Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• "Bree Hadley (2017) Disability, Sustainability, Austerity: The Bolshy Divas Arts-Based Protests Against Policy Paradoxes. Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts Journal 18 Spring. http://www.sustainablepractice.org."
  "In this short article, I want consider some of the ways theatrical artists, activists and advocates in Australia are tackling the paradoxical relationship between sustainability and austerity discourses, and, as a result, some changes this may be starting to produce in disabled people’s aesthetic prerogatives. For the last 30 years, artists, activists and scholars in Australia and beyond have avoided casting disability in terms of trauma, crisis, catastrophe and disaster. Accounts of the way disability theatre challenges stereotypes , as well as analysis of disability signifiers in screen, stage, and social performance , have expressed concern about deploying disability as a metaphor for disaster, or defining disabled people as monstrous, tragic, stoic, or inspirational, the way the medical model of disability traditionally defines us. Instead, modern disabled artists and the scholars who analyse them have advocated for work that deploys live art, performance art, and performative intervention in public space to challenge stereotypes, oppressive institutional systems, and other factors the social model of disability sees as the cause of disability oppression .In the last few years, though, there has been an increase in work that does associate disability with trauma, tragedy and disaster, in what seems to be a response to austerity, accountability and economic sustainability agendas that call for cuts to disability services spending to make our societies more sustainable going forward."
• "Bree Hadley, Clark Crystal (2017) Style, stage presence, and the poetic subversion of stereotypes: A case study of Blue Roo Theatre Company. Social Alternatives, 36(4), pp. 15-21."
  "In this article, we consider the work of Blue Roo Theatre Company (http://www.bluerootheatre.org.au/), a Brisbane-based theatre company which “creates contemporary performances lead by the artistry, experiences and imaginations of an ensemble of artists with diverse ability and impairment” (http://www.bluerootheatre.org.au/). Writing from a dual insider-outsider perspective – as a scholar of disability theatre and a creator of disability theatre in conversation – we discuss the work done in the training and rehearsal room in the lead up to Blue Roo Theatre Company’s performances, such as the company’s recent sell-out performance of Orpheus and Eurydice in collaboration with Opera Queensland at the Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Arts, and the way it creates a distinctive performance style, poetics, stage presence, pleasure for the spectators who come along to witness the results of the work, and sense of community. We document moments in which facilitators, collaborators, co-creating artists, audiences and the media alike feel the physical, psychological, and aesthetic focus and force of voice, movement and character work by people with disabilities. We identify ways in which this stage presence can subvert dominant depictions of people with disabilities as innocent, childlike, or inspirational as significantly as the content of a show. In doing so, we provide insights into Blue Roo Theatre Company’s processes, and the aesthetic results it produces, and contribute to a growing body of commentary around disability theatre and performance, which – though increasingly well understood by those working in the form – clearly can still provide surprises for audiences and commentators anticipating conventional representations of people with disabilities onstage."
• "Bree Hadley (2014) Practice as method: The ex/centric fixations project. In Bolt, B & Barrett, E (Eds.) Material inventions: applying creative arts research. I.B. Tauris Publisher, United Kingdom, pp. 145-165.”
  "In this chapter, I consider the efficacy of creative practice as a research method, concentrating specifically on its applications in the performing arts, using one of my own recent projects, The Ex/centric Fixations Project (2009), as an example."
• "Bree Hadley (2008) Mobilising the monster: Modern disabled performers' manipulation of the freakshow. M/C Journal, 11(3), pp. 1-7.”
  "This paper examines the risk in remobilising representations of the monstrous in performance, in that these re-representations of freak persona may still be read by spectators as part of the phenomenon they are trying to challenge, the critical counterpositions failing to register, or failing the fully disrupt the familiar scopic and discursive framework."
• "Katie Ellis, Gerard Goggin, Beth Haller, Rosemary Curtis ed. (2019) Routledge Companion to Disability and Media. London & New York: Routledge."
