Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• Asia Pacific Wataboshi Music Festival
• Asia Pacific Wataboshi Festival
• “The Asia-Pacific Wataboshi festival comes to Brisbane”
  Hosted by Arts Access Qld, in 2003, the Asia-Pacific Wataboshi festival was brought to Brisbane with the aim to raise the profile of disability arts. David Helfgott was the ambassador.
• Wataboshi Festival
• Wataboshi Music Festival
• Access Arts
• “Access Arts commissions a multi-arts project, Peter Vance performs the song ‘Welcome to My Day’ at the 1999 Wataboshi Festival in Japan”
  Peter Vance was asked by Access Arts to team up with Ant McKenna to compose a song. He then performed ‘Welcome to My Day’ at the 5th Asia Pacific Wataboshi Music Festival in Japan in 1999. Access Arts sent disposable cameras out to members across Queensland; each story became a collage in the State Library foyer as a day-in-the-life of each artist.
• "AccessArts - Asia Pacific Wataboshi Music Festival"
  Poster for Asia Pacific Wataboshi Music Festival 2003
• "Access Arts Projects 2011-2013"
  Access Arts Projects, captured 2013, including Wataboshi Music Festival, Access Arts Professional Development Seminar, Brisbane Outsider Artists (BOA) Exhibitions, Polyphonic – Many Voices Many Styles, Community Showcase 2011, The Truth - Pete Vance Quintet, Access Arts Soundscape Project, Indigenous Projects, Creative Recovery- FNQ Friends of Access Arts Annual Event.
• "Access Arts - Members Profiles 2009"
  Access Arts member profiles, captured 2009
• Peter Vance
• "Interview with Peter Vance"
  Peter Vance is a singer, songwriter, musician, performer, facilitator and disability arts advocate. Interview Summary: Peter Vance is a songwriter, performer, musician and singer. Peter suggested disability arts in the last 20 years has become more visible and popular reflecting a positive shift in how society views disability as part of the rich tapestry of human experience. This is reflected in how the arts now tell the stories of individuals with disabilities, not simply as artists with a disability, but as whole people whose varied experiences - visible and invisible - inform and enrich their creative expression. However, there are still challenges with funding and accessibility and ongoing struggles for recognition and support of disability art. Changes in how organisations operate to suit new funding such as the NDIS have potentially limited the spontaneity and personal touch that smaller, community-driven organizations once offered. Peter said it is essential to continue to push for better understanding, support, and visibility for people with all kinds of disabilities in every aspect of life, including the arts, to truly embrace inclusivity.
• Jeff Usher
• "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.
• Ludmila Doneman
• Tutti Arts
• Tutti Ensemble
• Accessible Arts
• David Helfgott
• Janelle Colquhoun
• "Interview with Janelle Colquhoun"
  Janelle Colquhoun is an opera-jazz singer; corporate and community speaker; MC; producer; and writer. Interview Summary Janelle Colquhoun is a passionate and dedicated former opera singer, who in the interview speaks about, starting an entertainment agency to provide professional opportunities for artists with disabilities after losing her sight. She has produced over 1400 events, performed in a variety of concerts, and worked tirelessly to promote inclusivity in the arts, often by showcasing talented disabled artists to mainstream audiences. Janelle talks about how her work challenges the way people think about disability arts and inclusion, and strives to give equal performing opportunities by advocating for the recognition of artists with disabilities as professionals with the same quality of performance as any other artist.
• Barry Charles
• Bipolar Bears
• Tuan van Tran
• Peter Flavelle