Art. For Every Body
ARTS ACCESS VICTORIA ANNUAL REPORT 2012 - 2013
Organisational Snapshot
Operations
Annual turnover
Total Government Funding
Total Philanthropic Funding
Core Staff
Project Staff
Volunteers
Arts Program
Projects
Performances
Exhibitions
Participants
Workshops
Access Program
Strategic Partnerships
Consultations
Training
Submissions
Industry Development Initiatives
Other Film Festival
Screenings
Audience
Tours
Sector Development Program
Artists supported
Companies Supported
Strategic Partnerships
Sector Development Initiatives
Communications
Information Requests
Publications
Circulation
Website Hits
$1,913,159
$1,035,905
$380,738
18 EFT
50
70
43
13
16
5,565
406
70
314
40
6
19
37
4,210
4
22
15
6
4
13,335
116
25,268
54,024
‘We wait every Wednesday for this. The atmosphere of Stewart
Lodge is so thick you could cut it with a knife. People are fighting and
leaning over this person and that person, it is trouble with a capital T.
I can’t wait to come here on a Wednesday and make art. I feel like I
can relax here, and my sculpture just keeps getting better and better.
Sometimes I feel like I can hear this kangaroo (figure in his sculpture)
singing out to me to be an artist every other day of the week.’
Gavin Jackson, Artist, Stewart Lodge
Chair’s Report
This year saw the realisation of many of Arts Access Victoria’s long term goals. With a
continued focus on sector development, Arts Access Victoria has consolidated its leadership
in the arts, working with an increasing number of partners to maximise the participation and
profile of people with a disability in Victoria’s arts and cultural life. The programs highlighted
in these pages confirm that people with a disability are some of our most exciting cultural
innovators, producing outstanding new work and participating in creative exchanges that
stretch the boundaries of community cultural development practice.
All of this work could not happen without the dedicated efforts of many people, including
artists with a disability, our talented team of staff, volunteers and Board. This year, I want to
acknowledge the efforts of two former Directors - the late Lesley Hall and Christian
Astourian whose efforts over the past six and three years respectively have helped to shape
the organisation.
In particular, I want to dedicate this report to the memory of Lesley Hall. Lesley was on the
Board of Arts Access Victoria from 2008 to 2012, the last three of these years as
Chairperson. Lesley was a long-time and dedicated advocate for the rights of people with a
disability to participate in and contribute to Australia’s cultural life as equal and valued
citizens. As Chairperson, she was instrumental in driving an ambitious and transformative
agenda, to change the way the arts and cultural sector engages with people with a disability,
as both practitioners and audiences. Through her leadership, Arts Access Victoria adopted a
new advocacy role which has resulted in significant new investments in arts and disability at
both a national and state level. Lesley has left an indelible legacy for Arts Access Victoria, for
artists with a disability and for the entire arts and cultural sector.
Margherita Coppolino
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013
Executive Director’s Report
This year, the arts and disability sector was engaged in an unprecedented level of public
debate about the role of artists with a disability in the arts, following the unfortunate
reference in Australia’s new cultural policy, Creative Australia, to encouraging a culture of
‘tolerance’ towards people with a disability. Whilst the words were quickly removed from
the document, the resonances for the entire sector were powerful. Most significantly, the
sector asked why people with a disability were to be treated with tolerance, rather than
celebrated for the quality of their creative products, lauded for their significant
accomplishments and sought after as important cultural collaborators.
Artists with a disability and their companies are working in the arts, producing accomplished
new work and touring nationally and internationally. Artists with a disability tell original and
compelling Australian stories that reveal our identity through an exploration of dynamic
themes of citizenship, otherness, beauty and invisibility. Increasingly their work is critically
reviewed and attracting new and significant audiences. Arts Access Victoria campaigned
strongly on this issue, together with our national peak body Arts Access Australia,
demanding that instead of tolerance, government offers the means to achieve full cultural
participation for people with a disability, free from barriers, and acknowledges artists with a
disability in our cultural policy as a national asset to be cultivated and celebrated.
Every year, when we reflect on our achievements, we are taken aback by the volume and
quality of work that we are privileged to facilitate across the arts and disability sector. It’s
starting to feel like a movement, as we are swept away by the exciting and growing
momentum for the work of artists with a disability. Their narratives and creative practices
are beginning to be recognised for the value they contribute to the arts – telling unique
stories, transforming how art is made and building connections to marginalised
communities. As Australia contemplates a once in a generation social reform, in the form of
the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the stories of people with a disability have never
before been so important. Arts Access Victoria actively engaged with this campaign, placing
art made by people with a disability in mainstream arenas, as part of a challenging social
and political dialogue about human rights and citizenship. All our programs have worked to
challenge the legacy of invisibility in which disability has been shrouded for so long. I want
to acknowledge all the artists whose work makes ours possible and whose aspirations drive
our passion for reform.
Veronica Pardo
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013
Sector Development Program
This year, our Sector Development Program provided artists with a disability with the
critical resources necessary to achieve their aspirations.
Our Partnership Development & Capacity Building Program provided support to the arts,
community and disability sectors to develop and deliver inclusive projects, presenting and
promoting models of best practice in inclusive arts. This year, we consulted with more than
140 organisations. Work with local councils has been a major focus, with a number taking a
more proactive approach to the work of inclusion in the arts including Melbourne, Port
Phillip, Geelong, Brimbank, Wyndham, Glen Eira, Knox, Mornington Peninsula and Hume.
Partnering with arts organisations such as Malthouse Theatre, St Martins Youth Theatre,
Arts House, Strange Fruit, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Federation Square, Strange Fruit,
ACMI, Anti-Racism Action Band (ARAB) and Signal Youth Space has meant shared resources,
capacity building and the development of highly innovative creative processes and
outcomes.
Our Pathways Program, which is home to the BOOST! National Mentoring Program, focuses
on identifying and brokering career pathways and professional development opportunities
for individual artists and companies, including training, mentoring, residencies, internships,
professional development and employment. The program also establishes partnerships and
links across arts, education, training, and employment sectors, and develops strategies and
programs to support sustainable pathways. This year, the Pathways Program worked with
22 artists with a disability. For the first time, Arts Access Victoria worked with artists in
South Australia and Queensland as part of the BOOST! National Mentoring Program funded
by Arts Access Australia.
Highlights included:

