Late night musings on R.E.M Lab while waiting for some very important news….
If you are able to give, please head to the link in my bio (you’ll need to access the link via an external browser to donate)
#DisabilityArts #REMLab #DreamTheory #Borahae
Rehearse. Explore. Make.
R.E.M. Lab is here...and I need your help to make it a success.
It started with a pretty common problem…so many projects, so little time.
But for me and many of my Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent collaborators, when we added in our other challenges - availability of supports, lack of affordable accessible rehearsal space, fatigue, distance and of course, budget… getting projects off the ground has felt insurmountable.
So, I thought: what if we tried something a little different?
And so R.E.M Lab was born. Over two weeks, three creative teams will be sharing a space and resources to continue developing an existing project. There is crossover between teams - e.g. a performer on one project might be dramaturg on another. The schedule is developed to accommodate everybody’s access requirements, and all projects are disability-led.
Now, full disclosure. This version of R.E.M. Lab is a pilot, and at this moment it is fully self-funded. I’m incredibly grateful to the artists who have committed to being part of this first iteration — and now I’m asking for your help to do this properly.
I’m launching a crowdfunding campaign so I can better support the artists involved. Alongside core costs like venue hire and artist fees, this pilot provides accessible accommodation, interpreters and other access supports, helping to create a genuinely safe and workable environment for everyone involved.
Put plainly: we need some funds to take this dream from a theory to a reality.
If you’ve read all the way to here - you probably already know the drill. Any amount helps. All donations will contribute toward artist fees and access supports needed to make this new, disability-led initiative possible.If you’re not in a position to contribute $$ right now, I completely get it. Sharing this post or or spreading the word still helps more than you might realise.
Your support is a statement. It says that work by DDN artists deserves time, space and proper resourcing. That disability-led spaces matter. That it’s time to start imagining more inclusive ways of making work - and actually try them!
If you agree - donation link in bio 💜
ID: in comments
I’ve joked a lot this year about being ‘a lady of leisure’ but looking back, I’ve packed a lot into 2025.
It was a year of taking time - time to be with family, with friends, with myself. Travelling for work but allowing time to savour art and music and nature along the way.
There’s been lots of time for play as well… playing dolls with Flo, getting back onstage with the NAPA crew, and twirling in circles on the grass with the GenerateGC cohort.
I’ve reconnected with old friends, as well as meeting some incredible humans for the first time.
I think I’m most grateful for having time to celebrate big milestones with the people I love the most, and of course, getting to meet our beautiful Alessa Leone 😍
With everything going on in the world right now, I am so thankful to have had the freedom to have a year like this. While the realist in me knows that there is probably a lot more darkness ahead before things lighten, I’m always renewed and inspired by the people around me - their passion, kindness, creativity and unending generosity reminds me what we are capable of, if we stay connected to our true selves and each other.
Sending you all lots of love, light and great sleep for 2026. Goodness knows we all deserve some! 💜💜
ID: in alt text and comments.
MERRY CRIPMAS!
Today (well, yesterday, as true to form, I am about 10mins late) is International Day of People with Disability, or as my gorgeous friend @madeleinelittle
likes to say - Cripmas.
To be honest, I don’t know always know how I feel about this day. I’m grateful for all the panels and talks, but honestly, this year I feel a bit talked out (shocking, I know).
My relationship to my own disability is always evolving, but with the constant changes and slashing of my peers’ NDIS funding, along with disappointing experiences with disability portrayal in pop culture and the media, at the moment things are feeling a bit overwhelming. If people can’t get access to the everyday supports they need, how will they stay well, stay connected? Will this mean all the progress we’ve made in the arts sector over the last few years will fade away?
But still, days like today remind me how far we, as a community, and I, as a person, have come. I’m so grateful for the activism and advocacy done by those who came before, and the work that continues to be done by so many of my friends and colleagues across this country, and the world.
It’s this community that keeps me inspired and makes me excited for the future. They’re also the reason I’m looking to embark on a new venture very soon - hoping to empower more incredible creatives to tell their stories and bring their creative dreams to life.
