Arts Activated Transcript: Bay 17 - 20th September 2016

Practice showcase: Organisations

KATE LIDBETTER:

We are good to go, welcome to this session, great to see you here. I hope you had a fantastic morning.

My name is Kate Lidbetter and I am on the board of Accessible Arts. It has been a real pleasure being in that role. I am also the CEO of Symphony Australia.

Also, in one way or another, the ACO, and we will hear members play today as part of the demonstration.

My role is to watch the time. There are a lot of things people need to get off to do. I will also introduce the speakers.

We will have a question and answer session at the end. There are microphones if anyone has questions – we have 15 minutes at the end. Please stock up your questions.

My first the first group that will present is the Australian Chamber Orchestra. It is one of the leading chamber orchestras in the world, and tours nationally. Hopefully you have had the pleasure of enjoying ACO performances.

Their programming spans a range of styles, genres and periods and specially commissioned works.

The orchestra's vision is to remove barriers for people with a disability to participate in their activities and programs.

Part of this is the Move program incorporating music and movement for young adults with a disability – which we will observe today.

This is a class, not a performance. Normally these sessions run for two hours but we will see a micro version of what the Move program does.

To tell us more about Move, I am delighted to introduce you to Dean Watson, the customer relations and access manager of the ACO who will tell us more about the project after the workshop.

This session will feature a quartet from the ACO, the ACO movers and percussionists – please make them welcome.

(Performance by Australian Chamber Orchestra's Move Program)

(Applause)

DEAN WATSON:

So, we need to warm up (inaudible).

(Percussive music plays)

(Clapping)

DEAN WATSON:

Find a space in the room, so let's not go past here. Are you happy to sit up here?

Put your arms out to the side.

OK, can we all just come in a little bit, everyone, come in a little bit. With classical music (inaudible).

What we are going to do is an exercise where we (inaudible). Keep moving on the spot. Keep the rhythm going and (inaudible).

Everyone come in a little bit.

Wherever you feel comfortable.

(Music plays)

(Applause)

DEAN WATSON:

Let's do a bit of walking, find a space in the room, let's go.

It is a class, not a performance. So, when I am working in the studio with the ensemble (inaudible). (Inaudible) discovering every part of the room.

That is one walk. We are going to walk at three speeds, half-time, normal-time and double-time. (Inaudible)

OK, this is the music that goes with this, and it goes something like this.

(Energetic music plays)

(Applause)

DEAN WATSON:

OK, something like what we did before, yeah? OK. We will just... Be prepared for anything.

Um... (Inaudible)

(Inaudible) sorry, I keep turning my back to everyone. OK, so, hands out in front of you. Two, one in each hand.

(Clapping, stomping music plays)

SPEAKER:

(Inaudible)

(Applause)

DEAN WATSON:

So, (inaudible)...

(Applause)

KATE LIDBETTER:

Well, how fantastic! Thank you so much, Dean and the ACO Move group. That was just wonderful, loved it.

I will let you guys take a minute to get back out into the audience. While you are doing that, I'm going to introduce our next speakers.

Gaye Flemming was originally from the UK. She worked seven years there with the international charity, Carousel.

But in 2007, she arrived in Sydney as a freelance facilitator and consultant and completed a Diploma in Community Welfare.

In 2009, she became the cultural arts (inaudible) for the entire Sydney and Western Coast areas.

In this area, she has run over 50 arts projects and produced the first arts and disability television program.

This year, Gaye Flemming became the Front Up Arts director for Ability Options. She is working towards this becoming the first cultural hub in western Sydney.

Gaye will be joined this afternoon by one of Front Up's leading artists, Daniel Kojta.

Daniel's works offer the audience an experience of phenomena often reflected in the natural environment.

Today's presentation is going to take us through the Front Up strategic plan and the necessary steps in developing Accessible Arts programs.

As with the previous session, we will hold questions until the end and then we can ask questions of both groups. Thank you to Gaye and Daniel.

(Applause)

GAYE FLEMMING:

Hello, everyone. Hello, hello! It's always so exciting to be here.

