Arts. Access Victoria is the state's peak body for arts and disability, and as a disability led arts organisation, they aim to achieve cultural equity for Victorians with disabilities. They've been doing that for the past 50 years, and over the next few weeks they'll be hosting a range of celebrations in conjunction with Disability Pride Month in July and to have a chat with me about the celebrations and take a look back over the 50 years of their involvement in the disability arts space. I'm very glad to be joined by the CEO of Arts Access Victoria, Caroline Bowditch. Caroline, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.

Arts. Access Victoria is the state's peak body for arts and disability, and as a disability led arts organisation, they aim to achieve cultural equity for Victorians with disabilities. They've been doing that for the past 50 years, and over the next few weeks they'll be hosting a range of celebrations in conjunction with Disability Pride Month in July and to have a chat with me about the celebrations and take a look back over the 50 years of their involvement in the disability arts space. I'm very glad to be joined by the CEO of Arts Access Victoria, Caroline Bowditch. Caroline, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.

Thanks, Sam, for having me.

Thanks, Sam, for having me.

Now, before we get into the big celebrations today, I'd love to hear a bit more about Arts Access Victoria. So tell us a little bit about the organisation.

Now, before we get into the big celebrations today, I'd love to hear a bit more about Arts Access Victoria. So tell us a little bit about the organisation.

Yeah. Thanks, Sam. So as we're going to talk about, we've been in existence for 50 years and our primary ambition is to get us closer to cultural equity for deaf and disabled people, which is no small feat, but it's really good to have an ambition, and that's very much what we're working towards. We're really targeting and focused on systemic and transformational change and whatever that might be for our community, for the disability community. And basically what we do is that every week we work with deaf and disabled artists to get them closer to their artistic ambitions. Okay, so we run a series of studios every week throughout Melbourne, mostly in the outskirts of Melbourne. We also arrange mentoring, establish mentoring relationships for deaf and disabled artists who would benefit from that. We run a monthly online gathering for deaf and disabled artists to come together and share information about their practice and what they're doing, and those spaces also are about information sharing. We support artists to develop and write funding applications, and then we support artists to actually then deliver what they have committed to by auspices and grant funds, If applicants are or artists are successful, and then we do a whole lot of stuff with the arts sector where we do training for lots and lots of organizations. So it's many and varied. Salmon every day is completely different.

Yeah. Thanks, Sam. So as we're going to talk about, we've been in existence for 50 years and our primary ambition is to get us closer to cultural equity for deaf and disabled people, which is no small feat, but it's really good to have an ambition, and that's very much what we're working towards. We're really targeting and focused on systemic and transformational change and whatever that might be for our community, for the disability community. And basically what we do is that every week we work with deaf and disabled artists to get them closer to their artistic ambitions. Okay, so we run a series of studios every week throughout Melbourne, mostly in the outskirts of Melbourne. We also arrange mentoring, establish mentoring relationships for deaf and disabled artists who would benefit from that. We run a monthly online gathering for deaf and disabled artists to come together and share information about their practice and what they're doing, and those spaces also are about information sharing. We support artists to develop and write funding applications, and then we support artists to actually then deliver what they have committed to by auspices and grant funds, If applicants are or artists are successful, and then we do a whole lot of stuff with the arts sector where we do training for lots and lots of organizations. So it's many and varied. Salmon every day is completely different.

Sounds like it. And you've been doing that, as you've mentioned for 50 years now. So that's some pretty auspicious occasion, something very, very worthy of celebration. And we'll get to those celebrations a little bit later. But I want to sort of get your thoughts and feelings about, you know, hitting such a major milestone 50 years now in the disability space. Wow.

Sounds like it. And you've been doing that, as you've mentioned for 50 years now. So that's some pretty auspicious occasion, something very, very worthy of celebration. And we'll get to those celebrations a little bit later. But I want to sort of get your thoughts and feelings about, you know, hitting such a major milestone 50 years now in the disability space. Wow.

Yeah, it's pretty huge. I mean, it's kind of amazing to think that Judy Morton, who was the founder of Arts Access, had the vision or had the the idea for arts access at such a really pivotal time politically. So 1974, Gough Whitlam was in power. There were conversations being had around the potential NDIS at that stage. There was also obviously we were Gough Whitlam was instigating things like the Mabo conversations. So it was very alive from a social justice perspective. And Judy really saw the opportunity to, uh, really focus in on, um, the social justice of people that were being excluded from arts and culture. So that included deaf and disabled people, but also included people in prisons, in residential care and in hospitals. So our base was very broad in the beginning, and I suppose we have honed it and it's changed over the years. But it started very broad.

