Equity, Diversity and Access to Performing Arts

Equity, Diversity, and Access to Performing Arts: Managing Social Inclusion in New Frontiers of Healthcare

Sandra Kirkwood B.Occ.Thy, B.Music, M.Phil.       Music Health Australia, Australia

Presentation at the Australian Society of Performing Arts Healthcare Conference -- 21 October 2011

Re-visiting and sharing this presentation with ongoing relevance today. Further discussion needed.

Background

Traditionally, tertiary performing arts programs have catered for the exceptionally gifted and talented range of elite students who wish to equip themselves for careers in performance, teaching and arts research. Entry to higher education is highly competitive and people who are socially disadvantaged may lack pathways for developing the competencies necessary to gain equitable access to their chosen vocations. There are many new funding programs and initiatives for assisting performing artists and students in target equity groups to improve their career pathways. It is important to be aware of the latest legislation, guidelines and opportunities that are available for people with a disability, and people who are disadvantaged by limited access to services, education and support due to race, gender, age, rural isolation, literacy or other factors. It is within the scope of arts healthcare practice to consider how social inclusion principles can be played out in the development of policy, managing human resources, designing facilities, technologies, and implementing legislation concerning equity, diversity, to ensure improved access for all.

Aims

The performing arts industries of music, dance, drama and multi-media, are linked to the vitality of our diverse Australian society. We encounter diversity in our everyday lives, and we also have to deal with differences that we encounter in our professional practice, such as age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, ability, geographical isolation, socio-economic status and many others. The value which we ascribe to these differences determines our approaches to managing diversity, equality and inclusion in the performing arts. In order to achieve positive changes across all domains of life, it is important for health professionals, policy makers, designers and performing artists to be aware of the latest initiatives concerning equality, diversity and inclusion and how this relates to Human Rights Conventions and National Cultural Policy.

The study is focused on investigating the key research question, How do we ensure equitable participation in performing arts and music heritage and culture for all citizens?  The question provides a platform for exploration, discussion and synthesis of information about management of equity and diversity in a wide range of contexts, such as: schools, higher education, health or social support services, cultural institutions, community cultural development and multi-media communication.

The ultimate goal is to improve access and build capacity to the point that all citizens will be able to participate in performing arts and enjoy cultural heritage, according to the principle that, “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits (Article 27, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations, 1948).

My interest as an Occupational Therapist stems from the Code of Ethics for Occupational Therapists in Australia which states: “Occupational therapists shall not discriminate in their professional practice, on the basis of ethnicity, culture, impairment, language, age, gender, sexual preference, religion, political beliefs or status in society” (OT Australia, 2001, p. 4). I understand that this requirement would be typical of the Code of Ethics for other registered health professionals and a part of the charter for many performing arts organisations, as well.

It is a relatively recent development for healthcare professionals to be involved with facilitating access and equitable participation in performing arts for all sectors of the population, because education and skill development appeared to take priority until performing arts healthcare became established in the last 20 to 30 years. The innovations in managing equity, diversity and access that have occurred in recent years need to be publicized so that people can identify programs and services support peoples’ entitlements to equitable access according to State and Federal Anti-Discrimination legislation. At the same time, however, this needs to be balanced with validating the need for policies and practices which support excellence in all areas of performing arts – not wishing to detract from merit-based selection, but finding ways of providing opportunities for all citizens to participate in performing arts industries and to actively engage with diverse heritage and culture in Australia.

Methods

LITERATURE REVIEW
The research investigation involved literature and website review of legislation, conventions, guidelines, protocols and programs that are relevant to performing arts industries in Australia. Demographic analysis of population characteristics within and between performing arts groups was carried out; as well as analysis of health for different subgroups of Australian society. Some information has also been sourced from the literature on consultations with performing artists about their perceptions of equity, diversity and access issues that they experience. This data collection enabled extrapolation of health issues that would be likely to be prevalent within performing arts industries, and comparison with the range of health topics that are usually dealt with in performing arts healthcare research literature. Analysis was carried out to determine the strengths/weaknesses, best examples of practice, and identification in gaps in opportunities, support and services.