  Reads, in part "An authoritative and indispensable guide to disability and media, this thoughtfully curated collection features varied and provocative contributions from distinguished scholars globally, alongside next-generation research leaders."
• "Katie Ellis (2016) Disability Media Work: Opportunities and Obstacles. London: Palgrave."
  Reads, in part "Elevates disability media discussions beyond representation and access by considering employment and discriminatory attitudes in the media industry"
• "Katie Ellis (2019) Disability and Digital Television Cultures Representation, Access, and Reception. London & New York: Routledge."
  Reads, in part "Disability and Digital Television Cultures offers an important addition to scholarly studies at the intersection of disability and media, examining disability in the context of digital television access, representation and reception."
• "Amanda Cachia (2013) ‘Disabling’ the museum: Curator as infrastructural activist. J. 12.3. pp. 257–289"
  Reads, in part "This article will explore how I attempt to ‘disable’ the museum through my infrastructural curatorial practice, which is the basis for my scholarly research and writing. By infusing my curatorial projects with critical reflection and theoretical development, I hope to begin this process of building a new vocabulary and methodology around curating disability and access."
• "Kate Maguire-Rosier (2016). Moving “Misfits.” Australasian Drama Studies, (69), 29–55. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.590682266081795"
  Reads, in part "In Dianne Reid's recent work Dance Interrogations (a Diptych), performed as part of the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival by Reid and collaborating artist Melinda Smith, spectators had no seats but rather roamed, observing two mature dancers. In this article, I explore Reid and Smith's live performance, a combination of structured movement improvisation and screendance, as a provocation of the relationship between movement and agency. I address the theatrical event through the multifaceted lens of the performers' experiences, spectators' responses and my own observations."
• "Ruth Rentschler, Boram Lee, Ayse Collins, Jung Yoon (2023) ‘I am a professional dancer’: A case study of performing artists with disability. In Wyszomirski, M. J. & Chang, W. (Eds.), Building professionalism in the creative sector. Oxon: Routledge, 227-246"
  "The demand for professional recognition for artists with disability is growing. There is little research, however, on the ways in which disability arts are associated with professionalism. This study examines professionalization in disability arts by comparing it with the concept of professionalization in the arts generally. It identifies three components of professionalization in disability arts by means of a case study of an inclusive arts organization. This qualitative study entails 17 semi-structured interviews with artists, staff members, and other stakeholders both with and without disabilities."
• "Anthea Skinner (2017) ‘I love my body’: Depictions of sex and romance in disability music culture. Sexualities. Volume 21, Issue 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460716688"
  Reads, in part "The international disability music scene is a thriving musical subculture consisting of performers self-identifying as disabled who use their performances to explore experiences of living with disability. As a genre predominantly written by, about and for people with disabilities, it provides a space for discourse about life with disability which is largely unmediated by governmental policy, political correctness or able-bodied facilitators. As such, it is a medium through which people with disability are free to express opinions about sex and romance rarely seen in mainstream media. This article examines the ways in which the topics of sexuality and romance are explored within disability music culture."
• "Katie Ellis, Tama Leaver, Mike Kent, M, eds. (2023). Gaming Disability: Disability Perspectives on Contemporary Video Games. London and New York: Routledge."
  This book explores the opportunities and challenges people with disabilities experience in the context of digital games from the perspective of three related areas: representation, access and inclusion, and community. Drawing on key concerns in disability media studies, the book brings together scholars from disability studies and game studies, alongside game developers, educators, and disability rights activists, to reflect upon the increasing visibility of disabled characters in digital games.
• "Gerard Goggin, Christopher Newell (2003). Digital disability: The social construction of disability in new media. Rowman and Littlefield."
  Media representation of and for the disabled has been recharged in recent years with the expansion of new media worldwide. Interactive digital communications--such as the Interact, new varieties of voice and text telephones, and digital broadcasting--have created a need for a more innovative understanding of new media and disability issues. This engaging analysis offers a global perspective on how people with disabilities are represented as users, consumers, viewers, or listeners of new media, by policymakers, corporations, programmers, and the disabled themselves.
