S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host, Sam Collins.
S2: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: We have artists from Nigeria and from all the places,
S3: and they're really talented people. And for them and to
S3: see how honored and happy they are to be able
S3: to be part of it, is just wonderful to see
S3: that music is really alive, and that people that are
S3: blind and low vision can have an outlet for their
S3: music and can get that music heard all over the world.
S2: Welcome to the program! This week is a celebration of
S2: White Cane Day, which recently took place on Sunday the
S2: 15th of October. Now, the day is about so much
S2: more than just the white cane as a mobility aid,
S2: as it's expanded to represent a day to advocate for
S2: people within the blind and low vision community and raise
S2: awareness for issues that the community continues to face, as
S2: well as celebrating the great work from people who are
S2: blind or have low vision. Achieving great things. This week
S2: you'll hear from two individuals who are involved in White
S2: Stick Fest, an annual concert featuring artists who are blind
S2: or have low vision from Australia and around the world.
S2: To start off with, we have Duncan Steward, founder and
S2: owner of Platinum Creative, the people behind White Stick Fest,
S2: and Jordan Ashby from Vision Australia has been involved in
S2: quite a few of the White Cane Day activities at
S2: Vision Australia over the years, including activities based around the
S2: White Stick First concert and joining forces with Duncan and
S2: Platinum to highlight and celebrate the immense talents of performers
S2: who are blind or have low vision. I hope you'll
S2: enjoy this week's special White Cane Day episode of Talking Vision.
S2: Kicking off our celebration of White Cane Day this week.
S2: Our next guest is a voice long time listeners to
S2: Talking Vision would be quite familiar with. His name is
S2: Duncan Steward, and he's the founder and owner of Platinum Creative,
S2: a music company which aims to develop and promote the
S2: careers of performing artists and bands who are blind or
S2: have low vision, including at the recent White Stik Fest,
S2: which has just gone live on White Stick fest.org. But
S2: before we chat about that, it's my great pleasure to
S2: welcome Duncan right now. Duncan, welcome to Talking Vision. Thanks
S2: so much for your time.
S3: Thanks for having me.
S2: Now, firstly, Duncan, of course, we're here to celebrate White
S2: Cane Day this week. So what does the day mean
S2: to you in particular?
S3: Well, I think it's a day to celebrate the white
S3: cane in terms of I myself don't use one. I
S3: have a vision impairment, but I don't require a white cane.
S3: But I know many, many people do require them. And
S3: often the case it's it's a symbol of independence and
S3: being able to get out and about and inclusion. And
S3: I think it's something to celebrate because rather than being
S3: a negative thing, I think it's a very positive thing.
S3: When you see people out with with a cane, you know, okay,
S3: they're out and about. They're enjoying life, they're seeing things
S3: going places. So I think that's important for people that
S3: have an impairment with in terms of vision. And I
S3: see it's a day that we can take on board
S3: and use it as a symbol of, you know, what
S3: we have, what we can achieve, not only have achieved
S3: or can achieve at the same time.
S2: As you mentioned, just briefly at the end there, it's
S2: about more than just the white cane. It is about
S2: awareness and achievement and possibilities for people who are blind
S2: or have low vision. So what sort of things have
S2: you observed or experiences you've had yourself in terms of
S2: awareness around issues related to the blind and low vision community?
S2: Do you think there's been progress or there's still a
S2: fair way to go?
S3: I still think there's a fair way to go. And
S3: I mean, you know, I, I get out and about
S3: a lot myself. I'm still really cautious in places that
S3: I don't know. For example, there are so many steps
S3: that aren't marked uneven surfaces, all that sort of thing.
S3: I'm prone to tripping because of my eyesight. I have,
S3: I have, I'm legally blind. I'm under 50%. But there are,
S3: you know, often I can trip on stuff because my
S3: I don't have a full field of view. So it's
S3: very difficult for me to look at someone and look
S3: up and down and then make sure that I can
S3: see where my feet go. But there are very often
S3: many cases where steps and things like that aren't marked
S3: very well. So I'm very cautious in near new situations
S3: to make sure that I can get around. And where
S3: there are issues, I certainly draw them to people's attention.
S3: But in terms of me getting around, I embrace the
S3: fact that I can do that. And it's great that
S3: when you see people getting out and about, they're doing
S3: the same thing.
S2: In your time. Over the years, you've gotten involved with
S2: quite a few people within the blind and low vision community,
S2: notably as we'll chat about today in the performing arts space.
S2: So tell us the story of your organization, Platinum Creative,
S2: and you know where that all kicked off.