Literature Review and Performer’s Health
Review of the American journal, Medical Problems of Performing Artists, reveals that there are a handful of studies that are relevant to social inclusion, cultural diversity and equitable participation and access to the performing arts.

Moving chronological through these studies, Saxon (1987) noted poverty as an issue that could impact on performing artists’ access to private medical insurance. He found that 67 percent of performing artists (dancers, actors) in New York had incomes below $15,000. 76 percent had another job to supplement their income. “Although artists are particularly susceptible to inequities that block the obtaining of low cost health insurance, with some effort on the part of the artists and their patrons these inequities can be diminished” (Saxon ibid. 107). Saxon recommended establishing a central agency that would receive contributions from each employer, both within and without the arts, to provide health insurance plans for individuals that work across multiple jobs.

There is one study that provides comparisons across cultural groups. Hamilton (1994) investigated the impact of occupational stress in classical ballet on 92 professional dancers who were surveyed from national ballet companies in United States of America, Russia, and the People’s Republic of China. The dancers varied in educational levels, with: 94 percent of Americans, 35 percent of Chinese, and none of the Russians, had high school education. No cultural difference were found for the variables of ideal weight, menstrual functioning, or eating disorders. Cultural differences were present, however, in that Chinese women started dancing later than Russian and American women. American dancers experienced significantly more total injuries during their careers than did the Russian dancers. Hamilton concluded that the stringent requirements of ballet place equal stresses on dancers across vastly different cultural backgrounds.

The only study in Medical Problems of Performing Artists that concerns a colonised Indigenous minority is Brodsky’s (1995) USA study of “Blues Musicians’ Access to Health care.” Brodsky (p. 18) concluded that “The blues musicians, and poor and minority populations in general, shared similar health risks and faced common impediments to accessing the health care system.” No previous study of blues musicians’ health had been published prior. Of the musicians studied, 73 were African-American, 18 were Caucasian, and six responded that they belonged to other races, including Asian and Hispanic. The average age was 42 years, with a range of 23 to 78 years. There were no Australian studies cultural differences and no reports on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the performing arts healthcare literature that I surveyed. This shows clear gaps in our knowledge and probable limitations in access to performing arts healthcare services.

Alex Lubet of Minnesota, presented an inspiration essay on “Disability Studies and Performing Arts Medicine” in 2002. Lubet compared and contrasted medical and social paradigms of disability (2002, p. 59). “The ‘social model’ is concerned with the collective status of people with disabilities, [which] advocates accommodation over medical treatment (and inclusion over segregation), and privileges the knowledge of the disabled subject herself or himself.  An editorial by Alice Brandfonbrener in the same volume (2002), raised concerns about the undesirability of trying to complete medico-legal investigations and report on performing artists healthcare due to the complex nature of anti-discrimination legislation and unclear definitions of disability and subsequent entitlements. The whole sphere of adaptations for disability and design of accessible premises appears to be absent from the professional literature on performing arts healthcare. 

Ralph Manchester, MD from New York (2006), presented an editorial entitled “Diversity in Performing Arts Medicine.” He states that the situation is problematic for at least two reasons:

One is obvious: we do not know as much about non-classical musicians as we do about classical musicians (although the disparity is probably somewhat less for dancers).

The second part is that racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity is typically more prevalent in the non-classical world, especially as it relates to historical, underrepresented minorities. It does not have to be that way, but in many communities that is what happens. 

The literature on Performing Arts Medicine does not clearly define the rationale or the legal requirements to pay attention to equity, diversity and access to performing arts, so it can be assumed that lack of understanding and awareness may be part of the reason for the neglect in adequately addressing these topics.

The only Australian study in Medical Problems of Performing Artists, that is relevant to this topic, is a personal view expressed by Hadok (2008:83), in an essay which raised the concern for multi-disciplinary attention to access and socio-cultural issues that are unique to Australia:

The few hardy souls who are scattered through the nonmetropolitan regions and the interior suffer isolation and a form of cultural famine. We are faced with considerable challenges -- the geographical difficulties interplaying with the social, cultural and professional fabric — that must be addressed… artists living and working in rural and remote places and those who tour there have no access to health care that takes especial cognizance of their art and health together.

