Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• "The first ACT DisAbility Arts Festival is held"
  In 2004, the first ever ACT DisAbility Arts Festival was held as part of International Day of DisAbility celebration.
• “A national Disability Advisory Council is established in 1983”
  The national Disability Advisory Council (DACA) was established in 1983. Parliamentary information from 26 July that year reports: “Disabled people will form a significant majority on the new body. Announcing this today, the Minister for Social Security, Senator Don Grimes, said the new Disability Advisory Council of Australia represented an important breakthrough for disabled people. For the first time, an Australian Government will be looking to disabled people themselves for advice on government policy and programs affecting them.”
• Theatre performance ‘Take Up Thy Bed & Walk’ integrates ‘aesthetic access’”
  The 2012 performance ‘Take Up Thy Bed & Walk’ designed by Gaelle Mellis and produced by Vitalstatistix proved that accessibility measures could be aesthetic. As Creative Australia describes it “is credited as Australia’s first performance work incorporating ‘aesthetic access’. It embedded the performer’s physicality and communication styles – and those of potential audiences – at the centre of the creative process. The work integrated audio description, captioning, sign language and interactivity uniquely into the core of the work.” Gaelle Mellis has said of the performance that “aesthetic access can be used in ways that add layer, texture, meaning and richness to a work. Art, at its simplest, is primarily about communication. Aesthetic access, at its simplest, is a form of communication that communicates to everyone.”
• "Interview with Janice Florence"
  Janice Florence is a performing artist and disability advocate. She originally trained as a Teacher and Librarian. Janice has worked in Education and Libraries for many years and in disability advocacy for 20 years She has worked in Training and Consultation at Arts Access Vic for 12 years. Janice has been involved in theatre, dance and human movement for over 35 years. For 25 years she has been the Artistic Director of Weave Movement Theatre, comprising disabled and non-disabled performers. Weave has produced many devised original works often with respected performing artists as collaborators. She was the inaugural recipient of the Australia Council Awards for Disability Arts-Established Artist in 2019. Interview Summary Janice Florence is a veteran performer and Artistic Director of Weave Movement Theatre, which includes disabled performers. During the interview, Janice reflected on her extensive history with dance, both prior to and after acquiring her disability, highlighting the significance of political and personal themes, as well as the use of humour in her work. She discussed the ongoing challenges in securing accessible rehearsal and performance spaces, along with the complexities of funding and recognition within the Disability Arts scene in Australia. Janice also acknowledged the importance of Disability Arts historically and its potential for challenging societal expectations regarding disability.
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 2004-05"
  Australia Council Annual Report 2004-2005 - discusses letter from chair of council, letter from CEO, corporate overview, year in review, goals, financial statements, analysis of funding analysis and grants list, including funding for key organisations, new work, presentation and promotion, audience participation (with publication “Access All Areas”), skills and arts development with Arts Access partnering with Helicon Dance to provide 10 workshops in Princess Alexandra hospital Mental Health Service to find out which arts the community members wanted to pursue with a reference group including the University of Queensland and funding for Back to Back theatre to perform Small Metal Objects, in collaboration with sound artist Hugh Covill, animator Rhian Hinkley, director/designer Bruce Gladwin to shed light on, provoke and transform society, and to position artistic creativity as an integral part of the nation’s agenda. Triennial funding to Arts Access Australia (formerly known as Disability in the Arts Disadvantage in the Arts Australia—DADAA)
• “The National Disability Strategy 2010–2020 is launched and, later, Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031”
  The Australian Government launched the National Disability Strategy 2010–2020 in 2011. All levels of government were involved in a united national approach to improving life for people with disabilities, their families and carers. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was an outcome of this process. In 2021, the Disability Strategy Advisory Council was established and the most recent iteration of the strategy, Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031, outlines a vision for a more inclusive and accessible Australian society where all people with disability can fulfil their potential as equal members of the community.
