Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• “Arts Access Australia established”
  Arts Access Australia was established in 1992 as a national body for arts and disability with funding support from the Australian Council for the Arts.
• “The inaugural National Braille Music Camp takes place”
  In 1986, Ian Cooper was one of the creators of the first National Braille Music Camp, which continues annually.
• “The national tour of the exhibition BodySuits results in commissions and new opportunities for artists”
  A visual arts exhibition, BodySuits, toured nationally between 1997 and 1999. It was curated by Jane Trengove. This resulted in commissions and new opportunities for artists. Arts Access Victoria published a catalogue for the exhibition in 1997; the exhibition showed in Melbourne from 5 July - 2 August 1997 at 200 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (a location now known as Gertrude Contemporary).
• Kate Larsen
• Kate Larson
• Lynn Buchanan
• "Fusion Theatre Website, captured 2022"
  "Fusion Theatre Website, captured 2022 - links to 'About' page which reads in part "Fusion Theatre is an inclusive company based in Dandenong, in the south east of Melbourne, Australia. The membership of the company reflects the rich diversity of our community," and pages on Governance and Support, Ensembles, Our Work, Diversity Workshop, and Media
• Sofya Gollan
• "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."
• "Arts Project Australia - Gallery, captured 2022"
  Arts Project Australia - Gallery - website captured 2022 - reads, in part "HOW APA REPRESENTS AND SUPPORTS ITS ARTISTS Arts Project Australia advocates, supports and promotes studio artists within the broader contemporary arts sector nationally and internationally. The gallery promotes the work of its diverse group of emerging, mid-career and established Australian artists who work in the studio through the Collingwood gallery and national and international exhibitions, art prizes, and awards."
• "Juliette Peers (2022) The ArtLink Archive Project: Inside the 'Outsider' Issue, 42(2)"
  "In 1992–93 ArtLink published Naïve & Outsider Art centring on themes linked by their shared invisibility in mainstream discussions. While the title obviously references art historian Roger Cardinal’s 1972 book Outsider Art, (after Jean Dubuffet’s ‘Art Brut’ or ‘raw art’), this outlying status was described by ArtLink’s founding editor Stephanie Britton in 2022 as ‘…the context changes, but at the time the concept [of various practices lying beyond the mainstream] functioned as a catch up on things that had been under the radar for decades already... [we were] collating a wide range of ideas'[1], a group of practices that existed but were hardly recognised in published texts. Looking back across ArtLink’s history, Naïve & Outsider Art offers much to think through about the magazine’s own platform, intentions and the trajectories of those practices foregrounded thirty years ago under what are now troubling rubrics."
• Ruth Rentschler
• Eliza Hull
• "Interview with Caroline Bowditch"
  Caroline Bowditch is an Australian artistic director, leader, performer, presenter, instructor, disability advocate and was the CEO of Arts Access Victoria. Interview Summary Caroline Bowditch, the CEO and Artistic Director of Arts Access Victoria, shared her journey as a performance artist and her experiences working within the Disability Arts community, highlighting her creative process and the challenges faced by disabled artists in Australia. Despite significant support and successful projects in the UK, she expressed concern over the limited progression and exposure of Disability Arts in Australia, noting a lack of ambition and opportunity deterring artists from aiming for larger, mainstream stages. Bowditch emphasized the importance of integrating access as a core component of artistic work and changing the aesthetic by including diverse bodies and perspectives. She also discussed tackling intersectionality within Disability Arts, reflecting on her own experiences as a visibly disabled and queer woman, and contemplating the future of Disability Arts, the desire for cultural equity, and the impact of potential shifts in societal barriers.