Hadok (2008: 84) recommends the need for performing arts medicine to be broadened from simply considering injuries and illnesses that might be directly attributable to playing or performance, to the “gamut of illness and lifespan change that will have impacts on a performer’s art.” He states that social workers, anthropologists and sociologists should be included. This finally seems to target the some of the issues that are unique to Australia, and now there is a need for a strategic plan on how we can effectively address equity, diversity and access issues in performing arts healthcare in Australia. It is timely that the review of the Draft National Cultural Policy coincides with the conference of the Australian Society of Performing Arts Healthcare because this study can inform both policy development, and our professional practice.

INTERNATIONAL
United Nations conventions address peoples’ rights, responsibilities and obligations through:

·       Universal Declaration of Human Rights

·       Convention on Elimination of Discrimination  Against Women

·       Convention on the Rights of the Child

·       Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

·       Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

·       Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

·       International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The international conventions most concerned with health, include: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to health is expressed in the World Health Organization Constitution which states that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being...”

NATIONAL

The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights (2008) was developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare, which outlines three guiding principles:

1.       Everyone has the right to be able to access health care and this right is essential for the Charter to be meaningful.

2.       The Australian government commits to international agreements about human rights which recognize everyone’s right to have the highest possible standard of physical and mental health.

3.       Australia is a society made of people with different cultures and ways of life, and the Charter acknowledges and respects these differences.

The Charter is limited in that it looks at the quality of healthcare, but does not cover the underlying causes or social determinates that can lead to inequities in health. The bulk of the costs of health care are funded by Medicare for Australian citizens, which is funded by tax and an income-related Medicare levy. Unlike other Western countries, however, Australia does not have legislation that ensures the right to health; it is an assumed privilege (Morris, 2010).

The National Aboriginal Health Strategy (2002) states that "health encompasses the social, emotional, spiritual and cultural well-being of the whole community." This implies a socio-ecological perspective of healthcare which considers the social determinants of health. For this reason, health professionals may need to go over and beyond a client-centered focus to performing artists who are referred, but also consider more systemic family, community and societal connections and broader participation in performing arts, heritage and culture.

Federal anti-discrimination legislation is relevant to performing arts, but in future may be consolidated into a single act to avoid unnecessary overlap, and to make it more user-friendly. This is one of the actions arising from the government’s commitment to act on the Australian Human Rights Framework 2010:

• Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
• Age Discrimination Act 2004
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975
• Sex Discrimination Act 1984
• Australian Government Human Rights Framework (2010)

The Australian Human Rights Framework is based on five key principles and focuses on:

• reaffirming a commitment to our human rights obligations
• the importance of human rights education
• enhancing our domestic and international engagement on human rights issues
• improving human rights protections including greater parliamentary scrutiny, and
• achieving greater respect for human rights principles within the community.

Through the Australian Human Rights Framework the government is has announced commitment to establishing a new Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to provide greater scrutiny of legislation for compliance with international human rights obligations. Most Western countries already have Human Rights Legislation that is part of the constitution.

STATE
I am using Queensland data to discuss developments at the state level since that is where my service is located. The data has been extracted from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2001, Census of Population and Housing. Census data in this bulletin are based on the place of usual residence. The bulletin excludes persons working on a voluntary basis in creative industries.

Key Points – Demographics of Employment in Creative Industries in Queensland

• More than 28,000 persons aged 15 years and over were employed in Queensland’s creative industries in 2001, representing 1.8% of the State’s employed labour force.
• Males outnumbered females in creative industries (55.9% to 44.1%), although females made up more than half of employed persons in several creative industries. In comparison, across all industries in Queensland, 54.7% of employed persons were males. The proportion of males was highest in sound recording studios (80.2%), film and video production (64.5%), and music and theatre productions (64.4%).

