Createability internship brings future community focus into view for Renee Allara

Tell us about the internship and what you gained through the experience?  
 
I developed skills and knowledge in connection-building with the community and learning how arts organisations strengthen relationships within their communities. Cementa is in the unique position in where it is located. Being linked with the community and having the community working with them is essential to continue to strengthen current projects and build and expand exciting new projects.  
 
This community is tight-knit and connected in a way that is totally different to a community in most suburban settings. By connecting with the community and learning how an arts organisation creates and maintains its connections within that community, my skills and knowledge has expanded, and my arts practice enriched.

It helped me more intimately connect my two great loves, community work and the arts. These areas are my passion and I think that the arts create healing and opportunity to connect within the community in every setting. This is looking toward what I hope to move into in the future. 
 
As an established visual artist, why was it important to you to undertake a Createability internship with Cementa at this point in your career?  

I have worked across two industries for many years. I have navigated both while having a disability. I originally connected with Alex Wisser at Cementa as an artist involved in the Cementa festival. What drew me to this organisation was that I never felt that my difference made any difference in the way we interacted.

I adore the inclusivity within this organisation. I love that Cementa seeks to connect community and art. The dynamic in the organisation is amazing and my skills are seen as true skills, not ‘adjusted expectations’ of skills because of a presentation with disability.

On top of this I felt a very real connection to a lot of people in this community and the chance to work in a role where I get to connect with them even more was so exciting, I jumped at it.  

The Createability internship has also introduced me to a new concept: an organisation prepared to make adjustments, to make my time there more comfortable and less work. In that, I have the space to say, ‘I have needs’, and this isn’t a bad thing. It’s a thing to be celebrated and something that creates a space to learn and grow for myself and the people who work with me. This is important at this point in my career. My energy, for so long spent compensating for accessibility requirements, can now be focused on growing my practice and seeking to move forward into new and exciting projects. 

“It helped me more intimately connect my two great loves, community work and the arts. These areas are my passion and I think that the arts create healing and opportunity to connect within the community in every setting. This is looking toward what I hope to move into in the future.”Renee Allara, 2023 Createability Intern

You’re also undertaking study at the moment. Tell us about this.

It is interesting studying postgraduate courses. I don’t know if I am alone in this, but I often feel if you have a disability, or two, you must work even harder to prove you have what it takes to be taken as a serious student. Go above and beyond. I think this is the way of the world in a lot of areas if you identify with disability. I find people have to get over what they think they know about people with disability and appreciate them for their thoughts and ideas in and of themselves.  

I have studied in TAFE and then at university – first in undergraduate and then post graduate courses. I have studied a lot in my post graduate study around disability and inclusive practices.

I find it extremely hopeful that people are becoming more aware and more active around ensuring there is space in society for people living with disability. Genuine, active, rewarding space in all facets of life. This is what most people desire, the space alongside other community members.

I work towards this in my life outside of my art practice, through advocacy and education. I will continue to move forward, hopefully with the knowledge and skills I developed in this internship, into a role that brings this into an arts organisation where I seek to include all difference and build more intimate connections between an organisation and the community.  

Has the experience given you any ideas about what you would like to do next? 

Yes. I would love to move into a Community Liaison Role in an arts organisation. I enjoy combining my skills and learning more about people and their connection to the arts. I like the idea of increasing access and inclusion for more facets of the community, as I expand my knowledge of difference.  

About Createability Internship Program

The Createability Internship Program is delivered through Create NSW and Screen NSW, in partnership with Accessible Arts and various NSW-based arts, screen and cultural organisations to grow pathways to employment for practitioners with disability.

Arts, Culture and Screen Organisations: Learn more about becoming a Createability Host Organisation

Interns: Learn more about the Createability Internship Program