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A performer stands on the shoulders of another performer, arching up to the sky on a beach at sunset.

'Short-sighted’ by Abbie Madden, 2020

Two Degrees was a series of digital works commenting on climate change in 2020.

Capturing the City with SIGNAL continued in the form of a film club.

Nimbus created a virtual exhibition called Ether.

The Echo Collective ensemble made a series of videos and audio episodes called Channel Echo.

The Museum of Us asked 45 Deaf and Disabled Victorian artists to respond to the prompt, “What could an accessible future be for Victoria? And what sort of future do we want to emerge?” The artists used many forms of digital technology – Text, animation, audio and video recordings, and more. The Museum of us was supported by the Victorian Government.

Music Makers was a mentorship program for Deaf and Disabled music workers in Victoria. Music Makers fostered accessible and meaningful interactions with industry. The Amplify Award was established to celebrate Deaf and Disabled music makers. In partnership with Music Victoria. The program was featured on the ABC Arts program Art Works. Participating artists have gone on to receive funding for their work and further career opportunities. 

opra collage

Ana Maria Gomides, Oh Well, part of The Museum of Us, 2021.

Tim Sedgwick painting. Joe working on his Queen Victoria Market linocut.

Joe working on his Queen Victoria Market linocut.

Tim Sedgwick working on his Create project

Accelerate was a new grants program for Deaf and Disabled Artists, Creatives and Arts Workers in Victoria. It was supported by Creative Victoria in 2021. It was developed to drive change for future funding programs. Thrive Creative Grants was a funding program for the Emerald Hill (South Melbourne) area. It was a partnership between the City of Port Phillip and AAV. Victorian Deaf and Disabled artists applied for a grant of $10,000, plus access costs.

The inaugural Alter State Festival launched online in 2021. It took place in 2022 and was a huge hit. This was the beginning of a 10-year partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne. Flaunt was The Other Film Festival’s first online festival with ACMI in 2022.

Artists performing on the Nebula stage A person performing seated behind drums and microphone on stage.

Izzy from Half N Half on drums at Snug Rock, 2022. Photo by Laura Du Ve.

Anni Neptune performing on the Nebula stage as part of AAV at the St Kilda Film Festival. Photograph by Kate Disher – Quill.

highlights from 2022 include:

By My Bed with the Emerging Writers’ Festival. 

Live music, performance, poetry, panel discussions and film as part of the St Kilda Film Festival.

Snug Rock, our all ages accessible music festival presented with ALWAYS LIVE. 

Bunjil eagle has arms outstretched and is staring straight on. a crowd of people

The AAV community at The Collective Opening event, July 2024. Photo by Raphael Recht.

Uncle Greg, Bunjil, Acrylic on Canvas.

During this time, we committed to a hybrid model for as many events as possible into the future.

Our 2023 feature exhibition was a retrospective of the late Uncle Greg’s life work during NAIDOC Week. It was a great success.

In 2024, we said goodbye to our CEO of six years, Caroline Bowditch. We welcomed our new CEO, Joshua Pether.

We are celebrating our 50th year in 2024. The Collective exhibition brought together artists and workers from AAV’s past, present and future. The second Alter State Festival was jam-packed with Deaf and Disabled excellence. We are excited for the next 50 years of AAV.

Go Back:  Big shifts (2015 – 2019)

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