Access Arts Inc® - The Key to Success in the Arts

Events, Projects & Initiatives

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Maleny Regional Raw Arts Festival

Butterflies Theatre Group Toowoomba

Emerald Community Participation Service Workshops

Salaam Project

Access Arts Creative Partnerships

Maleny Regional Raw Arts Festival   

About the Festival

The Maleny Regional Raw Arts Festival (M.R.R.A.F) will be held between June 11th and June 13th 2009. It was developed through a collaboration of like minded people who value artistic expression as an essential component of any community. The festival aims to provide a suitable avenue for young people, aged between 11 and 25 years, to express themselves creatively. Working in groups is fun so we encourage group entries.

The theme of the festival for 2009 is ‘Past Present and Future’. The theme complements the celebrations of the Q150 project this year. We believe that young people are building on their past and will be the future of Australia. It seems important that they have opportunities to creatively express their hopes, dreams and even their fears to the wider community.

At this stage the M.R.R.A.F encompasses the media of short film (5 minutes or less), contemporary and traditional photography, and promotional posters. People may enter in three age groups (11-14, 15-17, and 18-25 years).

The Festival is supported by the Maleny Community Centre which will also be the venue for the exhibitions and film showing. It is also affiliated with S.C.R.U.F.F.Y (Sunshine Coast Regional Underground Film Festival of Youth). Our short films will also be shown and promoted by S.C.R.U.F.F.Y. All film entries in M.R.R.A.F will also be entitled to enter S.C.R.U.F.F.Y. More than $4000 in prize money for M.R.R.A.F has been raised by the Maleny community.

Proceeds from this year’s festival will be donated to the Maleny Community Centre Building Fund Appeal.

More information and Entry Forms are available from malenyrawart@gmail.com or by phoning 07 549998416

Entries for short films, photography and posters events close on 28th May

The M.R.R.A.F. logo was developed over a two day workshop with year 12 students at Maleny State High School

Butterflies Theatre Group Toowoomba   

Hhelp and a group of Toowoomba based budding dramatists are hoping to get together a theatre group with the draft name of Butterflies Theatre Group on Saturday afternoons at Spiritus in Ruthven Street. The participants will be anyone over the age of 18 who is interested in drama. People of all abilities are welcome, however those with high needs will be asked to bring a support person with them. We would love to have professional artists and teachers working and performing with our talented people with disabilities.

We have a volunteer drama teacher, however we are looking for any people or performers or teachers or artists who may be interested in being involved. We would love to hear from anyone who is willing to give up a Saturday afternoon to come along and do a workshop with our participants or to be involved with the theatre in an ongoing way. We hope to be able to secure funding along the way.

We hope to have a wide definition of theatre - movement, dance, drumming, singing, mime, wheelchair dance, improvisation, writing our own plays, just about anything that fits into creative arts! We are only limited by our imagination.

If you are interested please contact either Archina at archina@bigpond.com 0406 952 099 or Denise at tdwright@tpg.com.au 4614 0696. We invite you to a meeting on Saturday 31 January at 1pm at Spiritus, 600 Ruthven Street (behind the Shamrock Hotel) for those who are interested and then we can take it from there.

Emerald Community Participation Service Workshops   

Emerald Community Participation Service recently hosted a very successful 'Celebrating Cultural Diversity' Art Workshop in conjunction with funding from RADF through the Emerald Shire Council and Access Arts Inc Queensland through Disability Services Queensland's Building Supportive Communities Program.

Rockhampton Artist Sue Kraatz conducted the workshop over a period of 6 days with clients from Emerald Community Participation Service and community members. Sue has a Diploma of Visual Arts and a Certificate IV in Disability Work, and has many years of experience working with people who experience a disability.

Participants completed individual works, soft sculptural works, as well as working with a number of mediums during the workshops to create collaborative banners which will be displayed at the Easter Sunflower Festival and the Multi Cultural Festival to be held on Saturday 19th April. A number of works produced in the workshop will also be exhibited as part of Access Arts' State-wide Crossing Divides Exhibition at Metro Arts in August, funded by Disability Services Queensland.

Salaam Project   

The Salaam Project is an initiative of the Islamic Women's Association of Queensland (IWAQ), in partnership with Access Arts, to profile the work of women's contributions to the rich Islamic traditions of Arts and Culture through a ten week series of workshops run by six women arts/craft workers/cultural workers in a number of communities. 60 workshops will be held and a total of 120 workshop participants will actively engage with the artists who will themselves be from different cultural and artistic backgrounds. The resulting works, performances and artefacts will then be brought together as an exhibition to tour regionally throughout 2009.

This project comes about through the need for a community driven effort to show the wider Australian community that women of Islamic backgrounds come from a rich variety of social and geographical backgrounds. The workshops will encourage members of the IWAQ community to focus their collective attention on the positive impacts of the arts within their daily lives. The wide range of art forms from painting and performing to singing will encourage members to respond to a set of common themes creatively. Our main aim for the workshops is to encourage an exploration of journeys and stories through the use of painting, sculpture, multimedia investigations, song, dance and performance.

                        

                        

Under the guidance of Project Manager Mandana Mapar and in partnership with Access Arts, the project has been made possible by Arts Queensland through a Creative Communities Sector Development and Presentation grant which will fund the employment of 8 artsworkers and support 11 volunteer staff to carry out the project work, and the Touring Exhibition Partnership Plan of Museum and Gallery Services Queensland, with assistance from the Australia Council, the Federal Government's arts funding and advisory body. The Salaam project is being documented by filmmaker Teone Reinthal.

For further information please contact the Salaam Project Manager Mandana Mapar on 0413 144 533 or by email, or contact Ross Barber or Angela Jaeschke at Access Arts on 3358 6200 or by email.

