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About Us
We Are Studios was established in 2023 by a community of Artists with disability who believe that disability inclusion can and should start with us.
The first of our kind, We Are Studios is a fully disability-led, inclusive studio that empowers artists with disability to reach their creative potential by creating space to thrive.
Our team have experienced first-hand the barriers people living with disability face in accessing accessible arts education, professional development pathways, and the opportunities needed to build a thriving and sustainable creative practice.
We address these barriers by providing mentorship, networking and professional development opportunities to creatives with disability across Western Sydney and advocating for their inclusion within the contemporary creative arts sector.
Direct Access
Through our program partnerships, we provide direct access to some of Australia's leading arts and cultural institutions.
Mission
Empowering artists with disability to reach their creative potential by creating space to thrive.
We are an inclusive, accessible studio that provides mentorship, networking and professional development opportunities for creatives with disability across greater Western Sydney.
Disability
and Inclusion
We Are Studios uses the ‘Social model' of disability to inform how speak about disability.
The social model is an updated way of considering disability. It states that people with disability are not disabled by their impairments but by the world around them. It focuses on barriers that prevent people with disability from participating in society and that people are disabled by these barriers.
The social model argues that the problem is not the person with disability, but that society is not accessible or inclusive. Under the social model, society needs to make efforts to be more accessible and inclusive to ensure that people with disability can participate equally.
Intersectionality
We acknowledge that the barriers to participation in the arts for people with disability are not always experienced equally.
We know that disability is only a portion of what makes up our communities’ complex and multifaceted identities.
Because of this, we strive to be as inclusive and supportive of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic background.
Purpose
We believe art has the power to make change,
to transform, to illuminate and motivate.
Run by people with disability,
for people with disability.
We are redefining the possible.
How do we
define disability?
We firmly believe that the term ‘disability’ encompasses anyone with access needs, including those with mental health challenges, neurodiverse people, d/Deaf people and those experiencing chronic health conditions.
The language we use in the disability space is constantly changing and evolving, We Are Studios understands that many groups who have previously been identified as living with a disability may no longer identify with that term.
How we choose to identify is a reflection of an individual's lived experience. At We Are Studios, we value the participants' right to choose the language that reflects their individual lived experience and access needs.
First Nations
Creating on Dharug Land
We Are Studios respectfully acknowledges the Dharug people, the traditional owners of the land on which we work and create.
We recognise the Dharug people's continuing connection to land, waters and culture and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.