Sarah Houbolt: From accessibility to innovation

As I stood on stage at the opening event of Arts Access Australia’s Australia-Berlin Arts Exchange project, I audio-described the environment, my costume and props in a public version of pre-show notes before performing a contemporary circus sideshow act with a hula hoop and bed of nails.

Sarah Houbolt audio-describing the environment on stage at the Australia & Berlin Arts Exchange Opening Ceremony. Image credit: Jacqueline Homer

We were in the Australian Embassy in Berlin, with diplomats, local cultural workers and our formidable team – nine artists with disability, a support team and Arts Access Australia’s contingent. The setting was a large internal courtyard with a high glass ceiling. I wore a sparkly gold leotard. We decided not to do a touch tour for safety reasons due to the six inch nails. It was a brilliant opportunity to embed the messaging of a disability–led approach.

Sarah Houbolt performs at the Opening Ceremony of the Australia & Berlin Arts Exchange. Image credit: Jacqueline Homer

The performance went well. The feedback from the audience positively surprised me – almost everyone agreed that the audio description beforehand created a better, more engaged experience for all. They reported feeling more connected. Two things struck me – the first being that it seemed natural to consciously do this, as sideshow as an art form verbalises all the time what you are about to see. There is a lot to learn from sideshow. The second is that I realised that Australia has an enormous amount to offer.

For me, the Australia-Berlin exchange initiative was not only a great way to meet other artists from Australia – as it is crucial for cultural leaderships that we know each other – but also as a way to meet artists outside of Australia. As a result, we have conjured new and inspiring conversations, new connections and new creative ideas.

The Australian contingent of the Arts Exchange with Australia’s Ambassador to Germany, Lynette Wood. Image credit: Jacqueline Homer

After my performance at the opening event, I spoke to a really interesting German dance company investigating tactile performance. This mirrors my research in Australia around tactile learning. What a beautiful idea to have tactile performance, as one step beyond a touch tour. I smiled and thought to myself, how wonderful that the world is moving collectively in the same positive direction to demonstrate that accessibility truly leads to innovation. The next measure of success will be whether we can now generate more paid international work for artists with disability.