Empower five artists with disability to create amazing work and advance their careers.

Ask any artist about how hard it can be to develop a career in the arts. But it’s even harder when you live with disability. That’s where we come in.

Accessible Arts is NSW’s peak arts and disability organisation and every year we provide a program to assist artists, musicians and writers with disability to undertake a 12-day residency at the prestigious Bundanon Trust in NSW. This year’s residency is scheduled for October.

The Bundanon Trust is a rural property near Nowra in NSW that was gifted to the Australian people by one of Australia’s most famous artists Arthur Boyd. The property now supports arts practice and engagement with the arts through residency, education, exhibition and performance programs.

The residencies provided by the Bundanon Trust have been important steppingstones in the careers of many successful Australian artists. This is what makes our program an incredibly valuable creative and career development opportunity for artists with disability right across NSW.

Unfortunately, the COVID crisis has impacted on our budget for the program and without an additional $10,000 our artist-in-residence program won’t be able to proceed this year. By supporting our campaign you’ll be playing a key part in helping five (5) artists with disability to explore their unique creativity, produce exciting new work and take a huge step in advancing their professional careers.

DONATE NOW: http://www.givenow.com.au/bundanonresidencyfundraiser

How Your Support Will Help

Your donation will help us cover the costs of a range of expenses for the five participating artists. These expenses include:

• Access – such as support workers, Auslan (sign language) interpreters and audio describers (for people with vision impairment)
• Travel – our program is open to artists from across NSW and so we cover all relevant travel expenses
• Accommodation – in partnership with the Bundanon Trust, we provide 11 nights of accommodation for the five participating artists

What You’ll Get

• All donations are tax deductible
• Following their selection by our assessment panel in September, our participating artists will send you a personal expression of thanks
• As a program benefactor, you’ll receive regular updates about this year’s Bundanon Trust residency program including messages from the artists during their residencies

About Artists With Disability

Artists with disability are just like all artists – they love creating art, communicating ideas and entertaining people. However, when it comes to professional practice, artists with disability don’t get the same kind of opportunities that other artists get. Research by the Australia Council for the Arts shows artists with disability are under-represented, earn less, experience higher unemployment, and get much less professional support compared to artists without disability.

We know that creativity and innovation is powered by distinctive insights and unique skills. This gives artists with disability a valuable edge in the creative marketplace, but it’s an advantage that’s under-utilized. By giving artists with disability a fairer go, we’ll be able to tap into vital creative forces, elevate our collective experience of art and culture, and build communities where everyone feels they belong.

How Our Residencies Empower Artists With Disability

Lucas Wright

Lucas participated in our 2019 Bundanon residency program. Lucas is a visual artist with Down Syndrome from Lismore who paints, draws and creates ceramic artworks. He works out of the REDinc. Supported Art Studio and has an interest in architectural plans, photographs of old buildings and the natural landscape. Lucas’ residency enabled him to create four (4) new works for an exhibition this year at the Lismore Regional Gallery. “I loved being at Bundanon, making art inspired by the beauty of nature and the buildings, I developed new works for my future exhibition and i loved connecting with the environment and other artists. This time was very useful to me also because my art mentor and support worker was able to be there with me to guide me through the studio process.”

Livonne Larkins

Livonne participated in our 2018 Bundanon residency program. Livonne is primarily a conceptual/composite photographer but she also writes, paints and sculpts. Interpreting personal trauma through fairy tales is a key focus of her work. Livonne’s residency enabled her to work on an installation that became part of an exhibition last year in the Blue Mountains called From Fractured To Fairytale. “The Bundanon Trust residency was a fantastic opportunity to completely immerse myself in my art without the distractions of everyday life. It was also great to be around like-minded people whose souls are also fed by art.”

Angie Goto

Angie participated in our 2019 Bundanon residency program. Angie is a Deaf visual artist based in Sydney whose vivid paintings reflect her interpretation of the images and stories she experiences in silence. Angie also works as an Art Educator at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Angie’s residency enabled her to explore how to represent sound in a visual context. “My Bundanon residency allowed me to take a big step forward in my creative practice by having time and space to explore and develop ideas. The program is a really practical way of helping artists with disability create work or activate ideas that will make a unique contribution to art and culture.” 

Sri Thulin

Sri participated in our 2019 Bundanon residency program. Sri is an First Nations visual artist from Western Sydney who works across a range of mediums. She works out of the Little Orange supportive studio in Campbelltown and uses texture and bright colours to explore themes of hope and possibility. Sri’s residency focused on creating a series of paintings which explored her family connections and cultural heritage from the Bundanon region. “It was such a great opportunity. I got everything done I set out to do. Having my support worker there was important.”

ENDS