Table 1: Percentage of males/females employed in selected creative arts industries in Queensland (ABS, 2001).

• The age profile of people employed in creative industries was slightly younger than the overall employed labour force. Persons aged 15–34 years accounted for 43.9% of those employed in creative industries compared with 40.7% across all industries. More persons were employed in creative industries in the 25 to 34 years age group (26.9%) than in any other age group. In comparison, the largest age group for employment in all industries was 35 to 44 years (25.0%). Creative industries were under-represented in the 45 to 64 years age group (29.6%) compared with all industries (32.3%).

Table 2: Percentages people employed, in age brackets, for selected Creative Arts Industries in Queensland (ABS, 2001).

• Creative industries are concentrated in South East Queensland where 79.6% of industry workers lived. This compares with 66.3% of total employed persons.
• The majority (71.0%) of persons employed in creative industries had completed year 11 or 12 or equivalent compared with 44.6% of all persons 15 years and over.
• Of persons employed in creative industries, 49.9% had a non-school qualification. This figure was higher than the 42.8% across all industries. Further, the proportion with a bachelor degree or higher was greater in creative industries (22.2%) than all industries (15.5%).
• About three-fifths (60.2%) of persons employed in creative industries worked in the management and professional occupational category compared with 36.3% for the total employed labour force.
• The median weekly individual income of persons employed in creative industries ($582) was lower than that for employed persons across all industries ($638).

 REGIONAL

A full review of the conventions and legislation leaves no doubt that it is essential to consider the role and scope of health professionals in ensuring access to performing arts, appropriate healthcare, and engagement in cultural heritage and traditions. Research is needed to scope exactly what the obstacles and restrictions are in relation to participating in the performing arts, in order for inter-professional collaborative problem solving to occur. The International Classification of Functioning (World Health Organization, 2001) actually covers categories that are relevant to this discussion, that are generally overlooked in practice.

CODE	ACTIVITIES AND PARTICIPATION
d920	Recreation and leisure Engaging in any form of play, recreational or leisure activity, such as informal or organized play and sports, programmes of physical fitness, relaxation, amusement or diversion, going to art galleries, museums, cinemas or theatres; engaging in crafts or hobbies, reading for enjoyment, playing musical instruments; sightseeing, tourism and travelling for pleasure. Inclusions: play, sports, arts and culture, crafts, hobbies and socializing. Exclusions: riding animals for transportation (d480); remunerative and non-remunerative work (d850 and d855); religion and spirituality (d930); political life and citizenship (d950)
d9202	Arts and culture Engaging in, or appreciating, fine arts or cultural events, such as going to the theatre, cinema, museum or art gallery, or acting in a play, reading for enjoyment or playing a musical instrument.
d940	Human rights Enjoying all nationally and internationally recognized rights that are accorded to people by virtue of their humanity alone, such as human rights as recognized by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the United Nations Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (1993); the right to self-determination or autonomy; and the right to control over one’s destiny.
CODE	ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
e1400	General products and technology for culture, recreation and sport Equipment, products and technology used for the conduct and enhancement of cultural, recreational and sporting activities, such as toys, skis, tennis balls and musical instruments, not adapted or specially designed.
e1401	Assistive products and technology for culture, recreation and sport Adapted or specially designed equipment, products and technology used for the conduct and enhancement of cultural, recreational and sporting activities, such as modified mobility devices for sports, adaptations for musical and other artistic performance.
e460	Societal attitudes General or specific opinions and beliefs generally held by people of a culture, society, subcultural or other social group about other individuals or about other social, political and economic issues, that influence group or individual behavior and actions.

Findings from Field Research – Demographics of target groups

The key issues to consider in managing equity and diversity within performing arts healthcare can be evaluated through needs assessment and gap analysis. [see Skills Needs Assessment 2007 and Gap Analysis and Market Testing 2007NGRF.  LMI Future Trends are available for the Creative and cultural industries in the United Kingdom (National Guidance Research Forum, 2007).

