Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• “1993 welfare report includes people with disability as one of four foci”
  ‘Australia's Welfare 1993: Services and Assistance’ was the first biennial report to include information on Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Statistics on people with disability was one of four main areas. https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/aa045df7-78e3-465e-b4b5-079b6ae6ace8/aw93.pdf?v=20230605150811&inline=true
• “Demonstrators protest inadequate funding for disability support in Adelaide, 1992”
  On the 13th March, 1992, 100 demonstrators gathered in Adelaide to protest inadequate funding for disability support. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Housing and Community Services Brian Howe was “heckled” by the group outside an event at Jubilee Hall during a health care expo. Howe agreed later that year to “honour a federal government promise to expand the National Attendant Care Scheme,” that is, after another demonstration by 70 advocates outside Parliament House.
• "Interview with Morwenna Collett"
  Morwenna is a leader, consultant and facilitator in the arts, government, not-for-profit and university sectors and is passionate about helping arts and cultural organisations to include everyone in their work. Interview Summary Morwenna Collett is a consultant in diversity, access and inclusion and during the interview discusses her vast experience in the disability arts sector including time in the Australia Council where she played a key role in creating the first targeted funding program for artists with disabilities. Morwenna notes that while disability arts is gaining some awareness with mainstream audiences, there are still issues regarding how people think about the quality of art created by artists with disabilities. Morwenna highlights the NDIS as a significant milestone for disability arts in Australia, though she believes that there is much more potential for arts organizations to engage with it. Morwenna also emphasizes that the decision for artists to identify with their disability is a personal choice and it is becoming increasingly safe to disclose this identity, demonstrating progress toward inclusion in the arts.
• “The arts sector is forced to adapt in the face of COVID-19 lockdowns”
  Government-enforced lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic saw arts events cancelled and disability arts organisations temporarily close physical premises as social distancing rules came into play. While Coronavirus 19 restricted social contact, there were some benefits that arose such as increased digital access for social connection, online ordering accessible via screen readers and home delivery, virtual tours of art galleries, online choirs, and telehealth appointments.
• "1963 and 1967 sees the introduction of the Disabled Persons Accommodation Act and Sheltered Employment (Assistance) Act, respectively."
  With increasing pressure to provide more services to people with disabilities, the 1960s was a decade of Commonwealth Government initiatives to support organisations providing work and accommodation to people with a disability, including the Disabled Persons Accommodation Act and Sheltered Employment (Assistance) Act.
• “The Commonwealth Disability Services Act of 1986 replace the Handicapped Persons Assistance Act of 1974”
  In 1983, The Hawke Labour Government evaluated the initiatives created under the Handicapped Persons Assistance Act of 1974. The HPAA was replaced in 1986 by the Commonwealth Disability Services Act of 1986. Among other changes, this Act represents the shift in nomenclature from 'handicap' to ‘disability’.
• Bree Hadley
• "Australia Council - Disability Fact Pack 1998"
  The website reads “Outlines a variety of issues for arts organisations regarding people with disabilities including access, attitude, employment and discrimination” - Noelene Gration
• Disability and Arts Disadvantage and the Arts Australia (DADAA)
• Noelene Gration
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 2002-03"
  Australia Council Annual Report 2001-2002 - discusses letter from chair of council, corporate overview, year in review, financial statements, analysis of funding and grants for projects, initiatives, new work, programs, presentation and promotions including funding for implementing the Commonwealth Disability Strategy by evaluating current and changing needs of people with disabilities in the arts sector and reflecting this in funding and policies, arts marketing and audience development and triennial grants to disability arts organisations in NSW, South Australia and Victoria as well as a Fellowship by the Community Cultural Development Board (CCDB) to Tony Doyle to develop models for disability-led community building and on-the-job training for disability support workers and performance of “Soft” by Back to Back theatre at the Melbourne Festival and on tour to Switzerland and Germany.
