Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• "Focus on Ability, Short Film Festival winners list 2021"
  Focus on Ability Short Film Festival, captured 2025 - webpage listing 2021 award winners - Includes AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND SCHOOL SECTION (St Matthews Catholic School (NSW) - The Monsters of the Mind; Al-Taqwa College (VIC) - Optism: A Tale of Unbreakable Friendship) AUSTRALIAN OPEN ENTRANTS (The Sunshine Troupe (QLD) – Luminosity; Alex Sideratos (NSW) - More to Me; Clay Antonio (VIC) - Life Without Mum; Tina A.Wake (NSW) - I'm Super; Ian Heydon in What's in a Name; Michael Wilkop - The Robot; Nathan Mewett & Chris Taylor - Yulubidyu - Until the End)
• "Focus on Ability, Short Film Festival winners list 2020"
  Focus on Ability Short Film Festival, captured 2025 - webpage listing 2020 award winners - includes IAUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND SCHOOL SECTION (Yarraville Special Developmental School (VIC) - ' I Am (Also) Robot'; Al-Taqwa College (VIC) - Ammar's Wonderful World of Dyslexia; Anxiety Holds Me Captive - Taylah Bell), AUSTRALIAN OPEN ENTRANTS (Zoe Fraser - A Gift; The Brilliant Production Team – Brilliant; Isaac Doman - I'm Still Me; Sebastian Youssef - My Brother Sam; Vanessa Star - One Size Fits All; Zoe Fraser - A Gift; Jared Hargreaves - The Girl; Sally Newman - Heart Strings)
• "Focus on Ability, Short Film Festival winners list 2019"
  Focus on Ability Short Film Festival, captured 2025 - webpage listing 2019 award winners - Includes Open Entrant Winners (Winner - Victoria Thompson – Cinderella; Dane Jaeger - Game Day; Bridie McKim – Cinderella; Jack & Louise W - Jack Outside the Box; Blaise Borrer - The Adventures of Aspie Boy; Stanley Joseph – Limbitless; Jake Taylor - Pub Talk) School Entrant Winners (BLENNZ - Have you seen my lunch?; The Woden School - Labels Don't Define Us; Kogarah High School - Peter Pan - The Kogarah Re-enactment; Bailey Richards - Teen Builds A Real Lightsaber)
• "Bree Hadley, Eddie Paterson, Madeleine Little, Kath Duncan (2024) How Disability Performance Travels in Australia: The Reality Under the Rhetoric. In Czymoch, Christiane, Maguire Rossier, Kate, & Schmidt, Yvonne (Eds.) How Does Disability Performance Travel?: Access, Art, and Internationalization. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, pp. 62-76.”
  "The last three decades has witnessed the development of a distinct narrative about how disability performance has become a much celebrated component of the Australian theatre landscape. A central aspect of this narrative is the critical importance of festivals, events, and other industry initiatives that allow disabled performers to travel - both conceptually and corporeally - to meet and be mentored by other artists, and to present their work to new and more mainstream audiences, in new spaces and places, around the country, and around the world. In this chapter, we draw on historical data, collected as part of an AusStage ARC LIEF project designed to database information about disability drama, theatre, performance, and dance over the past 100 years, as well as the Last Avant Garde ARC Linkage project on disability performance in Australia, to unpack areas where the reality seems to challenge some of the dominant rhetoric."
• "High Beam Festival Program 2002"
  High Beam Festival Program 2002 reads "Welcome to High Beam 2002 Australia's international arts and disability festival, celebrating disability culture from around the globe. In our third biennial festival we explore the significance of the circle. In High Beam Festival 2002, that significance is represented through our international program, 'circular' Wheelie BIG Event, the online community of Tech Arts Express and over 40 companies, performers and community members who span the arts and the globe. High Beam is about showing that living with a disability does not exclude you from creating real, exciting, cutting edge art. High Beam is also about showing what it is like to live with a disability through the medium of art. Get out there and enjoy! We are thrilled to present Australia's own legendary pianist David Helfgott, UK comedian Mat Fraser, the amazing wheelchair dancers from Nepal as well as Belinda Mason - Lovering's Intimate Encounters - a landmark photo-graphic exhibition from Australia."
• Arts In Action
• "Shine - IMDB"
  Reads, in part "David Helfgott, a gifted pianist, struggles through childhood as his dysfunctional father abuses him and his siblings. Years later, he suffers a mental breakdown but manages to return as a legend."
• "Tutti Arts - Sit Down Shut Up & Watch - Filmmaking Workshop 2016 - Press Release"
  Tutti Arts - 'Sit Down Shut Up & Watch Filmmaking Workshop' 2016 Press Release - reads, in part “ On October 21 the second Sit Down Shutup and Watch [SDSW] Film New Media Festival will happen in the Angaston Town Hall. The festival is the brainchild of seven talented young film makers with learning disability form Regional South Australia and Adelaide. Their first festival, held in October 2014 was a fabulous success with over 40 films screened from all over the world and nearly 500 people attending. In the lead up to our second Festival, we are delivering a series of 4-day film-making workshops for people with learning disabilities across regional areas of South Australia to ensure we have plenty of South Australian films in the mix. The first of these is the Renmark / Riverland workshop to be held from Tuesday 8th March - Friday 11th March, at the McCormick Centre, Rau Rau Ave, Renmark.”