GENDER

STATUS OF WOMEN
Men dominate certain parts of the performing arts sector, most notably amongst musicians, photographers and technicians. 61% of the workforce is male; this is higher than the total UK average where the male majority is 54%. Women are also four times more likely than men in the same occupation to be working part-time, and women in this sector tend to be more highly qualified than men with the same job titles.

Across the arts and entertainment sub-sectors, women comprise:
66% those in craft
52% of the Cultural heritage
32% in Design
48% in Literary arts
31% in Music
41% in the Performing Arts

NATIONAL BACKGROUND AND ETHNICITY
95% of the sector workforce is white. This varies little by sub-sector. This figure is only slightly higher than the UK average of 93%

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES
The Northern Territory Government has an Indigenous Arts Development Unit. The Human Services Advisory Council (2004) has completed a scoping study of Indigenous performing arts in the Northern Territory. Key findings are:

Indigenous performing arts continues to play an important role in cultural practice including performance for clan, family and Indigenous community audiences. From this base, a significant number of Indigenous performers have emerged, with experience in developing and performing for wider audiences in a mix of traditional, contemporary and collaborative productions. Some have chosen to perform to Territory audiences, while others have taken their performance to national and international stages, particularly in festivals. Other successful initiatives have included dance and musical theatre productions, collaborative and Indigenous youth theatre programs, and a number of community development projects.

Despite these achievements, Indigenous performing arts activities and productions in the recent past have tended to be disconnected one-off events, making it difficult for practitioners to develop a feeling of connectedness and belonging to the sector. The short-term, one-off nature of project activity offers little incentive to carve out a performing arts career, and there is a resulting drift of skills and experience to other industries in the Territory or interstate. There has been surprisingly little involvement of Indigenous performers in theatre productions and the level of commercial activity is low. This is despite expectations that Indigenous performance, particularly dance, has significant potential to attract tourism audiences.

The value of the commercial cluster centres on the use of Indigenous knowledge, under Indigenous control, for financial reward. Examples of commercial Indigenous performing arts activity are not widespread in the Territory. A small number of Indigenous clan/family businesses are beginning to emerge, focused mainly on dance and contemporary music. The sector’s business is currently

undertaken through a range of structures, few of which operate under Indigenous governance. A handful of small production houses operate in the Northern Territory contemporary music sector, film and television, but not in the performing arts. Opportunities for Indigenous performing arts product incubation in a creative hothouse environment are virtually non-existent. The majority of funding comes from the Australia Council, across a range of boards and programs.

Other than in the contemporary music sector, emerging Indigenous performers are unable to access either vocational education and training (VET) or higher education programs other than by moving interstate. The development of local VET in Schools performing arts programs, and entry level training delivered locally, would help to alleviate this problem. Community and regional festivals are emerging as a valuable mechanism for showcasing Indigenous performance product and, with appropriate support, have the potential to significantly increase Indigenous performing arts activity. When Indigenous performers and producers seek to develop the commercial aspect of their work, they need a well defined pathway that enables them to access business assistance and skills development. The Northern Territory Indigenous performing arts sector lacks a tradition of solid research and evaluation. The amount of available project documentation is limited and widely dispersed in the hands of individuals and arts organisations, where it is difficult to locate for the purposes of independent review and evaluation. The proposed new entity, provisionally described as NIPA (Nurturing Indigenous Performing Arts Business) is therefore envisioned as independent of government and located outside any mainstream arts organisation. The creation of a schools performance ensemble is included as a pilot project. Indigenous practitioners emphasised the way in which art forms are connected, rather than separated, in the holistic practice of Indigenous performing arts.

The article on Indigenous theatre (Syron & Milne, 2010) is a descriptive report on the availability and quality of Indigenous specific training in performing arts.

Key points raised are:

·       Identified Indigenous training tends to be less well resourced and not sporadic than mainstream performing arts courses

·       Usually leads into mainstream courses

·       The mainstream courses may skim the cream off the Indigenous identified courses

·       Staff may experience burnout due to lack of funding to community organisations to provide VET education and training

·       There is some support for Indigenous performers in mainstream programs through Indigenous Units, and sometimes from visiting guest lecturers who may be paid to tutor Indigenous students.

