Undercover Artist Festival was founded by Access Arts in consultation with the Access Arts community, noticing a need for a platform for performing arts by artists with disability / who are d/Deaf.
The 2015 Festival was led by founding Festival Director Belinda Locke and supported by Queensland Theatre.
Image description: A theatrical scene features three people against a plain white background. A man holds a snare drum, a woman crouches while painting another’s body, and the third person poses boldly with a microphone. The central figure’s torso displays colourful, butterfly-inspired body art.
Harmonie Downes took on the role as Festival Director for the 2017 Festival.
Artists from across Australia gathered on Turrbal and Jagera Country at Queensland Theatre in Brisbane to showcase their work at this festival.
Image description: A black and white image of a man wearing a top hat, with glasses on it, and a feather out the top.
In 2020, the Festival was due to return – but COVID had other plans.
Access Arts delivered the Undercover Artist Grants Program, supporting the development of new performing arts projects.
In December, Access Arts presented Undercover Artist: Online, a showcase of works–in–development.
Image description: Jackie Marshall is sitting on a stool playing their guitar and singing in a microphone. Around them is two other people with video cameras filming their performance.
Undercover Artist Festival ran over 4 days in September 2021, again hosted by official Festival Partner, Queensland Theatre.
The 2021 Festival was led by Disabled artist and Festival Director Madeleine Little and offered a multi-art program of 19 events that included 7 World Premieres, and 1 Queensland Premiere.
In 2021, Brisbane Festival joined as an official Festival Partner. The Undercover Artist Festival program sat under the Brisbane Festival program umbrella for the first time.
Holding a Festival during a global pandemic was always going to be a challenge, but together space was created for artists with disability to show their work to the world.
Image description: A theatre room filled with an audience where a stage is lit up by bright purple and blue lights. Under the lights are various stage props, a person playing a keyboard and another person Auslan interpreting.
Undercover Artist Career Workshops were introduced, providing career growth and skills development opportunities to artists with disability.
Workshops included Grant-Writing 101, Allyship 101, CV Development and Expressions of Interest (EOI’s 101).
The workshop program was designed to help address the gaps in traditional arts training modes that may be inaccessible for artists with disability.
Image description: A group of people are sitting at a long table and typing on their laptops.
2023 saw Undercover Artist Development Program support artists through grant funding and ongoing one–to–one mentoring to work on brand new shows, helping artists take their work from ideas to the stage.
The 2023 Festival took place over 4 days in September in partnership with Queensland Theatre and Brisbane Festival.
15 performances were programmed into the Festival across 101 artists and arts workers and included 3 world premieres, 3 sell-out shows and 1000+ attendees over the 4 days, with performances ranging from theatre, dance, music, poetry, comedy, panel talks and cabaret.
The 2023 Festival theme “Our Power” focused on celebrating Our Power as disabled artists and storytellers who take the stage showcasing our true authentic selves.
Image description: Emma Tomlinson performing on stage in front of a keyboard. Her arms are open and she has stage lights on her.
Undercover Artist Career Workshops were delivered and focused on 6 workshops throughout July, August and September. They were presented in person and on-line and focused on Producing, Storytelling, Marketing, Touring and Songwriting.
Undercover Artist held a Call-Out for Hero Artwork and announced the theme of the 2025 Festival: “Push It!”
Image description: A female and male sitting down. The female and male are close to camera are looking at a laptop on a desk smiling.
Undercover Artist celebrates 10 years. Undercover Artist Festival will run in conjunction with Brisbane Festival and hosted once again by Queensland Theatre.
More juicy program information coming soon!
Image description: A group of people are standing in front of a white backdrop with dramatic red lights. They are all posing and a few people are holding mirror balls.
Madeleine (Maddie) Little (she/her) is a performer, theatre maker and access consultant for the performing arts based in Brisbane. She is a proud disabled artist who enjoys working in both disability-led and safe ally-led creative environments. She believes that disabled and d/Deaf artists should be able to tell their stories on their terms, without shame, fear, or censorship.
A leader in the disability arts sector, Madeleine has received multiple awards: Early Career Artist Award – Australia Council’s National Arts and Disability Awards (2022), National Leadership Award – Arts Access Australia (2019), Stella Young Award – Arts Access Victoria (2018), 40 Under 40 Awards Queensland (Weekend Edition, InQueensland).
As an actor, Madeleine has been recognised for her performance as Dr Emma Brookner in The Normal Heart (Ad Astra Theatre) with a Matilda Award for Best Supporting Actor in an Independent Production.
Maddie is a published writer and playwright. Her play, Hold, was published in PlayLab Theatre’s ‘Authentic Voices: Disability Collection’ in 2024. Her published contributions to disability arts theory include ‘Hold On: Australian innovations in access aesthetics’ – Australasian Drama Studies Journal (with Dr Eddie Paterson and Dr Sarah Austin, Vol. 76, 2020), ‘Quick Trust and Slow Time: Relational Innovations in Disability Performing Arts Practice’ – The International Journal of Disability and Social Justice (Dr Bree Hadley, et. Al. vol. 2, 2022) and ‘How Disability Performance Travels in Australia’ by Dr Bree Hadley with Dr Eddie Paterson, and Kath Duncan in How Does Disability Performance Travel? Access, Art, and Internationalization (Routledge 2024).
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Madeleine Little’s headshot.
