Jane Trengove awarded Life Membership
30 November 2011
At Arts Access Victoria’s AGM on Monday 28 November 2011, Chair Lesley Hall proudly awarded Life Membership to Jane Trengove, a Melbourne-based visual artist and AAV’s former Access Program Manager, for her invaluable contribution to Arts Access Victoria.
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In early childhood I contracted polio and spent much time being ‘still’ due to loss of physical movement. I learned to watch the world intensely, relying on my eyes to make sense of things.
This gaze was often turned on me, as others scrutinized my altered physique (a deeply uncomfortable experience for me). In the end this gave me an interest in the way cultural meanings are affected by the way we ‘see”, and how representation can be used to interrogate these meanings Jane Trengove |
About Jane Trengove
Jane Trengove is a Melbourne-based visual artist whose professional practice includes painting, installation, collaborative works and the coordination/curation of arts projects. Her work has been exhibited locally, interstate and overseas and is represented in many private and public collections including the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, Artbank and Monash University. She has also taught visual arts at Victoria University and the Victorian College of the Arts and Inclusive Design Practice at RMIT University.
At secondary school in the 1970s, Jane’s first love had been the theatre, but realizing opportunities for actors with a disability were almost non-existent, she chose instead to train as a visual artist. She reached this decision only after her application to study stage design was refused by Sydney’s prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) because, the selectors stated, her disability would prevent her from accessing backstage areas.
Jane’s visual arts qualifications include undergraduate studies at the National Art School in East Sydney (1971-1973), a Diploma of Art from the Alexander Mackie School of Art in Sydney, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Painting (1986-1987) and Masters by Research (1999), both from the Victorian College of the Arts.
As a professional visual artist, Jane recognises the importance of visiting galleries and networking with peers and other arts industry professionals to develop and sustain a career in the visual arts. The reality is that many practising artists with disability face difficulties in doing either of these things due to the inaccessibility of the majority of art making spaces, art schools and galleries.
As an artist with a disability (Jane has a mobility impairment caused by polio), Jane is acutely aware of the barriers faced by artists with a disability seeking a viable career in the arts. Her personal experience negotiating these barriers inspired her to become involved as an advocate for the rights of people with a disability to equity of access in the arts – both as audience members and creative practitioners.
During her many years as a passionate advocate for increased access to the arts for people with a disability, Jane has made an invaluable contribution by:
Working in the following roles at disability organisations:
- DADAA National Network member, curator, teacher and project artist with Arts Access Victoria (1992-1997)
- Community Development worker at VICNORD (2004-2005)
- Disability Planner at City of Yarra (2006-2007)
- Access Program Manager at Arts Access Victoria (2007-2011)
Representing the rights of people with a disability on the following committees and boards:
- Australia Council Reference Committee- Art & Disability (1993-1994)
- Victorian College of the Arts Advisory Committee (1995)
- Board of Arts Access Victoria (1996-2001), one year as Chairperson (2004) and two years as Deputy Chair (2005-2006)
- Art and Disability Access Network (2007-2008)
- City of Yarra Arts Advisory Committee (2010- )
Coordinating the following exhibition and events that showcased works by artists with a disability:
- Visual Arts program for the Art of Difference Festival 2006
- Connected 2008 exhibition in the Black Box Theatre of The Arts Centre in Melbourne
- Body Suits, Arts Access Victoria national touring exhibition (1997-1998)
To view art works by Jane Trengove, visit http://www.suttongallery.com.au/
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