Presenter profile: Anthea Williams

Fri, 30 October 2020

A fresh 2RPH voice, Anthea Williams, has already made an impact on the arts and disability program, Activated Arts. She shares her thoughts on the launch of this program with 2RPH’s Danielle Hanrahan.

Activated Arts is an in-depth multi-arts program. It’s entertaining and enlightening and provides provocative discussions about art, culture and disability. Hosted by Anthea Williams for 2RPH, in partnership with Accessible Arts.

How did you come to be producing and presenting this program?

I direct theatre and film as well as develop new plays and screen works. But over the last few years I’ve got increasingly vocal about the importance of disability representation, and issues that arise from the limited narratives people with disability are given.

With this in mind when Sancha, at 2RPH, and the Accessible Arts team got together to discuss this program they thought I’d be a good host and decided to approach me.

What can listeners expect to hear each episode? 

Each program looks at a specific topic, bringing in guests to unpack that topic in creative and surprising ways, while discussing their work and arts practices. The program also includes a round-up of relevant news and events. This October, I look at artists’ responses to the pandemic. I talk with the brilliant Anna Barnes and Esther Hannaford, lead writer and actor from ABC series Retrograde. Then I speak with Allison Reynolds, Paul Calcott and Jeffery Wood Visual Artists working on the radically accessible 2020 Exhibition. To hear the first episode, visit: https://www.2rph.org.au/listen...

What have you enjoyed about producing this program?

I’ve met with many truly exceptional artists and discussed their work. It’s also been brilliant to look at art forms I don’t work in personally.

What do you think you have learnt in your time producing and presenting this program, so far?

That Australian internet is terrible and that when recording at home or in the field it helps to work under a blanket fort!  It’s been really hard to get quality recordings with people working remotely, but we do our best.

The second episode of Activated Arts will be broadcast on Friday 6 November at 2.30pm on 2RPH - 1224AM, 100.5FM, digital DAB+ and streaming, www.2rph.org.au.