Published 20 November, 2020

In partnership with Diversity Arts Australia, the VMDO are offering two workshops in December designed to assist music business professionals to work effectively with Deaf and Disabled artists, businesses, communities and audiences.

Please ensure you register for each individual event, in order to secure your spot. The Zoom video conference link is contained within your ticket, which you'll be able to access once your registration has been completed. Live captioning will be available at both events.

Making Live Music Accessible

Tuesday 1st December 2020, 11.00am - 1.00pm AEDT

In this workshop, Morwenna Collett will present the findings from her Churchill Fellowship ‘Building a musically inclusive future for Australian artists, participants and audiences - elements and success factors’. This research explored inclusive music programs, venues and festivals which actively engage disabled people across the USA, UK and Ireland. This session will include:

• General disability inclusion principles

• Potential barriers and access solutions relevant to the music industry

• Access services, new ways of presenting music and assistive technology

• Top access tips for musicians and music organisations (including venues, festivals and presenters)

• Case studies and resources

The session will include interactive activities to put these ideas into practice.

Cultural Safety from a Disability Perspective

Monday 7th December 2020, 11.00am - 1.00pm AEDT

In this 2 hour workshop with Caroline Bowditch, CEO of Arts Access Victoria, participants will:

• Be introduced to the principles of disability justice and how they relate to the arts and cultural sector

• Imagine what a culturally safe arts sector looks like from a disability perspective across programming, audiences, creative workers, leadership and arts practice

• Engage in self reflection to examine motivations, cultural competency and the impact of their work

• Discuss the Social Model of disability in relation to the arts, and ways to be effective allies and accomplices for Deaf and Disabled artists

Presenter Bios

Morwenna Collett

Morwenna is an accomplished consultant, leader and facilitator with experience of working in the arts, government, not for profit and university sectors as a CEO, leadership team member, Board Director, project manager, lecturer, trainer and advisor. Her work is informed by her lived experience as a musician with disability and she is sought after nationally and internationally for her expertise in diversity, access and inclusion. She is currently a member of disability and inclusion committees for the Sydney Festival, Perth Festival, Undercover Artist Festival and the City of Sydney and is a trainer with People With Disability Australia and Accessible Arts. She is also an Affiliate of the Association of Consultants in Access Australia.

As a consultant and trainer, she has helped transform approaches to diversity, access and inclusion for a wide range of arts organisations, including Perth Festival, Opera Queensland, Polyglot Theatre, Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Liveworks Festival, Art Gallery NSW, Museum of Contemporary Art, Blacktown Arts Centre, Sydney Living Museums and the Australia Council for the Arts. She has lectured at the Sydney Conservatorium (The University of Sydney), Melbourne Conservatorium (University of Melbourne) and Sir Zelman Cowan School of Music (Monash University), regularly presents at conferences and on panels across Australia and internationally and is a regular writer for various journals and media outlets. She previously held senior leadership roles at Accessible Arts (CEO), the Australia Council for the Arts (various positions in the areas of music, performing arts, business development, project management, risk management) and Sydney Arts Managers Advisory Group (Chair).

Caroline Bowditch

Caroline Bowditch is currently CEO at Arts Access Victoria, after 16 years living and working in the UK as a performer, maker, teacher, speaker, and agent of change. Caroline held the role of Dance Agent for Change (2008-2012) at Scottish Dance Theatre and Visiting Professor at Coventry University. Her 2014 work, Falling in Love with Frida, was awarded a prestigious Herald Angel award. She has been a regular consultant on accessibility and inclusivity to Skånes Dansteater, Sweden and British Council, and is often invited to mentor artists at all levels of their artistic development.