In this second, regional-focused iteration of our popular The Exquisite Familiar project, Access2Arts are inviting disabled artists living in Eyre Peninsula and/or surrounding areas to take part in workshops online and in Port Lincoln in the lead up to SALT Festival.
We are looking for expressions of interest from a variety of artists (over the age of 18) who identify as disabled, from emerging to established, and recreational and/or hobby.
After the online and in-person workshops take place, an exhibition of the artworks created in these workshops will be held as part of SALT Festival in Port Lincoln in April 2024.
This is a paid artist opportunity and only available for regional disabled artists living in Eyre Peninsula and/or surrounding areas.
Key dates will be released soon.
You can learn more about The Exquisite Familiar project here.
Send in your Expression of Interest by filling out the short form below so we can get an idea of who you are and your artistic style:
Artist Expressions of Interest for the up-coming Exquisite Familiar project held in the Eyre Peninsula. After workshops, a final exhibition of artwork created in those workshops will take place as part of Salt Festival in Port Lincoln in April. Artists will be paid to participate in this project and will be invited to take part in workshops online and in Port Lincoln in the lead up to the festival.
At this year’s Adelaide Fringe, you can discover comedic performances by disabled creators, a comedic adult take on Disney classics, family-friendly shows to bring the kids too, and much, much more with over eighty Auslan interpreted performances to choose from.
Check out some Auslan interpreted shows we’ve highlighted at the 2024 Adelaide Fringe Festival below:
The beloved Fringe favourite ‘disability cabaret’ is back again! Join the freshly crowned Mx Burlesque Adelaide Diana Divine for four nights of cabaret, community, and catharsis. Talking disability theory, personal anecdotes, and pet peeves, Singin in the Pain presents a bevy of burlesque & cabaret stars ready to share in this soapbox-style performance.
Book tickets to Singin in the Pain here.
Step into the world of being Chronically Ill-Prepared. A talented troupe of emerging SA performers bring their lived experience of disability and chronic illness to the stage in an improvised theatre/comedy production. As an improvised show, the content is unscripted and the performances are created on the spot, using suggestions from the audience.
Book tickets to Chronically-Ill Prepared here.
Party Pooper is a circus-y reinvention of a classic birthday party; featuring three enthusiastic acrobats, partying like it’s past their bedtime! This fully scripted show features familiar classics: Pin the Tail on the Donkey as well as Hula Hoops, Pass the Parcel as well as Pass Juggling and Musical Statues as well as Handstands.
Book tickets to Party Pooper here.
If fabrics could speak what stories would they tell? In this inclusive, audio-described exhibition of paintings, photographs and digital stories, explore the memories bound within the weft and warp of the fabrics we treasure.
Book tickets to If fabrics could speak… here.
Fringe For Kids is the newest family friendly variety show, bringing the best acts for kids, performed by the most talented artists in town. Each show is different with a fresh new line up every day! Promising fits of giggles and awe-inspiring stunts, reach into the lucky dip that is The Fringe for Kids and be delighted by what you’ll find.
Book tickets to Fringe for Kids here.
There are two free shows to attend by Everyone Needs a Liam – Liam Adams talks on his novels in his Librarian Saga and his Autism at Ayers House and Liam Adams talks on his epic novel Shifting Dimensions and his Autism at the Adelaide Planetarium. In these shows, Liam – a self-described geeky and nerdy science fiction and fantasy writer (with a lot of comedy) and cartoonist – talks to you about himself as a writer with Autism and Intellectual Disability, as well as his epic creations.
Book tickets to Liam Adams talks on his novels in his Librarian Saga and his Autism here.
Book tickets to Liam Adams talks on his epic novel Shifting Dimensions and his Autism here.
After 2 years honing his craft in London and Edinburgh, Jacob Henegan returns to Australia with his finest hour of his distinctive, whimsical stand-up, featuring stories about scrapes, misunderstandings and one very weird house viewing.
Book tickets to Jacob Henegan: Room With A View here.
In this rare and exclusive literary event, join world-renowned children’s author JK (as played by transgender comedian Anna Piper Scott) for an exclusive, hard hitting one-on-one interview. Some consider her to be the saviour of modern feminism. Others consider her to be the face of a hate movement.
Book tickets to An Evening with JK here.
