The Australia Council for the Arts is currently in the process of working on a Disability Arts Needs Analysis and Audit with the goal of providing more awareness to the services it offers to d/Deaf and disabled artists as well as the arts sector.
© Thom Roberts A portriff of Adam (Shane Simpson AM)
In connection with this, the council is calling out on d/Deaf and disabled Australian artists and art workers, or those who have chronic illness or mental health conditions, to join focus groups it will be organising to share their insights and talk about their experiences.
It is open to artists at all stages of their career development and of various backgrounds. A number of focus group slots are allotted for People of Colour, Deaf community and First Nations communities.
All focus groups will take two hours long, including break, and be held online by way of Zoom, with Auslan and captioning available. Each session is open to up to 15 participants.
Unwaged/independent artists, meanwhile, will be provided an honorarium of $100 for participating.
Focus of the discussion will circle around what the critical service needs are, initiatives and sectors to be prioritised, and advocacy to be delivered, among others.
The group sessions are facilitated by lead consultant Morwenna Collett, who will be assisted by expert co-facilitators.
To ensure that participants can share more input, the council said the agenda for the sessions will be sent in advance.
Focus group dates and times are broken down below:
- Focus Group 1 (Open to all d/Deaf or disabled artists); Wednesday, 16 August, 6-8 pm AEST
- Focus Group 2 (Open to all d/Deaf or disabled artists); Monday, 21 August, 2-4 pm AEST
- Focus Group 3 (Closed Deaf session, facilitated by Fiona Murphy); Wednesday, 23 August, 2-4 pm AEST
- Focus Group 4 (Closed session for People Of Colour, co-facilitated by Mallika Macleod); Thursday, 31 August, 2-4 pm AEST
- Focus Group 5 (Closed First Nations session, facilitated by First Nations d/Deaf or disabled artist); Friday, 1 September, 2-4 pm AEST
The Australia Council for the Arts assures that the project adheres to ethical research principles, privacy and human rights. It said that before one participates, they will be fully informed of what the discussions will be all about and how the information they give will be used.
The project, the council also said, is in line with its push to be a disability confident and competent organisation, which strives to support artists and arts workers with disability to have full access to resources available.
Those interested to participate in the sessions may email project coordinator Jo Simpson at joannesimpson74@outlook.com. For other particulars, check out the Australia Council for the Arts website.
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