Accessible Arts

01/06/2026

Applications close on Sunday for the 2026 Accessible Arts and Bundanon Artist-In-Residence Program.

Musicians, writers and visual artists with disability or who are d/Deaf from NSW and the ACT are encouraged to apply.

Five artists will be funded to undertake a six-night residency at Bundanon in September.
Successful applicants will be accommodated in self-catering cabins incorporating an artist’s studio or musician’s cottage.

👉 Apply Now

For details and to apply, visit https://aarts.net.au/news/2026-bundanon-residency-apply-now/

📆 Applications close 11.30pm, Sunday 7 June 2026



Image Description: The landscape at Bundanon depicts a thick, misty forest of dark trees under a vast and cloudy sky. Photo by John Janson-Moore. Overlay text reads: Accessible Artist Residencies, Applications Close Sunday.

01/06/2026

Entries are now open for the 2026 Artful Art Prize.

Artful is an inclusive national art prize for all artists focused on sharing personal perspective through art.

This year's theme is ‘Reflections of Reality' and there are $1000 Eckersley's Art & Craft vouchers up for grabs. Categories include painting, drawing, photography, 3D, mixed media and textiles.

Artful is open to Australian residents of all experience levels.

📆 Entries close Tuesday 30 June.

👉 For details and to enter, visit https://www.achieveaustralia.org.au/artful

The Artful Art Prize is a unique collaboration between Achieve Australia and Accessible Arts.



Image description: A pink promotional graphic features a textile artwork of a partial face with detailed eyes and long, colourful hanging threads. A purple eye logo appears above text details for the Artful Art Prize 2026. The artwork is credited as “Self Portrait” by Ella Shearing, Artful Highly Commended 2023.

26/05/2026

Join in person or online for our exciting Access Ideas and Insights event today at 3pm.

This event will explore how arts and cultural organisations can expand access and deepen audience relationships by embedding access across all areas of practice.

👉 Access Ideas and Insights: Growing Inclusive Audiences
📆 Today
🕓 3pm – 4.15pm
+ in-person networking until 5pm
📍White Bay Power Station, Wangal + Online



Register now at https://aarts.net.au/news/access-ideas-and-insights-growing-inclusive-audiences/

Accessible Arts is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and this hybrid event was made possible with support from the Biennale of Sydney.

Image description: White text on a black background reads: Hybrid Event Series: Growing Inclusive Audiences. On the right there is a pink and blue swirling graphic.

19/05/2026

Bangarra Dance Theatre offers Audio Description for most performances in their 2026 national tour of 'Sheltering'.

Audio description is for people who are blind or have low vision, people with sensory processing disorders or autism, and anyone who would benefit from extra assistance, helping more audiences connect with Bangarra’s work.

Bangarra’s Audio Description shares cultural context for the stories and describes the visual and tactile elements that shape the full production experience.

For details, visit the website, email [email protected] or call 02 9251 5333. Companion Cards welcome.

Website: https://www.bangarra.com.au/performances/audio-described-performances/



Image description: At sunrise, golden light washes over the ocean and rocky shore as a male dancer stands by shallow pools. He leans back with one arm raised, gold fabric haloing his body. White ochre marks his skin, and light reflects in the water. Credit Disclaimer: Image supplied by Bangarra Dance Theatre. Photography by Daniel Boud.

15/05/2026

Entries are now open for the Hunter Emerging Art Prize - the leading art prize for emerging artists in the Hunter.

This year's prize seeks to provide greater accessibility for creatives with disability, with the inclusion of a new Disability Inclusion Prize ($1000).

They accept paintings, ceramics, works on paper, photo media, sculptures and experimental works. The Disability Inclusion Prize will be awarded across all sections.

📆 Entries close Tuesday 9 June

👉 For details and to enter, visit: https://www.newcastleartspace.org.au/hunter-emerging-art-prize



Image description: Installation view of a Hunter Emerging Art Prize exhibition at Newcastle Art Space featuring sculpture by Holly Leonardson and paintings by Nick Fintan and Alex Hansen.

14/05/2026

As part of our Advance Your Career series for artists with disability or who are d/Deaf, we're partnering with the National Association for the Visual Arts to present a free online workshop: Artists at Work – Fees, Rights and Getting Paid.

Artist Paula do Prado will share insights from her practice and experience navigating professional opportunities in the arts.

Led by Shoufay Derz (Visual Artist and NSW Professional Development Coordinator at NAVA), the workshop introduces key tools from the Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design, a sector-wide resource that provides minimum standards and guidance for fair and ethical working relationships.

