Suzanne Bull MBE – one of the world’s premier advocates for advancing access and inclusion in arts and culture for people with disability – has been announced as one of several high-profile international speakers at the upcoming Arts Activated 2021 conference, Australia’s leading arts and disability forum.

Ms Bull – founder and CEO of influential UK-based disability advocacy organisation Attitude Is Everything – will be the keynote speaker on the last day of the conference which this year is focused on ensuring the post-COVID recovery of Australia’s arts and cultural sector is inclusive of arts practitioners and audiences with disability or who are d/Deaf.

Attracting over 300 delegates, Arts Activated 2021 will feature a mix of virtual and live sessions held over three Mondays in August – August 9, 16 and 23. The virtual sessions will be presented in partnership with Western Sydney University (WSU) and four FREE live sessions will be presented in partnership with the Vivid Sydney festival. www.artsactivated2021.com

Ms Bull founded Attitude is Everything in 2000 to improve access to live music for people with disability or who are d/Deaf. Since then AIE has grown to become one of the UK’s key disability advocacy organisations in the arts and cultural sector, training thousands of industry professionals, providing access consultancy for a diverse range of events and new venue builds, and maintaining a vital industry network with over 200 venues and festivals across the UK. Ms Bull was honoured with an MBE in 2013, was appointed by the British government as a UK Disability Sector Champion in 2017 and is regularly included in the Power 100 list of Britain’s most influential people with disability.

Ms Bull: “For 21 years, Attitude is Everything has worked to connect deaf and disabled people with the music and event industries to improve access together. And when I say disabled people, I mean audiences, artists, volunteers and employees. Over 200 music venues and festivals have signed up to our Charter of Best Practice, endorsed by the UK government as the industry standard for accessibility. The approaches that we’ve taken at Attitude is Everything are relevant for all kinds of live performances, events and exhibitions, but at the moment, we’re working towards supporting arts and culture to actively welcome back deaf and disabled people in the post-COVID recovery.  I hope the UK and Australia can share ideas on this at Arts Activated 2021.”

Conference organiser Accessible Arts – NSW’s peak arts and disability organisation – says the final program is still taking shape but will include 20 sessions, workshops and events exploring a broad range of topics such as: new methods for creative collaborations; new research on increasing cultural participation for people with disability; how Australia’s leading festival producers are ramping up access and inclusion; creating access riders for artists with disability; and unpacking cultural safety from a disability perspective.

The four FREE live sessions being presented in partnership with the Vivid Sydney festival will feature artists, academics, advocates and accessibility experts who will explore a range of different topics related to creativity, innovation, career development, access and inclusion. https://aarts.net.au/news/vivid-festival-spotlights-arts-disability-with-arts-activated-sessions/

The conference program will also feature an online art exhibition by artists with disability and the launch of a competition to get students focused on using sociology to advance access and inclusion for people with disability. The full program – including details of all speakers and panelists – will be announced in July.

Artists, arts workers, disability advocates, government workers and researchers are all being encouraged to attend to share ideas and approaches for ‘Building Back For Everyone’ which is the theme of this year’s conference. Delegates will have a range of virtual and live networking options including being a member of the live studio audience at WSU for the broadcast of virtual sessions.

Registrations are available for community and industry members plus there’s a special early bird discount of 25% for delegates who purchase registrations by June 30.

To register or find out more, please visit the Arts Activated 2021 conference website: www.artsactivated2021.com

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Contact: 

Michael Badorrek | Marketing & Development Manager | +61 0431 594 007 | marketing@aarts.net.au

Facebook Post: Top UK arts & disability advocate Suzanne Bull MBE is set to be one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming Arts Activated 2021 conference, Australia’s leading forum for making arts, culture and events more accessible and inclusive for arts practitioners and audiences with disability (Sydney + Online | Aug 9, 16 & 23). Other program highlights have just been announced and include 20 sessions, workshops and events for artists, industry workers, researchers and policymakers. Early bird discount of 25% until June 30. Don’t miss out. REGISTER NOW! www.artsactivated2021.com

Twitter Post: Top UK arts & disability advocate Suzanne Bull MBE set to be keynote speaker at Arts Activated 2021, Australia’s leading forum for arts & disability (Sydney + Online | Aug 9, 16 & 23). Other highlights also announced. 25% early bird discount until June 30. Don’t miss out. REGISTER NOW! www.artsactivated2021.com

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