Working inside
From the outside
Glen Smith on behalf of Arts Connect (Ipswich) accepted the 2019 Event of the Year - Australia Day Award for 'Having Your Voice'. Arts Connect hosted an collaborative art exhibition which all arts were the work of artists living with disabilities. This exhibition was an initiative of Glen Smith endorsed by the members of Arts Connect. As far as I aware this is the first of its kind in the South-East Queensland region to be organised by an organisation that was not funded by the disability sector.
The opening of the exhibition was attending by over 300 people from all walks of life; as the disability services left the comfort zone and walked into the artwork to celebrate the talents of artists that just happen to have disability. Disability itself was absent from the walls of the exhibition and the walls spoke of ability - that voice that was loud and clear on the night.
The significance of this win is not lost on me. I have been an advocate for artists living with disabilities for many years. The event was not about disability it was about art and the artists that created it. Previous exhibitions by artists with disabilities have focused on promoting service providers, rather than the artists themselves.
The goals of the Arts Connect team was to discover new talent; and to give artists with a disability a voice not only in the art community but the Ipswich Community as a whole.
The event definitely achieved that. Whether it was curiosity, to support family members and friends, fellow artists or simply as a art lover people came together to celebrate and it was one of the best attended Art Exhibition Openings in Ipswich in 2018. For me it was a powerful demonstration of inclusion at the invitation of representatives of the Ipswich community.
The NDIS is designed to build the social and economic participation of people living with disabilities. Having Your Voice did that without the assistance of those who are paid to facilitate inclusion. Under the leadership of Glen Smith. Arts Connect is one of the local community groups where artists with disabilities work alongside community members to achieve both individual and collaborative success. If inclusion is about being equal, then Arts Connect in Ipswich is achieving it and living proof that it is possible.
There are several members of Arts Connect that work as independent Artists in Ipswich. So it was pleasing to see an event that was deliberately socially inclusive win the 2019 Australia Day Award. This pictures' the Australia that I and other people with these abilities want to engage in. Inclusion from the inside out has not worked, only the appearance of the walls has changed. The primary concern of disability providers is to ensure their own survival.
I think the best way to achieve inclusion is to invite it. Inclusion and inclusive practices are not achieved by programs. These are achieved by changing our patterns of thinking. Well done on Ipswich Arts Connect for leading the way.
When asked this week why I don't choose to work alongside disability providers, my thinking is simple. Working with closed minded people is not going to bring social change. Working on educating people with influence is changing the Ipswich community. There are no short cuts to any form of social change. Effective change occurs one person at a time, until a movement is formed. History provides many examples of social change the catalyst effect.
Thus I made a clear decision to lead by example and work in the mainstream arts community. I am excited to work with artists with disability but not from inside the disability sector. I want to work from a platform of equal footing. I am not an equal in the disability sector, I am just someone who needs help or fixing.
Having Your Voice was a great step in the right direction, congratulations to Glen Smith and the Arts Connect Team.
The significance of this win is not lost on me. I have been an advocate for artists living with disabilities for many years. The event was not about disability it was about art and the artists that created it. Previous exhibitions by artists with disabilities have focused on promoting service providers, rather than the artists themselves.
The goals of the Arts Connect team was to discover new talent; and to give artists with a disability a voice not only in the art community but the Ipswich Community as a whole.
The event definitely achieved that. Whether it was curiosity, to support family members and friends, fellow artists or simply as a art lover people came together to celebrate and it was one of the best attended Art Exhibition Openings in Ipswich in 2018. For me it was a powerful demonstration of inclusion at the invitation of representatives of the Ipswich community.
The NDIS is designed to build the social and economic participation of people living with disabilities. Having Your Voice did that without the assistance of those who are paid to facilitate inclusion. Under the leadership of Glen Smith. Arts Connect is one of the local community groups where artists with disabilities work alongside community members to achieve both individual and collaborative success. If inclusion is about being equal, then Arts Connect in Ipswich is achieving it and living proof that it is possible.
There are several members of Arts Connect that work as independent Artists in Ipswich. So it was pleasing to see an event that was deliberately socially inclusive win the 2019 Australia Day Award. This pictures' the Australia that I and other people with these abilities want to engage in. Inclusion from the inside out has not worked, only the appearance of the walls has changed. The primary concern of disability providers is to ensure their own survival.
I think the best way to achieve inclusion is to invite it. Inclusion and inclusive practices are not achieved by programs. These are achieved by changing our patterns of thinking. Well done on Ipswich Arts Connect for leading the way.
When asked this week why I don't choose to work alongside disability providers, my thinking is simple. Working with closed minded people is not going to bring social change. Working on educating people with influence is changing the Ipswich community. There are no short cuts to any form of social change. Effective change occurs one person at a time, until a movement is formed. History provides many examples of social change the catalyst effect.
Thus I made a clear decision to lead by example and work in the mainstream arts community. I am excited to work with artists with disability but not from inside the disability sector. I want to work from a platform of equal footing. I am not an equal in the disability sector, I am just someone who needs help or fixing.
Having Your Voice was a great step in the right direction, congratulations to Glen Smith and the Arts Connect Team.
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