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Madeleine Little’s headshot.
Brooke Austen (she/her) is a musician, audio engineer and community arts facilitator based in Brisbane.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drama), Brooke entered the disability arts sector by taking on a Workshop Assistant role with Access Arts. In 2019, she became the Workshop Facilitator for the Access Arts Singers.
As a musician, Brooke is no stranger to live performance. She has played sold out shows in venues around Brisbane, including supporting critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Sahara Beck on the Ipswich leg of her 2024 national album tour. Following this, May 2024 saw the release of Brooke’s debut EP, ‘passage’.
Brooke loves the way music and theatre intersect. She composed original music for “Key Insights to Nearby Galaxies” and “Opportunity”, new plays presented at Anywhere Festival (2018) and Short & Sweet (2019) respectively.
Artists in the Brisbane and South East Queensland region may be familiar with Brooke’s warm nature and technical skill. She has worked as a Backline Technician and Audio Engineer on festivals like Gympie Music Muster, Caloundra Music Festival and Wildflower (Riverstage).
She is so excited to be a part of the 2025 Undercover Artist Festival Team.
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Brooke Austen’s headshot. Photo by Kate Lund.
DR LYNNE BRADLEY has worked as a festival director, artistic director, senior producer, and creative industries academic in Brisbane and abroad for the past 30 years. From 2019 to 2025 Lynne has principally been working full-time in the festival sector (Horizon Festival, 19-21; Sunshine Coast Chamber Music Festival, 21-25; Undercover Artist Festival, 25).
Lynne’s specialty areas as both a director and producer include large-scale physical and visual theatre, music theatre, as well as immersive, site-specific, and transcultural performance work. As a live performance director, Lynne is also a renowned innovator, having co-founded one of Australia’s first physical theatre companies in 1992 (Zen Zen Zo).
As an educator, Lynne enjoys working with emerging artists to develop long-term career sustainability. From 2016-2019, she designed and ran USC’s Performing Arts Masters program, with a focus on enabling students to develop real-world skills in the creative industries and mapping out sustainable career pathways in the performing arts.
Lynne recently completed a Masters in Counselling at UQ to better support artists in the post-covid landscape. Her specialty area is neurodiversity, and in 2024 Lynne presented 4 Keynote Addresses at national conferences, advocating for best-practice neurodiversity-affirming care in arts and education spaces.
In 2025 Lynne joined the teams at Screech Arts and the Undercover Artist Festival, and is excited to be working in the disability arts sector!
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Dr Lynne Bradley’s headshot.
Brooke Austen (she/her) is a musician, audio engineer and community arts facilitator based in Brisbane.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drama), Brooke entered the disability arts sector by taking on a Workshop Assistant role with Access Arts. In 2019, she became the Workshop Facilitator for the Access Arts Singers.
As a musician, Brooke is no stranger to live performance. She has played sold out shows in venues around Brisbane, including supporting critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Sahara Beck on the Ipswich leg of her 2024 national album tour. Following this, May 2024 saw the release of Brooke’s debut EP, ‘passage’.
Brooke loves the way music and theatre intersect. She composed original music for “Key Insights to Nearby Galaxies” and “Opportunity”, new plays presented at Anywhere Festival (2018) and Short & Sweet (2019) respectively.
Artists in the Brisbane and South East Queensland region may be familiar with Brooke’s warm nature and technical skill. She has worked as a Backline Technician and Audio Engineer on festivals like Gympie Music Muster, Caloundra Music Festival and Wildflower (Riverstage).
She is so excited to be a part of the 2025 Undercover Artist Festival Team.
Image:
Brooke Austen’s headshot. Photo by Kate Lund.
Brooke Austen (she/her) is a musician, audio engineer and community arts facilitator based in Brisbane.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drama), Brooke entered the disability arts sector by taking on a Workshop Assistant role with Access Arts. In 2019, she became the Workshop Facilitator for the Access Arts Singers.
As a musician, Brooke is no stranger to live performance. She has played sold out shows in venues around Brisbane, including supporting critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Sahara Beck on the Ipswich leg of her 2024 national album tour. Following this, May 2024 saw the release of Brooke’s debut EP, ‘passage’.
Brooke loves the way music and theatre intersect. She composed original music for “Key Insights to Nearby Galaxies” and “Opportunity”, new plays presented at Anywhere Festival (2018) and Short & Sweet (2019) respectively.
Artists in the Brisbane and South East Queensland region may be familiar with Brooke’s warm nature and technical skill. She has worked as a Backline Technician and Audio Engineer on festivals like Gympie Music Muster, Caloundra Music Festival and Wildflower (Riverstage).
She is so excited to be a part of the 2025 Undercover Artist Festival Team.
Image:
Brooke Austen’s headshot. Photo by Kate Lund.
Image:
Brooke Austen’s headshot. Photo by Kate Lund.
The Undercover Artist team want to acknowledge the hard work and support of their colleagues at Access Arts and CPL – Choice, Passion, Life. From Development and Sponsorships through to Marketing and more, Undercover Artist could not do what we do without them. The team would also like to thank former producers Hana Tow and Paul Adams for their contributions to the success of Undercover Artist, and acknowledge the 2021 Festival Steering Group for their guidance.
Keep up to date with the latest festival news!
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.
Proudly supported by
This program is proudly sponsored by Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
Undercover Artist Festival is presented by Access Arts.