• "Katie Ellis, Gerard Goggin (2015). Disability media participation: Opportunities, obstacles and politics. Media International Australia, 154 (1), pp. 78-88."
  This article discusses participatory media from a critical disability perspective. It discusses the relative absence of explicit discussion and research on disability in the literatures on community, citizen and alternative media. By contrast, disability has emerged as an important element of participatory cultures and digital technologies. To explore disability participatory cultures, the article offers analysis of case studies, including disability blogs, ABC's Ramp Up website and crowd-funding platforms (such as Kickstarter).
• "Anthony White, Anna Parlane (2019). Outsider Art in Australia: Artists' Voices versus Art-world Mythologies. Art and Australia, 56 (1), pp. 80-95."
  This article explores the questions: Have you ever come across the category 'outsider art'?... What do you think of that phrase in terms of a way of describing artwork?
• "Chris Brophy, Kim Dunphy, Nick Hill, Petra Kuppers, Indrani Parker, John Smithies, John Toumbourou (2008) Picture This: Increasing the cultural participation of people with a disability in Victoria, Office for Disability in partnership with Arts Victoria and Disability Services Division"
  Reads, in part "The Cultural Development Network undertook a research project examining ways that the participation of people with a disability in the arts, as artists and as audience members, can be increased. The project was commissioned by the Office for Disability and partners, Arts Victoria and Department of Human Services. The report and literature review have now been published."
• "Katherine Gale (2013) Review - Take Up Thy Bed and Walk, Arts Hub"
  Review of 'Take Up Thy Bed and Walk' (2013) by Vitalstatisix and Gaelle Mellis - reads, in part "The latest Vitalstatistix Theatre Company production asks subtle questions about society’s perception of people with disabilities."
• "David Throsby and Virginia Hollister (2003) Don't give up your day job: an economic study of professional artists in Australia, Australia Council"
  Australia Council- Don’t give up your day job: An Economic Study of Professional Artists in Australia' (Throsby and Hollister 2003) based on 2002 Survey - The website reads “The 2002 Australia Council artists survey, Don't give up your day job collected information relating to practising professional artists in Australia…..According to Don't give up your day job, about 10 per cent of practising professional artists live with a disability.”
• “Australia Council (1989) The Arts and People with Disabilities: A code of practice for arts organisations. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20000324231832/http://www.ozco.gov.au/publicat/Inprint.htm”
  Australia Council- 'The Arts and Disability: A code of practice for arts organisations' in print publications https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20000324231832/http://www.ozco.gov.au/publicat/Inprint.htm
• "Australia Council (1999) Access All Areas: Guidelines for Marketing the Arts to People with Disabilities. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080720180431/http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/publications/disability_and_the_arts/access_all_areas_guidelines_for_marketing_the_arts_to_people_with_disabilities"
  Australia Council 'Access all areas: guidelines for marketing the arts to people with disabilities' 1999 - reads, in part "Access all areas: guidelines for marketing the arts to people with disabilities For most people, the decision to be exposed to the experience of an arts event is a simple one. You go, because you choose to go. Providing that choice to people with disabilities is the issue of Access all areas. This guide is intended to be practical, covering actions which are within reach of arts organisations, especially marketing officers and their departments. How to identify this audience, how to reach them and how to provide what they want is the key advice contained in Access all areas."
• "Parkinson's Queensland (2015) Research Study finds Dance has positive benefits for people with Parkinson’s, 4 March 2015, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20150311153726/http://parkinsons-qld.org.au/danceforpd/"
  Parkinson's Queensland -Research Study finds Dance has positive benefits for people with Parkinson’s (2015) - reads, in part "Now, in exciting research findings, Parkinson’s Queensland, in conjunction with Queensland Ballet and research undertaken by QUT and The University of Queensland (UQ) demonstrate that Queensland Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s program had positive physical, social, cognitive and emotional benefits for participants affected by Parkinson’s."
• Unlimited UK
• No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability
• The Queensland Arts Council
• Canberra Dance Theatre