Disability Arts Festival: Vibrant & Diverse Programme

Disability Arts Festival Confirms Vibrant and Diverse Programme

INTERACT DISABILITY ARTS FESTIVAL 2013

23-25OCTOBER 2013
Corban Estate Arts Centre | FREE ENTRY

Building on the outstanding success of their 2012 season the annual InterACT Disability Arts Festival returns for its third year; with an action packed free three-day season of performances and workshops at Corban Estate Arts Centre from the 23rdof October.

Cited as one of the last places of pure, avant-garde outsider art the programme boasts both local and international talent and the festival is looking to expand upon the 200 performers and 1800 members of the public who enthusiastically attended last year. More workshops will also be added - both drop-in style and longer-form classes (including drama and film).

Founded in 2011 by festival director Paula Crimmens, InterACT highlights the artistic abilities of those with disabilities while serving as a platform to demonstrate their profound skills and offering workshops that allow those to get involved in disciplines they may have felt they couldn’t achieve.

InterACT is proud to announce the inclusion of UK writer and performer Julie McNamara as part of this year’s festival. McNamara’s play, Let Me Stay, is a tender exploration of the impact of Alzheimer's on a family struggling to hold onto the memory of their Mother. Julie McNamara has recorded her Mother's songs and stories - filming and photographing her over many years. Now woven together, the half remembered songs, interrupted conversations and embodiment of the spirit of the Mother herself have resulted in a compelling piece of theatre - an extraordinary love letter filled with comedy and compassion.

Would we expect Stevie Wonder, van Gogh or Beethoven to be less than excellent? Are we using “disability” in our marketing and promotion as the excuse for being something less? Australian blind opera singer Janelle Colquhoun’s To Be or Not To be Excellent outlines her international performing career, the impact of blindness on said career and the management of her entertainment and production agency specialising in professional artists with a disability. Through the production of over 900 mainstream and disability events, she discusses her tips for the marketing and promotion of excellence.

Drawing upon his passion for sustainability and recycling, Andrew Hall heads a workshop based around art created from recycled, manmade ‘found’ materials. Working with students to create 3D sculptures and explaining the reasons why he uses such materials Hall draws new life from discarded objects. Anne-Sophie Adelys presents a workshop where students will explore the aspects of portraiture through drawing and painting. With the expressive use of charcoal and colour using acrylic paints, students will focus on identifying features and proportion. Emphasis will be placed on who they are and what makes them so – not necessarily how they look to others.

These events are just a mere taste of what the entire InterACT 2013 programme will have to offer. Visit http://www.interacting.org.nz as more events, workshops and guests are announced in the lead up to this festival.

InterACT Disability Arts Festival takes place:
23– 25October 2013,
Corban Estate Arts Centre, 426 Great North Road, Henderson

FREE ENTRY

ENDS

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