Arts Access Victoria hosted a tour for international delegates as part of the cultural program included in the Summit. Back to Back Theatre’s world premiere production Ganesh versus the Third Reich was also part of the cultural program. This production went on to be awarded The Age Critics Award for best new work at this year's Melbourne Festival. Rudely Interrupted entertained delegates over lunch on the second day of the Summit, and their performance was documented by ABC Arts in Outside the Comfort Zone. A roundtable discussion on disability and the Arts resulted in recommendations to ‘shift thinking - put artists first, not disability.’ Read more: Feature

Keith Rutherford, Naked Stargardt's 1, 2009

Bundanon residency fosters a visual perspective

Wollongong based abstract painter Keith Rutherford is the recipient of the third Accessible Arts’ Bundanon Artist in Residence program. With support from Bundanon Trust, Fern Studio at Bundanon has been made available for the artist in residence program. Rutherford has exhibited extensively across NSW and has been included in significant survey exhibitions such as Local : Current at Wollongong City Gallery and major art prizes such as Hazelhurst Art Award for Works on Paper, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and both the Dobell Prize for Drawing and Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of NSW. Since 2007, Rutherford has identified as a person who is blind and he has experienced Stargardt disease since birth. Deliberately bringing this visual perspective to his work, Rutherford will undertake the four-week residency in March 2012 and receive a $3000 stipend from Accessible Arts. "I will use the opportunity to purchase quality art materials and build on my body of work, informed from the Stargardt’s experience and the natural environment of Bundanon," he said.

National music residency a first for inclusion

Rewriting the Score, an inclusive music project in regional NSW, has attracted participation from a range of musicians from across Australia, with personal experience of disability. The national residency program hosted by Orange Regional Conservatorium, in partnership with Accessible Arts will commence this month. Eight successful recipients from metropolitan and regional NSW, Queensland, Perth and Tasmania will travel to Orange in late November to work with five local musicians, to create and perform a collaborative body of work. Charlie McMahon, a veteran didgeridoo player who lost his right hand at the age of 16, is impressed with the project and welcomes the opportunity to be involved. "This is a chance for me to apply a lot of knowledge gained over 30 years of experience in performance and innovative music production. It's my first residency and I very much value the opportunity to work with this group of musicians in a regional setting," he said. Read more – AARTS news

Years of experience in new artist resource

A new online resource produced by Accessible Arts, shares years of experience from artists who have achieved successful careers in the Arts, despite barriers than can exist surrounding access and disability. The Artist Resource offers professional development information, networks and links to established resources as well as content that addresses the diverse access needs of artists who experience disability. In a series of interviews, artists such as dancer/performer Kiruna Stamell (Moulin Rouge, Life's Too Short), filmmaker Dave Carter (How to Lose Weight in 60 Seconds) and musician Jim Conway (Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, The Backsliders) describe stages of career development from early influences to current challenges. "This knowledge gathered together under each art form is of great value to the sector, as well as to the practising artist looking for professional development and direction," said Sancha Donald, CEO Accessible Arts. The Artist Resource is made possible through funding received from the Estate of the Late James Simpson Love, managed by Perpetual.

Creative Inclusive

Artist reconciles war with scholarship

Auburn based visual artist, Carla Wherby is the first recipient of an innovative new scholarship designed to improve access to arts and cultural funding for artists with disability. Wherby uses extraordinary graphic and representational skills in drawing to depict the complexity of war in political and social history alongside the resilience of the human spirit. With personal experience of mental health issues, Wherby’s own resilience is evident in the vibrancy she creates in her work. Since recommencing her practice in 2007, after a 20 year break, she has been awarded the Auburn Mayoral Art Prize 2009 and her works have featured in street press magazine The Brag and at Penrith Regional Gallery. She will use the $4,000 Framing Gravity scholarship, funded in 2011 by Arts NSW, to attend the National Art School and to visit the War Memorial in Canberra to study war objects, memorabilia and ephemera. “I would like to make a valuable contribution to the fantastic legacy of social and political art created by a long list of Australian artists. I am also interested in the psychological effects of war on those who served their country,” Wherby states. Read more – AARTS news

Susan Oxenham, Delineate Independent Artist,
Don't DIS my ABILITY 2011

Inclusion promoted in a public space

Delineate artists and project managers gathered at Accessible Arts at the end of September for a day of roundtable discussion, professional development and project presentations. The six model projects from across the state will feature throughout November and December in various regions, to bring focus to the NSW Government's Don't DIS my ABILITY campaign and to celebrate cultures of disability through the Arts. An exhibition of art works celebrating 10 years of calendar production by artist Susan Oxenham is the first project to commence. On show at Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre during November, A Leaf From My Book will celebrate the artist’s creative process over the last decade. “As an artist with an experience of disability, hosting my exhibition in a prominent public space is promoting inclusion of people with disability within my local community and providing access to art for all members of the community," Susan explains. Read more – AARTS news

Creative Programs network meeting at Inala,
Cherrybrook

Network well received by Disability Services

The first year of a series of meetings bringing together Disability Services that deliver creative programs, has been a successful initiative for its members and for Accessible Arts. The developing network is fostering leadership in service delivery and information sharing about creative programs for people with disability. The quarterly meetings are hosted by Accessible Arts in partnership with current members of the group. In 2011, the network met at Studio Artes Hornsby, Disability Services Australia East Hills, Inala Cherrybrook and Sunnyfield Frenchs Forest. A range of topics have been on each agenda including professional development opportunities, connecting to the community, marketing and communications and disability and arts policy. "Learning from each other and supporting the development of quality arts programs for people with disability in NSW has been extremely well received by the network," commented SarahVyne Vassallo, Arts Development Accessible Arts and Co-ordinator of the network. Minutes of meetings and more about the project is available online. Get involved in 2012.

Sculpture discovery through dialogue and touch

Following the success of the audio-described Tactile Tour program in 2010, Sculpture by the Sea is partnering with Accessible Arts to offer people with vision impairment and people with intellectual disability the opportunity to engage with art in a hands-on guided experience. With support from Waverley Council, the tours facilitate discovery through dialogue and touch and provide an informed and interactive experience for visitors with disability. Participants will be taken on a guided tour by an experienced Sculpture by the Sea staff member and encouraged to interact and engage with a selection of sculptures located in accessible areas and nominated by both the Artist and Site Manager as being safe to touch. The tours are free and bookings are essential as places are limited. More information is available on the Accessible Arts What's On listing.

Events and Opportunities

• Call for papers: Universal access - are we there yet? - The Roundtable on Print Disability, hosted by the Western Australian Association for the Blind, is calling for papers for its April 2012 conference.

• Call out: Art Space Program - Applications for exhibition space now open at Kogarah Council Community Art Space Program.

• Sizzle 2011 Festival Program - an inclusive arts event at Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest including audio described tours, sensory storytelling, art making workshops and performance.

• Botanical Artes: Botanical Art Prize and Exhibition - showcases the vibrant work of artists from Studio ARTES; a non-profit organisation offering a full time art program for adults with disability.

• Don't DIS my ABILITY - 100 events are held throughout November and December to celebrate the diversity and ability of people with a disability plus blog and social media networking.

• LA Blogger gains disability awareness - attendance at Unsound 2011 in Berlin, sheds light on the abilities of Tralala Blip.

Feedback

We invite feedback and suggestions from our readers. Share your experiences of attending any of the listed events or offer suggestions for future newsletter items. Email feedback to info@aarts.net.au.

Send us your news

Contributions to the newsletter are welcome and encouraged. Listings should include the title, date, location, a short description (100 words), plus all available contact details, access details and an image (jpeg or gif format). Arts events, opportunities or news that will be of interest to people with disability, their families, friends and carers and are accessible will be published. Email contributions to info@aarts.net.au.