S3: It's a bit of a bit of a strange story, really.
S3: It started probably I used to work in it in
S3: accounting for many years, for 30 or so years. And
S3: then at the ripe old age of 49, I decided
S3: that I wanted to go back and do some study
S3: across music and management, where I'd played piano myself for
S3: many years, and as a kid I really enjoyed music,
S3: and I was disconcerted by the fact that a lot
S3: of people in the music industry got a raw deal.
S3: And of course, obviously having lived in spirits and worked
S3: with people with disability for many years, I saw that
S3: they would be even more affected than people that didn't
S3: have a disability potentially, or have a vision issue. Anyway,
S3: as it turned out, I started Platinum Creative back in
S3: 2015 and I started working with some amazing artists, including
S3: from Adelaide Adelaide's Rachel Urquhart, who of course has and
S3: very low vision. And I understand the way artists with
S3: a disability, their day to day life, because I've lived
S3: it myself, obviously every day of my life, so I'm
S3: actually able to build a good rapport with people. I
S3: understand what their requirements are, so then if I can
S3: help them when they want, when they're performing or in
S3: a stage situation, they may not be able to see things.
S3: So we need to make sure that everything is correct
S3: for them to be able to do that, that the
S3: steps and support in place for them to be assisted
S3: to and from stage and many, many other sorts of
S3: things like that. So I started off working with Rachel
S3: back in 2017, and Platinum Creative has sort of evolved
S3: over those years to now we. And manage ten artists
S3: across Australia with disabilities. We do represent other artists as
S3: well without disability, but we have about 5 or 6
S3: that have low vision or are blind across Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane,
S3: far north Queensland and there's actually five inches South Wales,
S3: so it keeps me really busy and it's great to
S3: be able to be involved and help people to be
S3: able to get their music out there for their amazing
S3: talent to be seen, and so them to actually build
S3: a music career and have a great team behind them
S3: that are passionate about what they do and be able
S3: to help them achieve their own goals and dreams. But
S3: being part of that is just is just a fantastic feeling.
S2: And one of those places where they can actually get
S2: out there and perform. And and this is where it
S2: sort of ties back into White Cane Day with white
S2: stick fests. So, you know, how long has that been
S2: going for and what sort of iterations has it taken
S2: over the past few years?
S3: Well, that's very true. Watch. The first is an online concert,
S3: which is its third year for 2023. It's gone live
S3: on Sunday at White Stick Fest. Org. It's a concert
S3: featuring about 20 blind and low vision, and also sighted
S3: artists from across the globe with five others from Australia.
S3: And we feature their music. It goes for about one
S3: and a half to two hours, and they get an
S3: opportunity to have their music played in an international environment,
S3: which is fantastic. Have some artists that have come back
S3: three times. In fact, there's some sort of come back
S3: four times. So prior to White Stick Fest, we engaged
S3: in Australia Radio to have a radio broadcast for the
S3: same scenario. Back in 2019, there was a live event
S3: where we celebrated White Cane Day. We have one of
S3: our artists, Lauren Kelly, come along and sing and also
S3: do some food tasting and do that. So then in 2020,
S3: of course, we all got hit with Covid and everything
S3: got shut down. Yeah. So we thought, what can we
S3: do to keep this all alive and be able to
S3: provide everyone's, you know, shut up at home? What can
S3: we do, put a concert together that we can then
S3: have artists singing from all over the world and celebrate
S3: White Cane Day through music. So we did that and
S3: thanks to Vision Australia Radio, we put out a wonderful
S3: three hour broadcast back in 2020 and it went it
S3: did really, really well and we had people listening in
S3: from America and from the UK and across Europe, which
S3: was absolutely fantastic. And at that point we then decided
S3: or maybe and for that obviously it was a radio broadcast,
S3: but we'd actually received videos that we converted to audio.
S3: So we thought, well, hang on, maybe we can turn
S3: this into a video experience as well, but make sure
S3: that we have all the appropriate accessibility and so forth
S3: associated with it. And then we came up with the
S3: concept of White Stick Fest in 2021, which is now
S3: run for three years. And is doing really, really well.
S3: And we're getting some great recognition for what we're trying
S3: to do and be able to help artists that might
S3: be like, we have artists from Nigeria and from all
S3: the places, and they're really talented people and for them,
S3: and to see how honoured and happy they are to
S3: be able to be part of it is just wonderful
S3: to see that music is really alive, and that people
S3: that are blind and low vision can have an outlet
S3: for their music and can get that music heard all
S3: over the world.