I've been here a few times over the years in different roles and in different ways, but I'm incredibly excited to be here as Gaye Flemming. As a consultant now. I am a consultant working with Ability Options with Edith Magnusson.

Over the years we've worked very collaboratively with Accessible Arts, Arts New South Wales and Art Gallery New South Wales. And with Ability Options who have come up with serious funding to create a fellowship of arts leaders living with disability.

I'm going to take you through that right now.

With me today is one of the Front Up leading artists, Daniel Kojta who, with our artistic director, Kaye Armstrong, (inaudible) and Liam Benson are leading the Front Up Emerge pilot 2016 program. We will talk about that a bit later.

I don't know how to do this. How do I do that? Point to you?

OK, this is exciting. Front Up – if no one knows anything about Front Up at this moment, we haven't launched it yet.

We are going to be launching that on November 15 at Barangaroo Reserve and I will talk about that a bit more.

We're just going to lead you through this and tell you about the reasons why, the vision and the forward thinking of this.

This is so exciting because Ability Options has just given us 10 years' funding to create a community, cultural and arts hub within the Seven Hills, Western Sydney district.

I think a lot of people here will understand that 10 years' funding money is very cool. They've given us a beautiful hub and they've given us money for the next 10 years.

Of course we will be up there sourcing money to make the other programs happen. At the moment we do have a hub, it's a little bit empty but it is getting more and more full as we speak, and it's very exciting.

Just a bit about Ability Options, fabulous. They are new to me, they are out there doing their thing and they have 40 years of experience.

They wanted to make their mark for their founder and for that, they put Front Up together and found us to do some work on that one.

So what Front Up hopes to achieve... Well, disability-led initiatives.

Can we just...? Oh, it's there! Thank you, just realised it’s in front of me. It's like, oh, wow.

Disability led initiatives, it's to establish a state-of-the-art accessible community based creative hub in western Sydney. It is creating sustainable employment and education opportunities for young people with disability.

So if you know about Ability Options, they are all about employment. They are about going out there and finding ways to find people ways to work in all industries.

But they realised there was a lack in the arts industry. And there are a lot of people out there and in this audience that really want to work in the arts and they want to be paid. So we were pushing it that way forward.

The identified need is delivery of disability-led arts and culture programs for people with disability in western Sydney, and role modelling for the next generation of young people with disability.

So it's all about role modelling. It's all about advocating and it's all about getting this, all our knowledge, our collective knowledge, our collaborating partnerships, putting it all together and getting out there.

Making sure the next generation is out there and can come straight in to a creative scene that is actually happening.

And their role models are people living with disability that are really great emerging professional artists as well. Just looking at them and saying, "I want to be that person," and knowing that is a dream they can achieve.

This is a lovely quote from one of our emerging artists that we are working with right now in a pilot program. I love this. There is a need for creative options for living, working and recovering.

Simon was saying, and we all know, the depth that goes behind the arts. It is all about self-esteem and putting ourselves out there.

It can also help with recovery. This is an important quote from a lady that is really shining at the present moment.

So, the vision for the next 3 to 5 years. We want to build a presence through community events, festivals and arts projects. We want to develop employment pathways for participants and provide performance and exhibition platforms.

We want to develop community and cultural partnerships to reach and build awareness, and (inaudible) to become program leaders.

What we want to do, at this stage, and we have not launched Front Up yet, for the future we want Front Up to be led predominantly by art leaders that get it and understand it, that can push through the layers and boundaries of the next ages of employment, and open doors for the.

Collectively, we can all do that.

How will we do it? As you know, we just said 10 years to grow and expand. At the moment we are doing a pilot program.

We are already learning from that program, and it will take 10 years, it will take a while to get the right recipe to get it right.

We will be doing that for the first couple of years, the forward-thinking is to develop creative programs for everyone to touch. It isn't going to be just for the emerging professional.

What we want to do at the Front Up hub is have a program where we have the Explore program where people tinker and play, and go well, and discover the arts.

The mentors will be someone who will have a disability. They will always be paid people in that position. Explore, get everyone out there.

