Getting great art seen!
A thriving arts community is essential to a healthy, open-minded and inclusive society. To engage with art is to learn and connect with different ideas, communities and worldviews. It is therefore essential that artists with disability are represented within the mainstream arts community.
However, because of their disability, some artists are unable to access conventional education, professional development pathways and and opportunities needed to be successful and renowned visual artists despite the high quality of the artwork that they produce. Studio A aims to rectify this by supporting artists with disability to enter the mainstream art market and gain access to the same opportunities that are available to non-disabled artists so that they can achieve both their creative and economic aspirations.
WHAT IS STUDIO A
Studio A is a social enterprise that provides studio space, advice, representation and support to professional artists with intellectual disability. Studio A is the only Supported Studio in Sydney and is officially recognised by ArtsNSW as the flagship Art and Disability program in NSW. Studio A is an initiative of Studio ARTES, an organisation in Hornsby that offers creative and life-skills programs to adults with disability.
Studio A creates opportunities for its artists to develop and sustain a professional art practice including exhibiting work, gaining professional networks and earning income. This speaks powerfully to the inclusion agenda, minimizing the effect of impairments that cause disability and empowering individuals. The benefits for artists, their families and the broarder community are clear.
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP
Specifically, funds raised by our Dreamstarter campaign will allow us to establish a much needed Digital Inventory System (DIS) and to employ Tim Bell, an artist with a disability, to maintain this system.
A DIS is specially tailored computer software that allows the filing, sharing, sales and managment of digital stock – in our case, images of the hundreds of artworks that are created in our studio every year. A DIS is essential for us to file and catalogue photographs of artwork so that we can share and sell artwork to clients, thus enabling us to up-scale through managing the commercial trade of Studio A artist's artwork.
There is a demonstrated market for Studio A artwork which has seen us exhibit and collaborate with a number of significant arts organisations including:
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Carriageworks
Underbelly Arts
Erth Visual and Physical
ArtBank
Koskela
and
Sydney Contemporary
Importantly, a DIS will allow us to continue our relationship with these organisations by effectively sharing artwork with them and other potential private buyers, investors, funding bodies, curators, designers, galleries, and other art/design professionals as well as enable us to increase our media exposure by effectively sharing both online and print-quality images with different media sources.
WHO IS TIM BELL?
Your donation to our campaign will also allow us to employ artist with disability, Tim Bell to maintain the DIS program. Therefore donors to our campaign would be directly contributing toward the employment income of a person with disability.
Tim is an artist working within the Studio A program. As part of an initiative at Studio ARTES (Studio A's parent company), Tim was trained in art documentation and cataloguing. Tim now has the skills and proficiency to enter into paid employment at Studio A to coordinate the DIS program.
Tim works in drawing, sculpture and performance. He is also a member of the Studio A Props Collective, a collaboration between five Studio A artist who create bespoke decorative sculptures and design concepts for corporate functions, parties and events. All of the artists working within Studio A have intellectual disability and thus their employment opportunities are limited. Studio A supports its artists in selling, leasing, and licensing their artwork, thus contributing to the artist's income and employment. A DIS system is essential in expanding this commercial side of Studio A’s objectives.
HOW MUCH DO WE NEED?
The overall cost of our project is $30,000 which will allow us to pay for the DIS software and to employ Tim. We have already received a $10,000 donation towards the project by a private donor meaning we now need a further $20,000 in order for our dreams to be achieved.
Studio A artist's artwork and more information about Studio A can be viewed at our website here: www.studioa.org.au
Tipping Point Goal: $20,000
Total Funding Goal: $70,000
Tipping Point goal – $20,000
We are a part of ING Direct’s Dreamstarter program!
This means that, as a show of their support for Studio A, ING will donate the first $10,000 towards our tipping point! (YAY!)
$20,000 would allow us to pay for a software developer to tailor a Digital Inventory System (DIS) made specifically for our program AND to employ Tim Bell, an artist with a disability, to maintain this system. The DIS will allow us to effectively manage, catalogue, archive, sell and share imges of the artwork created in the studio with our clients. It will exist online where clients and customers can search, view and purchase artwork and other services offered by our studio. The DIS is essential to our organisation providing income to our artists by up-scaling to become major players in the Australian art community.
Ultimate goal – $70,000
$20,000 would go towards the Digital Inventory System.
The further $50,000 would go into a bursary pool that would cover the total cost of five financially disadvantaged artists with disability to attend our program one day per week for one year.
TAX DEDUCTABLE DONATIONS
Studio A is a registered charity meaning that you can choose to make a tax deductable donation.
If you would like your donation to be tax deductable please do not select a reward from the rewards list. Rather, make a donation (no reward) and then email us at enquiries@studioa.org.au to tell us that you would like to make your donation tax deductable.
See more at: StartSomeGood