• NGV
• "Australian Theatre of the Deaf - Company History"
  Australian Theatre of the Deaf Company History, on Arts Access Victoria website, captured 2015 - Includes information on history, from funding from the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and the Australia Council for the Arts to support Nola Colefax, Adam Salzer, David London, and Colin Allen to start the Theatre of the Deaf in the 1970s, to highlights in more recent work in the 1990s and 2000s - for example first Australian Deaf musical “The Sign of the Phantom” (1995); bi-lingual play “Deaf and Gay” at Sydney Mardi Gras Festival (1999); Deaf cabaret show “Dislabelled” at Adelaide Cabaret Festival (2002); production of “There and Back” at Sidetrack Theatre (2005); commissioning and production of “The Cat Lady of Bexley” by Sofya Gollan and directed by Caroline Conlon (2006)
• "Australian Theatre of the Deaf - Past Shows 1999-2012, captured 2015"
  Australian Theatre of the Deaf Past Shows 1999-2012, captured 2015 - includes links to information on ‘Silent Monologues’ Gasworks Art Park (2012), ‘The Wild Boys’ Parade Playhouse (2008), ‘The Cat Lady of Bexley’ Sidetrack Theatre (2006), 'Deafening Applause' Redfern Town Hall (2005), ‘Friction’ Darlinghurst Theatre (2004), ‘There & Back’ Sidetrack Studio Theatre (2005, 2004), ‘Interpretation’ Performance Space (2003), ‘Dislabelled’ National Tour (2004) Adelaide Caberet Festival (2002) Paralympics Arts Festival Seymour Centre (2000), ‘Smiling Prisoner’ (2000) Performance Space (2000), ‘Language of One’ Mardi Gras Festival Newtown Theatre (1999)
• "Australian Theatre of the Deaf - Archives:Past Shows 1999-2008, captured 2009"
  Australian Theatre of the Deaf Archives - past shows, 1999 to 2008, with links to reviews - includes ‘The Wild Boys’ Parade Playhouse (2008), ‘The Cat Lady of Bexley’ Sidetrack Theatre (2006), 'Deafening Applause' Redfern Town Hall (2005), ‘Friction’ Darlinghurst Theatre (2004), ‘There & Back’ Sidetrack Studio Theatre (2005, 2004), ‘Interpretation’ Performance Space (2003), ‘Dislabelled’ National Tour (2004) Adelaide Caberet Festival (2002) Paralympics Arts Festival Seymour Centre (2000), ‘Smiling Prisoner’ (2000) Performance Space (2000), ‘Language of One’ Mardi Gras Festival Newtown Theatre (1999)
• "Accessible Arts - Events - 2022"
  Accessible Arts - Events 2022 - reads, in part "We’re presenting an innovative and free event series in 2022 in response to rapidly changing environments and increasing sector demand. Due to Covid-19, all events will take place online until further notice. These events are free to attend, accessible and encourage discussion and participation through a Q&A platform."
• "The Other Film Festival Program 2022"
  The Other Film Festival Program 2022, in conjunction with Alter State, Arts Centre Melbourne - films include Sparkles (2020) Tina Fielding and Jacqueline Pelczar; My One Legged Dream Lover 1999 Kath Duncan; Imagined Touch 2022 Jodee Mundy, Heather Lawson, Michelle Stevens; The Dos and Don’ts of Getting Married 2022 Karen Jackson and ARC Disability Services; Archiving the Body 2021 Lisa Prowd Tim Crafti Tszuki
• Alter State
• "Australian Theatre of The Deaf - NSW Theatre of the Deaf - History, Work, and Theatre In Education 1982"
  Australian Theatre of The Deaf History, Work, and Theatre In Education 1982 - Australian Theatre of the Deaf purpose “give positive credit to the expressive capabilities of Australian Sign Language and the people who use it” and provide “high quality performances and making them accessible to the greatest number of people in Australia.” Focus on Theatre in Education, including visual theatre workshops. Explanation that “Sign language is not universal, as many would believe. Each country has developed or borrowed one of the various manual alphabets and sign systems to create individual national languages. Many would opt for an international sign language, but the value of the individual languages is that the gestures often reflect a nation's perspectives and cultural traditions.”
• "Australian Theatre of The Deaf - Company Report - Jan 1988"
  Australian Theatre of the Deaf Report Jan 1988 - Company History - Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust to develop a company following American National Theatre of the Deaf tour in 1974, Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and Australia Council support to professionalise in 1979 – company membership, current activities. Summer school, seasons of SGNARELLE, THE LADY OF LARKSPURE LOTION, future seasons of schools show BEHIND THE WINDOW, SIGNPOSTS, and new show with working title FIVE STEPS BEYOND, funding for Musician-in-Residence and Playwright-in-Residence, workshops and sign language classes, Budget, Challenges, risks, and threats to company sustainability
• "Australian Theatre of The Deaf - Artistic Report 1993"
  Theatre of the Deaf Artistic Report 1993 – includes mainstage show 'Savant', shows for school students 'Sing and Sign' and 'Ahoy' at the Maritime Museum, Victorian Arts Council and Queensland Arts Council touring show 'Shape-Up’, Deaf Drama Outreach Program, and training for x4 actors at the National Theatre of the Deaf Summer School in the USA
• "Arts Access Victoria - The Other Film Festival, captured 2022"
  Arts Access Victoria - The Other Film Festival - reads, in part "The Other Film Festival is a groundbreaking disability-led initiative that has put Deaf and Disabled people at the centre of the Australian screen industry for almost 20 years. Founded in 2004, it is Australia’s first international disability film festival and is a major artistic program of Arts Access Victoria."