• "Interview with Jianna Georgiou"
  Jianna Georgiou is a professional dancer, director and choreographer and has been with Restless Dance since 2006. Interview Summary Jianna Georgiou, who has Italian and Cypriot heritage, shared her journey as a dancer. She expressed her aspirations to collaborate with friends from other dance companies and emphasized her desire to continue her path with Restless Dance Theatre. Jianna’s determination remains strong, fuelled by her goal to perform and the emotional connection she feels through dance. She hopes to explore various dance styles, including hip-hop, which currently resonates with her, and she is motivated by the creative and energetic environment at Restless Dance Theatre.
• “The inaugural Undercover Artist Festival, a biennial, disability-led performing arts festival, is held in 2015”
  In 2015, the inaugural Undercover Artist Festival took place. The festival was founded by Access Arts in consultation with Access Arts participants and a group of artists with disability. The festival has consistently been directed by leaders who identify as experiencing disability.
• Restless Dance
• Restless Dance Company
• Restless Dance Theatre
• Jodee Mundy
• “The first Focus on Ability film festival held in 2009”
  In 2009, the first Focus on Ability film festival was started by the CEO of NOVA Employment, Martin Wren. (NOVA is a Sydney-based disability employment service.) FOA holds events in Australia’s major cities and welcomes entries in open categories as well as a schools category and international section.
• “Sydney Film Festival launches Screenability program in 2017”
  Sydney Film Festival launched its Screenability program in 2017. The international program was intended to offer a platform for screen practitioners with disability. Sofya Gollan was Screenability’s inaugural programmer and remained in the role until 2021.
• "A Month Of Mayhem"
  RealTime article on A Month of Mayhem, "A program of screenings, exhibitions, performances, seminars, and workshops by Deaf and colourblind artists for all audiences," presented by Access2Arts, in partnership with Adelaide Film Festival, Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT), Arts Access Australia, Unlimited UK, Tutti Arts, Sit Down Shut Up and Watch Film Festival
• “Screen Australia launches an access coordinator training program”
  Screen Australia launched an access coordinator training program in 2023. “The Access Coordinator role is intended for people from the Deaf/Disabled and/or Neurodivergent (DDN) communities who are committed to improving disability representation and removing barriers to inclusion.” Screen Australia partnered with the following organisations for the initiative: the New Zealand Film Commission, Screen Queensland, Screen Tasmania, Screen Territory, Screenwest, VicScreen, the South Australian Film Corporation, Screen ACT, Screen NSW, and the Australian Film Television Radio School.
• "High Beam Festival Program 2007"
  High Beam Festival Program 2007 reads "High Beam Global is bigger, bolder and brighter than ever before. An array of exciting artists will dazzle you with art across every medium and will challenge your every sense. This festival recognises that people with disabilities are artists in their own right and prominently includes them within the mainstream Fringe program for the first time."
• "High Beam Festival 1998 Poster"
  High Beam Festival Poster 1998 reads "High Beam Festival PRESENTED BY: SPARC DISABILITY FOUNDATION in association with ARTS IN ACTION INC"
• "High Beam Festival 1998 Flyer"
  High Beam Festival Flyer 1998 reads "This is the first High Beam disability inclusive festival in Australia. It is happening in South Australia and its your opportunity to be involved so don't miss out. … HIGH BEAM FESTIVAL INCLUDES: • A spectacular opening night of celebration. • A lively Cabaret/Porty featuring some of Australia's top entertainers. • Two days of stimulating seminars with topics covering arts, disability and healthy communities. • A week-long program of disability inclusive events at The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel. • A promotional campaign that will attract people from around Australia. • Multi-media promotional opportunities including free entry in the official festival program."
• "Undercover Artist Festival Program 2015"
  Undercover Artist Festival 2021, curated by inaugeral Festival Director Belinda Locke, including ‘People of Interest ‘by Daniele Constance, Fine Line’ with Emma Bennison, ‘ It's Not Easy Being Green’ by Karen Lee Roberts, ‘Schadenfreude’ by Alicia Jane Steele, Live Body Painting in the Green Room by Alicia Jane Steele, ‘The Rite of Spring’ by Second Echo Ensemble, ‘Ambition Road’ with David Truong and Donnelle Brooks, ‘Monster’ by Joshua Pether and Lynnette Voevidin, ‘Blonde Ammunition’ with Christina Youhanna, comedy from Thane Pullen, music from Barry Charles, ‘Putting on the Punk: Fantasy, Costumes and Photos’ with Ged Maybury, and film screenings and discussion panels
• "Interview with Jeff Usher"
  Jeff Usher is a jazz and blues composer, arranger, pianist, vocalist, teacher, lecturer, and music consultant. Interview Summary Jeff Usher is a visually impaired Australian jazz musician with a rich history of playing music since childhood, influenced by a significant early encounter with the Jazz Action Society and key individuals like his high school music teacher Kathleen Kerr and his supportive family. Throughout his career, he has worked with a diverse range of musicians across many genres, including country, rock, and church music, and has expanded his repertoire to include political and spiritual themes, often infused with his synaesthetic experience of colour. Despite a broad professional experience, his engagement with the disability arts space developed over time, particularly through collaboration with other disabled artists, and he values working with good artists regardless of their backgrounds or disabilities. He is deeply committed to his craft, finding a balance between the aesthetic quality of his work and the joy it brings, both to himself and his audiences.
• Kat Worth
• South Australian Film Corporation