~* Your donation will help to maximise the impact of Studio A in providing career opportunities to artists with disability *~
A thriving arts community is essential to a healthy, open-minded and inclusive society. To engage with art is
to learn and connect with different ideas, communities and worldviews. It is therefore essential that artists with disability are represented within the mainstream arts community.
However, because of their disability, some artists are unable to access conventional education, professional development pathways and and opportunities needed to be successful and renowned visual artists
despite the high quality of the artwork that they produce. Studio A aims to rectify this by
supporting artists with disability to enter the mainstream art market and gain access to the same opportunities that are available to non-disabled artists so that they can achieve both their creative and economic aspirations.
Phil Sidney was a exhibiting artist at the Underbelly Arts Festival
~* WHAT IS STUDIO A *~
Studio A is a social enterprise that provides studio space, advice, representation and support to professional artists with intellectual disability. Studio A is the only Supported Studio in Sydney and is officially recognised by
ArtsNSW as the flagship Art and Disability program in NSW. Studio A is an initiative of Studio ARTES, an organisation in Hornsby that offers creative and life-skills programs to adults with disability.
Studio A creates opportunities for its artists to develop and sustain a professional art practice including exhibiting work, gaining professional networks and earning income. This speaks powerfully to the inclusion agenda,
minimizing the effect of impairments that cause disability and empowering individuals. The benefits for artists, their families and the broarder community are clear.
Curly White Hair, a painting by Robert 'Thom' Smith
~* WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP *~
Specifically, funds raised by our Dreamstarter campaign will allow us to establish a much needed Digital Inventory System (DIS) and to employ Tim Bell, an artist with a disability, to maintain this system.
A DIS is specially tailored computer software that allows the filing, sharing, sales and managment of digital stock - in our case, images of the hundreds of artworks that are created in our studio every year. A DIS is essential
for us to file and catalogue photographs of artwork so that we can share and sell artwork to clients, thus enabling us to up-scale through managing the commercial trade of Studio A artist’s artwork.
There is a demonstrated market for Studio A artwork which has seen us exhibit and collaborate with a number of significant arts organisations including
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Carriageworks
Underbelly Arts
Erth Visual and Physical
ArtBank
Koskela
and
Sydney Contemporary
Importantly, a DIS will allow us to continue our relationship with these organisations by effectively sharing artwork with them and other potential private buyers, investors, funding bodies, curators, designers, galleries, and
other art/design professionals as well as enable us to increase our media exposure by effectively sharing both online and print-quality images with different media sources.
A portrait by Daniel Kim
~* WHO IS TIM BELL? *~
Your donation to our campaign will also allow us to employ artist with disability, 😊 Tim Bell 😊 to maintain the DIS program. Therefore
donors to our campaign would be directly contributing toward the employment income of a person with disability.
Tim is an artist working within the Studio A program. As part of an initiative at Studio ARTES (Studio A's parent company), Tim was trained in art documentation and cataloguing. Tim now has the skills and proficiency
to enter into paid employment at Studio A to coordinate the DIS program.
Tim works in drawing, sculpture and performance. He is also a member of the Studio A Props Collective, a collaboration between five Studio A artist who create bespoke decorative sculptures and design concepts for corporate functions,
parties and events.
All of the artists working within Studio A have intellectual disability and thus their employment opportunities are limited. Studio A supports its artists in selling, leasing, and licensing their artwork, thus contributing to the
artist's income and employment. A DIS system is essential in expanding this commercial side of Studio A’s objectives.
Tim Bell during his performance at the Underbelly Arts Festival, 2015
~* HOW MUCH DO WE NEED? *~
The overall cost of our project is $30,000 which will allow us to pay for the DIS software and to employ Tim. We have already received a $10,000 donation towards the project by a private donor meaning we now need a further $20,000
in order for our dreams to be achieved.
Studio A artist's artwork and more information about Studio A can be viewed at our website here:
www.studioa.org.au
A drawing by Nadia Lolas
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