• "Access2Arts (Arts in Action) Previous Projects archive as first added to website in 2004"
  Access to Arts (Arts in Action) Previous Projects archive as first added to website in 2004
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 2021-22"
  Australia Council - Annual Report 2021-22 - reads, in part "Following a review of our 2019–21 arts and disability initiatives, the Council expanded support for sustainable careers and the celebration of the achievements of artists with disability. We have committed investment of almost $1 million over 2022–24 through the National Arts and Disability Awards, Mentoring Initiatives, as well as a new fellowship for d/Deaf and Disabled artists. We will also continue our partnership with Arts Access Australia on the awards." and "Safe in Sound is an exploratory concert series for people with disability and their families and supporters. The group offers real-time, in-person interaction, connection and communication through sound as an alternative to listening to recorded music or watching television."
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 2005-06"
  Australia Council Annual Report 2005-2006 - discusses letter from chair of council, letter from CEO, corporate overview, year in review, goals, financial statements, analysis of funding analysis and grants list, including various artistic and community projects - “Stickybricks” – exploring the history of a Sydney Housing Estate where 95% of residents receive aged or disability benefits were traumatised by by murders, suicides, assaults and drug and alcohol-related crimes and they partnered with Big hART to tell their story at the Sydney Festival, “Small Metal Objects” by Back to Back Theatre presented at the Melbourne international arts festival, and the DADAA (WA) regional collaborative “Bridging the Gap” project in Bunbury and publication of “Making the Journey: Arts and disability in Australia”
• "The first known disability-led activism occurred in 1971 when John Roarty formed a committee among the residents of Weemala nursing home."
  John Roarty, who had cerebral palsy, was a resident of Weemala nursing home for 35 years. In what would become known as the first known disability-led activism, John formed a residents committee to fight against maltreatment and to fight for control and choice over their daily lives.
• "Maree Roche, Ben Whitburn (2019) Mate, You’re Crippin’ Us Out: Biopolitics of the Arts Curriculum in Australia and the Swinging Identities of Dis/abilities. Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies.13(3). https://doi.org/10.3828/jlcds.2019.25"
  Reads, in part "The article explores arts curriculum in Australia as developed in the contexts of schooling, community organizations, and higher education for people with disabilities and mental health concerns. Motivated to explore whether or not students provided access to modified arts curriculum are engaging in education or receiving therapy, the aim is to address a dichotomy that is seemingly present in educational institutions, but extends well beyond the school gate and informs organizational responses to arts in the lives of people with disabilities. Resourced with the theoretical contributions of dis/ability studies for its concern for the biopolitics of disability, the authors weave personal experiences through the discussion of participation in arts throughout their lives. The article concludes with a theoretical discussion of how arts provision in the Australian context might develop the social and political value of art in the lives of people with dis/abilities and for all, on the basis that its educative value is emphasized over its therapeutic one."
• Incite Arts
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 1988-89"
  Australia Council Annual Report 1988-89 - discusses objectives, Council Committees and members, board members, allocation chart, main activities of Council and its Boards, and includes financial statements and lists of grants made including grants for community cultural development traineeships, training, programs, projects, performances and promotion and publications including “The Arts and People with Disabilities: A code of practice for arts organisations.”
• "NuunaRon Art Group - ‘Tracks in the Sand’ Artwork Story by Brendan Ball"
  First Peoples Disability Network NuunaRon Art Group - ‘Tracks in the Sand’ Artwork Story by Brendan Ball - reads, in part "The 'Culture is Inclusion' art exhibition showcases art work by the NuunaRon First Nations art group, with a lived experience of disability, telling their stories of resilience and strength through connecting to their culture"
• Carriageworks
• "Interview with Alison Richardson"
  Alison Richardson is an ally and advocate for people with disability with experience as an inclusive arts organisation artistic director and access and inclusion officer. Interview Summary Alison Richardson, artistic director and CEO of Crossroad Arts at the time of the interview, has had a 25-year journey through the fields of drama, theatre, and inclusive arts, starting in Sydney and leading to her role in Mackay, Queensland. Her work began by engaging with diverse young people and evolved into a focus on disability arts, recognising a gap in services and opportunities for people with disabilities in artistic expression. Throughout her career, she has witnessed and contributed to the gradual increase in visibility and opportunities for artists with disabilities, acknowledging the fluctuating support and funding in the sector. Despite challenges, Alison has observed progress in how disability arts are valued and the emergence of conversations around identity and representation within this community.
