Today it is International Day of People with Disability – an occasion chosen by Sydney Festival to announce a new Disability Programming Initiative, which aims to increase the number of artists with a disability creating work for festivals.

In 2018, Sydney Festival presented Beast, a solo dance show by Dan Daw, an Australian artist who was born with cerebral palsy. Other artists with a disability who have featured at Sydney Festival include Michelle Williams in Imagined Touch and Elthan Hugh in Kaleidoscope, both in 2017. It is hoped that this new initiative will increase representation and opportunities for artists living with disability or who are deaf.

Developed in partnership with Accessible Arts, the Disability Programming Initiative introduces an accessible, inclusive pitching process, with support offered at each stage of the application. Artists can submit their pitch via a number of different formats including a printed document, audio, video or in person. Applications for the 2020 Sydney Festival are open until March 31, 2019 and will be considered by Festival Director Wesley Enoch and his programming team.

Sydney Festival Director Wesley Enoch and Accessible Arts CEO Kerry Comerford. Photograph © Joan Cameron-Smith

Sydney Festival’s Access and...