The Other Big Day Out Speech
03/08/2011
Thank you for inviting me here today to speak at this event. I’m really excited to be here because I think this event brings together two of my greatest passions – art and friendship.
Uniting Care Wesley here at Port Adelaide have done a fantastic thing in organising this event. The people who work here are recognising and valuing the worth of human relationships and interaction and I think that is one of the most important things we can do as a society.
I believe that friendship is one of the best things about life. Friends are the people who are there for us even though they don’t have to be, they are the people who make us laugh when we don’t feel like it and the people who mean that life is about more than just responsibility.
It is a terrible truth that friendship is not equally available to everyone. As most of you here would know, there can be a lot of barriers to achieving and maintaining friendships.
Every person has the internal capacity to be a friend and to have a friend, but sometimes the circumstances of our lives stops us from carrying out friendships the way we want. These barriers are there for everyone in a way – one of our friends might move overseas for a job so we won’t be able to see them or talk to them as much. Those kind of things are part of life and are just something we all have to deal with. But what we shouldn’t have to deal with is a situation where our mental health or disability gets in the way of having friends.
Sometimes I can’t go and see my friend’s band play, or even visit a friend in hospital because the access cab I’ve ordered to get there just doesn’t turn up, and I can’t get there any other way. Some of you may have had to give up friendships because you were moved into different accommodation and had no way of keeping in contact. Things like finding the time and space even for a private phone call to a friend can sometimes be near impossible too.
Having events like The Other Big Day Out which allow us all to catch up with old friends and make new ones is indescribably valuable. Having the day revolve around art is another great idea.
Art is very close to my heart. As was mentioned in the kind introduction given to me today I am, as well as a politician, a playwright. I don’t think I will ever stop being an artist at heart because I believe art has great power. It allows people to express themselves and communicate with others.
Art is a great leveller, it can draw outsiders into our world and give them the tools to understand how we live or how we think in a much deeper way than if we just tried to describe something to them. For people with disabilities or mental illness this is especially powerful, because it can often be frustrating trying to get people to look beyond the stereotypical way of perceiving us. Through my art I have been able to show people many things, not just about me, but also about themselves.
This process of communication is also valuable as a shared experience. When you participate in something artistic with other people it can be far more valuable than many other group activities, because it always has at its heart an element of personal expression.
To that end, I am very proud and excited to launch this year’s edition of The Other Big Day Out.
