Sunday, March 9, 2014 – 11:15 a.m. Geelong time
By Teressa Jackson
My first vocational visit last week was with Arts Access Victoria. Immediately upon arriving, I hopped in the car with Veronica, their
CEO, and we were off to visit one of their 25 studio sites around the region
serving around 600 participants.
On the way, Veronica gave me the rundown on Arts Access’
programming, philosophy, and approach. Primarily operating on government funds
(they also get some philanthropic grants), they are positioning themselves as
Australia’s largest arts and disability organization, with a budget of around
$2 million yearly funded on a 6-year cycle. They do not talk about their
artists’ work as recreational or therapeutic, but instead as a way of political
and social expression. They recognize art is political and that their programs
are, by connection, also political. They have a strong relationship with all
sides of government and are very engaged with the world of policy, using art to
talk about inclusion, exclusion, equality, and other issues – basic human
rights issues that are hard to argue against. Arts Access’ innovative and
creative approach has helped them secure funding needed to further their work.
Their overhead on projects, used to fund other unfunded progrmming, is 15 to
20%.
Arts Access works across all art forms, and with individuals
who have any type of disability. They do not have artistic directors and avoid
hierarchical structure, which they feel would restrain creativity, and put a
priority on working with good quality art materials. They exhibit their
artists’ work with a multi-layered exhibition strategy from a “practice” type
space, to a community partner gallery space, to a commercial gallery. A number
of their artists are sought-after and collected. Each individual artist
discusses their creative plan with staff three times per year.
The first program we visited was an open studio where
participants can make art with the general community. When establishing these
studios, the organization works very hard to connect with local artists and
engage them in the programming. Part of the programming is a focus on building community
relationships. Twelve to fifteen people attend programming weekly, and there is
a waiting list for participation. People were actively engaged on making some
incredible works of art, and were very excited to share about their vision for
their work, how they feel the program has benefited them, and were very proud
of a performance they had participated in on Sunday.
We then visited a privately owned supported residential
service accommodation program serving individuals who are homeless and struggle
with substance abuse and/or mental illness. Programs like the one we visited
have helped staff at the programs see participants in a new light. Through the
partnership, Arts Access staff visit the home and supply materials, support,
and programming for creative sessions.
In addition to programming sites, Arts Access works to place
their artists in arts-related employment, provides support and advocacy for
inclusion in the arts, and provides programming by which individuals can visit
various art-related sites in the community.
It has been interesting to learn during several of my
vocational visits that the majority of government funding seems to be local,
not federal or even state. Arts Access takes advantage of their relationship
with local government to partner for programming and gallery space in addition
to dollars. They feel strongly that when outcomes are demonstrated, the money
will follow.
The organization has a Board Member who is with the Skin& Cancer Foundation and they have formed a partnership in creating “Skin
Gallery”, a gallery space located in a venue where people are being treated for
cancer. Around 40,000 people each year are through the space while in
treatment, and a space which felt sterile became engaging while serving as an
affordable, manageable pathway for artist exhibitions.
I was very intrigued with Arts Access’ staffing structure
and approach to human resources. While they have 70 staff across the
organization, none of them work full-time, including their CEO, who works five
days a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in order to balance personal needs at home.
Twenty of their 70 staff members have disabilities. Australia’s not-for-profit
sector offers incentives for employees of human services organizations.
Employees do not pay tax on the first $16,000 of their earnings, so take-home
pay is much higher.
Veronica has implemented a flexible schedule for employees,
and they are not required to report to the office each day for work. Timesheets
were eradicated, and employees are paid for the hours allocated to them and
expected to get the work done. Staff is paid to do professional certification
training, they receive 4 weeks vacation, 8 sick days, 4 carers leave days, and
maternity leave is a generous three months. Minimum pay for their staff is $24
per hour. The premium is placed on working smarter, not harder, and it shows –
they have overachieved on every indicator of their government contract each
year.
Wednesday’s program was a trip “Around the Bay in a Day”. We
began our journey with a trip down the highway to Geelong. In Geelong, we
enjoyed the scenery of the waterfront while munching on some biscuits
(cookies), blueberry muffins, and coffee. I was especially taken by the charm
of the Baywalk Bollards, which were created by local artist Jan Mitchell. The painted
sculptures represent local history and identities.
After Geelong, we continued our journey to Queenscliff,
where we grabbed a portable lunch from Rolling Pin Bakery, home of “Australia’s
Best Pies”. I enjoyed a vegetarian pastie that was filled with a spiced mix of
potatoes, carrots, and celery; and a Bundaberg ginger beer. Armed with our
fortifications, our group boarded the Queenscliff-Sorrento Ferry for a
40-minute cruise from the Bellarine Peninsula to the Mornington Peninsula.
Although they are often seen on this trip, the dolphins were apparently engaged
elsewhere. It was still a lovely way to spend a lunch hour, and I enjoyed every
minute of it. 