·       The demographics reveal that there is lack of representation of Indigenous people in management of performing arts industry or registered training organisations.

CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE
The Scanlon Foundation study (2010) revealed that 14% of people surveyed had experienced discrimination in the previous twelve months on the basis of their skin colour, ethnic origin or religion (up 4% from the previous year). Australia is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). This requires that Australian laws, policies and practices protect, respect and promote the right to equality and non-discrimination, and to combat prejudices and promote tolerance and understanding. The CRED committee recommended Australia government renew the multicultural policy – since the national multicultural policy lapsed in 2006.

Issues of concern in performing arts can be supporting and promoting diverse cultures through:

·       ongoing use of different languages, heritage and cultural practices as well as access to English lessons and interpreters. Tutors may be required to assist performing arts students from non-English speaking background.

·       Service Charters that address exploitative treatment and discrimination in access to services for CALD communities, experienced by minority communities, including African communities, people of Asian, Middle Eastern and Muslim background, and in particular, Muslim women.

·       The Fair Work Act, 2009, promotes prevention and elimination of offensive behavior, including discriminatory behavior in the workplace. Vulnerable workers from CALD communities now have a more powerful range of legislative options.

·       Need to maintain pressure on media to ensure that there is fair representation, and not only SBS screens multi-cultural programs.

The role of the media is very important in race relations – ensuring that there is presence of people of colour, termed visibly-different minorities. It is most likely that the news will portray threats of violence or sports super-stars from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. However, in general viewing programs, ethnic stereotypes can be presented.

Australia has a responsibility in light of the UN Refugee Convention to ensure that those seeking asylum are afforded their full human rights and are treated with equality and dignity. The Migration act 1958, is exempted from the disability Discrimination Act 1992 (according to section 52 of the DDA). This means that refugees and migrants with a disability are not offered the same protections from discrimination that apply under other areas of Australian law. There is a policy of mandatory health and medical check up to evaluate the estimated potential future health costs of applicants. People who are likely to require costly treatment are more likely to be excluded as a result of the assessment.

DISABILITY – Population Health
The burden of disease and injury is calculated in disability-adjusted life years (DALY), which is a measure of overall disease burden expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death. Figure 1 reveals the percentages of the leading causes of burden of disease and injury in Queensland, 2006 (Queensland Health, 2009). Need to consider if we are catering to all the needs of performing artists. We need proactive health promotion strategies of healthy lifestyles, not only response to musculo-skeletal injuries when they occur. Chronic disease and stress are predominant issues for the whole population.  Comparisons of incidence are needed for performing artists.

Figure 1: Percentage of leading causes of burden of disease and injury in Queensland, 2006.

UK Statistics on Disability and Performing Arts
On average, around 13% of those working in the arts are DDA disabled and/or have a work-limiting disability. This varies across sub-sectors:

Visual arts: 14% overall
Performing arts: 12% overall (9% actors/entertainers; 9% dancers/choreographers; 14% arts officers/producers/directors; 14% arts facilities; and 12% other entertainment).
Literary arts: 13% overall

Disability: Personal Perceptions
Online consumer perspectives TO a question posed by Zoe Utting, are available on Yahoo Answers UK (2010): “Do you believe that disabled people are given equal opportunities in the performing arts industry?” Issues that consumers raised are:

·       Not given equal access to performance spaces (including physical access, Braille scripts) (Teddy & Chiliswoman, personal communication, 1 October, 2010).

·       Parts for people with a disability are given to able-bodied people who spend a few weeks trying to get in character (ibid.)

·       Depends on the area and what you want to do. There’s not much discrimination in writing music or performance pieces, designing sets and scenery, or editing visual recordings, or other backstage stuff (Court, personal communication, 3 October, 2010).

·       There are not many plays written specifically for the deaf. They COULD be translated, giving thought to where the actors’ hands would be at the time (ibid.).

