Fundraiser

ArtISability Pens 

Lovely to write with

and costs just $6 each.

ArtISability seeks to assist artists living with disability and mental health issues to join their local arts community.  We are currently jointly funded by the Ipswich City Council in partnership with Arts Queensland, Access Arts Inc, and Arts Access Australia.

On challenge life presents to our artists is the ability to access public art galleries, art classes and workshops because of lack of public transport.  Even when a venue is accessible by public transport the train station itself may not be accessible or an artist may not be able to access public transport independently.  

Taxi fares often price activities out of rage for artists living with disability, $2 from every ArtISability pen sold with enable us to subside transport costs for our artists.  If you like to sell some on our behalf please contact us.  

The talent keep coming . . .

Our ArtIsabilty pilot  program also offer workshops in painting in the fine arts and abstract paint and two of our artists choose to venture down this path . . . 

Oil Painting . . . 

Abstract Art . . . 

Works Produced From The Earth . . .

Our March pilot program saw six emerging artists embark on a journey . . . 
Too build networks and from new friendships and possible partnerships as the seek to build their profile as an artist.
These six talented artists all have very different goals some will continue to journey together others will foraged forward alone. 

We had 4 Artists complete the sculpture workshops.

These works will be on display at the Well being fair on the 10th May 2014.

Ipswich Poetry Feast Usher In The Ipswich Festival

Some From Judith Baker
March Workshop Presenter

Ipswich Festival is gearing up and ready to provide ongoing fun and culture for the months of April /May (see notice board for more details). The month kicks off for me with a Breakfast in the Park at the Walloon Henry Lawson Bicentennial Park.  This lovely, peaceful spot is a very much used picnic and play stop for travellers passing through.

This annual chance to enjoy a breakfast in the open air whilst being treated to performance poets reciting their latest poetry offerings is attended by lovers of the arts and interested travellers alike.   The history connected to the historical poem written by Henry Lawson about the tragic drowning of the Babies of Walloon fascinates visitors.  When I wrote the “Babies of Walloon” book, which was created after Henry’s poem that compelled him to put pen to paper after the drowning, I never envisaged the interest or the emergence of the now international poetry competition, officially given the title of the Ipswich Poetry Feast.  It proved to be the catalyst that put our little of Walloon well and truly on the map.

Councillor David Pahkle took up the challenge and the Poetry Feast culminates in an impressive Annual Awards Night and provides public debating competitions and poetry workshops.  His enthusiastic support attracted the interest and backing of Joy Chambers, herself a published author. 

As a painter and a writer I enjoy working at both ends of the spectrum.  I enjoy writing newsletters which support worthy projects and writing submissions for a variety of Magazines.  As an artist there is an Ipswich Art Exhibition that provides a wonderful diversity of the regions artists works on display for visitors from all over Queensland and beyond during the Festival.

The Artisability team are hoping to hold an exhibition of the works done at the pilot programme by emerging artists after the programme is over.  This would be a wonderful opportunity to showcase the results of this very successful mix of art and sculpture that emerged from hours of hard work put in by all the participants. 

Community Information Session

Saturday 12^th April 2014

9:30 am to 11:00 am

Ipswich Library Courtyard

South Street, Ipswich

(Parking at the back of Library)

RSVP: Debbie @ chilton1968@bigpond.com

PH (07) 3281 3218

Who should attend?

This is an information session on ArtISability – Professional Development Program for Visual Artist living with disability and mental health issues. This is an opportunity for members of the Ipswich Community to learn more about the program and how to support the Project to grow into the future. You may be interested in the program if you are an artist; qualify art teacher, art group or artist organisation, disability support agency, or local business seeking to support our local community. 

   

Developing Community Links

Our program is not about building a hub for visual artists living with disability. Rather an opportunity to develop skills the can share with their local mainstream community. ArtISability is not a destination, rather a stepping stone to the arts community.

Information Session On "The Arts Community In Ipswich"

Living with disability or mental illness shouldn't be a barrier to participating in the arts community. The three staff at ArtISability living with disability are proof that a career in the visual arts is rich and rewarding!

Our focus is on linking our participants to the community. At the commencement of the program each of the artists were asked to nominated some goals to work towards. Some of the goals they nominated were around skills development and extending their friendships and networks.

During the session yesterday Judy, Cynthia, Emma and myself share what we have learnt from other artists and what we appreciated about working with each other to bring the program together.  I also asked Judith Baker, "If she thought she had experienced disadvantage as an artists do to her disability.  Her comment was once her art was hanging in a gallery, her disability became invisible." 

Oceania By Judith Baker 

So in may ways ArtISability is about an artist finding their own pathway to seeing their work hanging on a gallery way.  Many of our artists are keen to sell their work.  

So yesterday we talked about local art competitions as a important stepping stones and how we can assist them to enter the Ipswich Society Fine Arts Session.  Some times knowing how to access information can be a barrier and its one barrier that is easy to remove.  Perhaps we overwhelmed them with information.        

We introduce the idea of working towards a collaborative art exhibition and how that might work.  We explained about the Ipswich Community Gallery and Emma and Judith shared a little on their experience in hosting art exhibitions. We are all impressed with the talent that ArtISability has unearth and most of our artists are ready to explore this possibility.

Examples of "What we're been able

to Unearth!" 

'

So next time we meet we're be talking about how we might show the people of Ipswich the work of these talented Artists. 

ArtISability would like to thank ALARA Queensland, the Ipswich City Council in partnership with Arts Queensland, Access Arts Inc. and Arts Access Australia for enabling the artists to access the arts community in Ipswich. 

Our Artists at Work On Day Two