Ben bridges the gap between the Deaf and the hearing worlds through stories about his life growing up as a CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult) and now being a sign language interpreter. His life is very similar to the movie CODA except he was never an American teenage girl with dreams of singing. Ben was a 2002 RAW comedy national finalist and back then did jokes about having a Deaf mum and knowing sign language, he now makes jokes about having a Deaf mum and being a sign language interpreter.
Book tickets to Deaf Bridges here.
This is a show where Josh tidies up. Tidying up is not normally the stuff of gripping drama, it wouldn’t be a propulsive narrative for most people but for Josh it’s Everest, a fundamentally impossible task, like trying to defy the moon and control the tides.
Book tickets to Josh Thomas – Let’s Tidy Up here.
Great news – Companion Cards tickets are available for all events in the 2024 Adelaide Fringe season! There is an initial verification process to access these Companion Card tickets, which you can complete here. Please note that you will need to have a free MyFringe account for verification. If you don’t have a MyFringe account, you can create one here.
Check out what’s Auslan interpreted at Adelaide Festival below:
Private View invites audiences into a world of secret desires and dreams, exploring taboo subjects of love and sex through diverse personal experiences. A voyeuristic new work from Restless Dance Theatre, Private View was created by award-winning director and choreographer Michelle Ryan and the Restless dancers with composer and singer Carla Lippis.
Book tickets to Private View here.
Mark has always wanted to be a writer. His mum’s a writer too, and together they’d spend hours reading and writing in their garden. When Mark moves out of his childhood home and into his first share flat, he and his mum stay connected by exchanging letters. When Mark one day receives a letter with the news too painful to bear, he seeks solace in the sea – the source of his fondest yet most agonising memories.
Happy festival season!
At this year’s Adelaide Fringe, you can discover comedic performances by disabled South Australian creatives, a deep dive into the history of nostalgic fabrics, a comedic adult take on Disney classics, and an enchanting journey to escape time.
Check out what’s audio described at Adelaide Fringe below:
Step into the world of being Chronically Ill-Prepared. A talented troupe of emerging SA performers bring their lived experience of disability and chronic illness to the stage in an improvised theatre/comedy production. As an improvised show, the content is unscripted and the performances are created on the spot, using suggestions from the audience.
Book tickets to Chronically-Ill Prepared here.
Would it be possible to live without time? An Attempt to Lose Time is a playful, surreal and surprising meditation on time blending the personal and the collective, a questioning of the status quo and an invitation to see time differently.
Book tickets to An Attempt to Lose Time here.
If fabrics could speak what stories would they tell? In this inclusive, audio-described exhibition of paintings, photographs and digital stories, explore the memories bound within the weft and warp of the fabrics we treasure.
Book tickets to If fabrics could speak… here.
Snooze VR – A Chronic Fatigue Cabaret
This life-affirming comedy takes us through the experience of getting sick, steadfastly ignoring that fact, cycling through an endless flip-show of doctors for answers, and dealing with the grief and acceptance of a chronic illness diagnosis. Our comfy VR cinema immerses you into the baffling world of invisible illness and showcases all those moments when you say you “just got to laugh.”
Book tickets to Snooze VR – A Chronic Fatigue Cabaret here.
Artificial Ignorance
Three emerging SA artists have created a hilarious theatre production, delving into tech’s quirks, misconceptions, and absurdities. But, let’s not rely solely on our word; listen to the critics, like Piers’ mom who couldn’t contain her laughter, exclaiming, “I don’t know how they do it week in, week out.”
Book tickets to Artificial Ignorance here.
Art that walks OFF the walls
An immersive art experience, installation and exhibition exploring 3 collaborating local emerging and established artists journey of seeking to belong. Wild acrylic florals talk and walk onto community walls, detailed autobiographical illustrations run barefoot alongside video streams of performance art that leaps from the screens.
Book tickets to Art that walks OFF the walls here.
BROKEN at MOD.
A lot of things don’t seem to be working. Climate, housing, democracy, education, the list goes on. But things can change. Systems transform and a state of being broken is not inevitable, unavoidable or permanent. There is a range of possible futures before us. Explore these in BROKEN, an interactive exhibition at MOD.
AKLOWA DRUMMING AND DANCING GROUP
AKLOWA DRUMMING AND DANCING GROUP GHANA is a sub performing Art of the Tombotch showbiz. Which also have the Indigenous rhythms and dance, Indigenous African acrobat and the Indigenous circus show. The band was formed by Thomas Nii lantey Botchway (Tombotch). The band does fusion from the real traditional African rhythms and fuses it with other generes like funk, salsa, afro beat, highlife, jazz, swing, etc.