For those that already know the arts or want to do more, the Explore Discover program starts in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, so people get into the feel of professionalism, respond to the exhibitions, they come back to the hub, then they have a community outcome within the Front Up hub.

Emerge is something else. It is something we are doing this year. Explore and Discover happens next year but Emerge is happening now.

The reason we did that is we are resorting and recruiting and looking for art leaders now to work on these programs for next year.

We needed to work out how to do that and did an artist call out. We now have six amazing, experienced artists in the team, and they are making amazing installations right now to showcase at the Front Up hub at Barangaroo Reserve space.

Frida Kahlo, they have been responding to that. (Unknown term) the installation from that will be great.

After that process we will sit down and talk about the future. The coming into Front Up, whether they want to be leaders, do they want to work behind the scenes, around the scenes, doing it that way – very exciting.

Front Up Emerge prepares me for leadership opportunities so I can inspire others.

Emily Dash is one of our amazing emerging artists on the team. She is absolutely stunning. I can't wait for you to come to the launch and see her work with the others. We will also see Emily develop is an amazing leader for the future. We are lucky to have her on the team, like the others.

That is my presentation. I want to make sure each one of you understands if you want to know more about Front Up, if you want to see what it will be for the future, and where it will take all of you, if you want to get involved, you have to come to the launch.

The launch will be all about explaining the Front Up process, how to get involved, we will launch the website and the work of our beautiful artists.

Where they go will be showcasing key partnerships with the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Accessibility Arts, and other key partnerships.

We are very excited about that. I have a leaflet to give you all, take it away and with the date in your diary – thank you.

(Applause)

KATE LIDBETTER:

Fabulous, thank you, Dean, are you still here? Come and join us.

We have 10 or 15 minutes to do questions and answers. The sensible thing is for the panel to have a mic and then one in the audience – do you think, should we give that a try?

DEAN WATSON:

Please feel free to ask (inaudible).

KATE LIDBETTER:

Sorry, I thought the quartet had left, that is absolutely fine.

Let's start with some questions. Someone down the front. Wait for one second, let me tell you it is being recorded so the microphone is important.

If you have a question, put your hand up and people will – around with the microphone so we can capture the sound – please go ahead.

QUESTION FROM THE FLOOR:

My name is Alfred O'Brien, I represent (inaudible), I have a question for Dean Watson. How do you know which noise to make for the scene? Like, for the storm, how do you know what kind of noise to make for the scene?

DEAN WATSON:

Could you pass the microphone to the lady next to you.

SPEAKER:

We did it spontaneously, we each chose an instrument we were drawn to and joined in when we felt like it – it was improvisation, on the spot.

QUESTION FROM THE FLOOR:

How do you all come together?

DEAN WATSON:

Wonderfully.

(Laughter)

How do we come together? We basically have a call out via our website or through Accessible Arts New South Wales or other assisting groups.

There are a number of people use or work with us today who have been with us for about three years. We work together for four weeks in the middle of each year.

It is networking. This sector is all based on networking – callouts don't work that well, it is phone calls.

QUESTION FROM THE FLOOR:

What date do you meet together?

DEAN WATSON:

We only meet on four or five Saturdays in July, consecutively.

QUESTION FROM THE FLOOR:

My name is Tim McCallum, you were saying before, this is for anyone in the Chamber Orchestra. You were saying it is class based, do you have thoughts on the future of that being performance orientated?

The reason I ask, responsibility or obligation is not the word I want to use, more an opportunity to showcase such a wonderful performance. People poured out their artistic soul in front of us for 10 minutes. Such a nerve wrecking thing to do.

To showcase and share those stories in public, where people can pay to see such art and promote inclusion in the arts, I think that is really important.

Is that something you have thought of, or might want to think of in the future?

DEAN WATSON:

You could see me making eyes at other people in the audience.

ACO Move is anything to do with our programming, with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, in anything we do. It started off as a movement program but now that is the umbrella name for anything we do in that area.

My colleague to your left, in the grey, trying to hide, is Nicky Lawton, who is in charge of the education department at the ACO. She and I are talking about a small performance outcome.