Medina Sumovic, a deaf director and actor, developed and presented a new theatre
work, Silent Monologues, with sell out performances at the Melbourne Fringe
Festival 2012. Medina was also selected to participate in the Outside Eye mentorship
program through Melbourne Fringe and selected by Malthouse Theatre for a paid
internship, working alongside noted Director Marion Potts. Midsumma Festival in
Melbourne commissioned Medina to direct a short theatre work for their festival in
January 2013 which has since been bought by the 2013 Adelaide Feast Festival.

Andrew Follows, vision impaired photographer, had a highly active and successful
year with increased media interest and coverage of his work. Andrew’s projects
included a photographic workshop series and exhibition project with children at
Artplay called The Looking Glass and another exhibition hosted by the local council in
Beechworth. He also undertook a mentorship with Marcus Bunyan resulting in a solo
exhibition, Density, showcasing new work by Andrew, at The Anita Traverso Gallery
in Richmond.
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013

Akash Temple, a musician and digital artists who has Aspergers and an acquired
brain injury was employed by Arts Access Victoria as creator and editor of a new
online magazine, Living Art!

David Baker was employed by the Arts Centre Melbourne

Matthew Clarke had a number of exhibitions in high profile galleries

Jo Dunbar has been supported to take a leadership role as Artistic Director of The
Delta Project, Australia’s first Deaf dance company

The Skin Gallery, a new initiative of Arts Access Victoria and The Skin and Cancer
Foundation, showcases the work of artists in the Pathways Program, offering for
some their first experience of exhibiting work outside their local community, and,

