Image: A vibrant and empowering group portrait features eight individuals proudly posing together against a warm pink-to-red gradient studio backdrop. The mood is festive and confident, celebrating diversity, inclusion, and self-expression.
1st August marks the end of Disability Pride Month, but at Undercover Artist Festival, Disability Pride Month is every month.
You may think that Disability Pride is about being proud to be disabled, or being proud to live with disability.
For most people, Disability Pride is about being proud to be who we are, without shame. For others, it’s about unlearning internalised ableism – the subconscious bias against disability.
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“I used to instinctively apologise every time I needed help, until I attended a residency where another disabled artist said, ‘don’t apologise. That’s your access.’ That was the moment that I realised I deserved to be included without shame, without fear, and without apology. That’s what Disability Pride is about.”
Maddie Little
Undercover Artist Festival Director
We’d love you to join us at Undercover Artist Festival 2025. Need help choosing what to attend? Here’s some tips!
In 2025, our program is all about pushing boundaries, pushing buttons and pushing for change through authentic stories and powerful performances.
Newly diagnosed or new to the disability community?
Come along to Icons Alive! – an innovative community showcase presented by Access Arts featuring Deaf Indigenous Dance Group, Access Arts, Screech Arts, Madeline Stuart Dance Company and Queensland Ballet’s Dance For Health program. It’s a great opportunity to get to know our amazing community and the fabulous artists we work with.
Image: A fun, energetic group of six adults poses enthusiastically against a clean white backdrop, evoking a vibrant celebration of creativity, self-expression, and inclusive performance culture.
Neurodivergent and feeling unseen?
Wired Differently shares the real stories of neurodivergent artists through movement and language. This is the perfect show to watch to learn that you’re not alone.
Image: A dynamic and expressive stage performance is captured mid-movement, featuring six individuals deeply engaged in theatrical and musical expression. The scene takes place indoors on a polished wooden floor under theatrical lighting, with rich purple and magenta hues adding vibrancy and intensity.
Chronic illness or dynamic disability experience
If you have a chronic illness or dynamic disability experience, Daydreamer might be the show for you. It’s intense, raw, but most importantly… it’s real.
Image: A striking and moody studio portrait features a young man seated on a wire-framed chair, immersed in a surreal and symbolic scene. The background fades into a dark gradient of deep blue and black, casting a dramatic tone and isolating the subject for emotional focus.
Want to be a pop star and challenge the status quo?
If you’ve ever wanted to be a pop star or to challenge the status quo and prove that you can achieve your dreams, You Ready For This? is the perfect pop cabaret to sing along to.
Image: In a vibrant and empowering outdoor portrait, four performers stand side by side in a sun-dappled clearing surrounded by tall eucalyptus trees. The bright natural light and relaxed bushland setting contrast joyfully with the group’s dazzling and expressive outfits.
Want a night off? Want to let loose?
Join us at Club Undercover, the ultimate accessible dance party. It’s an event for all to party hard and be in bed by 11pm. Worried it’ll be too loud? Club Undercover is a Silent Disco, so you control how you wear the headphones. And if you need a break, our Quiet Space is only a few metres away.
Image:A vibrant and immersive party scene bursts with colour and shimmer in this close-up photograph of a festively decorated space. The setting evokes a retro disco atmosphere, bathed in deep blue lighting with shimmering metallic accents.
Whether you are new to disability or have been disabled since birth, no matter where you are on your Disability Pride journey, you are welcome here.
We’re proud to provide a high standard of accessibility across our program.
Please check the Access Guide for the most up-to-date information.
Undercover Artist acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and we pay our respects to Elders, past, present, and emerging. We are committed to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their unique cultural and spiritual relationship to land, water and seas and their rich contribution to society.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.
Festival Sponsors
This program is proudly sponsored by Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, with funding support from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Undercover Artist Festival is presented by Access Arts.