• "Bree Hadley (2020) Allyship in disability arts: Roles, relationships, and practices. Research in Drama Education, 25(2), pp. 178-194.”
  "In this article, I propose that investigation of allies, ally skills, and allyship in disability arts is overdue. I articulate some of ways in which non-arts approaches to allyship need to be adapted to meet the needs of disabled artists, given the aesthetic as well as professional and social dimensions of allyship distinctive to disability arts. In doing so, I highlight the need for new theory, terminology, and frameworks to define the different approaches to allyship, developed by different artsworkers, operating in different roles, across the different domains of disability arts and/or arts and disability practice."
• "Australia Council - Access and audience development in Australia"
  Australia Council - 'Access and audience development in Australia' reports - reads, in part "These reports were commissioned in 2004 to assess what is currently being done, and what needs to be done, to increase access to the performing arts and museums & galleries in Australia for people with a disability."
• “Creative Australia’s National Arts and Disability Awards are awarded to their inaugural recipients in 2019”
  Creative Australia’s National Arts and Disability Awards were first awarded to their inaugural recipients in 2019. The three awards go to an emerging or early career artist, and established artist, and someone who’s proven themselves as a leader in disability arts. From 2019 to 2023, the recipients span across artforms and the country.
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 1986-87"
  Australia Council Annual Report 1986-87- discusses functions and objectives, structures, process and membership of Council, Council Committees and members, board members, assessment panels, staff lists, organisation chart, main activities of Council and its Boards, and includes financial statements and lists of grants made including grants for programs, workshops for disabled people in community arts, funding for posters on theme of disability, grant for Theatre of the Deaf Braille Book of the Year award and Sound Pot Purri literary magazine for Royal Blind Society
• “The report ‘Inquiry into Health Services for the Developmentally Disabled and Psychiatrically Ill’ (aka the Richmond Review) is published by the NSW Government.”
  In 1983, the seminal NSW Government report, ‘Inquiry into Health Services for the Developmentally Disabled and Psychiatrically Ill’ was published. The NSW inquiry, also known as the Richmond Report due to its chair, David T. Richmond, revolutionised the institutional landscape by explicitly linking disability services to human rights for the first time in Australia and highlighting the critical need for advocacy "mechanisms" that actively allowed people with disabilities to "speak for themselves."
• “ABC appoints Stella Young as editor of Ramp Up”
  In 2010, ABC announced the appointment of Stella Young as editor of its first (and short-lived) dedicated disability platform, ABC Ramp Up. Shawn Burns’s 2014 article in The Conversation laments the closure of the initiative and the loss of a vital platform for better disability representation in Australian media. The URL link to the Ramp Up page now opens with the following statement: “This website is no longer being updated but remains online as an archive of three and a half years of discussions and conversations regarding disability in Australia.”
• Mary Hutchison
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 1989-90"
  Australia Council Annual Report 1989-90 - discusses objectives, highlights, support for artform development, main activities of Council and its Boards, and includes financial statements and lists of grants made including grants for conferences, access and touring, programs training and resource development as well as publications such as “The Arts and People with Disabilities”
• "Interview with David Doyle"
  David Doyle is the Executive Director of DADAA and has spent over 30 years leading large-scale Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) and arts projects globally and in Western Australia, significantly contributing to the arts and disability sectors through his work with DADAA and his dedication to community wellbeing and access to arts and culture. Interview Summary David Doyle, who originally trained in printmaking and ceramics with a background in community arts, has worked extensively in community arts and cultural development with a focus on addressing social issues through the arts. His experience with a disability from a young age and a deep understanding of power dynamics and privilege have influenced his motivation and commitment to disability arts in Australia. David highlights the significance of the Disability Discrimination Act and NDIS in empowering artists with disabilities and notes the uneven distribution of resources for disability arts across Australia. As the leader of an arts organization, he values the transition of power to individual artists with disabilities, stressing the importance of equipping them with the skills and contacts needed to lead and redefine the sector.