👉 Advance Your Career: Artists at Work – Fees, Rights and Getting Paid
📆 Thursday 18 June
🕓 3pm – 4.30pm
📍Online

This workshop is for artists with disability or who are d/Deaf. The session will be Auslan interpreted and captioned.

Bookings essential as places are limited.

For details and bookings, visit https://aarts.net.au/news/advance-your-career-artists-at-work/

This free professional development session is presented with support from Create NSW.



Image description: Artist Paula do Prado sits at a table creating work. She is surrounded by artworks displayed on the wall behind her. Photo by Garry Trinh.

13/05/2026

The 2026 Creative Australia National Arts and Disability Awards are open for nominations.

These awards celebrate the work and achievements of artists with disability or who are d/Deaf, recognising the important contribution these artists make to arts and culture in Australia.

👉 The National Arts and Disability Award: Established ($50,000)
This is for an artist with a significant, long-term career. They will have made a major contribution to their area of practice. Their work will be recognised nationally or internationally.

👉 The National Arts and Disability Award: Early Career ($20,000)
This is for artists who are earlier in their career who have made a strong contribution to their area of practice. Creative Australia will offer a second Early Career Award in 2026, with thanks to their Workplace Giving program.

📆 Nominations close Tuesday 2 June.

For details and to submit a nomination, visit: https://creative.gov.au/investments-opportunities/national-arts-and-disability-awards



Image description: Black text on a white background promotes the Creative Australia National Arts and Disability Awards. Text includes details featured in the above post. At the bottom, a pink callout box reads: Apply by Tuesday 2 June.

12/05/2026

As part of our Advance Your Career series for artists and arts workers with disability or who are d/Deaf, Accessible Arts is partnering with the National Association for the Visual Arts to present a free, online workshop: Artists at Work – Fees, Rights and Getting Paid.

The session will cover:
- How to use the Code of Practice, including payment standards
- Practical approaches to budgeting and artist fees
- Superannuation, intellectual property, and auspicing in an arts context
- Strategies for advocating for fair pay and quoting to industry standards

👉 Advance Your Career: Artists at Work – Fees, Rights and Getting Paid
📆 Thursday 18 June
🕓 3pm – 4.30pm
📍Online

This workshop will be Auslan interpreted and captioned.

Bookings essential - limited to 50 people.

Details and bookings at https://aarts.net.au/news/advance-your-career-artists-at-work/

This free professional development session is presented with support from Create NSW.



Image Description: A colourful graphic line illustration of trees, an art gallery and people all engaging in work related to the arts. Illustration by Claudia Chinyere Akole © 2024.

We're presenting a free Advance Your Career workshop for artists and arts workers with disability or who are d/Deaf. In partnership with the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), this workshop introduces key tools from the Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design, a sector-wide....

11/05/2026

Join Verge Gallery for an Auslan tour of current exhibition 'Dismantle / Assemble' by Cindy Yuen-Zhe Chen, with Deaf artists Angie Goto and Sue Jo Wright.

'Dismantle / Assemble' is a co-designed exhibition which includes tactile sound sculptures and audio descriptions. The exhibition holds stories of tactility told through historical and personal narratives of European colonisation in Southeast Asia. On exhibition until 22 May.

👉 Auslan Tour: Dismantle / Assemble
📆 Saturday 16 May
🕓 1pm - 2pm
📍 Jane Foss Russell Plaza, University of Sydney

For more info, visit: https://www.verge-gallery.net/exhibitions-new/dismantle-assemble



Image description: Cindy Yuen-Zhe Chen, 'Touching Places Past and Present - Penang', 2026. Hands touching circular plywood sculpture on a black plinth. Carved grooves with ridges that resemble text on a coin as well as land topography. Photography by Jessica Maurer.

07/05/2026

Celebrate Deaf and Hard of Hearing storytelling at the Sign on Screen Festival at NFSA - National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

Sign On Screen is a rare opportunity to experience powerful films, panels and workshops, and for those working in the Australian screen industry to network and build bridges with Deaf and HoH key creatives.

Featuring award-winning Deaf-led shorts and international films, special guests include Deaf and HoH filmmakers, actors and academics.

All workshop and panel events will be Auslan-English interpreted and all screenings will feature English-language SDH captions.

👉 Sign On Screen Festival
📆 22 - 24 May
📍Arc Cinema, NFSA - National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Acton, ACT

Free event.

For full program details and to book tickets, visit https://www.nfsa.gov.au/whats-on/sign-on-screen



Image description: A film still from 'So Beautiful' by Sofya Gollan depicts a blurred image of a person as they are moving through a dark space.