S2: Mark Colvin and Duncan, I want to drill into that
S2: recognition point you make there where you know, white stick
S2: first and indeed Platinum Creative have been a driving force
S2: in highlighting the talents and strengths of musicians who are
S2: blind or have low vision over the years. But do
S2: you feel these artists are getting the mainstream recognition they deserve,
S2: or what sort of things are you observing that still
S2: need to happen, do you think?
S3: Look, I think there's a long way to go, but
S3: even very, very recently, you may have heard about Dylan Northcott. Yeah.
S3: His his initiative around the shift 20 initiative, where the
S3: idea was that obviously 1 in 5 people in Australia
S3: has a disability. And as far as main media is concerned,
S3: only 1% of those people is actually shown on television,
S3: which is 30% is really 30% of the population. So maybe,
S3: maybe it should be higher, which is what his campaign
S3: is all about. And we were very lucky to have
S3: one of our artists approach to be involved. Her name's
S3: Lara Natalie. She's a blind singer songwriter from Sydney with
S3: a guide dog and a cane. And one thing led
S3: to another, and now she is the she's now part
S3: of the Amy Does campaign on TV. She's also the
S3: vocals behind the new jingle. And to have that recognition
S3: of people with a disability. And as Dylan said, he said, gosh,
S3: is that is that lady singing? Amy Dingle. Ashy blonde.
S3: Can blind people do that? Of course they can. And
S3: that's what his argument was, that in due course, we
S3: want to normalize this and make it not an exception,
S3: but a case of rule, because there should be no
S3: difference whether someone is performing or shown on television, has
S3: a visual issue, has a disability, should be no different
S3: to someone that doesn't. So I think it's great that
S3: there are brands getting on board with these sorts of things.
S3: And we're getting getting people like Dylan being able to
S3: have an impact and getting people involved in these sorts
S3: of things is fantastic, because it's only showing that we're
S3: just getting better representation of the community, that it's being
S3: reflected across media and in all cases, in every situation.
S3: So I think it's great.
S2: It's great, and it's precisely the case that you're absolutely right.
S2: There is a lot of great work being done out
S2: there within Platinum Creative and within events like What Stick First,
S2: which are highlighting and promoting the wonderful talent that is
S2: out there. As we've said, you know, musicians who are
S2: not only blind or have low vision, but with other
S2: disabilities getting their talent out there and really showing people
S2: what people within the disability community can do. So I've
S2: been speaking today with Duncan Stewart from Platinum Creative all
S2: about White Cane Day and in particular, White Stick Fest,
S2: which is now available to view on what Stick fest.org.
S2: And if you'd like to find out a bit more
S2: about White Stick Fest, there's information about the fest as well.
S2: Is that correct? Duncan?
S3: It is the the concert is actually live on the website,
S3: which we also have a YouTube channel. We have all
S3: our social media. So there's of course Facebook, Instagram and
S3: X or Twitter if you prefer. But we also have
S3: some on the website. We've got information about all the
S3: different artists and some photos and videos, etcetera, from them
S3: performing their own songs that we may not have shown
S3: as part of the broadcast. So it's a good way
S3: to look at some of the other artists that have
S3: have worked with us, and not only for this year,
S3: but also for last year as well. There's some more
S3: there's more information going back to last year, and I
S3: think there might be a couple of highlight videos on
S3: there as well. So there's certainly plenty of information there
S3: if you want to go and have a look.
S2: Oh, perfect. Lots of info and videos and wonderful music
S2: in there for sure to have a look at and
S2: have a listen. Thank you so much for your time today, Duncan.
S2: It was a pleasure to catch up with you to
S2: chat about all things white stick first and all the
S2: best for future iterations.
S3: Thank you so much and everyone have a great evening!
S2: I'm Sam Kelly and you're listening to Talking Vision on
S2: Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of FX and the Community
S2: Radio Network. I hope you're enjoying today's special White Cane
S2: Day episode of Talking Vision, including that interview with Duncan Steward,
S2: the founder and owner of Platinum Creative. If you missed
S2: any part of that interview with Duncan or you'd love
S2: to hear it again, you can, of course, catch the
S2: interview again on your favorite podcast platform or the Vision
S2: Australia library. And now for the second interview of our
S2: White Cane Day special today on Talking Vision. It's my
S2: great pleasure to welcome Jordan Ashby. Jordan is a volunteer
S2: coordinator at Vision Australia, and he's had a central role
S2: in quite a few White Cane Day events over the years.
S2: And he joins me now to chat all about it. Jordan,
S2: welcome to Talking Vision. Thanks so much for your time.