Heist eGallery also showed the work of artists with a disability, with three exhibitions
during this period.
Arts Program
Our Arts Program delivered an exciting range of activities, including 43 projects engaging
with more than 5,000 artists and people with a disability and exploring new approaches to
inclusive arts practice. Many of our programs celebrated key successes showcasing artwork
created by emerging artists with a disability and building relationships across the arts and
disability sectors to profile and support this work.
Art Day South
Art Day South, based in Dingley, provided artists with a creative, supportive studio in which
to develop their practice, through workshops, gallery visits and on-going collaborations. Art
Day South artists took part in the Gertrude Street Projection Festival for the fourth year
running, presenting their collaborative animation work, Loser, and had their work exhibited
at contemporary arts gallery, Lamington Drive, in Collingwood. The opening of this
exhibition saw the launch of Edward Treloar’s Alphabet, an illustrated book aimed at young
children featuring Edward’s unique paintings. Twenty-one works were sold during the
exhibition.
Since March 2013, Art Day South has been researching how sound can be represented
visually. With the help of sound artist Alice Hui Sheng Chang, the group has explored the
drawn scores from a variety of differing cultures as well as those from avant-garde
composers. The resulting video work Score was screened on the window of Northside
Records at the Gertrude Street Projection Festival in July 2013.
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013
Nebula
Arts Access Victoria’s portable accessible art studio hit the road for the first time in 2012
and in November 2012 travelled to Geelong to be part of the city’s Streets Are Alive Festival,
a major summer event where Art Day South artists conducted public workshops in Nebula
and presented their Animal exhibition featuring plaster sculptures of fictional dinosaurs.
Deaf Artist Liz Reed led a Nebula workshop for children making lanterns out of recycled
materials for the Festival’s Twilight Lantern Parade. The Festival enjoyed good crowds over
its two days and Nebula attracted a great deal of interest.
Nebula also took part in the 2012 Monash Gallery of Art’s Art in the Park event where it was
one of the highlights of the day, impressing everyone with its accessible and eye-catching
design. Nebula also took up residency at Southgate on Melbourne’s Yarra in March 2013 for
performances of Singular, a new theatrical production developed by Art Day South in
partnership with the acclaimed RAWCUS Theatre Company.
Art Seekers
The Art Seekers program (formerly Arts Access Arts Classes) unleashed the creative
potential of more than 100 adults living with mental health issues. The program is now a
regular (weekly) part of participants’ lives and is deliberately embedded within the local
community to maximise social inclusion outcomes. 2012 saw this process strengthened
through partnerships established with Frankston Arts Centre, which now manages the
Frankston community singing group, Heart Song, and a new relationship with the Cardinia
Cultural Centre in Pakenham.
Programs offered included painting, drawing, printmaking, paper cutting, wire sculpture,
mask making, papier mache, open studio sessions and mural works. Three major exhibitions
were also delivered - Artspiration and Minds Fly Free, at Heritage Hill in the City of Greater
Dandenong, and My Way at the Cardinia Cultural Centre in Casey Shire.
Our partnership with Eastern Region Mental Health Association (ERMHA) expanded this
year to include the InterACTing and Bodies in Space pilot. This involved a twelve week series
of drama and movement workshops delivered to adults living with mental illness
(InterACTing) and youth experiencing early stages of mental illness (Bodies in Space).
Autumn Studios
Autumn Studio, part of the Seasonal Studios workshop series, is a visual arts DHS-funded
respite program delivered in the April school holidays. With a focus on myth, storytelling
and narrative, the participating artists created their own muse and explored ways in which
they could visually express this. With colour, cardboard and a Camera Obscura, scenes and
stories were told through visual images. Delivered in partnership with the Cardinia Shire, in
a safe and fun environment, and supported by experienced artists and support workers,
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013
Autumn Studio provides respite to families in the Outer Southern Metropolitan Region as
well as quality arts experience for the participating artists.
Get Out!
This year Get Out! developed a new partnership with the Frankston Arts Centre. Throughout
2012, Get Out! refined The Happy Stage, a small showcase of vignettes and solo
performances speaking directly to issues of finding a collective voice and \ being heard and
understood on the path to finding one’s own ‘happy stage’. It featured a visual art collage
created as the backdrop for the show, a literal ‘happy stage’ designed and painted by the
Get Out! participants. Individual megaphone props were hand-crafted and all poetry and
spoken words written either solely by the participants or in collaboration with the group
and/or lead artists.
Satellite
The Satellite studio meets every Thursday at the Monash Gallery of Art, a contemporary