Access Arts Creative Partnerships   

Access Arts has developed a range of successful partnerships with arts and disability organisations across Queensland. We recognise the many benefits of partnerships which include opportunities to share resources, develop programs which meet the needs of members/clients of both organisations, increase the marketing reach of both organisations and enable cross-skilling between staff and members of both organisations.

Benefits of Partnering with Access Arts

Access Arts can offer the following services and support to our partner organisations:

Workshops

Access Arts can work with you to deliver a wide range of workshop options including:

• Hold workshops at your space or our space at the Brisbane Powerhouse at times which best meet the needs of your clients.

• Use your arts workers or our arts workers to deliver the workshops.

• Use a combination of both organisation's arts workers (This could include a mentor/mentee relationship, thus encouraging the development of new skills for both parties.)

• Link into Access Arts' community workshops which are run out of the Brisbane Powerhouse.

• Have trial workshop terms of 4 or 8 weeks.

• Members of both organisations could participate together in a new workshop depending on combined interest or link into the existing ones of either organisation.

• Workshops may also culminate in a performance/ exhibition.

• Training and employment of arts workers including the organising of blue card and a Disability Services Queensland police check.

Sound Circles^TM

Access Arts award winning workshop program Sound Circles^TM is currently being delivered in partnership with 7 different regions across Queensland and New South Wales. Sound Circles^TM is an exciting new model of individual expression in a group context. Based on the simple idea of combining sound, percussion and body movement, all participants contribute freely, producing some amazing results!

Access Arts' Sound Circles^TM is a combination of freeform arts workshops, Indigenous storytelling and strong community participation. Each Sound Circle is a unique event, engaging people of all ages and abilities in an experience of self expression. Sound Circles^TM provides opportunities for social networking, therefore increasing confidence and self-awareness.

From more information please go to our Sound Circles^TM page.

Individual Professional Development and Mentoring

Since its inception, Access Arts has focused on supporting the professional development of aspiring arts workers experiencing disability. Access Arts and partnering organisations can make the most of their respective skills and strengths by referring members to each other for professional development, e.g. a Youth Arts organisation sends one of their young performers to Access Arts to do disability awareness training or gain experience in working in community arts, in return Access Arts sends a burgeoning playwright to receive mentoring on script development.

Collaborative Community Project Opportunities

• Visual Arts: Access Arts regularly curates visual arts exhibitions comprising artworks from our members across Queensland. Your artists (beginner to professional) could submit works for these exhibitions, or Access Arts could assist you to develop your own exhibitions, perhaps as an outcome of a workshop or project. We also have strong links with various organisations where our members' art works are displayed on a rotational basis.

• Performance: Access Arts can work with your organisation to deliver collaborative performances at a range of well-known venues including the Brisbane Powerhouse.

• Arts and Cultural Events: Throughout the year Access Arts holds a range of community events including Sunset Sounds, an evening showcase event, regular exhibition openings and annual community Open Day. Partner organisations could work with Access Arts to put together an event or link into an already established one.

Referrals

Partner organisations refer clients/members onto each other when appropriate.

Additional Services:

• Consultancy services to assist your organisation with ensuring accessibility for people experiencing disability or disadvantage including adaptive technology advice, physical access audits and advice on how best to ensure full and equal participation of clients in the arts.

• Access to our Disability Awareness Training program, a non-accredited half day course which provides your staff with a practical insight into how best to work with people experiencing a disability and is delivered by professionals who experience disabilities.

• Access to talented professional artists with the capacity to contribute skills and knowledge to your organisation.

• Access to advertising of programs resulting from partnerships in Access Arts' monthly newsletter which has a readership of over 500 and is available on our website at www.accessarts.org.au

• Advertising of programs on the Access Arts website

• Printing and Braille embossing of fliers and brochures advertising jointly run programs

• Discuss options for the provision of transport to and from programs for Access Arts members

• Advice on quality assurance and policy development following Access Arts' certification against the Queensland Disability Service Standards by Global Mark.

• Opportunity for clients of your organisation to become members of Access Arts (see information on membership benefits below).

Benefits of membership with Access Arts Inc

Membership Services offered by Access Arts include but are not limited to:

• A yearly program

• Access to all programs including multi-arts workshops, master classes, events etc. (see yearly program for more details.)

• State-wide Indigenous projects

• An annual report

• Voting rights at our Annual General Meeting

• Use of Access Arts' wheelchair accessible bus

• IT support (if booked in advance)

• A local call cost number for regional callers (1300 663 651)

• An up-to-date, accessible website, www.accessarts.org.au

• A monthly newsletter containing information on articles of interest to Members as well as relevant state-wide event listings (organisational Members can receive up to ten newsletters in the mail)

• Printing including colour printing at a reduced cost

• Braille embossing

• Provision of information in alternative formats

• Regional arts development

• Artistic and professional development support including the development of a Personalised Plan to map artists' goals and pathways to reaching them

• Grant writing assistance and auspicing of funds

• Disability Awareness Training

• Support to attend arts and cultural activities

• Advocacy support for Members to access organisations and services relating to the arts

• Volunteer program

• Assistance to source public liability insurance cover

• Referral and support to link in with programs delivered by other arts and cultural organisations

• Access to employment opportunities at Access Arts in the office and in workshops.

Contact Access Arts Inc

ABN: 82 066 160 761

Level 1, Stores Building
119 Lamington Street
PO Box 1034
New Farm QLD 4005

Ph: (07) 3358 6200
Fax: (07) 3358 6211
Local Call: 1300 663 651

Web: www.accessarts.org.au
Email: info@accessarts.org.au

Project & Sound Circles Coordinator: Emma Bennison

Visual Arts Coordinator: Jasmin Jacobson

Project Officer: Sally Josephson

Admin & Volunteer Coordinator: Angela Jaeschke