Yeah, it's pretty huge. I mean, it's kind of amazing to think that Judy Morton, who was the founder of Arts Access, had the vision or had the the idea for arts access at such a really pivotal time politically. So 1974, Gough Whitlam was in power. There were conversations being had around the potential NDIS at that stage. There was also obviously we were Gough Whitlam was instigating things like the Mabo conversations. So it was very alive from a social justice perspective. And Judy really saw the opportunity to, uh, really focus in on, um, the social justice of people that were being excluded from arts and culture. So that included deaf and disabled people, but also included people in prisons, in residential care and in hospitals. So our base was very broad in the beginning, and I suppose we have honed it and it's changed over the years. But it started very broad.

And to celebrate, you are holding a series of events at the collective, and we'll get a bit of detail about the collective itself now. So, um, tell us a little bit about it.

And to celebrate, you are holding a series of events at the collective, and we'll get a bit of detail about the collective itself now. So, um, tell us a little bit about it.

So the collective is an exhibition. It's our largest exhibition to date. I would say it's going to involve about 120 deaf and disabled artists that we're currently working with. And it's going to be a reflection on our archives. So it's going to be contemporary artists from now who have made responses to projects that we have done in the past. So it's almost like they're learning from and engaging with deaf and disabled artists from our history and responding to the work that they generated or have generated over the 50 years. So that's the exhibition. It will be film, and there will be showing the original footage of those art six specific arts projects. And on the opposite wall there will be six responses to those original artworks. Yeah, so that's exciting. And alongside the actual exhibition, there will also be a welcoming space, which will be an opportunity for people to come in, um, hang out with us, hang out with staff and artists to delve into the archive. We'll have examples of work from the past. Is a chance to have a cuppa, bring their own reflections on arts access and the way they've connected with arts access over the 50 years. And then we'll have a different space that we'll be holding some workshops and other ways to reflect on people's experiences from over the years.

So the collective is an exhibition. It's our largest exhibition to date. I would say it's going to involve about 120 deaf and disabled artists that we're currently working with. And it's going to be a reflection on our archives. So it's going to be contemporary artists from now who have made responses to projects that we have done in the past. So it's almost like they're learning from and engaging with deaf and disabled artists from our history and responding to the work that they generated or have generated over the 50 years. So that's the exhibition. It will be film, and there will be showing the original footage of those art six specific arts projects. And on the opposite wall there will be six responses to those original artworks. Yeah, so that's exciting. And alongside the actual exhibition, there will also be a welcoming space, which will be an opportunity for people to come in, um, hang out with us, hang out with staff and artists to delve into the archive. We'll have examples of work from the past. Is a chance to have a cuppa, bring their own reflections on arts access and the way they've connected with arts access over the 50 years. And then we'll have a different space that we'll be holding some workshops and other ways to reflect on people's experiences from over the years.

We'll get into those, um, reflection opportunities and those workshops. And, um, I guess this also ties into the greater celebration of Disability Pride Month over the month of July. And, you know, what does it mean to an organization like Arts Access Victoria to be so heavily involved in the disability space and be able to celebrate Disability Pride Month and have those really important conversations to center artists with disabilities in the performing and arts space.

We'll get into those, um, reflection opportunities and those workshops. And, um, I guess this also ties into the greater celebration of Disability Pride Month over the month of July. And, you know, what does it mean to an organization like Arts Access Victoria to be so heavily involved in the disability space and be able to celebrate Disability Pride Month and have those really important conversations to center artists with disabilities in the performing and arts space.

Sam, I think that disability pride is something that we all are trying to get better at, and I think it's only in the past few years that we've even recognized that July is Disability Pride Month, and is something that we are growing our commitment and involvement in organizationally. What does it mean to us? I think it's very much a work in progress for all of us as a community, and definitely for us as an organization. The fabulous Stella Young, who lots of your listeners will be familiar with on her arm, has tattooed the words from the Laura Hershey poem that says, you get proud by practicing. And I really feel like July is an opportunity for us to really develop our pride by practicing it, by being in spaces collectively where we can really share community, have a sense that we are part of something bigger, that we are connected to each other and to really celebrate that, celebrate each other and ourselves.

Sam, I think that disability pride is something that we all are trying to get better at, and I think it's only in the past few years that we've even recognized that July is Disability Pride Month, and is something that we are growing our commitment and involvement in organizationally. What does it mean to us? I think it's very much a work in progress for all of us as a community, and definitely for us as an organization. The fabulous Stella Young, who lots of your listeners will be familiar with on her arm, has tattooed the words from the Laura Hershey poem that says, you get proud by practicing. And I really feel like July is an opportunity for us to really develop our pride by practicing it, by being in spaces collectively where we can really share community, have a sense that we are part of something bigger, that we are connected to each other and to really celebrate that, celebrate each other and ourselves.