gallery space specialising in modern and contemporary Australian and international
photography. This year the artists of Satellite focused on portraiture, experimenting with a
variety of new media and continued to develop their individual practice in a professional
studio environment. Their work was included in a well attended group show, Wild Life, at
the Lamington Drive Gallery in Collingwood, with twenty-one works being sold. The works of
the Satellite artists were also the subject of the first issue of Artsider, a new publication by
Arts Access Victoria showcasing the outsider art scene.
Other significant outcomes from individual artists include Jeffrey Phillips’s, new animated
work Be a Jumping Jack, and Vinh Nguyen short film The Bus which he wrote, drew and
directed. Based on Vinh’s own experiences of catching public transport, The Bus animates
his imagined bus journeys and fears of travel. Paula Whiting completed a series of intricate
works based on her love of horses and horse racing resulting in some beautiful pen and ink
drawings. Kristy Sweeney, a new-comer to Satellite, has really flourished and had a show at
Skin Gallery in Melbourne.- Her detailed images of religious iconography are breathtaking.
Supported Residential Services (SRS) Arts Programs
Due to the success of Artstop21, an arts program for SRS residents of Stewart Lodge in
Brunswick, the Victorian Department of Health provided new funding for the expansion of
this program from four to twelve locations in 2012. This year Artstop21 provided 31
workshops and a strong body of work was established showcasing individual styles, using a
range of media based on selected themes and content. Significant outcomes in 2012 for
Artstop21 artists included a solo exhibition by Richard Phelan at Skin Gallery in Carlton and
the selection of five Artstop21 artists as finalists in the ‘Belle Art’ prize at Chapman and
Bailey Gallery in Abbotsford.
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013
Between July and November 2012, Arts Access began working with Reservoir Gardens to
begin the first stage of a program replicating the Artstop21 model with twenty ‘in-house’
workshops held on a Friday afternoon. The in-house workshops create a stimulating studio
environment which invites participation, and where residents have the opportunity either to
explore their artistic skills for the first time or extend previous skills in an engaging and
supportive environment. Thirteen ‘in-house’ arts workshops were also held at Edwards
Lodge, covering a range of techniques. 2013 saw the culmination of the residents’ efforts in
a public exhibition at ‘Skin Gallery’ in Carlton which presented an exciting opportunity to
increase community awareness of the skills and creative potential of people living in
Supported Residential Services. Participation in this exhibition was made possible through a
new partnership with Merri Community Health Services who covered the cost of framing all
Edwards Lodge artworks for the exhibition. Plans are now underway for the expansion of
the program to SRSs in North West Melbourne.
Way Out West
Way Out West (WOW) provides a quality arts program well connected to the community in
Melbourne’s culturally diverse North-West region. Being a part of Westvale’s bustling
community centre in 2012 resulted in a higher profile for the program which attracted an
increased number of participants from diverse backgrounds.
This year Way Out West participants commenced work on The Feast, a theatrical
performance for the Brimbank Festival for 2013 Cultural Diversity Week. It was performed
at the Sunshine Festival in March. After six sessions collaborating with costume designer,
Emily Barrie, the participants of WOW donned their signature costumes to establish the
overall mood of the performance. Held under a marquee in the courtyard of a local
business, The Granary Café, The Feast was a visually beautiful and moving production.
WOW also held a group exhibition at the Hunt Club in Deer Park. The exhibition celebrated
the diverse talents of each WOW artist. As part of the exhibition, the work of Mark Sorbello,
54 playing cards, was printed in card packs now available for sale through Arts Access.
Wyndham Arts Program
The Wyndham Arts Program took an exciting leap forward this year, working in partnership
with Western Edge Youth Arts. The new project brings together young people with a
disability who have trained and performed in the arts for a number of years and young
people from CALD backgrounds who share a passion for creating and performing. The
project incorporates a mentoring component that supports the young people to take
leadership roles facilitating and guiding the artmaking process.
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013
Write-ability
Write-ability was launched in July 2012 as a pilot with funding from the CAL Foundation. In
its first year of operation, Write-ability explored the most effective ways in which support
can be provided to writers with a disability and developed a range of exciting partnerships
within the Victorian writing community and publishing sector. The pilot revealed there is
strong demand for writing programs for writers with a disability with more than seventy
expressions of interest in the program received from across Victoria.
Partnerships established to help ensure the growth and sustainability of the program
