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Tuesday 4 April 2017

Arts news and commentary

CREATEABILITY 2017 is a Screenworks initiative supported Screen NSW and the ABC that provides funded opportunities for professional filmmakers living in Regional NSW to profile artists with disability living and creating in their communities. 
The key objective of CREATEABILITY 2017 is to profile work produced by artists with disability through identified arts organisations and screen media.
Registrations for CREATEABILITY 2017 will close at midnight on Sunday 23rd April 2017
Sydney Opera House 2017 Access Program launched
Accessible Arts Newsletter, March 2017:
The Sydney Opera House has unveiled its 2017 Access Program, featuring more than 70 accessible performances, workshops and experiences to ensure the Opera House is open to all. 
Underpinned by the Sydney Opera House’s Access Strategic Plan 2016-18, the 2017 program is the Opera House’s biggest yet, increasing the number of accessible performances available to the community.  
Visit the Sydney Opera House official Media Release online here for the list of performances. 
Alongside its year-round Access Program, the Opera House is making significant progress with its plans to open up more of the building to the public and improve access around the site for those with mobility issues. These essential works, which form part of Stage 1 Renewal of the Opera House, include greater access to the Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre, wheelchair accessible seating positions and new Box Office and Foyer lifts and escalators. 
Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron AM said: “Accessibility is a major focus for us. As we renew the building for future generations we are looking at every possible opportunity to make the Opera House more accessible – from programming to the building itself."

It's not OK for actors to 'black up'; nor is it OK to act out disability
Carly Findlay, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 March 2017
The disability community – people with disability and parents alike – is excited about Speechless, now screening on Channel Eleven. It's one of the first TV shows that does not depict disability as a tragedy, burden or something to be ashamed of ...

Cara Liebowitz, NOS Magazine, 8 March 2017
I love ABC’s Speechless. It is one of my favorite shows currently on the air. As someone with cerebral palsy, I’m beyond thrilled that someone like me is finally being shown on TV as just a regular character, not a “special” guest to teach the non-disabled characters the meaning of kindness. Micah Fowler, who plays JJ, actually has cerebral palsy, a fact that excites me to no end.

Unfortunately,the show has a worrying trend of sort of sideways swiping a trope or stereotype about disability, but not directly subverting it. It’s like after the first few episodes, the show lost its nerve. And nowhere was that more obvious than the latest episode, O-S-Oscar P-A-Party ...


The Shows Shaking Up Disability Representation
David M. Perry, Pacific Standard, 8 March 2017
'Speechless' and 'Switched at Birth' deliver great jokes, soapy family drama, and a primer in contemporary issues facing the disability community ...

Oscars diversity debate must include learning disability
Letters, The Guardian, 25 February 2017
Diversity has long been an issue at the Oscars ... Last year’s #OscarsSoWhite campaign highlighted the lack of racial diversity. But disability has been overlooked in this debate, with even less of a voice for people with a learning disability ...

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