Accessible Arts / arts + disability NSW

Taking the Lead

Arts Activated 2012: Keynote speaker announced

UK based actor, dancer and comedian Kiruna Stamell will be a keynote speaker at the Arts Activated Conference 2012 to be presented by Accessible Arts in October 2012. The conference theme Desire and Destination will illuminate Kiruna’s experience of a long list of credits in film, television and theatre from across the globe including the UK, Europe and back in her native Oz. Kiruna is known as a fiercely intelligent, hilariously funny, loyal and forthright individual and a thoroughly engaging and entertaining speaker, passionate about the performing arts and the influence her dwarfism has had on her career. "I think because I meet so much social discrimination because of my height I learnt very early on how my body was politicised. I explore this in my work as an actress, dancer and theatre practitioner, even if the work isn't about my disability because I am recontextualising my body and redefining it amongst a new set of given circumstances, character, situations and stories, " she said. Read more - AARTS Feature.

Arts Activated 2012: Call for proposals now open

Accessible Arts is calling for proposals for papers, performances or workshops that address the 2012 Arts Activated Conference theme Desire and Destination. Amanda Tink, Conference Convenor said, "We will accept proposals in written, audio or video formats to make the submission process as accessible as possible and to encourage people with disability to apply as well as collaborative proposals that involve people with disability. We're looking to develop a diverse program that spans many aspects of access to the Arts, including current themes in our culture such as new technology in the Arts and person-centred approaches for people with disability. We invite everyone to consider presentations about past experience and future aspirations of inclusive practices in the arts." Call for proposals are open until 16 April 2012 and a submission form with guidelines is now available for download.

Danni Wright Community Worker Ephpheta Centre
(front) with Naomi Malone, Accessible Arts.

Deaf Community focus for Accessible Arts

Accessible Arts is conducting a survey for the Deaf Community in NSW to find out what the Arts mean to people who are deaf and to learn about their experience of artistic opportunities as artists, audience members or participants. If you are deaf and an artist, audience member or participant, we want to learn about your experience of the Arts.  The five minute online survey is Auslan interpreted and open until Sunday 1 April 2012. It is an opportunity for deaf people to tell us about opportunities, access and inclusion issues so the Arts can be made more accessible in the future.  What you tell us will be used for a consultative Arts Meeting to be held later in 2012 as part of Accessible Arts' Deaf Arts Access Project. This project is supported by the Deaf Society of NSW, Deaf Australia (NSW), the Ephpheta Centre and the Parent Council for Deaf Education. For more information contact the Project Officer Naomi Malone at projects@aarts.net.au.

Creating connections in the Mid North Coast

North Coast based Accessible Arts Officer Julie Barratt is making connections in the Mid North Coast region. She will visit the Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie area from the 21 to 24 February 2012, to meet with regional galleries, disability support services, artists, art workers and any other community arts organisations working with people with disability. "After launching Creating Connections in the far North Coast at Northern Rivers Community Gallery, Ballina, I would like to touch base with as many people as possible in the broader areas, and will also give a small presentation to Arts Mid North Coast to continue the conversation about strengthening inclusive arts and access throughout the region." Regional Arts Development Officer Rod Howard from Arts Mid North Coast  said, “It is very important that we share our knowledge and resources, there is real energy and capacity to be tapped into in our region. With Accessible Arts’ support we look forward to growing community access to arts education, participation and projects."

Heritage and access seminar tells significant stories

In November 2011, Accessible Arts in partnership with Museums and Galleries NSW, presented the seminar Platform to Heritage: Accessible Arts in Heritage Sites. The seminar showcased rich and varied accounts of how both conservation and access have been successfully integrated into an inclusive and invigorating relationship with our heritage environment. Delegates from over 20 organisations attended the seminar including city councils, galleries, museums and historic houses around the region. One of the highlights of the day was the engaging presention by Julie Baird, Acting Assistant Director of the recently renovated Newcastle Museum. In her presentation “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” Julie emphasised inclusion as the driving force “to incorporate physical, intellectual and community accessibility in the entire museum, not because of legalities, but because we wanted as many visitors as possible not only to visit but to feel that their stories and their lives were significant and recognised by Newcastle Museum.” Thanks to Museums and Galleries NSW, documentation of all presentations are available online.

