Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• “The Cunningham Dax Collection of artworks opens”
  In 1952, an English psychiatrist Dr Eric Cunningham Dax was appointed as the Chairman of the Mental Hygiene Authority in Melbourne. In the UK, Dr Dax had introduced art therapy in programs for patients in psychiatric care and introduced art programs to Victorian Hospitals. In 1959, Dr Dax organised the first art exhibition of psychiatric patients held at Gallery A, Flinders Lane. The Cunningham Dax Collection of artworks grew, and an official opening occurred in Faraday Street Gallery in the 1980s. “Two distinct eras are represented in the Cunningham Dax Collection; artworks produced within psychiatric hospitals from 1940s into 1970s and artworks donated to the Collection by artists and community groups from 1980s until the present.” Dr Dax had introduced art therapy in programs for patients in psychiatric care and introduced art programs to Victorian Hospitals. In 1981, the National Gallery of Australia received 68 paintings from the Dax Collection - these were returned in 1994.
• "Arts Access Victoria established in 1973 and provides valuable resources and conferences throughout the decades"
  In 1973, Judy Morton successfully applied for funding to start a 6-month pilot program and Arts Access Victoria was established the following year. However, due to lack of government funding and despite public appeal, programs were suspended in 1977. Fortunately, operation resumed in 1979 and AAV was formally constituted with a small School Commission fund as Arts Access Society Inc. Arts Access Victoria had both organisational and financial growth in the mid to late 1980s. This led to a diversification of arts projects and the beginning of long-term artistic programs which remain as the core programs of AAV. Arts workshops also began in regional Victoria during this time. In 1988, Arts Access was approached to run a national conference focusing on the arts and disability. Two years later, they convened P-art-ICIPATE '90 and subsequently published ‘P-art-ICIPATE '90: a conference report’. They also published ‘Inner Words Outer Spaces’, edited by Bev Roberts (1995), ‘Arts Alive: An Information Leaflet about the Ways the Arts Can Work for Older People’ (1995), ‘Accessible Theatresports’ (1996), and Bev Roberts's ‘Work Guide: How to Establish an Artist in Community Project’ (1996). In 1998, Arts Access (Victoria) assumed responsibility for its own financial management and administration. In 1999, Arts Access Victoria presented Verve!, a national symposium on arts and disability.
• “Disabled People’s International (Australia) (DPIA) formed in 1983”
  The organisation Disabled People’s International (Australia) (DPIA) was formed in 1983. Thirteen disabled Australians who attended Disabled People’s International (DPI) first world assembly in Singapore in 1981, the International Year of the Disabled Person, returned home to set up the Australian branch two years later. The Women with Disabilities Australia online history reports that DPIA “from the outset, was dominated by disabled men. Only 3 of the 11 members of its governance structure were women, and there was no mention of women or gender in DPIA goals and objectives.” This led to the establishment of a women’s network within DPIA, known as the National Women’s Network (DPIA).
• “Australian Caption Centre opened in 1982”
  The Australian Caption Centre was opened 13 September, 1982. A tour took place at the Australian Caption Centre in Sydney in the 1990s; the video (now available on YouTube) explains how the Centre worked. In 2005, the Centre sold its commercial operations including the captioning services to Red Bee Media and formed Media Access Australia.
• “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.
• “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."
• “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.”
• “Sally Chance works with participants with disabilities, leading to the founding of Restless Dance Theatre”
  In 1989, UK-based community dance worker Sally Chance was invited to participate in the Come Out festival in Adelaide. She returned to South Australia the next year and begun the work with participants with disabilities which lead to the founding (alongside Tania Rose) of Restless Dance Theatre in 1991. Restless Dance Theatre continues to create and exhibit work by integrated ensembles. Their extensive performance history is available in the AusStage database. (see https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/organisation/7046)
• “The 1985 New Directions Report is released”
  People with disabilities and their families participated in the review for the first time as part of a comprehensive consultation process. The resulting report ‘New directions: report of the Handicapped Programs Review’ was released in 1985. It indicated the need for change in disability policy culture of how people with a disability rights and capacities to realise their individual capacities for development.
• “Accessible Arts (NSW) established”
  Accessible Arts (NSW) was established in 1986. "the peak arts and disability organisation in New South Wales. We advance the rights of, and opportunities for, people with disability or who are d/Deaf to develop and sustain professional careers in the arts and have equitable access to arts and culture across NSW".