S4: I think. So, having me sit.
S2: Now we're celebrating White Cane Day of course, today. So
S2: tell us a bit about the day. What is White
S2: Cane Day all about?
S5: Well, so International White Cane Day is a day across
S5: the international community where we recognize, raise awareness and promote
S5: the use of, I think it's world's most commonly used
S5: mobility tool, the white cane.
S2: But it's about so much more than that as well,
S2: isn't it? It's expanded and branched out to include raising
S2: awareness and promoting advocacy for issues within the blind and
S2: low vision community. So what sorts of things have you
S2: been involved with there from a Vision Australia perspective?
S5: Yeah, so obviously I think it's a day to be
S5: celebrated as well. I think it's a day to celebrate
S5: more than just, you know, obviously the mobility tool, which
S5: has helped quite a large population of people navigate and
S5: build their independence. But it's also a day to celebrate
S5: those who have been trailblazers out, and they're out in
S5: the blind and low vision community who have shown, you know,
S5: peer to peer, some of the other people that may
S5: or may not be early on in their vision loss journey.
S5: You know what some of the things that you can
S5: do by gaining that independence that the white cane can
S5: bring you. So a lot of the events that I've
S5: sort of run in the past have been very much
S5: utilizing that. So utilising the use of people that have
S5: gone out and done some incredible things or even, as
S5: I said, just be getting around their local community and
S5: they're strong advocates for other blind and low vision people
S5: who may be a little bit nervous about using a cane,
S5: or may think that it's a signal of a handicap
S5: or something like that, that the white cane is really
S5: a signal of somebody having their independence and being able
S5: to go and live the life that they would like.
S5: And I think the best way to get across that
S5: is to get people and members from the blind and
S5: low vision community out there doing really great things to
S5: come along and show other people that may just want
S5: to dip their feet and get a bit of a
S5: feel for what it is to be part of this community.
S2: How many years have you been involved with White Cane
S2: Day events at Vision Australia, and what sort of things
S2: have you been involved with in particular?
S5: Yeah, so back in 2018, I ran a White Cane
S5: Day festival on the Gosford waterfront. That was a festival
S5: that included cooking demonstrations, circus activities, blind sports and some
S5: messy play as well that we set up for the kids.
S5: And I had people busing it up from Sydney and
S5: coming down from Newcastle as well. So we had about 100,
S5: 150 people come down to hang out on Gosford Waterfront
S5: and make the use of those activities. It was very,
S5: very successful, brought people together from different community groups as
S5: well that have never interacted with one another. Gave him
S5: a day where we fed them. Obviously we showed them
S5: some skills to cook and we had a bit of
S5: a bit of a MasterChef cook off between a couple
S5: of our blind and low vision community as well with
S5: the judging panel, we had, as I said, people trying
S5: tight ropes with help from Roundabout Circus. We had blind sports,
S5: blind cricket and media, and it was open to the
S5: general public as well. So we had members of the
S5: general public coming down and trying, walking on tethers with
S5: Achilles group or trying a bit of blind cricket. So
S5: it was really successful. 2019 obviously, the pandemic kind of
S5: put a scupper on any kind of plans to rerun
S5: that festival that year. So obviously a lot of us
S5: sitting at home thinking about what it is that we
S5: were going to be doing during this time, and I
S5: had a newborn at the time, Sam. So I was
S5: up really random hours of the evening as well. And
S5: I got the idea for the White Cane Day concert.
S5: So I looked up online to see if it had
S5: been done. I was shocked that it hadn't already been
S5: done from an international standpoint. So I made a phone
S5: call to Duncan, who I know you've interviewed. Yes. Who
S5: manages blind and low vision artists. And that's how the
S5: first White Cane Day concert started on Vision Australia Radio
S5: in 2019. And that is led to White Stick Fest
S5: in 2020, 2021, 2022, and now in its fourth year, 2023.
S2: That's right. And let's have a bit more of a
S2: chat about a full replay screening of what stick Fest
S2: that's happening in just a little while on the 20th
S2: of October. Tell us a bit about that.
S5: Yeah. So look, the online concert, which features international artists
S5: from all around the world that actually went live on Sunday,
S5: International White Cane Day, the 15th of October, and that's
S5: still live and it'll be live until August next year.
S5: So anybody who wants to go and experience that concert,
S5: it's about an hour and a half, has some fantastic headliners.
