Acknowledgement of Country

A celebration of disability, creativity and culture.

Co-founded and presented by Arts Centre Melbourne and Arts Access Victoria.

Alter State is a major arts and disability festival celebrating contemporary art and performance by artists from Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Alter State diversifies the bodies, thinking and ways of being usually experienced in arts and cultural spaces. It is a deep dive into Arts and Disability from our region, and a space to showcase its creative and cultural history of Deaf and Disabled Artists.

The festival will open with a launch week 9 – 13 November 2021.  The main festival will be held in September 2022 with performances, talks and workshops celebrating contemporary disability arts.

As part of the launch week event, British Council is proud to support the creative development of Parked (working title), a collaboration between Polyglot Theatre (AUS) and Oily Cart (UK). Parked creates a unique theatrical experience for children and families to explore. Crucially, it is being made both for and with young people who experience the world through sensory means.

“Alter State is more than a presentation of amazing art, it is a two year journey of artists exploring creativity shaped by our geographic location and histories, telling stories from our region and delving into new approaches to Access in a program that we hope will seed and imagine diverse futures.” – Wendy O’Neill, Arts Centre Melbourne’s Creative Producer, Access Inclusion and Alter State Lead.