The Dawn Slade-Faull Award is a career catapult for early career artists with disability and artists with disability seeking professional support to move their practice into new and challenging directions.
The Award builds the careers of artists with disability, providing pathways to professional development, fulfilment and success. Inaugurated in 1988, nearly one hundred South Australian artists from a diverse range of disciplines have received the Award to further their creative development.
The Award helped me get a catalogue done. I brought more paint and canvas, and I had my first solo exhibition.
2020 Dawn Slade-Faull Award Winner Jackie Saunders has since gone from strength to strength, including a recent acquisition by the Art Gallery of South Australia.
People with disability are often marginalised, and frequently misunderstood. Artists with disability provide a profile to the disability community, showcasing their unique perspective and talent. The Award opportunity works to level the field between artists with disability and able-bodied artists.
In 2023, almost one in six artists surveyed nationally identified as having some form of physical or mental disability that may affect their practice. Research shows that artists with disability are more likely to have experienced unemployment than artists without disability, continuing a long-term trend.
With your contribution we can build a bigger, more sustainable platform for artists with disability and their contribution to the wider community.