Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• “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 The URL link to the Ramp Up page now opens with the following statement: “This website is no longer being updated but remains online as an archive of three and a half years of discussions and conversations regarding disability in Australia.”
• “The documentary series ‘You Can't Ask That’ premieres in 2016”
  The ABC started a documentary series in 2016 called ‘You Can't Ask That,’ which asks "outrageous, uncomfortable and shocking questions to uncover the truth behind some of the most marginalised and misunderstood Australians." The series has featured episodes focused on people with short stature, Downs syndrome, schizophrenia, and autism, Deaf people, blind people, and wheelchair users.
• “Arts Access Australia launches its ‘Don’t Play Us, Pay Us’ campaign in response to 'cripping up'”
  In 2012, Arts Access Australia launched its ‘Don’t Play Us, Pay Us’ campaign in response to 'cripping up,' where non-disabled performers play disabled characters on stage or screen.
• “The Bolshy Divas present ‘The Other 100 Conversations’ to Australian governments heads”
  In 2011, a group of disability activists called the Bolshy Divas presented a 100-page document, ‘The Other 100 Conversations,’ to heads of all Australian governments who had gathered in Canberra for a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting. The document was addressed “to our elected representatives”. ‘The Other 100 Conversations’ comprised of 100 first-person accounts of participants of disability services in Western Australia, highlighting the lack of support and waiting times experienced.
• “Arts Access Australia CEO encourages other non-disabled CEOs of disability organisations to step down”
  In 2012, Kate Larsen stepped down from role as CEO of Arts Access Australia. In a Ramp Up article, she explained “Now, I love my job. I'm good at it. I think that I've been useful here. But on the same day I accepted the position last February I also did something else. I gave notice of my resignation, and undertook to hand over the organisation by the end of 2012. The reason? Because I believe that Arts Access Australia should be led by a person with disability.” Upon her resignation, she encouraged other non-disabled CEOs of disability organisations to step aside to make space for disabled people to take up these leadership roles.