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 2001-02"
  Australia Council Annual Report 2001-2002 - discusses letter from chair of council, corporate overview, year in review, financial statements, analysis of funding and grants for projects, initiatives, new work, programs, presentation and promotions including funding for implementing the Commonwealth Disability Strategy by evaluating current and changing needs of people with disabilities in the arts sector and reflecting this in funding and policies, arts marketing and audience development and triennial grants to disability arts organisations in NSW, South Australia and Victoria as well as an image from Crossroad Arts for the exhibition “Shades of White” and the publication “Making the Journey”
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 2000-01"
  Australia Council Annual Report 2000-2001 - discusses letter from chair of council, corporate overview, year in review, financial statements, analysis of funding and grants for projects, initiatives, new work, programs, presentation and promotions including funding for music development, implementing the Commonwealth Disability Strategy by evaluating current and changing needs of people with disabilities in the arts sector and reflecting this in funding and policies, arts marketing and audience development and triennial grants to disability arts organisations in NSW, South Australia and Victoria
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 2015-16"
  Australia Council - Annual Report 2015-16 - discusses year in review, strategy, funding, and key facts, including "18% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 6% identified as experiencing disability", and running Sync Leadership Program for artists with disability
• “Carriageworks ‘New Normal’ program plan to commission ten new works presents three performances - Lady Eats Apple (Back to Back Theatre, 2017), Off the Record (Force Majeure, Dance Integrated Australia, 2016), Simple Infinity (Urban Theatre Projects, 2016)"
  New Normal is Carriageworks “national strategy for the development of disability arts practice.” Carriageworks state an aim to “commission ten new major works across contemporary performance, music, dance and visual arts.” As part of the program, Back to Back Theatres’ Lady Eats Apple (2017), Force Majeure and Dance Integrated Australia’s Off the Record (2016), and Urban Theatre Projects’ Simple Infinity (2016) each presented at Carriageworks. Since then, there has been no update on Carriageworks’ goal, suggesting the program may have fallen short of its initial objectives.
• “Advocates fight for accessible public transport”
  In 1994, Maurice Corcoran (a wheelchair user) lodged a complaint about the South Australian government ordering 50 new buses that were not accessible. The Australian Human Rights Commission successfully negotiated for all new buses to be fitted with ramps. Then, in 1999, a protest about the lack of public transport options for people with disability saw Citizens for Accessible Public Transport block traffic in Sydney’s city centre.
• "Kevin Byrne AM leads protest outside Parliament House"
  The activist Kevin Byrne AM led a protest outside Parliament House. This coupled with the release of the Richmond Report led to the Hawke Government’s Handicapped Programs Review, which in turn led ‘New Directions: Report of the Handicapped Programs Review’.
• “Arts Access Victoria – How it all began! (1974-1979)”
  Arts Access Victoria – How it all began! (1974-1979) started in Melbourne in 1974 by Judy Morton with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts with art and theatre workshops in institutions but intermittent funding meant AAV stopped at times but state government funding in 1979 allowed long term planning.
• "Accessible Arts - NSW Arts and Disability Partnership - Promotion Card"
  Accessible Arts - NSW Arts and Disability Partnership - Promotion Card - reads, in part "The NSW Government has committed $1.5 million to increase access to arts and cultural activities for people with a disability."
• Chris Brophy
• “Queensland Advocacy Incorporated spearhead campaigns to close institutions”
  In 1989, when the Bjelke-Petersen-Ahern Government was coming to an end, the newly established Queensland Advocacy Incorporated was spearheading campaigns around the state to close down institutions and provide financing for individual help for individuals with disabilities.
• Petra Kuppers
• DADAA Network
• "Australia Council - Annual Report 1997-98"
  Australia Council Annual Report 1997-98 - discusses letter from chair of council, functions, profile, organisation chart, corporate overview, year in review, arts funding, main activities of Council and its Boards, and includes professional development activities, financial statements and lists of grants made including grants for programs, projects, information and advocacy with producing a set of Disability Fact Packs exploring the importance of accessibility for arts and cultural organisations and a guide to marketing arts to disabled audience
• "Jung Hyoung Yoon, Caroline Ellison, Peggy Essl (2020). Shifting the perspective from ‘incapable’ to ‘capable’ for artists with cognitive disability; case studies in Australia and South Korea. Disability & Society, 36(3), 443–467. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2020.1751079"
  Reads, in part "This study examined four inclusive arts organisations in Australia and South Korea, providing creative services for artists living with cognitive disability, including autism, intellectual and mental disability. This research study focused on exploring what support inclusive arts organisations and society have provided for artists living with cognitive disability to pursue professional careers."