Interview of Mathilde Anne by Freya Bennett
Live Nation’s Ones To Watch Melbourne event, curated by Eliza Hull, celebrated Australian artists living with disability, giving them a stage beyond the usual “disability lineups.” We caught up with Melbourne-based pop artist Mathilde Anne to hear her thoughts on true inclusivity in music, the barriers disabled artists face, and what it means to perform on a platform designed to amplify underrepresented voices.
The music industry often celebrates disabled artists only in designated moments, what would true, year-round equity and access actually look like to you?
True, all-round equality looks like uplifting artists living with disability without making their disability the headline or the defining reason for their creativity. Too often we use the term “disabled artists” instead of “artists with disability,” and in doing so we unintentionally alienate and divide the music community.
Real inclusion means ensuring every stage and every space is accessible to marginalised communities, not as a token gesture, but because everyone deserves access to music. Equality looks like having artists with disability perform on any stage, not just the “disability stage.” It means creating environments where our disabilities don’t define us, but simply form part of our lived experience.
In the future, I hope we reach a point where we no longer have “disability lineups,” but instead have lineups that happen to include artists with disability. where the focus is on the work, not the disability.
How do you feel about the way disability is currently represented in Australian music spaces?
I think there’s a lot of misrepresentation around how disability fits into the music industry. I mostly see disability placed into designated or isolated spaces, rather than seeing existing spaces adapted to include everyone. The truth is, artists with disability are everywhere (writing, creating, performing) and often fans and peers don’t even know.
As an industry, we’ve developed a habit of deciding what artists with lived experience “need,” and delivering that without actually asking them. If we shift our approach and start listening directly to the people affected, the entire industry will grow stronger.
What responsibilities do you think the industry holds in dismantling the barriers disabled artists face and where are they currently falling short?
At the most basic level, the industry has a responsibility to call out small-minded or exclusionary behaviour when it happens. It also needs to put pressure on government bodies to consult artists with lived experience and to properly support local music venues so they can implement meaningful accessibility practices.
Right now, the industry often falls short by choosing convenience over inclusion, and by failing to prioritise accessibility as a nonnegotiable standard.
Live Nation has curated this Ones To Watch event to amplify artists with disability — what does it mean to you when a major player like this actively steps in, and do you see it as a meaningful shift in industry culture or more of a first step?
I think it’s a huge step for the industry to actively acknowledge artists with disability and to create a space that allows us to connect. Hopefully this becomes something we see more often.
Realistically, it only takes one or two major organisations to step up and start shifting the conversation, and I’m really grateful not only that Live Nation has taken this step, but also that I had the opportunity to participate alongside some truly talented artists.
