Selecting Your Art Goals Under the NDIS

Art is different things to different people, so if you're thinking of making art a goal in your NDIS plan then you need to be specific as you can in writing your goal(s) to ensure you get the level of support you need.

Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme the type and level of support you receive will be determined by the goals you list in your plan. Some people are confused about word 'goals'. A goal is something you like doing or want to achieve.

Many artists I talk to tell me they would like to sell the artwork or making money through of sales of work.  This is a clear goal these people might like to list in their NDIS plan.  The National Disability Insurance Agency, also want to know 'how' or 'where' you are planning to sell your artwork.

There are a few ways people chose to sell their artwork, the most common way is through art competitions and exhibitions, however their are a number of ways to sell art on line or you might like to try an arts & craft market.

But not everyone wants to be a professional artist. Some people want to relax and enjoy art as a hobby.  Some people enjoy doing art alone others, like to enjoy the company of others while they create art or new art skills.

Similarly people want to learn art skills for different reasons. Some people want to learn art skills because they enjoy learning, or they just want to try new things, others want to train to be professional artists.

So why do you want to include art in your NDIS goals:

• I am a professional artist building my art practise so in my NDIS plan I list art as a self-employment. 
• However you may be employed by someone to teach art or you may work in an art gallery.
• Or you might not given much thought to you art and where you are heading. You might just want to coast along, learn some techniques, so you might ask for support to attend some community art class.
• The NDIA will also fund therapy. Art therapy is useful in working with children and adults with Autism and in my work with ArtISability I have seen individuals improve with their communication skills. So art therapy is something you might want to consider.
• There is a possibility that you really enjoy art as part of your social activities, so you might want to seek out a service provider who has an art based center program.

However I've only explored a few option and 'how' you achieve you art dream even if your in professional practise might look very different to my plan.  You might for example be into commercial art and looking for full-time employment.

Some tips about writing goals and the steps you intend to take to achieve them.

• A goal will have an outcome, Like a sale of your artwork.
• But a step may or may not heave an outcome. A step could be to attend university to study art to become a professional artists, or a step may be to produce a piece of art to sell.
• An outcome is measurable.  When you're holding a piece of artwork you created you know you've achieve your goal to paint a picture.
• If you goal is to enjoy art by attending a community art class, then your class attendance is you outcome.
• A goal is something you can achieve - if your goals if to learn how to tie-die and you have a piece of tie-die art in you hand, I would know you have achieved your goal.
• But if your goal is to learn more about art. I hard to know when you learnt enough about art.  'To learn more about art', might be your goal or a step on your way to achieve your goal, but to be supported by the NDIA to achieve that goal you might need to be more specific. "I want to learn more art skills related to drawing, and I will achieved that through doing a class at Brisbane Institute of art's Introduction to drawing class. " So they will know you need support to attend class.

However not all you goals you will want to achieve in the next year. You will have:-

• Long term goals - For me this is to have my artwork recognized by people living in Australian.
• Short term goals - Plan and produce artwork for my next two art exhibitions and enter some art competitions.
• Immediate goal - Is to start producing artwork for my next exhibition. (some people might list this as a step)

Someone asked me how many goals will the NDIA fund?  Very much that will depend what the goals are and how much resources they require from the NDIA.  Not all of my goals require support. For example writing my blog to market my art work. Yet because their in my business plan and some aspects of my business I need support like, transporting my artwork, writing my blog is part of my plan. (except I just put refer to business plan). The NDIA will want to ensure you know how to achieve your goals. If not they might suggest some training.

It is really had to give general advise on writing goals, even though I know the subject well.  You goals will depend on your level of experience or knowledge about art. I hope I given you enough information on how specific you NDIS goals need to be.

If you live in the Ipswich region and you like to discuss your goals for art and the NDIS, you can visit the ArtISability stand at the Fresh Futures Market in Wednesday 7th September between 9 am and 1 pm, @ the Ipswich Show Grounds on Warwick Road.