I have been fortunate enough to be with the ACO for 17 years. I am given the liberty and opportunity to do what I do, and given full rein, hence having the most wonderful cellist in Australia come along and work with us today, and my other musicians who have raced off to a rehearsal.

We are probably Australia's busiest performing arts organisation. We perform internationally twice a year and the orchestra has a national subscription base as well. We perform regionally with our second orchestra – you name it and we are probably there.

Can I say, yes, almost, as an answer to your question – it is on the horizon. I am dubious about some things with performance. I come from a performance background. People become critical about what you do. This is work developed purely for what it is and performance go somewhere else.

I am cautious of performance in this area.

COMMENT FROM THE FLOOR:

Can I add a comment, as a performer, I understand I would perform in a room by myself for the rest of my life but there is an element, from a performance point of view, of sharing that experience.

I was looking at it, thinking of the future of other young people with a disability trying to find their voice. Opportunities, like you do, and I appreciate you are busy and it is a wonderful opportunity, maybe with more need, if young people with a disability see that work in the public eye, they will want to do that more.

All of a sudden more funding opportunities become available or more relationships or networks with other disability organisations, that can take the performance side of things…

DEAN WATSON:

I am lucky as part of the ACO, we have most areas of business covered, we are fortunate with our proactive board.

This project is presented and approved by the board. We work from the highest level down. I know a lot of people develop access programs in arts organisations who find it difficult to get through to the GM.

I do not have that problem, we are quite lucky, we are incredibly well supported.

There are about 10 young people sitting right next to us – what would you like to do?

Amongst the group you saw today, everyone is a performer in their own right. I should explain, Emily came in this year as a collaborative artist, we might be looking for someone else to collaborate with us next year to work further.

Alex? He is pretending not to look at me, with a smile on his face. But, guys, I will throw the question to you. What would you like to do? Everyone that worked today, what would you like to do? A performance or stay in a class? It's up to you.

EMILY DASH:

I'm one of the professional artists that works with ACO Move this year and I really do take your point about the performance outcome but I also think that what is special about ACO Move, as Dean said, we are all performers in our own right.

But what is special and unique about ACO Move is that you just have the freedom to kind of do what you like. And there is no pressure and no expectation. We just come together to create beautiful things. And share and inspire people.

And when you put that in the strict performance context, I think it takes on a different meaning. You know? So, that's what I will say about that. But I do take your point.

DEAN WATSON:

Can I just add – I know it's really quick and we should throw some questions to my colleagues on my right – but ACO is also about music education.

It's about bringing people into become part of the ACO family. We run our classes in our studio, we have a large studio under the Dendy Cinema at Circular Quay.

It has involvement with everyone at the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the board, upper management, but most of all the musicians. How we start our workshops, we have cellos and violins around. People get to touch them.

What you saw today, that is a snapshot. We would be looking at two or three weeks or something like that. I grabbed a few snippets here and there are things we can do and some simple technique exercises that I could expand into performances and do other things as well.

But we spend a lot of time on musical education. We learn how to clap, we learn about rhythms, we talk about dynamics and we use musical terms in movement.

This year, I asked Emily to come and diarise the program. On the website are the pieces she wrote on the workshops this year.

I think that was the only thing I asked Emily to come up with. But everyone else comes in, we play with violins, we pass the violins around, Julian puts his cello on

the floor and people hold it while he plays so they can feel the vibrations. So we have a tactile sense of what we do.

When everybody walks in, they become part of the ACO. Everything we do. We kick open the doors. But that might be a question for the parents and carers that have come along today. I think we achieve that, do we achieve that, guys? Maybe.

Everyone walks out and says, "I know who the Australian Chamber Orchestra is. I have just done a gig with them over the last four Saturdays. They are great."

QUESTION FROM FLOOR:

Hi, I have a question for Front Up. This may be premature. I was just interested to talk to you and hear from you about how you establish the professional development path that you are supporting your artists to take, or is it too premature to talk about that? Through Explore and into Discover.

GAYE FLEMMING:

Yeah, I'll just mention... Where we have come from, from six months to where we are now, is huge. So we have got 10 years. And it will be, it's going to be continuously learning.