Book tickets to AKLOWA DRUMMING AND DANCING GROUP here.
https://access2arts.org.au/event/adelaide-fringe-aklowa-drumming-and-dancing-group/
the Boy & the Ball
In a world of cylinders, of all shapes and sizes, we meet a very shy boy and witness how, with the assistance of his ball, he makes a friend and how that single friend becomes many. Navigating the world of friendship is a “rite of passage” experience for most 4 year old’s. This nonverbal performance is a wondrous tale of reassurance, joy and connection… with a little magic.
Book tickets to the Boy & the Ball here.
Le Freak!
‘Le Freak’ is sideshow as you’ve never seen before – told from the inside!
After centuries of exploitation circus artists are pushing back – world-class queer, disabled, and sex worker performers sharpen their swords and their stilettos to take down capitalism. This silly and profound show that celebrates difference and empowers the ‘freaks’ will have you sitting on the edge of your seat between discomfort and excitement!
Book tickets to Le Freak! here.
Great news – Companion Cards tickets are available for all events in the 2024 Adelaide Fringe season! There is an initial verification process to access these Companion Card tickets, which you can complete here. Please note that you will need to have a free MyFringe account for verification. If you don’t have a MyFringe account, you can create one here.
At this year’s Adelaide Festival, you can discover the spectacle of contemporary experimental dance with extravagant props, the fresh and vulnerable journey of a young man confronting a haunting past, and dance that explores Australia’s historical inheritance with the smoky forms of our national conscience.
Check out what’s audio described at Adelaide Festival below:
Time Machine is an exhilarating work of physics and force, dance and Extreme Action that will entertain audiences of all ages.
Extreme Action, a new art form invented by award-winning performer Elizabeth Streb, takes choreography beyond dance to defy gravity and pushes the human body to its limits. Using prototypic ‘Action Machines’ that move with and against them, her dancers become ‘Action Heroes’ who thrill, scare and delight their audiences.
Book tickets to Time Machine here.
A choreographic course correction for a nation in need of a new direction.
Created by Australian Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director Daniel Riley, Marrow is an explosive new dance work that asks us to embrace the smoky forms of our national conscience and acknowledge the push of our present moment as we imagine a new future.
Mark has always wanted to be a writer. His mum’s a writer too, and together they’d spend hours reading and writing in their garden. When Mark moves out of his childhood home and into his first share flat, he and his mum stay connected by exchanging letters. When Mark one day receives a letter with the news too painful to bear, he seeks solace in the sea – the source of his fondest yet most agonising memories.
Happy festival season!
Who would have thought that a scratchy little ink drawing called hands like wings by Kirsty Martinsen and a line from a Rumi poem “we are sodden in bodiness…” would provide the spark of inspiration for the ambitious, and impressively ongoing multi-year and multi-location Bodiness project.
South Australian professional disabled artist, Kirsty Martinsen, has a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the South Australian School of Art and a Diploma of Painting from the NY Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture.
The very first iterations of the project began with smaller ink drawings Martinsen was creating while she studied Production Design at Tafe in 2016, and was also about to begin her first treatment for Optic Neuritis. These ink drawings were her reaction to her fear of the unknown that loomed in regard to the upcoming medical treatments as well as her recent diagnosis with MS. Martinsen’s lecturer at the time saw these ink drawings and further encouraged her to make them larger, which expanded the concept into one which excitingly incorporated Martinsen’s wheelchair. This is also the year that Martinsen began collaborating with New York-based theatre maker, Erwin Maas.
Kirsty Martinsen, 2016.
Birds were a continuous part of her imagery, though Kirsty notes, this was more so unconsciously within her practice, with them representing an enduring image of hope, freedom, liberation, and strength for the artist.
The next year in 2017, Kirsty was selected to be a resident artist at local multi-faceted artist studios and creative offices and exhibition space, The Mill for Bodiness – Development of new work with theatre maker Erwin Maas (New York), and Performance with Alison Currie and Ian Dixon. In collaboration with local choreographer and director making dance, Alison Currie, Martinsen continued to grow her ink painting technique in which she utilised her wheelchair, with this version of performance accompanied by both Currie and live trumpet by Dixon.
