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.”
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.News
Youth Arts Access audience development
In 2012 Accessible Arts ran the Youth Arts Access program. This pilot project brought together young people with disability, their family and friends from across the city to explore Sydney’s cultural precincts and players.
The program was supported by St George Foundation and included upwards of 50 attendees across 5 events, including performances in dance, music, and theatre.
Attendees visited CarriageWorks, the majority of the Sydney Opera House venues including Opera Theatre, Concert Hall and Studio space, and concluded at the Capitol Theatre.
“Highlights of the program included contemporary dance with Platform 5: Hip Hop contrasted with an Introduction to Ballet and an excerpt from Graeme Murphy’s Beyond Twelve.” Said Sophie Clausen, Access Manager at Accessible Arts.
“Sydney Symphony impressed with the re-creation of catchy theme music from Pixar films such as Toy Story, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, showing skill and collaboration from a stage full of musicians. Music and theatre combined in an entertaining afternoon at Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the exquisitely decorated Capitol theatre with it’s night sky dome above and, guilt edging and Roman statues…or were they Greek?”
The program facilitated discussion and discovery between members on the challenges and the changes that enable everyone to enjoy and share in the arts.
For more information see the Youth Arts Access project page.