Australia’s arts and disability movement is gaining new momentum
The National Director of Arts and Disability Network Australia says there will be no more decisions about us without us.
Article by Sarah-Mace Dennis
Across the country, Australia’s arts and disability movement is gaining new visibility and momentum, building on the work that d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists, arts workers and screen practitioners have been doing for decades to drive new models of leadership, authorship and access.
Disability-led artist networks – quick links
Second Echo Ensemble at the From Barriers to Belonging Forum. Photo: Laura Purcell.
Developing a national accessibility code
Released in 2024, Equity: The Arts and Disability Associated Planhas created several new initiatives to recognise and support the contributions to arts and culture made by our community. This includes a Creative Australia funded partnership between Accessible Arts, Inclusively Made and adviser Morwenna Collett to consult with arts, screen and games sector leaders in the development of a new national accessibility code. When it is released later this year, it will provide practical guidelines for making all areas of the creative industries more accessible.
Australia’s rapidly evolving recognition of the creative value of diverse and accessible policies and creative platforms recognises the world class contributions that d/Deaf and disabled artists are making to new forms of audience engagement and creative knowledge.
Recording arts community history
In 2025 the launch of the Disability Arts History Australia website creatively archived five decades of Australian arts and disability culture, asserting its importance in our national cultural landscape.
The Chief Investigator of the project, Professor Bree Hadley, said: ‘As we collected the records, recollections and perspectives from artists with disability working across Australia over the last 50 years, we learned the value of the work key allies, and ally-led ensembles have done to create and hold space for d/Deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent arts in Australia.
‘There was also consistent commentary that we need to create space for established artists with disability to lead, and for intergenerational skills sharing, to support transition towards a more inclusive industry.’
Changing perceptions on and off screen
In November last year, Bus Stop Films’ Driving Change summit celebrated the outstanding contributions to the screen sector made by d/Deaf and disabled practitioners.
From SBS’s comedy series Latecomers to the upcoming release of feature film Bosscat staring Olivia Hargroder, there is a clear demand for Australian stories that challenge ableist perceptions of sex, identity and inclusion on screen.
In December, the screen sector’s Disabled Creative Collective delivered their first Equiarts Forum, also funded by Creative Australia. This online event was jam packed with interdisciplinary speakers, who reminded us of the irreplaceable role that creativity plays in telling stories that allow audiences to see and experience the world in new ways.
From visual arts (Chris Gurney) to film (Daniel Monks), pole dancing (Deb Roach) and emerging forms of online content (Brother Boys, Meredith Hall and Nethra Raman), the Equiarts event gave audiences fresh insight into the impact that d/Deaf and disabled creatives are having in Australia and internationally.
Real change is community driven
During every one of these creative events celebrating Australia’s thriving arts and disability community, one message was clear: real change happens when the community comes together to share resources, collaborate on ideas, and learn from each other’s perspectives.
The importance of creating environments where disabled people can come together to tell stories, feel safe and have the chance to shine, was discussed by First Nations artist and advocate Uncle Paul Constable-Calcott, at Accessible Arts’ Disability Leadership Panel at Sydney Opera House last year.
Constable-Calcott, the winner of the Established Artist, Creative Australia Arts and Disability Award, said: ‘There are simple things about the importance of where we come together and share stories you know. Communities are made up of all different people and individuals. So when we make many individuals strong, we make a community strong.’
In Tasmania, the From Barriers to Belonging Forum in February presented insights from artists and cultural workers from across the Tasmanian disability arts community.
The opening reflections of artists Emily-Rose Wills, Duncan Meerding, Bianca Templer and Angela Witcher, along with the contributions of speakers throughout the day, proposed a clear vision for community-organised change.
On Instagram, Second Echo Ensemble’s Elise Romanszko summed up the event with the words: ‘Dada. Chaos. Beauty. Abstract. Belonging. Let the Art Speak.’
Second Echo Ensemble at the From Barriers to Belonging Forum. Photo: Laura Purcell.
Planning for the future
Disability leadership is the organising force behind Arts and Disability Network Australia – a new consortium of seven state and territory arts and disability peak bodies, also funded by Creative Australia, which was set up last year.
Disability-led and collectively responding to insights from our community, ADNA will connect, champion and amplify the voices of d/Deaf and disabled creatives nation-wide.
Creative Australia also recently opened their First Nations Arts d/Deaf and/or Disabilities Project Fund, with applications for grants of between $5000 and $10,000 due by 3 March.
The future is not a blank slate, but a fluid, emerging reality that d/Deaf and disabled artists are already transforming via our conversations, our work and our representation in a constantly changing cultural landscape.
As momentum continues to build, 2026 is set to be another year of action, creativity and boldness for the Australian arts and disability sector.
This article was written by Sarah-Mace Dennis originally published on the Arts Hub news 23 February 2026.