• “Access Arts (QLD) established”
  Access Arts (QLD) was established in 1983. "Access Arts is Queensland’s leading organisation creating opportunities in the performing and visual arts for people with disability or disadvantage".
• "First ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC)"
  An ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) starting in 1981 and made people with disability more 'visible' for services and highlighted differences of experiences.
• "Victoria's Disability Resources Centre (DRC) created"
  1981 saw a number of Disability Activists create the first Australian Disability Resources Centre (DRC) for Victorians with disabilities.
• "Back to Back Theatre established"
  The theatre company Back to Back was established in 1987. They are a drama group comprising artists with intellectual disabilities who have since toured both nationally and internationally in mainstream Australian theatre.
• "International Year of the Disabled Person (IYDP)"
  In 1976, the General Assembly proclaimed 1981 would be the Year of the Disabled Person. The 1981 International Year of the Disabled Person inspired an increase in awareness and disability arts. While UN theme was “full participation and equality” the theme in Australia was “Break down the Barriers”, raising the prole and issues of people with disabilities. The international year of the disabled persons was a catalyst for connecting Australian disability activists to each other and the international disability rights movement (Royal Commission, 2021, p. 6). Australia saw an increase in disability-themed theatre from 1981 to 1984; however, these performances were largely staged with non-disabled casts. Records of these productions can be found on the AusStage database.
• "Australia Council commissions a research study on people with disabilities' participation in arts activities"
  Australia Council commissioned a research study on the problems faced by people with disabilities attempting to participate in art activities (Australia Council Annual reports 1979/1980 and 1980/1981).
• “Arts Project Australia is founded in 1974”
  In 1974, Myra Hilgendorf OAM founded Arts Project Australia, an organisation whose aim is for artists with an intellectual disability to have their work presented in a professional manner. In 1984, Arts Project moved to Hawthorn, Melbourne and started a studio workshop program. The organisation became an Incorporated Association in 1986. In 1994, Arts Project Australia artists exhibited their work internationally. Exhibitions occurred at MADMuseé and Centre d’Art Differencié in Belgium. Artist Julian Martin was selected for the Moët & Chandon Touring Exhibition. Arts Project published an education/slide kit in 1994 called ‘Between the Lines: Visual Arts and Intellectual Disability’. The organisation first published ‘Outline: News from Arts Project Australia’ in 1996. Arts Project Australia was recognised by the National Gallery of Australia in 2013 for having international significance.
• “Disabled actors perform at Melbourne Concert Hall”
  In 1982, 50 “handicapped” actors (though none were named in the media) were involved in Access Arts’ ‘Theorem’ at the Melbourne Concert Hall, an example of inclusive arts practice. The performance received broad public attention.
• “7-part series ‘Fair Go’ produced by Film Australia”
  In 1981, Film Australia produced a 7-part series, called Fair Go, on Australians with mental and physical disabilities and how it impacted their lives and the lives of their families. “Each program is presented from the viewpoint of the person with the disability and demonstrates the practical implications of coping with a disability in daily life at home, in the community, in the workplace or at school.” Film Australia was consolidated into Screen Australia in 2008.
• “Documentary ‘Stepping Out’ follows first group of intellectually disabled people to perform at the Sydney Opera House”
  In preparation for the International Year of Disabled Persons, a documentary was made called ‘Stepping Out’ directed by Chris Noonan and narrated by Romayne Grace, a resident at the Lorna Hodgkinson Sunshine Home. The documentary follows a group of residents as they prepare for their big debut at the Sydney Opera House. The movie was shown during the International Year of the Disabled's UN closing ceremony. The 1979/1980 Australia Council report had the following statement "A production staged at the Sydney Opera House by residents of the Lorna Hodgkinson Sunshine Home for the intellectually handicapped impressed the Theatre Board as both innovative arts-based therapy and worthwhile theatre in its own right." The 1980/81 report further stated "It was the first time anywhere in the world that a group of mentally handicapped people had performed publicly in the cultural centre of their city."
• “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’.
• “Lesley Hall leads a protest of the Miss Victoria Quest beauty contest”
  In 1981, Lesley Hall and a group of disability activists protested at the Miss Victoria Beauty Quest (a beauty pagent that was a fundraiser for the Spastic Society in Victoria). The focus on physical perfections was seen “as the norm all must attain if they are to be fully accepted into society”. The protests raised much media attention and marked the beginning of a shift in thinking about the place in Australian society of people with disabilities.
• "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’.
• “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.