So stay tuned….and I hope you had a Merry Cripmas!
Image credit: Jorge Serra. Image description in comments.
#IDPWD #DisabilityDay #MerryCripmas
Today is International Day of Persons with Disability!
This year I’m choosing to celebrate the fact that I got to write and perform my own show ‘Sleep and the City’ at @undercoverartist_au .
Creating the show was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, both creatively and in my journey with disability. It helped me truly accept and process some of the things that happened on the ten-year-long path to diagnosis and even understand my condition better.
I’m so thankful to all the people who helped make it possible, @madeleinelittle@andrewcp@jakey_bristow@hollsandrew
And to the audience for that night - it was a room of people genuinely ready to listen, to learn and laugh along with me.
This IWPWD, I encourage you to do the same. Seek out creators and advocates (whether online or at events being held around the place) and be ready to listen and learn from their stories. I’ll post some recommendations later today in my stories if you need a starting point!
Happy IDPWD everyone! @idpwd_au
Image credits:
1, 5 & 6 - Jorge Serra
2,3 & 4 - Jade Ellis
Image descriptions will be in the 2nd comment.
#idpwd #idpwd2023 #disabilityawareness #narcolepsy #narcolepsynotalone #disabledartist #creativespoonie #cabaret #creativegold
I’ve posted this letter before, but I always like to re-read it on days like today. This letter, and the man whose signature it bears, changed my life.
I’ve written and rewritten this post, but honestly, it’s been difficult. How do you capture the legacy of someone who not only shaped your life, but of so many others? Somehow, any words I can find right now are equally too much and not enough.
So I might just stick with one: grateful.
Grateful to have been chosen after that terrible first audition, to have been given opportunities to grow at the right time, to have met the friends who became like family, to have been given the gift of how to live life as an artist.
So thank you, Robert. 💜
As usual, I’m a little late to the IG party - but we were on time in real life! Love working with this bunch of legends, who spend so much time dedicated to supporting artists, not just on @ausmusictshirtday
Image description: 5 women stand along a dark blue wall. Four of them are doing some version of the ‘rock’ hand symbol/sign. They are all either laughing or posing for the camera. They are all wearing different band t-shirts.
Happy World Narcolepsy Day 2023!
A pretty special one for me, having just premiered #sleepandthecity at @undercoverartist_au
Sending lots of love to all those within the N community, particularly the Jose family and everyone who knew Melissa and her incredible work with @narcolepsyaustralia
Her advocacy and allyship led to real, lasting change for so many of us and will continue to change the lives of so many into the future.
And of course, if you want to learn more about Narcolepsy, you can DM me or check out some of these amazing organisations and creators:
@project_sleep@narcolepsyaustralia@remrunner@falling_asleep_elle@narcolepsybella
#worldnarcolepsyday
#narcolepsy #sleepdisorders
#undercoverartistfestival
#disability #disabledpride
Image description: A woman with shoulder length brown hair is pointing to the words on her t-shirt, which say ‘World Narcolepsy Day’.
She is in front of a blue background that has the Undercover Artist Festival logo on it.
I can’t believe it’s already the end of week one of rehearsals for Sleep and the City!
I’ve had such a great time being back ‘on the floor’ of a rehearsal room - although I will admit I’m definitely a lot more sore at the end of the day then I remember being in my twenties…
So lucky to have this multi-talented and supportive team bringing the show to life:
Director extraordinaire @hollsandrew
MD and my fashion icon @jakey_bristow
Producer, set designer and all-round excellent human @andrewcp
And my wardrobe gurus @jess_hansen_not_hanson and @isaac_rowan_m
And a HUGE thank you and shout-out to my darling friend @wardo79 for having us at @oneb.studios - what an incredible space to be able to make work in!
A little over a week to go and we’ll be premiering at @undercoverartist_au
Get your tickets now via the web 🫶🏼🤩🎫
Image credit: Connie Nowlan
Image descriptions in comments.
