Take a look at ArtISabiliy

ArtISability - Professional Development Program 

For Visual Artist Living With Disability

4th to 6th October 2013

Eligibility

Must be over 18

Have a disability that requires support

registered with a support agency in Ipswich, 

Access Arts Queensland or on the Disabilities

Service Queensland eligibility register. 

Be an emerging artist that can demonstrate

knowledge and/or skills in visual  

Desire to connect to the Ipswich Arts Community.

Email ArtISability 

for an Information and Application kit.

Debbie Chilton

Project Officer  

Can you see my abilities

(c) Original Artwork by Debbie Chilton 

When people see me rolling down the street the make assumptions.  Don't tell me otherwise because I am guilty over the same thing.  A large of weight (the 'fat' word often followed by lazy comes to my mind.) struggling to walk towards Macer's in the food court . . . only the keep walking and order at subways.  Our eyes make many judgments. But as I have just illustrated, judgments are often incorrect.  Our eyes often see disabilities that registered in 'our mines' and Aline with other memories to form conclusions. Physical disability = intellectual disability, not so true in my case. 

People can see I clearly have disabilities but my true abilities are hidden.  Not many people in the community would assume I was a writer and artist and ever few would twig I have an Art's Degree.  Just making a general observation here that may be correct or incorrect. My piece of artwork above asks, ' can you see my abilities'?

I've not posted about my artwork or progress of leadership goals for a while.  Been so busy working on achieving them.  I have continued to spend one day a week on creating my art however a large portion of my week is spent developing my ArtISability program. 

   ArtISability is a professional development program I am developing for people with disability living in the Ipswich regional. Artist with disabilities have obstacles other artist don't face in a very competitive industry. Such as phsyical access to venues, art space, travel, finding accessible accommodation, access to training and workshop do to intellectual impairments, hearing impairments, visual impairement and reading written materials and all this is before we begin to deal with the assumptions others make about our disabilities.

One of the main focus of artisability is getting the creative space right.  The difficulty in locating accessible accomondation and art space in Ipswich is challegenes, which is something that tells me the huge need I will uncover for the program as physical access it the tip of the iceberg.  How do I move forward to create an accessible market place on graduation from the program. 

I also need an accessible art gallery to exhibit the work.  Then theres' all the everday challenges that every artist has as the begin.  My employment (earning money) vs my passion art work/life balance even as a arts worker this is a challenge, finance, marketing travel and training all need to be juggled in their too.

Training and learning support is the key component of the program, accessing training is differcult enough, without the access issues, learning support need for those who can't read or write or hear.  A spech impairment itself brings access issues.  So the program in focus around providing accessible training with the phsyical and learning support people need in place.  Things like accessing a support worker without having the burden of the cost.  Just trying to level the playing flied. 

As an artist with disability I know the reality of these challenges which is why I am setting up a facebook page to promote my work.  e 

     Doodles & Dribble

People can read about my work, view my work, find out where my work is on display and even purchase my work.  For now I am doing much of my own design work, so lagging a bit on the computer tech stuff but overall I am building some monment.  At present I have some work in the Ipswich show and next month I am off to Tassie for my first art show.  

From previous posts you have read my advocacy work and I still have six months left in the leadership program. . . 

If you can share the link to Doodles and Dribble with your friends and family I be beautiful for the free advertising. Oh an if you know any artists with disability living in Ipswich Queensland please tell them about the ArtISability program.  They can email me for an application form.

Cheers,

Debbie   

On Second thought

Honestly I didn’t mean to sound rude,

There seems be many people telling me what to do,

Only one Indianan with so many chiefs,

The sudden invasion is wearing me beyond belief.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate you help,

For I know that there’s many things I can’t do myself,

It’s not really the fact you’re touching my things,

Rather the method and madness your help brings.

It’s lack of respect that you often show,

As you tidy my table and put away my dough,

The way you toss things about show you don’t care,

That hurts my feelings and causes despair.

They may look like simply only pencils to you,

And old Crayons with some chalk in there too,

But as you standing there tossing them in a box,

There usefulness and value are about to be lost.

You see these are the tools of my trade,

Each pencil has a place where in needs to be laid,

The don’t take kindly to being just toss about,

There life is soon shorten with each shattering  bounce.

Just as oils aren’t oils, my pastels are just pastels,

They now come in pencils, oils and chalks,

Though they many look at like they don’t get along,

My oil pastels cause my chalks pastels to decay.

The pictures you stack are ooee and gluey

And once they are set you’ve created a glue,

I hust look with them with a tear in my eye,

Hours of work I place in the bin to say good bye.

So I mean no disrespect for your help you see,

My requests come both with rhyme and reason,  

When  you act in such disrespectful ways,

Sometimes don’t touch is easier to say.

My life as a artist may seem different to yours,

I don’t quite understand the distress my mess seems to cause,

Nor your insistence my house should look like yours,

So I ask as you touch my artwork be aware the damage you could cause.

Debbie Chilton © Copyright 2013

Should my art be tolerated or celebrated!

A large part of my leadership Journey is focused on my art and encouraging people with disabilities to use their talents and passions to become more involve in the wider community. I believe in encouraging people with all disabilities to embrace their abilities what ever they maybe to begin to engage in mainstream community life.   

However as the fallout for National Cultural Policy continues I wonder what exactly I am offering to the people I will be mentoring, employing and offering services to through my ArtISability Professional Development Program. I do not want to offer ‘second best’ or tokenism approaches to artists with a disability. For far to long people with disabilities has been placed in the ‘special bracket’.

Professional Development Program for Artist with a Disabilty

That’s nice or aren’t they having fun.  It’s great they can do something they enjoy together! However far to often that’s where the appreciation of sporting achievements, artist ability, performance such as signing and acting go.  That’s not to bad for someone with a disability. Just as well no one mention that to Stevie Wonder. Stevie wonder, thank goodness is recognised first and foremost as have a uqunic vocal ability and his disability rarely rates a mention and that’s how I think it should be for all artist and sportsmen and women.  Personally I would love to see an end to the paraolympics  with social inclusion for athletics with a disability happening as one Olympics Games jointly occurring in the same sporting arenas at the same time.

The release of the National Cultural Policy  last month puts all that at risk.  The policy states that the artistic ability of artist with a disability should be ‘tolerated’.  Thrusting artists with a disability right back into the ‘that’s nice!’ with a condescending smile on able-body artist faces.  Why should my art be valued and less because I have a disability. If the same was suggested for the art of indigenous Australians there would be outrage and demonstrations. Despite the UN anti discrimination act for people with disabilities nations such as Australia continue to dish out policy than contain judgmental statements.

A statement by Artists with A Disability

As a published author and poet the fact I have a disability could very well go unnoticed except I largely choose to write about the subject I live and breath – living with my disabilities so why should my participation in the visual artist be any different.  Why is my artwork labelled ‘special’ and not my poetic ability. I wonder if under the new national cultural policy if my poetry, like my art will just be tolerated, rather than embraced and celebrated.We maybe years away for true social inclusion in this country, but surely we can make a better attempt in writing policies for people with disabilities than the poorly written National Cultural Policy.

Below are samples of my artwork I’ll leave you decided it you wish to ‘tolerated’ or celebrate.