54: Forget me not
Chorus Voices
Bill, 78, is a retired teacher of 36 years and now volunteers with Chorus. He teaches English as a Second Language at the Chorus Bull Creek Activity Centre.
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53: Getting our art on
Chorus Voices
We talk about all things art and community coming out of the Ability Arts inclusive art program in Mandurah, WA - from winning a sculpture award to the Selfie Portrait Exhibition and more!
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52: Christmas Voices 2020
Chorus Voices
In this year’s Christmas Voices Angela Johns, Mandy Waters and Judith Hatton join Dan Minchin and Louise Forster to dive into inspiring journeys of survival and recovery in 2020.
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51: Growing communities one garden at a time
Chorus Voices
What's it like to be a Chorus gardener? Pretty special actually.
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50: 50 years in the community
Chorus Voices
Episode 50 of Chorus Voices celebrates 50 years of Chorus in the community and, as it turns out, it’s our 50th episode!
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49: Teamwork: A circle of kindness
Chorus Voices
Chorus is a team of kind, caring people. In this episode Dan Minchin and Nikki Drury explore the relationship between teamwork and kindness.
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48: Home is more than a house
Chorus Voices
Krystyna likes to cook, garden and have fun with her housemate, Quack Quack 2. In this episode we learn about the journey and joy of supported independent living.
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47: A very merry unbirthday: Two more candles
Chorus Voices
In part two of Lex’s mental health journey we learn a thing or two about designing clothes for musicals as Lex takes the next step towards realising the dream of becoming a fashion designer.
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46: Men's Health Week: From darkness to colour
Chorus Voices
After an accident, professional cyclist Chek stopped eating and wanted to give up on life. One day he reached out and turned his life around.
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45: Chorus volunteers: A smile to deliver
Chorus Voices
During National Volunteer Week 2020 five Chorus volunteers take centre stage and talk about what volunteering means to them and the Chorus community. “The only thing that I can do is just give them a bit of time,” says Gary.
info_outlineChorus is undergoing some exciting changes to work more locally - to become less of a service provider and more of a facilitator in the community. In this episode we talk to Elli Moody, facilitator of inclusive art programs at Chorus, about the inspiring community engagement that is going on locally in Mandurah.
“We try and have an annual exhibition each year, which is really about showcasing what our guys have been producing and getting it out there in the community,” says Elli.
Elli and the Ability Arts team got involved in the Selfie Portrait Exhibition last year. They sent out a kit with a canvas, paints and paint brushes to various groups in the Mandurah community.
“We could have done it just in-house with our customers, but we thought we'd throw it out to the wider community,” Elli explains. “It's really good for building some connections within the community. We had about 25 students from John Tonkin Ed Support Centre take part.”
The team has a strong relationship with the City of Mandurah and have taken part in other community art projects, like painting the signage for the beach access equipment shed at Keith Holmes Reserve in Mandurah.
“Our artists got together and started drawing beach sort of inspired illustrations, which we then put together into a design, which is now on the shed,” says Elli.
Eight artists from Ability Arts took part in state-wide As We Are art exhibition last year. Potter Kylie Graham from the group won the won the sculpture award with her entry of Cinderella and Prince Charming.
“She was just so excited and she actually received the award from Stephen Dawson, who is the Minister for Disability Services,’ adds Elli.
It’s not all about art down at Ability Arts (although it mostly is!) The group love going on social outings too and last year funded some of their activities by signing up for Containers for Change.
“When Containers for Change came out, we thought that would be a great opportunity to make some extra money,” adds Elli.
“I think the Ability Arts really speaks to the multiple connections and how we really connect with the community down there,” says Louise.
Dan agrees.
“What we're trying to do in the Peel area and then beyond is replicate the sort of local way of working that we've heard about today in other places. And that's really the plan,” says Dan.
Credits:
Podcast Hosts: Dan Minchin and Louise Forster
Opening Voiceover: Ryan Burke
Opening Music: “Wattlebird” by Dylan Hatton Music
Interviewee: Elli Moody, Facilitator Social Support Group, Chorus Ability Arts, Mandurah
Producer/Editor: Judith Hatton
Executive Producer: Meaghan Ferries
Audio editing: Matthew Clark
Artwork: Maddie Bull
Mentioned in this episode: