Accessible Arts Monthly Newsletter
Newsletter :: March 2008
International Day of People With a Disability
2007 event in the regional community of
Great Lakes with the production
Mr Zarbouvray dreams of a flying machine. Welcome to the Accessible Arts March 2008 Newsletter. This month Accessible Arts is proud to announce call outs for several artistic programs that will foster and support participants to develop their chosen arts discipline. Of significance to the work of Accessible Arts is the launch of Australia Councils for the Arts’ Arts and Disability Action Plan and the newly appointed Director General of the Department of Arts, Sport and Recreation. There are free tickets to the extraordinary movie ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ on offer plus details of grants currently accepting applications.
Accessible Arts News
Accessible Cinema short-listed by Australian Charity Awards
Accessible Arts is one of six charities short-listed for best communications program at this year’s Australian Charity Awards. An innovative partnership between Accessible Arts and the Sydney Film Festival resulted in the hugely successful introduction of an Accessible Cinema strand at the festival in 2007. It is this initiative that has caught the attention of Givewell, the organisation presenting the awards, and has won Accessible Arts a place in an exciting new publication called ‘The Good Giving Guide’. The final results of the charity awards will be announced at the end of April. Other short listed organizations include Australian Conservation Foundation, Lifeline Australia, Mission Australia, RSPCA Vic and Schizophrenia Research Institute.
Melissa Huntsman, My Space, My
Place Performance Workshops
Call Out - Mixed Abilities Ensemble
Powerhouse Youth Theatre in partnership with Accessible Arts has developed a Mixed Abilities Ensemble Training Program. This program grew out of the need for more skills development opportunities in the performing arts for people with a disability and will provide an integrated, supportive and professional environment - the first of its kind in NSW. Participants will work with highly experienced professional tutors to develop skills in movement, voice, performance and theatre making. It will be held over the course of 15 weeks on Saturdays at the Cabra Vale Leisure Centre, Cabramatta and is open to people with and without a disability. To register your interest contact Claudia on 9724 6077 or claudia@pyt.com.au. Enrolments close 25 March 2008.
EOI for Bundanon Artist in Residency
Accessible Arts in partnership with the Bundanon Trust are providing an artist in residency opportunity for a NSW artist with a disability. Artists practicing in the visual arts, design, digital technologies, film, literature, dance and theatre are eligible to apply. The successful applicant will undertake the residency in November 2008 and receive a $3000 stipend. As a gift to the Australian people, Arthur Boyd’s vision for Bundanon was to provide an inspirational haven for artists at all stages of their career. For further information contact Josie Cavallaro, Arts Development Officer on 02 9251 6499 ext 4 or jcavallaro@aarts.net.au. Applications close Friday 18 April 2008.
Call Out - Visual Arts Studio Project Reminder
Accessible Arts in partnership with Pine Street Creative Arts Centre, has announced that applications are open for the Visual Artists Studio project. This opportunity provides a professional environment for artists with a disability to expand their artistic discipline and technical skills. Accessible Arts is seeking interested individuals who wish to participate in the project. For application forms and info on how to submit a portfolio of recent work contact Sancha Donald, 02 9251 6499 ext 8 by Friday 28 March 2008. Read more about the Studio Project.
Accessible Arts Survey Results Identify Future Goals
Accessible Arts would like to thank those of you who responded to our recent survey. The information gained from the survey coupled with the discussions and debates from our recent planning day will provide the initial platform for drafting our 2009-2011 strategic directions. We received an 11% response to our survey from subscribers. Our readers identified that access and disability information and networking opportunities are the key services that we should provide while our key functions should be: a leader of the arts and disability sector; an agency that gives expert advice on access to the arts: an online hub for arts and disability communities; a key organisation for arts and disability information and resources; and a broker of relationships linking contacts and opportunities. As many readers were disappointed that they were unable to contribute to the survey due to holidays and time constraints, we will repeat the process at a later date.
Audience Development Tip
Accessible Arts has recently undertaken research in partnership with the Arts Law Centre of Australia and Shopfront UTS about the relationship between heritage and disability discrimination legislation. Many arts organisations are based in heritage buildings and assume heritage legislation is a barrier to increasing access for audiences, artists and staff with a disability. However, UTS students Carmen Siu and Courtney Weller have identified that heritage and disability discrimination legislation can be complementary. They will present their findings with Rosemary Kayess, Chair of the Disability Discrimination Legal Centre at Arts Law Week, on the panel ‘How Accessible is your Heritage Building?’ at 11.30-1.00pm on Wednesday 2 April. Arts Law provides a week of free or low cost seminars and workshops on legal issues relevant to the arts community of Sydney.
Sector News
Arts and Disability Action Plan - Way Forward for Australia Council for the Arts
Australia Council for the Arts has published their Arts and Disability Action Plan for 2008-2010. The Plan addresses four key areas: leadership; accessibility; communication; and workplace culture. The Plan commits the Australia Council for the Arts to advocate for arts and disability issues at a Government level through the Cultural Ministers Council and other forums. Furthermore, “all key organisations (and major performing arts boards) are actively encouraged to develop and implement access strategies as a part of their business planning process.” The Council has also re-vamped its community partnerships grants for 2008. These include: Partnership Development (category A) for grants up to $5,000; Project & Professional Development (category B) for grants up to $20,000; and Projects with Public Outcomes (category C) for grants from $20,000 to $35,000. Applications for the second round of these grants will be accepted from 4 March to 5 May 2008.
Carriageworks, recently developed by Arts
NSWwho are one of the individual agencies
of the Department of Arts, Sport and
Recreation.
New Director-General for the Department of Arts, Sport and Recreation
Accessible Arts welcomes the appointment of Carol Mills to the position of Director-General of the Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation (DASR). Minister for the Arts, Frank Sartor and Minister for Sport and Recreation, Graham West, said they were looking forward to Ms Mills bringing her broad range of public sector experience to the department. As Deputy Director-General of the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, Ms Mills has been responsible for the delivery of strategic planning and policy as well as the delivery of services to 35,000 clients. Ms Mills will take up her new position next month and her experience and knowledge as Deputy Director-General of DADHC will be a powerful resource in the developement of better opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in the arts at all levels.
Margo Lewers, Various Colours 1971.
2008 Accessible Program at Penrith Regional Gallery & the Lewers Bequest
Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest is set on the western bank of the Nepean River at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Free gallery sensory tours are one of many accessible services on the gallery’s 2008 program. These tours can include a range of sensory elements, such as touch, sound and smell and the tours can be tailored to suit a range of different groups. Disability organisations are welcome to use the Gallery grounds as an inspiring site for art group exercusions, and tours with an ‘in-gallery’ arts activity are also available. Contact Naomi McCarthy, Manager, Education and Public Programs on 02 4735 1100 or email nmccarthy@penrith.nsw.gov.au. The gallery is at 86 River Road, Emu Plains.
Accessible Creative Youth Initiative
Mission Australia’s Creative Youth Initiative offers free TAFE accredited courses in music and visual arts to young people aged 16-25 at their Surry Hills centre. Courses run three days a week for six months. Short courses in photography are also available. The centre has wheelchair access and can cater for the needs of young people with a physical or intellectual disability. Due to popularity these courses are often booked out however when a vacancy becomes available, people on a waiting list are offered a place in the course. To register your interest contact Alexis Bradshaw, Student Support Co-ordinator on 9356 8897 or email bradshawa@missionaustralia.com.au
Free Tickets to Award Winning Cinema - ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’
Thanks to Dendy Cinemas, we have ten double passes to give away to the outstanding movie ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.’ This movie is about the life of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a French journalist who suffered a massive stroke, leaving him almost entirely paralysed. Bauby dictates his memoirs by blinking his left eyelid, each word taking approximately two minutes to communicate. A powerful perspective of what it is like to have a profound disability, ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ has won several awards including Julian Schnabel, Best Director at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and has four nominations at the 2007 Academy Awards. Rated M. The first ten subscribers to email info@aarts.net.au and answer the following question will win a double pass each. ‘Which leading French screen star plays the character of Jean-Dominique Bauby?’ Entries close 3 March 2008. All cinemas at Dendy Opera Quays are wheelchair accessible.
Adelaide Fringe Festival Showcases Visually-Impaired Performers
South Australia’s internationally acclaimed Tutti Ensemble are presenting the premiere of their latest production, Blind Date, at the Adelaide Fringe Festival this month. Blind Date is an eye-opening cabaret featuring five vision-impaired performers and is a tender and funny take on looking for love with more than a blind spot! The Tutti Ensemble is a recognised leader in community cultural development and disability culture in South Australia. Tutti offers opportunities to both disabled and non-disabled people of all ages to become involved in a range of concerts and music-theatre events through its socially inclusive choral program. They are currently available to tour Blind Date nationally. For more info contact Jackie Smith or Sharon Manning at Tutti on 08 8422 6510.
JB Seed Arts Fund Acknowledges Disadvantaged Artists from all Backgrounds
Applicants who apply for JB Seed grants will automatically be eligible for funding from a new trust called The Jacqui McCoy trust. This $8,000 trust seeks to honour the memory of the tireless work of the late Jacqui McCoy (Geia), who devoted much of her life to assisting disadvantaged artists from all backgrounds, but particularly Indigenous Australian artists. The JB Seed Arts Fund is a unique project in its ability to pull together the established and the emerging within the arts community to share resources and knowledge, subsequently creating a sense of community. Funding categories this year include: Indigenous Recording; Professional and Skills Development; Social Activism through the Arts; and Management Workshop Initiative. Applications close 17 March 2008.
Regional Focus
Small Grants Available for Regional NSW - ‘Stretching the Envelope’
‘Stretching the Envelope’ is the Australia Post and the Foundation of Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) small grants program. Applications are now being accepted from the regional communities of Kempsey, Casino, Wagga Wagga, Tamworth, Bathurst, Albury and Gosford. The program aims to be simple, making the application process as straight forward as possible. Projects and activities that benefit young people with a literacy, cultural or arts focus will be given priority. Grants of up to $1,000 are available. Download application forms and guidelines here. For more enquiries freecall 1800 170 020 or email info@frrr.org.au. Applications close 1 April 2008.
International Focus
New Bill Could Revolutionise Access in the United States
A new draft bill, the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, has the potential to greatly increase the levels of access, and in particular access on Internet-based services, in the United States. The Coalition of Organisations for Accessible Technology (COAT) has hailed the draft bill, released by Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts, as "a dramatic and comprehensive step forward for consumers with disabilities". Should it be passed in its present form, the bill would bring about a number of important changes involving video devices, display video with sound, television and services offering text communications over the Internet. To view a summary and the full text of the draft bill go to the Media Access Australia website.
Feedback
We invite you to comment on any of the items in this month’s newsletter, share your experiences of attending any of the listed events in March or offer suggestions for future newsletter items. Email comments to info@aarts.net.au.
Send us your news
Contributions to the newsletter are welcome and encouraged. Please send us your item by the 15th of the month, for the following month’s edition. Listings should include the title, date, location, a short (100 word) description 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 disabilities, their families, friends and carers and are accessible will be published. Email contributions to: info@aarts.net.au.