·       A lot of disabilities are not seen, dyslexia for example. I think they are given equal opportunities, and it’s a matter of whether they wish to pursue the opportunities available (Mark R. personal correspondence, 1 October, 2010).

·       Probably not, but there are logistical and practical reasons for it. A person in a wheelchair might be limited in stage roles because of mobility issues or simply because of the way a production was written. Someone with mental disabilities may have trouble remembering lines. It’s not done out of spite or malice, it’s just that some people’s abilities and/or disability are incompatible with certain activities (fodaddy1 personal correspondence, 1 October, 2010).

·       I’ve heard of people with dons syndrome becoming actors. It’s all about the personality/character, confidence and talent I guess. (Need a wish right now, personal correspondence, 2 October, 2010).

·       I think a lot of cases are what you look like. It annoys me that we never get the chance (XchickX, personal correspondence, 3 October, 2010.

·       I believe that they go for appearance in a lot of cases, because the sexiness appeal also contributes to sales. Unfortunately the less attractive individuals who may be more talented may be overlooked (Daz, personal correspondence, 1 October, 2010).

·       There are no equal opportunities in performing arts – to be in performing arts you have to have talent (LillyB, personal correspondence, 1 October, 2010).

·       No. If they are entertainers they may not be able to perform the tasks needed for an audience (Patrick4, personal correspondence, 1 October, 2010).

·       Well not in ballet for example (robin, personal correspondence 1 October, 2010).

DISABILITY ACCESS RESOURCES
Disability (Access to Premises Buidings) Standards, 2010. These Standards set performance requirements and provide references to technical specifications to ensure dignified access to, and use of, buildings for people with disability. This intention of the disability standards is to align the Building Code of Australia with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

SAME SEX
There are community organizations, national exhibitions and same sex performing arts ensembles, such as the Adelaide Gay and Lesbian Qwire, South Australia (http://www.adelaideqwire.webs.com) which represent same sex sub-cultures. The National Museum’s 2008 Exhibition: Queer – Desire, Power and Identity offers a new perspective on art history. The exhibition addressed the key question, How have views on homosexuality and homoeroticism coloured the image of art and artists over the ages? Jodie Taylor’s doctoral thesis on Playing it Queer: Understanding Queer Gender, Sexual and Musical Praxis in a ’New’ Musicological Context (2008) outlined some of the issues experienced by performing artists.

RURAL AND REMOTE
Remote delivery of performing arts training is limited by the availability of suitable performing arts facilities, teachers, mentors. This affects certain groups of the population more than others due to clustering in rural and remote areas that are generally more affordable, but under-serviced in many ways. Technology has been used to compensate to some degree, e.g. distance education provides lessons and tutoring by Skype, radio, telephone, email. The effectiveness of tuition through digital technology has not been evaluated on large population size. Australia is leading the way in pioneering technologies and services to remote areas.

Conclusion

This paper has presented an introduction to an epic journey which involves listening to the perceptions of people in the performing arts industry and considering demographic indicators of health, equity and diversity. On this basis, I have been able to critically review the performing arts healthcare literature to reveal some best-practice examples, but also the limited coverage of our professional approaches. Professionally it appears that we are still in the early stages of becoming aware of the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. My introductory evaluation has led to recommendations for considering the universal needs of all citizens to engage with the performing arts; not only those from the nominated target equity groups which receive most publicity and attention.

I present professional reasoning that is aligned to the Australian Human Rights Framework for developing a self-audit tool that can be used by individuals and performing arts organizations to assess key performance criteria for ensuring equitable access to healthcare, and supporting cultural diversity in performing arts. In order to re-focus our efforts, I recommend inter-professional cooperation over policy development and practice guidelines for performing arts healthcare to adjust to a socio-ecological perspective. I recommend that the performing arts healthcare sector develop a more comprehensive evidence base that will support well-informed advocacy to address the social determinants of health which impact on peoples’ equitable participation in performing arts and access to timely and appropriate support services. The World Federation of Occupational Therapists Position Statement on Human Rights (2006) is used as an example of new directions.

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Cultural Minister's Council. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: Involvement in arts and culture

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