And, um, getting back to the collective, but also those workshops and events that will be taking place concurrently, both interwoven and adjacent to the things going on inside the collective. Could we get a few details about where and when certain events will be happening, where the collective can be found, and how people can find out more about it.

And, um, getting back to the collective, but also those workshops and events that will be taking place concurrently, both interwoven and adjacent to the things going on inside the collective. Could we get a few details about where and when certain events will be happening, where the collective can be found, and how people can find out more about it.

Absolutely, Sam. So the collective exhibition is taking place or being held in the stables at the meat market, which is in North Melbourne at two Reckon Street, and the exhibition will be open from Thursdays to Saturdays from the 5th of July to the 27th of July, from 11 till five each day, and then each Friday for the three Fridays. So the exhibition will open on the fifth. We'll be having our 50th anniversary celebration and opening on the 5th of July, and then we will also have three other events on the following Fridays. So on Friday the 12th of July, we'll be really thinking about the past and the previous and current and future CEOs of Arts. Access Victoria will be coming together to have a panel conversation on the 12th, between 2 and 4 p.m. and then on the 19th of July, Friday the 19th of July, we will be having the gathering, which usually happens on the last Tuesday of each month, but we've moved it slightly to be able to have a hybrid gathering on Friday the 19th, and we really invite people to come and reflect on where we are currently, and we'll be hearing from some of the artists that are featured or included in the exhibition itself. And then on Friday the 26th of July, we are going to hear from the future. So for the last couple of years, we have run a youth advisory collective, and we are going to be hearing from them about their manifesto for the future. So really hearing about what they want into the future as young disabled artists, what's their imagined future? So that's some of the events that are going to happen, um, in and around the collective. Um, and we really strongly encourage people to either join us online. So all of those events will be hybrid, they'll be available online and also in person, where everybody is welcome to come and be with us. And you can find out more information on our website at Arts Access. access.com.au and all the details are there. Sam, I wanted to mention that the exhibition is all of the. All of the exhibition is audio described, and we will always have staff on hand to really support people to access the archive in whatever way works for them. So people will be around and very much able to support.

Absolutely, Sam. So the collective exhibition is taking place or being held in the stables at the meat market, which is in North Melbourne at two Reckon Street, and the exhibition will be open from Thursdays to Saturdays from the 5th of July to the 27th of July, from 11 till five each day, and then each Friday for the three Fridays. So the exhibition will open on the fifth. We'll be having our 50th anniversary celebration and opening on the 5th of July, and then we will also have three other events on the following Fridays. So on Friday the 12th of July, we'll be really thinking about the past and the previous and current and future CEOs of Arts. Access Victoria will be coming together to have a panel conversation on the 12th, between 2 and 4 p.m. and then on the 19th of July, Friday the 19th of July, we will be having the gathering, which usually happens on the last Tuesday of each month, but we've moved it slightly to be able to have a hybrid gathering on Friday the 19th, and we really invite people to come and reflect on where we are currently, and we'll be hearing from some of the artists that are featured or included in the exhibition itself. And then on Friday the 26th of July, we are going to hear from the future. So for the last couple of years, we have run a youth advisory collective, and we are going to be hearing from them about their manifesto for the future. So really hearing about what they want into the future as young disabled artists, what's their imagined future? So that's some of the events that are going to happen, um, in and around the collective. Um, and we really strongly encourage people to either join us online. So all of those events will be hybrid, they'll be available online and also in person, where everybody is welcome to come and be with us. And you can find out more information on our website at Arts Access. access.com.au and all the details are there. Sam, I wanted to mention that the exhibition is all of the. All of the exhibition is audio described, and we will always have staff on hand to really support people to access the archive in whatever way works for them. So people will be around and very much able to support.

Perfect. Okay. Well, I've been speaking today with Caroline Bowditch, CEO of Arts Access Victoria, here to celebrate 50 years of the organisation with me on Talking Vision. Caroline, thank you very much for your time. All the best for the upcoming exhibitions and all the best for the next 50 years.

Perfect. Okay. Well, I've been speaking today with Caroline Bowditch, CEO of Arts Access Victoria, here to celebrate 50 years of the organisation with me on Talking Vision. Caroline, thank you very much for your time. All the best for the upcoming exhibitions and all the best for the next 50 years.

Brilliant.

Brilliant.

Thanks, Sam.

Thanks, Sam.