AAA Bound for Berlin

This week Arts Access Australia takes off on a discovery tour of Berlin as part of a new cultural exchange project assisted by the Australian Government through the Department of Communication and the Arts’ Catalyst— Australian Arts and Culture Fund and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia now Germany 2017 program.

One of the highlights of the tour will be presenting at the FOCUS conference in Brandenburg on Thursday 30 March 2017. The conference will provide a forum for lively discussion with delegates across the museum and exhibition sector. This year the conference will focus on access and inclusion.

Arts Access Australia’s CEO Meagan Shand looks forward to showcasing Australian artistic talent and leadership in access and inclusion of people with disability in the arts.

“Australia has some exceptional artists with disability and has made some excellent progress in access and inclusion. Evidence suggests, however, that people with disability still face barriers to participating and engaging in the arts”, Shand said.

In a review of National Arts and Disability Strategy it is estimated that of the four million Australians who live with disability nearly fifty percent create art. However, a significantly lower proportion of artists find a professional career pathway, and if they do they will probably earn 25% less from their practice than artists without a disability. The review also shows that people with disability are less likely to attend arts events than Australians who live without disability (59% compared to 71%).

“There is still more work to be done to increase opportunities for people with disability as artists and audiences. This project sets the stage for innovative learning opportunities between Australia and Germany. What’s most exciting, is that we will be doing the groundwork to take a small delegation of Australia’s leading artists with disability to Berlin later this year to perform, exhibit and assist with access workshops,” Shand said.

Ms Shand and Arts Access Australia’s Funding and Development Manager, Kathie Kelly will be in Berlin from 27 -31 March to gather information to prepare a number of tailor-made events and workshops on disability access, performances and exhibits later in the year. Local project partners Förderband e.V. are scheduling meetings for the visit and invite representatives from Berlin arts and cultural sector to get involved.

Förderband e.V. Project Manager and award winning director Imke Baumann said “this is a unique opportunity for Australian and German cultural leaders and artists to exchange ideas and information, we have worked with Arts Access Australia before and know this is a worthwhile cultural investment for both countries.”

Ms Kelly is also keen to speak with potential corporate sponsors and philanthropists.

“Experiencing this type of artwork and performance has the ability to make us stop and think, celebrate commonalities and has the potential to portray new ideas. Couple that with the cultural diplomacy an opportunity such as this offers and these events become extremely attractive to businesses with Australian and German connections.”

Established in 1992, Arts Access Australia is the peak national body for Australian arts and disability. The organisation is the only national arts and disability organisations in the country to be disability-led. That is, it’s CEO and 50 per cent of board members are people with disability. Arts Access Australia therefore is uniquely qualified to represent artists, arts workers and audiences with disability.

Media Contacts