Arts and Disability Plan 2024-2026

In partnership with the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety, Arts Queensland consulted with more than 200 people of diverse cultural backgrounds and disabilities. This included representatives from arts organisations, disability service providers, peak bodies, education providers, Local Government authorities and independent arts practice.

Consultation included:

• roundtable sessions in Cairns, Brisbane, Townsville, Mackay and Toowoomba
• structured interviews with individuals and organisations working in arts and disability
• engagement with the Queensland Disability Advisory Council (QDAC).

Themes identified through consultation included:

• co-designed and evidence informed approaches
• awareness raising and challenging misperceptions about arts and disability
• regional-specific approaches that build on strengths and acknowledge unique needs and opportunities
• accessibility of funding programs and processes for artists and arts workers
• access to inclusive workplaces, events and performances for artists, arts workers and audiences
• professional skills, career development and leadership opportunities for people with disability
• support for d/Deaf and disabled artists and arts workers to lead and present new works of scale
• profile-raising opportunities for artists with disability, including the need for national and international opportunities
• unique and additional costs experienced by artists and arts workers with disability due to specialised equipment, travel or support workers.
  

Image: Karen Lee Roberts, Joel Lago and Leanne Beer (Auslan Interpreter) Wilbur the Optical Whale. Indelabilityarts. Wilbur the Optical Whale is an interactive and accessible performance for children, celebrating difference and exploring themes of bullying and acceptance. Credit: Nick Morrissey

People with disability are involved with arts and culture in Queensland as professional artists, arts and cultural workers, community participants and audience members.

• There are almost 1.2 million Queenslanders with disability, making up 23% of the state’s population.¹
• d/Deaf and disabled artists and arts workers are underrepresented in the arts and cultural sector, representing less than 9% of Australia’s professional arts worker population and 3% of arts and cultural leadership roles.²
• 56% of Queenslanders with disability attended the arts in person (compared to 68% of all Queenslanders) during 2022 and 42% believed there were plenty of opportunities for them to get involved in cultural and creative experiences.³
• Arts Queensland provides support towards the core operational and programming costs of three arts and disability-focused organisations. It also provides awards and project funding to create, present and tour new work.
• There is opportunity to increase the 7% representation (since 2022) of successful applicants who identify as having disability.
• Peer assessment panels, which provide expert assessment of Arts Queensland funding applications, have diverse representation, with 14% of peers identifying as having disability.
• In recent years, the State’s leading cultural and collecting institutions and companies have increased their delivery of disabled-led and accessible programs and works.
• More arts companies are partnering with disability service providers and peak bodies to provide opportunities for Queenslanders with Parkinson’s, brain trauma, vision impairment, dementia, autism and sensory needs to participate in arts experiences.
• Disabled-led work by Queensland artists and organisations is gaining national recognition, receiving awards and changing how arts and cultural work is being created and presented.

Image: Chloe Wigg, Tangalooma, acrylic on wooden panel. Chloe Wigg is a Queensland-based fluid impressionist artist. Her works celebrate the joy and beauty in everyday life, as seen through the lens of someone with an invisible disability. Image courtesy Chloe Wigg

The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games present Queensland with an extraordinary opportunity to showcase our unique stories, arts and culture to a global audience. The lead-up period provides time to supercharge careers, lift the profile of Queensland’s arts and cultural experiences and create cultural leadership opportunities for Queensland artists and arts workers with disability.

Unlimited, a commissioning and producing company in the United Kingdom, is a widely-recognised legacy of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. It continues to support and promote ambitious new work by d/Deaf and disabled artists for local and international audiences.

As we prepare for Brisbane 2032, this Plan will build on existing actions in Grow 2022-2026. It will support a core pillar of the Elevate 2042 Legacy Strategy, advancing accessibility and empowering people with disability, building a society where people with disability can realise their ambitions and participate fully in the community.

This Plan takes inspiration from these initiatives. It works to unlock a shared ambition for change within and through arts and cultural work that reflects the stories, talents and leadership of people with disability.

Image: Breathe In, Crossroad Arts (Mackay). Breathe In is a multimedia performance work developed by Crossroad Arts exploring themes of isolation, connection and survival as experienced by people with disability. Credit: Leah McLean Photography

The Plan focuses on strengthening Queensland arts and culture through the leadership of people with disability. With co-designed and disabled-led approaches at the core, the following three priorities respond to consultation and deliver on Queensland Government priorities.

Implementation of the Plan will be led by Arts Queensland and overseen by a representative Panel.

The Panel will play a central role in informing the development of Arts Queensland programs and initiatives. It will also identify opportunities that build positive outcomes for artists, arts and cultural workers, participants and audiences with disability.

Implementation of the Plan will be monitored, and learnings and outcomes shared on the Arts Queensland website.

Image: Martin Edge, Two City Cats 2024, acrylic on canvas, 30x60cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Anthea Polson Art

¹ Australian Bureau of Statistics (2024), Disability, Ageing and Carers Australia: Summary of Findings Retrieved from Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2022 | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au).

² Hadley, Bree (2022), Disability and the Arts, Creative, and Cultural Industries in Australia. Australian Academy of the Humanities. Report for the Australian Council of Learned Academies.

³ Creative Australia (2023), Creating Value: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey. Queensland Data tables. Table 1 Live Attendance and Table 6 Creative Participation.

Image: Be Iconic, Fashion Collab, Brisbane Festival 2024. Fashion Collab is a collective of creatives who have diverse lived experiences and a broad array of artistic practices. Credit: Morgan Roberts