What I've set up with Edith Magnusson is just the beginning. We are working with the most amazing people, Kaye Armstrong, Sarah Fine. Amazing leaders already. Things are evolving and they will evolve.

We have already noticed that with the Emerge Pilot Program, we will have to have a leadership program on top of that, how to run workshops on top of that and that's another way forward where we will be heading.

It's a process and it's an exciting time.

DANIEL KOJTA:

And also, each of the artists has their own direction as well. Each of the artists has their own individual arts practice. And at varying levels.

And as far as their professional direction, that's led by them. Essentially. This is going to assist them in every area that they could require assistance in that direction towards professional developmental.

KATE LIDBETTER:

We probably have time for one more question, is there any...? Oh, there we are.

QUESTION FROM FLOOR:

Thank you. My name is Rebecca, I'm from Studio Arts and this is a question for the ACO guys. Rehearsing and building and facilitating and moving to live music is not something we all get to experience every day.

So I'm really interested to hear from Dean, and your facilitation with the musicians and dancers, how the inclusion of live music changed or affected the process.

DEAN WATSON:

It's the key element. It didn't change the process; it was where it started from. If it is not the core thing of what we do, then it's not about the ACO. It's not about the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

I don't know if this is really answering your question, but do you have any thoughts on that, Julian, as a musician? Because we don't normally start off with music. We normally start with percussion.

JULIAN:

It's like when you build any piece of art, this has been quite an exploratory process with these guys. They come to the table with heaps of ideas.

As Dean said, what you saw today was a snapshot. Half the time it is all of us paying out Dean and Dean paying out Oliver. (Laughs)

So a lot of it is improvisation. And then I know we played some set pieces today, but a lot of it is finding soundscapes and the kind of emotional and movement-based material that these guys want to work with and that we want to work with as well.

So it's quite an interactive process, where we build it up, as Dean said, by starting with percussive elements and rhythm and the foundation of movement and dynamics and all those foundation elements of music and movement.

DEAN WATSON:

Claudia and I had worked together outside of the Australian Chamber Orchestra for some years, teaching flamenco rhythms.

But when I originally sat down with my General Manager at the time and said, "Hey, we would like to develop a program," I had to go away and work out how I could make it about the ACO. So it has to be about string playing, it has to be about classical music.

I don't know if that is what comes across, but it is about what we do. I would say to anyone developing any program within your own arts organisation that to try and develop it around what you actually do. It's really quite important. Otherwise you could be doing something anywhere.

That's the way I approached it. That's how I built it up. That was me acquiring instruments we could pass around, and coming into our studio, coming into our home, seeing how we set up.

The way we rehearse programs before we go on the road, our subscription-based programs, everyone in the orchestra who is involved in the program knows there is a very intense rehearsal period before we go on the road to every capital city in Australia. I'm sure Julian would back me up on that one.

So I thought, I want to replicate that. I thought, I want to get in whoever we work with, whoever comes in – and this is the wonderful core group of young, brilliant guys and I would like to acknowledge you guys today as well.

Thank you so much for being so brilliant and being here. That's really important. And your parents as well.

(Applause)

DEAN WATSON:

So it must be about finding ways of acquiring instruments, being able to hand them around. Come into our house, hand them around, sit on the floor for a while. That kind of thing.

Then see what happens. Have set things but if they don't work, chuck them out.

We do it all the time. And be funny. It's the arts, for Christ's sake. Be funny, let it go. Be immersive. Personally, if I don't finish after two hours and I am absolutely knackered, I haven't done my work.

KATE LIDBETTER:

On that note, we have unfortunately run out of time. Thank you very much for being here. If there are any questions you didn't get a chance to ask, there is an email address you can send your questions to and that will be passed to the panellists.

Ladies and gentlemen, will you join me in thanking our panellists, and the amazing ACO Movers.

(Applause)

KATE LIDBETTER:

And also Gaye Flemming and Daniel Kojta. Thank you all for being here and enjoy your afternoon tea.

(Afternoon tea)