Inclusivity at its core: unveiling the purpose of Melbourne’s warehouse residency

The Purpose
The programme is in alignment with Melbourne’s Disability Access and Inclusion plan which was launched in 2021. The plan defines and adopts “best practice [in] universal access as a co-design process of engagement with people with disability that results in environments that can be accessed, understood and used by all people regardless of their age and ability.”

The Challenge
To address the gap in artistic development and residency opportunities that are designed for the needs of artists with disabilities, contemporary performance space Arts House has introduced the Warehouse Residency. The Warehouse Residency is a new disability-led residency and commissioning programme focusing on experimental projects presented at North Melbourne Town Hall.

The Warehouse Residency was co-designed by six D/deaf, Disabled, neurodiverse and chronically ill artists alongside Arts Access Victoria and Arts House staff.

The Solution
The Warehouse Residency centres and celebrates D/deaf, Disabled, neurodiverse and chronically ill artists, curators, collectives, and their collaborating allies. The term ‘Deaf and Disabled people’ applies to anyone with a lived experience of disability, including those that are visible or invisible, sensory or physical, neurodiverse, cognitive, intellectual or developmental, or with mental health issues or illness.

The project has emerged from the work of the Arts House Disability Inclusion Advisory Group and the Arts House Disability Inclusion Access Plan (DIAP). The Warehouse Residency was co-designed by six D/deaf, Disabled, neurodiverse and chronically ill artists alongside Arts Access Victoria and Arts House staff. The consultants provided advice on artist support during residency and presentation, including access, services, producing, administration, and consultations. They also offered suggestions and ideas for how the residency can be unique within the arts landscape.

Together, the group identified the programme’s guiding principles, including respecting the wisdom that lived experiences bring, creating an environment of safety and care, and supporting risk-taking and experimentation.

The Impact
The residency provides AUD 29,000 to each project, with AUD 25,000 towards artist fees and materials and AUD 4,000 for access services, support and consultation. Selected artists receive dedicated studio space at North Melbourne Town Hall for 3 months, fees, equipment, production expertise, consultation and mentor support, with a presentation as part of Arts House’s programme in 2022.

The residency will run until 2027, with two opportunities available each year. The first selected artists were announced in May 2022. Catherine Dunn and Sam Martin’s project More Than Words Can Say will ‘provide a culturally safe space for Deaf artists to explore their creative processes beyond the limitations of a hearing-centric world in spoken language.’ Leisa Prowd’s I Am Not This Body – No Consent is a memoir project exploring the artist’s relationship with her body ‘as someone who is not even 4ft in a 6ft world’ through different mediums, including film, spoken word, dance, projection and sculpture, culminating in a live performance and sensory/tactile installation.

Source: World Cities Culture Report 2022

Images Courtesy © City of Melbourne