include: Writers Victoria, which provides accommodation and administrative support for the
Write-ability Mentor-in-Residence and workshop space for participants; Scope Victoria, who
have established an annual prize for writers with a disability, and the Melbourne Writers
Festival who supported our 'Through Deaf Eyes' performances by deaf writers at their 2012
Festival. Perhaps even more importantly, locating the Mentor-in-Residence in the Wheeler
Centre has raised disability awareness among other resident organisations resulting in the
development of a joint Disability Action Plan for the Centre in 2013. Based on the success of
the pilot, Write-ability secured additional funding from the Ian Potter Foundation to
continue the program into 2013.
Deaf Arts Network
This year Deaf Arts Network (DAN) focused on building new partnerships with organisations
to create pathways for deaf and hard of hearing people to develop their artistic practices.
Symphony of Signing was an arts project to engage and celebrate the Deaf community. The
creative focus of the project was Butterfly Hands, an original poem written collaboratively,
in Australian sign language (Auslan), by poets from Melbourne’s Deaf community. Butterfly
Hands powerfully conveys the social isolation and exclusion commonly experienced by many
Deaf people. Deaf Arts Network took Symphony of Signing to Geelong in November 2012 as
part of Geelong’s annual Streets Are Alive Festival, to Canberra for the 2012 International
Day of People with Disability, and also to the City of Stonnington as part of their Nu Wave
community event.
Through Deaf Eyes celebrated the talents of deaf writers. To date, Australia has almost no
published Deaf writers, largely because most Deaf storytellers communicate in a language
that has no ‘written’ form – Auslan. In addition, most Auslan ‘speakers’ lack confidence in
their ability to express themselves in English using the written word, so opportunities for
Deaf or hearing impaired writers and storytellers to pursue a career in writing have been
extremely limited. In partnership with Writers Victoria, and the Melbourne Writers Festival,
Deaf Arts Network delivered writing workshops for deaf writers, facilitated by Arnold Zable
and two performances of these works were attended by full houses as part of the 2012
Melbourne Writers Festival.
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013
Selected extracts from the works in progress written by the deaf writers involved and an
interview on the project were published in May-June 2013 in The Emerging Writer, the
annual publication of the Emerging Writers Festival. Deaf writer and former DAN
Coordinator, Ross Onley-Zerkel, was invited by the Emerging Writers Festival to host the
launch of this publication at Fitzroy Town Hall.
The Other Film Festival
As both the most accessible disability film festival in the world and Australia’s largest
disability event of any kind, The Other Film Festival generates an enormous load of
expectation and enthusiasm. The festival truly functions as a national lightning rod for the
aspirations of people with a disability to be potently and energetically engaged in screen
culture as audience and as creators. The festival is transformative by its very nature.
The conduction of energy was nowhere better seen than at Opening Night of the 2012
festival. The core values of the festival were on full display; a bigger, better venue, a
purpose-built ramp to the entrance of an historic building, enthusiastic volunteers with and
without a disability, Auslan and BSL interpreters, international guests and a venue full to
capacity. The professional development workshops for directors, writers and actors with a
disability demonstrated the value of investing in the practitioners who continue to meet
systemic access and attitudinal barriers.
The festival’s unshakeable commitment to access, inclusion and participation was also on
display in the speech given by Sophie Sherriff, one of the festival’s inaugural Associate
Directors. Her moving and authentic words underlined the value of investing in people with
a disability as leaders in the arts: “My transition back into the work force was helped by the
festival being one of the few places where being disabled is actually one of the 'skills' valued
and this strategy of employing people who are deaf or disabled is one of the Other Film
Festival's greatest strengths. Quite literally, working for the festival has felt as if I have
returned to the world of the living.”
The festival attracted record numbers, met its ambitious financial targets, attracted
significant national print, broadcast and social media coverage, hosted eight international
and 30 Australian guest presenters, toured to regional and interstate venues, provoked
vigorous debate and discussion and screened some of the world’s best contemporary
cinema.
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013
Access Program
Three fabulous and challenging arts-specific training packages were developed by the
Access Program to promote the creative case for disability inclusion and highlight the
positive contribution disability can bring to artmaking and audiences alike. Our training
programs are led by artists with disability who are passionate about the arts, leaders in their
chosen art form and experts in disability inclusion.
Major Access Team training achievements in 2012/13 included:

Development of a business model for the expansion of arts-led Disability Awareness
Training;

Development of promotional material that positions Arts Access Victoria as a key
provider of professional development for the arts and cultural sector; and

Provision of information about arts and cultural experiences that are accessible to
250 members, 7,500 subscribers and committed arts partners keen to increase their
audience through improved access for people with a disability.
Industry Development
Accessible venues and inclusion of artists with a disability in artistic programs doesn’t ‘just
happen’. Engaging with industry, through training and consultation, is crucial to achieving
these outcomes. The Access Program is widely recognised as an industry leader in the
provision of arts-related disability access training and information and Arts Access Victoria
now has a reputation as the ‘go to place’ for everything on access.
Evidence of the contribution made by the Access Program to arts industry development in
2012/13 include:

Development of ADAPT, a world first arts-specific training program led by artists with
disability. ADAPT is a strategic vehicle for Arts Victoria to build the capacity of the
arts industry to be inclusive of people and artists with disability. The training
program has already generated immediate and demonstrable benefits for industry
and audiences with disability;

Development and delivery of three challenging arts-specific training packages
(Disability Awareness, Accessible Communication and Disability Action Planning) to
promote the creative case for disability inclusion and highlight the positive
contribution disability can bring to artmaking and audiences alike;

Production of arts specific innovative resource material drawing on Australian and
international sources;
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013

Contribution to Australia’s first e-Learning Disability Awareness Training program led
by Arts Access Australia;

Contribution to the development of two major Victorian arts precincts - Melbourne’s
Southbank Arts Precinct Blueprint and the City of Port Phillip’s Emerald Hill Arts
Precinct. Issues such as Universal Access in planning, design and programming were
strongly advocated for both these projects;

Supporting the trialling of new technologies to improve disability access to arts and
culture (National Gallery of Victoria, Frankston Arts Centre), with technology
developers (ACE and the Captioning Company) and with audiences and patrons with
disability with a view to developing Australia’s first accessible ticketing agency
tailored for the arts and festivals;

Submissions to the Victorian government on the state disability plan 2013-2016 and
Arts Victoria’s review of program funding; and,

Consultation and input into the development of Arts Access Australia’s National
Training Standards for the national network of arts access organisations.
Advocacy
Advocacy gives voice to the issues that are important to our core stakeholders, particularly if
they have experienced barriers to attending a performance, going to a movie with friends,
sitting with their partner at the theatre, seeing an exhibition or if they have been spoken to
rudely or ignored altogether at an arts event, been given the wrong information, or rarely
see their lived experience of disability represented on stage or screen.
Advocacy is a key vehicle for our members to shape policy development and legislation in
the arts and disability sectors. Arts Access Victoria represents its stakeholders in its
submissions to government, giving them a united voice which is more likely to be heard by
Government. For example, Arts Access Victoria’s 2012 submission to the State Government
on the Victorian Draft State Disability Plan discussion paper.
At the same time, we work proactively with arts organisations and festivals to improve their
disability access and their responses to issues pertaining to people with a disability so that
the rights of people with a disability to participate fully in art and culture is upheld, and
industry is supported to understand and fulfil its legal obligations.
Arts Access Victoria
222 Bank Street South Melbourne Vic 3205
Voice 03 9699 8299
Email info@artsaccess.com.au
www.artsaccess.com.au
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Arts Access Victoria Annual Report 2012-2013