Podcast Episode 4: Disability Leadership
Welcome to Episode 4 of the Access Ideas and Insights Podcast Series!
As we strive towards a re-balancing of power and a much-needed increase in authentic representation in the arts, we ask: What does ‘disability-led’ look like, and how can we best support disability leadership and self-determination?
In this episode, we explore two perspectives shaping contemporary disability leadership: the artist and the CEO. We’re joined by Riana Head-Toussaint, an interdisciplinary artist working across performance, music and advocacy, alongside Joshua Pether, Kalkadoon performance artist and CEO of Arts Access Victoria.
Together, they unpack what disability leadership looks like in action, and why this vital, transformative force is shaping the future of the arts.
Watch, Listen To or Read the Podcast
Episode 4: Disability Leadership
Watch the Auslan interpreted video with closed captions by clicking through to watch on YouTube:
You can also access the podcast via the links below:
- Listen on Sound Cloud
- Listen on Apple Podcasts
- Listen or watch on Spotify with open captions
Check out the Episode 4 Transcript and the Image Description Document which describes the artworks and images in the Auslan interpreted podcast video.
Podcast Guest Speakers
Riana Head-Toussaint
Riana Head-Toussaint is an interdisciplinary crip/disabled artist, DJ and curator/community organiser of Afro-Caribbean heritage. Her practice sits at the intersection of creative expression, activism, cultural exchange and disability justice. Riana creates across choreography, film, sound, writing, and installation. Her work has taken place in carparks, post-industrial ruins, galleries, theatres, and online/digital spaces. Riana is the founder and creative lead of CRIP RAVE THEORY, a sound and club culture project that draws on intersectional disabled/crip knowledge to create more accessible music, rave and party spaces.
Joshua Pether
Joshua Pether is of Kalkadoon heritage and is an experimental performance artist, dancer and choreographer, recently based in Noongar country in Western Australia. His performance practice is influenced by his two cultural histories- Indigeneity and Disability. Joshua’s work has been presented both nationally and internationally. He is the creator of two solo works, ‘Monster’ and ‘Jupiter Orbiting’. His current work ‘The Reckoning’ is a cultural collaborative long term project that aims to address the colonial history of Australia and the traumatic and violent implications it has had upon the bodies and sites of indigenous people.
His advocacy position has explored the roles and relationships between dance/performance and the disabled body and most recently the intersection of First Nations culture and disability. Joshua has been artist in residence at HIAP (Helsinki International Arts Program) and the recipient of various grants from both Creative Australia (formerly The Australia Council for the Arts) and DLGSC (formerly DCA). His advocacy work in the disability space encompasses representation on both a national and international level and he has been invited to speak on this topic at prestigious events such as ISPA (International Society of Performing Arts), The Meeting Place, Arts Activated NSW and most recently as a foundation artist for Alter State presented in partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne and Arts Access Victoria (AAV). His advocacy position has explored the roles and relationships between dance/performance and the disabled body and most recently the intersection of First Nations culture and disability. In 2024 he became the CEO of Arts Access Victoria.
Podcast Host
Bedelia Lowrenčev
Bedelia (they/she) is a groovy disabled actor, dancer, singer, agitator, theatre maker, producer and Access Coordinator, living and working on Wategoro and Wangal Land. Bedelia frequently collaborates with their Deaf twin Jeremy, as facilitators and explorers of queerness, disability and deafness. Bedelia has a keen interest in communal care, story sovereignty, reciprocity and advocacy in their arts practice. In particular, challenging the western gaze on body, community and identity, and the reclamation of CALD queerness, and relation to land. Most recently, Bedelia acted in the new short film ‘With Love, Lottie’ which screened at FrameShift at the Sydney Opera House, and will screen at the 2025 Mardi Gras Film Festival. Previously, Bedelia acted with Bus Stop Films in ‘Screen Me’, Assistant Produced Raghav Handa’s THE ASSEMBLY at Campbelltown Arts Centre, performed SOFT PLACES at the Sydney Biennale, Griffin Studio Resident, and was Access Coordinator at Performance Space for Liveworks, and Co-Program Coordinator: Access at Sydney Fringe Festival. Currently, Bedelia is cracking into their disabled musical spenanza with Wear It Purple, is lead creative in the Move Series at the Art Gallery of NSW, and worked on the Ripple program with Accessible Arts as program coordinator for 2025.
This podcast is proudly produced by Accessible Arts, Arts Development Manager Amy Mills and Kiera Brew Kurec with sound design by Tralala Blip. Access consulting was provided by Macro Impact Consulting and our Advisory Group.
This podcast series is proudly supported by the City of Sydney and Create NSW, the principal funding partner of Accessible Arts.
Image description: Headshots of the podcast guest speakers Riana Head-Toussaint (photo by Kerry Head) and Joshua Pether.