‘Bodiness – Development of new work with theatre maker Erwin Maas (New York), and Performance with Alison Currie and Ian Dixon’ at The Mill, 2017.
Bodiness: call and response was a 2022 collaboration between painter Martinsen and South Australian award winning theatre-maker, dancer and singer dancer, Erin Fowler. It developed further the ideas of the collaboration that first begun in 2016 with Maas, and continued the project based on Martinsen’s experience of ‘otherness’ as disabled woman.
Kirsty explains this ideation of the project;
“People say to me ‘you are so much more than your body!’. What does that even mean, nay look like? Living with MS has taken an emotional & psychological toll, but all people see is the physical, the body. I feel like I’ve lost who I am in a chasm of loss and grief and bureaucracy . I have had to fight to keep my spirit alive. We are all much more than our flesh. My work seeks to explore the ways in which difference is a site for connection, the body is a site for potential, and process is a site for emotional/psychological/spiritual exploration.”
The original work took its title from a line of a Rumi poem; “…that tangle of limited surrender/ Is the human mire. We’re sodden in bodiness…”
Viewers were asked to consider process, gesture, scale, materiality, movement, and collaboration in relation to her practice. Similarly, in this latest development Martinsen and Fowler responded to those components in each other’s work and located intersections of commonality. Fowler’s performance work is steeped in a rich spiritual practice and this is one of the main reasons Martinsen invited her to collaborate.
For the 2023 South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival, Martinsen more consciously embraced a bird-focused imagery in her exhibition The Jabiru Series which was displayed in the street-facing windows on the ground level U City in the Adelaide CBD. This exhibition displayed recent paintings and drawings from the artist that contemplated freedom and hope. Inspired by meeting a Jabiru in the zoo, these works consider what it means to be trapped and work with limitations, and were another development within the growing artistic project.
‘The Jabiru Series’, SALA 2023
Later in 2023, POP Gallery & Studios in Port Adelaide presented the next iteration of the project titled; Kirsty Martinsen // Bodiness: hands like wings. This performative new body of work by Martinsen was a work-in-progress performance, made in collaboration with local sculptural artist James Dodd, Will Spartalis who created the performance soundscape, and continued collaboration with Erwin Maas. developed at a Free-range Residency at The Mill and then Vitalstatistix Adhocracy.
This iteration of the Bodiness project, Bodiness: hands like wings, featured kinetic appendages for Martinsen’s wheelchair that become a vivid component of live performance, combining her artistic performance pieces with her continuing interest in birds and what they powerfully represented for her.
‘Bodiness: hands like wings’ at Post Office Projects, 2023.
In 2024, the self-portrait performance Bodiness: Hands Like Wings will be performed at the Adelaide Festival Centre as part of their inSPACE residency. This inSPACE residency has provided the incredible opportunity for Martinsen to work with director Erwin Maas in Adelaide for the first time, as up till now they have only worked remotely.
Their unique collaboration brings theatre, painting and drawing, and disability together in a piece addressing notions of freedom, beauty and ability. Their focus is on honing Kirsty‘s skills as a performer, strengthening form and structure in the overall existing script. Kirsty is interested in her relationship to increasingly disabled body as a site for transformation and connection.
Martinsen and Maas will also be collaborating with Sound Designer, Sascha Budimski, and projection/lighting designer, Mark Oakley, to create a show that captures Martinsen’s innovation and spirit.
Stay tuned for this fourth and final stage of development for Kirsty’s project.
You can learn more about Kirsty through her artist profile here.
Access2Arts and Illuminate present two tours of their City Lights (North Precinct) program: an audio-described tour, and a Deaf-led Auslan tour. Both will depart from the National War Memorial on the corner of Kintore Avenue and North Terrace, on Wednesday 19th July 2023.
Hello. We are Access2Arts. We want everyone to enjoy the arts.
If you want to try arts activities,
or want to be a professional artist
or like going to see arts,
Have a look at our website to find out more about the arts.
If you want to talk to us
Use the contact form, email us at info@access2arts.org.au or
If you live in South Australia give us a call on 8463 1689
If you live somewhere else in Australia give us a call on 08 8463 1689
If you live another country give us a call on +61 (0)8 8463 1689
The time is different all around the world. When you are awake we might be sleeping! You will need to check the best time to phone us!
Enjoy exploring our website!