S5: It has blind low vision and also cited in support
S5: artists from all around the globe, including some Grammy nominees,
S5: got The Wiggles as well again this year. Plus blind
S5: low vision artists from all around the globe, some more
S5: recognizable than others. And I guess the great part about
S5: this particular concert as well is that it does provide
S5: an international stage for up and coming artists like some
S5: of the artists from Australia in particular, and obviously some
S5: of the ones from international as well, that don't get
S5: those opportunities to get their music heard by the broader community.
S5: So that went live on Sunday and it's available on
S5: White Stick Fest. Org we have our first live viewing
S5: of the event on the 20th of October, which is
S5: obviously this Friday. That's going to be at Sydney University
S5: at the Law Foyer. We've got the blind and low
S5: vision artists from Australia who are coming along to perform live,
S5: and then we've got a bit of a sneak peek. Well,
S5: not really a sneak peek at this point, but a
S5: bit of a highlights package of the concert, the overall
S5: concert for people to go and enjoy at a later stage,
S5: all catered. We have a shuttle bus leaving central to
S5: take people to the concert over at Sydney Uni. All free.
S5: Should be a fantastic day. I think we've got about
S5: and that's open to the general public as well once again,
S5: because we're wanting to promote that awareness of the white
S5: cane and also the awareness of the achievements of the
S5: blind and low vision community as well. So this point
S5: in time, I think we're catered for 100 and we're
S5: sitting at around 85 confirmed at the moment.
S2: All right. Okay.
S5: There's still a couple of spots for people if they'd
S5: like to come along. Perfect. It. Just need to email myself.
S5: Yes at Jordan Ashby at Vision Australia.
S2: Org okay. And for people who aren't available in Sydney
S2: to head along on Friday, what sort of other events
S2: has Vision Australia got in store for people coming up
S2: in the next few weeks or so?
S5: Yeah, so obviously if you're not able to come along
S5: to the concert on Friday, the live viewing of the concert,
S5: you can still view that online. As I said, until
S5: August next year, we'll also be taking audio of the
S5: of the live concert to provide Division Australia Radio via
S5: a sort of future events. I can't tell you too
S5: much about it, but on the because I'm still waiting
S5: to get all of the information through. But on the
S5: 27th of November, there is a blind speed track day
S5: in planning at the moment at Sydney Motorsport Park. It's
S5: going to be the 27th and it's going to be
S5: a night time thing.
S2: All right? Were always fun. So a bit more.
S5: Information about that. Obviously I'll share it.
S2: Well definitely keep our ears out for that one and
S2: see where that goes. That sounds pretty exciting. So yeah,
S2: definitely follow up and say what's happening with that one
S2: for sure. I've been speaking today with Jordan Ashby from
S2: Vision Australia in celebration of White Cane Day and the
S2: wide range of talent on display at the annual White
S2: Stick Fest. Jordan, thanks so much for your time today.
S5: No problems at all, said.
S2: And now, just before we wrap up, there's some exciting
S2: news from Blind Citizens Australia, who, you may be aware,
S2: has announced a new CEO following the resignation of Sally
S2: Andrews last month. Following Sally's resignation, the board of BCA
S2: received several strong applications, and they're pleased to announce that
S2: the successful candidate is Deb Déchets. Deb's career has featured
S2: senior management roles with disability service providers, women with Disabilities Victoria,
S2: Uralla and Vision Australia and most recently, Deb was Bca's
S2: general manager of projects and engagement. She's owned and operated
S2: a counselling practice for 11 years. She's initiated and has
S2: been an active volunteer with Vision Impaired, Swim Victoria and
S2: the Cataract Support Group, and she's currently on the Victoria
S2: Police Disability Portfolio Reference Group, providing advice and expertise to
S2: assist in their engagement with the disability community. Deb has
S2: also recently completed the Certified Community Directors Course with the
S2: Institute of Community Directors, and her background in mental health
S2: and her lived experience equips her well to take up
S2: the reins of the organisation at BCA. The board is
S2: delighted that Deb will return to the team and looks
S2: forward to working with her as she steps up to
S2: lead BCA in the future. Deb has commenced on Monday,
S2: the 16th of October 2023, in the role as CEO,
S2: and we look forward to having a chat with Deb
S2: in coming months as she settles into the role. And
S2: that's all we have time for today. You've been listening
S2: to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a production of Vision
S2: Australia Radio. Thanks to all involved with putting the show
S2: together and remember we love your feedback and comments, so
S2: please do get in touch on Talking Vision at Vision australia.org.
S2: That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But
S2: until next week it's Sam Culley saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on one 308 4746. That's one 380 474
S1: W6 or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision australia.org.