Regional Arts Fund Project: The Fabric of ViV!
19/03/2026
In 2025, the Regional Arts Fund supported The Fabric of ViV!, a capacity building project that involved costume, textile design and construction with the disability community of Bathurst.
Catherine McNamara’s,ViV!, was a children’s theatre (5-12yrs) show that was held in August last year about an adventurous, tough and sassy girl who lives with disabilities and her little sister ‘Lil’. The show merged digital landscapes, puppetry and choreography with an original score played live.
The grant supported community capacity building with the disability community in and around Bathurst, supporting designers Katja Handt and Matthew Abeline, Bathurst textile artist Fiona Howle, and the Compareos, a group of young women with disabilities (18-25 yrs). For the project, they co-created costumes, set pieces and textiles interweaving their lived experience into the fabric of ViV! through a series of interactive workshops.
The development and delivery of workshops, alongside the fostering of partnerships with disability service organisations and charities, targeted the intersection between ViV! as a professional performance project and an arts and health capacity building and advocacy project with a disability focus. The inclusive nature of the workshops also aimed to centre people living with disabilities as both participants and co-creators.
The impact of The Fabric of ViV! was significant, resulting in skills development and career pathways in the performing arts for the participants, as well helping to assist in developing partnerships that will result in ongoing inclusive arts programming.
One member of the Compareos, said, “This is a great step into the creative arts industry, and can lead to more things. For me, that’s a big step, because the dream for me is being a part of the creative arts industry….It’s empowering and awe-inspiring in many ways. You get a feel of what you’re actually capable of, and what you’re striving to achieve.”
The production employed 17 regional artists across production, design, writing, direction, producing, composition and performance, including two emerging artists, six pre-professionals and one child.
The project has also created an opportunity for Arts OutWest, who producted ViV!, to further develop producing partnerships with Local Stages at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre and charity Carenne Support Limited. In future, this will likely result in the expansion of the Compareo inclusive arts programme.
Textile workshops, which included students from local schools, also had a significant impact on the children’s connection to the final production, allowing them to have more meaningful engagement with the content of the show.
One local teacher stated, “The ViV! incursion workshop was a fantastic experience for our school. Students were fully engaged and the presenters were positive, inclusive, and encouraged meaningful conversations. The support provided ensured that all of our Year 1 students were knowledgeable towards the content of the show prior to attending the performance. All students were catered for beautifully at the Entertainment Centre, the show was inclusive and interactive, making the excursion both valuable and enjoyable. The performance itself was outstanding, highlighting the wonderful talents of the cast. What a wonderful story and message for the audience to take home.”
Image: ViV! Textiles Workshop. L-R Catherine McNamara, Mitchell Smith. Photo by Henry Simmon.
Audience feedback showed that ViV! was a relatable and beautifully interactive story that celebrated the lived experience of difference from multiple points of view: from individuals living with disability, to carers and families. Support from sponsors, cast and community members highlights the appetite for inclusive stories for children that centre atypical characters on stage.
ViV! has also received a great deal of gratitude, praise and endorsement from people living with disabilities, who are either carers themselves or whose families live with disability.
One mother of a child living with a disability said, “The craftful way in which these themes were brought to light (not swept under the rug or made light of) and even made humorous exactly reflects how so many within the inclusive community deal with everyday life through dark humour and resilience”
This project shows us why the Regional Arts Fund is so important, providing both economic and social outcomes for communities like this one. The Fabric of ViV! had an enormous impact on the Bathurst community by not only employing regional artists but also promoting inclusive access to the arts and making young people living with disability feel seen.
Learn more about ViV! here.
Image: ViV, played by Crystal Nguyen. Photo by Henry Simmon.
This project was supported by the Regional Arts Fund, part of the Australian Government’s Arts and Cultural Development Program managed by Regional Arts Australia. Regional Arts NSW administers this grant in NSW and is proud to have been involved in making this project happen.
Cover Image: Compareo in ViV!. L-R Compareo – Denley Huland, Brianna Wheeler, Rebecca Jones, Composer Cindy Fox, ‘Lil” Elise McFarland. Photo by Henry Simmon.