• The Art of Good Health and Wellbeing Melbourne 2014
• Arts and Health Australia Awards for Excellence 2014
• Program at a Glance
• Presenters' Directory
• Plenary Speakers

• Plenary Speakers
• Janet Morrison
• Jerril Rechter
• Mike White
• Liss Gabb
• Christine Bryden
• Sam Porter
• Helen Currier
• Molly Carlile and Kerrie Noonan
• Clive Parkinson
• Simone Flavelle
• Andy Howitt
• Ann O'Connor

Simone Flavelle

Unlocking Imagination through Art and Technology/stARTSPEAK

In 2011 tablet technology was becoming more widely used by the general population but people living in supported accommodation were at risk of being digitally excluded. DADAA and the Disability Services Commission recognized this as a key challenge in their partnership work around the social inclusion of Western Australians with intellectual disability and high support needs.

DADAA has met the challenge in partnership with the Disability Services Commission of Western Australia, Inkubator, the Independent Living Centre of WA and Challenger TAFE through the development of smart device app, stARTSPEAK Touch & Create.

The stARTSPEAK project commenced in April 2012 with support from a Premiers’ Social Innovation Grant (Department for Regional Development and Communities), the Department for Training and Workforce Development, Australia Council for the Arts and Community Arts Network WA.

At the core of stARTSPEAK’s uniqueness is the iterative app research, design and development process with 17 people who have high support needs. The Touch & Create app has been designed to:

• give users the opportunity to DRAW, PLAY, CREATE SOUNDSCAPES/MUSIC and REMIX
• support the creation of multiple user profiles – beneficial in educational or therapeutic settings

• respond to single and multi touch gestures

• enable functions that help support accessibility to be activated and saved to a user profile

• be free of advertising or in app purchases



stARTSPEAK Touch & Create also features artwork by stARTSPEAK Studio artists www.startspeak.org.

In addition to Touch & Create, all other project initiatives have been led by artists and performers with intellectual disability including arts and cultural processes, development of a touchpad training model and community engagement strategies such as the stARTSPEAK website and facebook page.

Using available technologies, Project Manager, Simone Flavelle and Coordinator, Zoe Martyn will present the project's artistic and digital strategies with focus on software, training, artistic and community development.

Simone Flavelle

Simone Flavelle is the Manager of Ageing and Disability Projects for DADAA in Western Australia. She is also Executive Producer of 198 digital works created as part of The Lost Generation Project and other projects in partnership with the WA Disability Services Commission over the last 12 years.

With a background in theatre, Simone’s interest in the interface between live and pre-recorded digital media began in 1997 with the development of DADAA production, Lovebytes and continued in 1998 with Keep On Dancing Girl. Both focused on the use of interactive media as a performance device and the social impact of the digital world for people with a disability. Prior to this work, Simone worked as an actor, write and director after graduating from Curtin University (BA English) in 1983 and the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) (Dip. Perf. Arts) in 1986. From 1995 to 1999 Simone collaborated with Western Australians living with disability to write and direct five performance works using movement, sound/music, visual art, writing and assistive technologies. From 2003 to present Simone has worked on 16 partnership projects with the Disability Services Commission with dance, performance, visual, sound, digital processes and outcomes for core participants and their communities. The most current is stARTSPEAK which can be viewed by following the link: www.startspeak.org.