Creative Inclusive

Alexandra Wiber, Assistant Curator, Austrailian War
Memorial with Carla Wherby

Scholarship furthers artist's interest

Carla Wherby, Auburn based visual artist and recipient of Accessible Arts’ AART.BOXX scholarship, travelled with her sisters Paula and Lisa to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra last month to study war objects, memorabilia and ephemera. "Due to the vastness of our collection, the majority of our art lies hidden away in storage, so it was wonderful to be able to show Carla some artwork which doesn’t often get exhibited," said Alexandra Wiber, Assistant Curator at the Austrailian War Memorial. Carla uses extraordinary graphic and representational skills in drawing to depict the complexity of war in political and social history and this theme in her work inspired the trip to Canberra. “Staff at the Australian War Memorial were very helpful,” Carla said. “I was shown a range of works not usually on public display, including collections from Ex De Medici, Jon Cattapan and Wendy Sharpe.” Carla expressed her gratitude for the opportunities the scholarship has enabled. With assistance from Arts NSW, the 2011 scholarship emphasises the importance of further professional development opportunities that target artists with disability.

Love Heart Caridgan 2011. Photo Heidrun Lohr.

Riverside access above and beyond

A range of opportunities are available to foster skills development through the performing arts and provide artistic experiences for all members of the community this year at Beyond the Square. This innovative access initiative at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta has more than a ten-year history of running workshops for people with disability. With the support of Arts NSW, that history turned a corner in 2011, with the appointment of Creative Director Alison Richardson alongside part time assistant and actor Gerard O’Dwyer, known to many people as the Best Male Actor at Tropfest short film festival 2009. Drama, movement, video work, film making and the mainstage theatre production Invisibility was presented last year, and the whole program was renamed Beyond the Square : creativity for people with disability. Community support for the project raised over $40,000 and professional artists engaged with and supported the project in a range of ways. “2011 was a great year for inclusive arts at Riverside with accessible performance programs, employment opportunities and a well-supported fundraising project,” said Alison. Read more – Sector news

Shadow screenprinting with Ro Cook, 2011.

Artist run workshops supported by council and disability service

FRANS Inc, a disability service in Croydon has joined with Leichardt Council to present artist run collaborative workshops for people with disability commencing March 2012. This follows on from a successful series of inclusive workshops involving people of all abilities in 2011, run by Sydney artist and textile designer, Ro Cook. "Participants told their story through shadow puppetry, captured the shadows and screen-printed them on textiles. The prints were sewn together into a patchwork reflecting the diversity of the community and auctioned at For Art’s Sake in 2011", said Senior Coordinator at FRANS Inc, Luke Leonard. FRANS is now calling on practising artists to submit project proposals for 2012 to offer quality artistic opportunities for people of all abilities in the Leichardt area and contribute to the For Arts's Sake 2012 exhibition alongside professional and emering artists from the wider community.

Events and Opportunities

• Access to Funding Workshop - Batemans Bay workshop on the essential skills and specialist knowledge required to make accessing funds a reality.

• Accessible Theatre Workshop - Bodylines Ensemble are offering inclusive drama and movement workshops for 12 to 25 year olds.

• Intensive Grants Winning Seminar - A seminar for community organisations on writing successful submissions for any grant.

• Accessible Dance Classes - Sydney Creative Movement is offering accessible dance classes at various venues in Sydney.

• Film-making Workshops - The Reel Thing is a series of film-making workshops for people with a physical disability.

• Accessible Theatre Workshop - Different Degrees is an ensemble of people with different abilities working together to create and perform theatre works.

• Theatre captioning goes mobile - Patrons will be able to download an app to their smartphones and mobile devices and easily choose the captioned performance they are attending from a list of available shows.

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.