Best industry collaboration with people with disability or who are d/Deaf

This award recognises collaborations between an individual or organisation and one or more creatives with disability or who are d/Deaf. Judges considered visual and performance art activities and looked for collaborations that were led by creatives with disability or who are d/Deaf, and that enabled improved career pathways for the creatives or promoted the disability arts community.

WINNER: Lord Mayor’s Christmas Carols 2024, nominated by The Little Red Company, in collaboration with Brisbane City Council, Nine Network and Madeleine Little.

The Lord Mayor’s Christmas Carols 2024 was a live show and television broadcast with a total nationwide reach of 1.03 million viewers, including - in an Australian first - a fully Auslan-interpreted national broadcast in partnership with 9Now.

Produced by The Little Red Company in collaboration with Brisbane City Council and the Nine Network, the Carols showcased d/Deaf artists and artists with disability while providing an inclusive experience, both in-person and on broadcast, thanks to four years of collaboration and training from access consultant Maddie Little and Auslan consultant Shannon Kettleton.

Through honest debriefs, training sessions for core team members and solid advocacy, The Little Red Company was able to affect meaningful change for a large-scale public event which enabled more members of the community to participate and engage.

The show was produced in Fortitude Valley, rehearsed in West End, performed and recorded at Riverstage in Brisbane’s CBD, and licensed by Channel Nine to Free TV as part of its Pacific Initiative deal, which included territories such as Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Samoa.

Lord Mayor’s Christmas Carols 2024 established a benchmark for inclusive cultural experiences at scale, with Auslan interpretation, audio description, haptic vests and wristbands, an accessible viewing platform, the first low-sensory zone at Riverstage, tactile tours, therapy dogs, social stories, spoiler sheets, dedicated Auslan areas, on-screen captions and Braille-transcribed lyrics.

The Carols showcased d/Deaf artists and artists with disability, including deaf performer Shannon Kettleton performing a song in Auslan, supported by Toowong State School’s Signing Choir.

Just Auslan was engaged to deliver Deaf Awareness Training for the core project team and, pre- show, Deaf Person of the Year Kett Gault taught the audience specific signs in Auslan so they could join in with Shannon’s performance.

The judges said The Lord Mayor’s Christmas Carols 2024 stands as an outstanding example of best- practice industry collaboration with people with disability or who are d/Deaf.

Its extensive reach - spanning large audiences and multiple broadcast locations - highlighted the strength of the collaboration and the value of its outcomes by creating meaningful change through championing d/Deaf artists and artists with disability, elevating their visibility and ensuring an inclusive and engaging experience for all attendees and viewers.