The Colour Cycle

What is the status quo in terms of access and inclusion in Australia's creative sector for people from First Nations backgrounds, People with Disability and culturally and linguistically diverse or migrant communities? How are we tracking as a creative sector? And how do you dismantle existing systems and structures of power?

These are just some of the issues tackled by this panel which includes Tony Briggs, actor, writer and producer of Cleverman, The Sapphires, Veronica Pardo, CEO of Multicultural Arts Victoria. Bali Padda, Industry Development Executive at Screen Australia, Leah Jing McIntosh, editor-in-chief of Liminal, Kath Duncan, producer and co-founder of Quippings deaf and disabled queer dance troupe and Michael Williams, the Director of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas.

Performer and theatre maker Deborah Williams doesn't always fit the institutional definitions of diversity. There were categories for Disabled Artists, which were mostly White or categories for Black Artists, that were not for Disabled people. But there were no spaces to be both a Black and a Disabled Artist. When Deborah decided to take a job at the Arts Council England, it became clear to her that the sector didn't understand diversity meant. So she set about making change, introducing groundbreaking programs that have gained international recognition. Deborah approaches diversity as an agenda - rather than an issue or problem.

Has representation become a buzzword? Another requirement for organisations and institutions to comply with? For many organisations, the representation box is often ticked when "People of Colour", "First Nations" people and "People With Disability" are 'invited into' the conversation for a particular moment.

But how can we create real systemic change and work towards a sector where artists and creatives who are not from the mainstream are both represented and self-determined?

First People's First, how do cultural organisations, institutions and arts practitioners put this principle into practice in ways that move beyond tokenism? This is one of the critical issues unpacked in depth by Genevieve Grieves. Genevieve is a Worimi woman from southeast Australia based in Naarm, sometimes known as Melbourne. She's an award-winning artist, curator and the Manager, Transformation Strategies in the First Peoples Department at Museums Victoria. This is her keynote address from the Fair Play Symposium, two days of talks and performances put on by Diversity Arts Australia at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne.

Coming soon Season 2 of The Colour Cycle - a special Fair Play season recorded live at Diversity Arts' two-day symposium at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne.

We want to make sure that the conversations that we have inside closed rooms are shared far and wide. It's a season packed with important ideas, strategies and insights from leading thinkers in the arts. People like First Nations trail blaizers Genevieve Grieves and Tony Briggs, international guests like Deborah Williams from the UK's Creative Diversity Network, Disability leader and artist Caroline Bowditch, and Aseel Tayah, Paula Abood and many more. If you're committed to equity in the creative sectors, then you don't want to miss this.

This ancient continent has been populated by diverse groups of people and artists from over 500 language groups and nations. We recognise that diversity didn’t start with Australia’s European colonisations and the migrants who came after. But too often Australia’s indigenous artists are relegated into one box to tick. In this episode, we talk to two important indigenous artists, Lily Shearer and Colin Kinchella about what we can learn from the diversity of Australia’s first peoples.

This ancient continent has been populated by diverse groups of people and artists from over 500 language groups and nations. We recognise that diversity didn't start with Australia's European colonisations and the migrants who came after. But too often Australia's indigenous artists are relegated into one box to tick. In this episode, we talk to two important indigenous artists, Lily Shearer and Colin Kinchella about what we can learn from the diversity of Australia's first peoples.

We often talk about the need for quotas to compel arts organisations to include more diversity in their programming. When Create NSW's Screen division introduced a 50 50 quota for gender - they significantly increased the participation of female directors, writers and producers within a very short period of time. So could quotas work to create a more culturally diverse arts sector? This was a hot topic at the Beyond Tick Boxes symposium in 2017 with an animated panel discussion that we recorded live and nicknamed "Where are the teeth?".

Over this podcast series we've heard lot's of strategies for increasing cultural diversity in the Arts and on our Screens - so are we there yet? Well we're on our way but still have a long way to go according to a panel discussion which Diversity Arts Australia hosted at the Performing Arts Connections Australia conference (Australia's peak performing arts body for theatre, dance and performing arts). The panel included some Colour Cycle alumni; Sunil Badami, Benjamin Law, Zainab Syed, Maria Tran and Jackie Bailey.

In our first bonus episode we are playing a live recording of the speech from Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommosane, the Beyond Tick Boxes Symposium. It was so good we just had to share it with you. He challenges Australians to think about cultural diversity as more than just going out for souvlaki, dim suns or pho. Dr Soutphommosane also poses the question whether creative expression is a human right?