Warrnambool’s Lighthouse Theatre got more than 100 new looks on Friday night as part of a “Rights, Lights Sound” event that encouraged advocacy by people with disabilities.
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Light projections of images created by scores of south-west people with disabilities were shown across the Liebig Street facade of the Lighthouse Theatre in the culmination of an arts project that aimed to give them more self-confidence as they take on the challenges of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), soon to be implemented in the south-west.
The projected images were among numerous artworks on display that had been created in recent weeks at the “Speak Up Space” temporary studio set up in a former vacant shop at Bayside City Plaza off Fairy Street.
Among those who attended at the “Speak Up Space” was Jodie Gebert who said creating the artworks and sharing life experiences with other people with disabilities had helped dispel a lot of self-doubt she had about herself.
Ms Gebert said the art workshops had let people with disabilities create without judgement and enjoy each other’s company.
They had also given her more resolve to speak up about her concerns about what the NDIS might offer.
She said the NDIS was complicated and she was confused about what services she would be eligible for.
The NDIS aims to give people with disabilities more say in what services are suited to them.
Grace Moloney, of Warrnambool, told the crowd at the event that people with disabilities in rural Victoria learnt not to speak about their disability and to “make ourselves smaller.”
She said people with disabilities were the largest minority in the world and the “Speak Up Space” had been an empowering place, encouraging people with disabilities to press for change.