London calls for an Australian audio describer

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Friday, 18 October 2013 13:16pm

Lara Torr could be off to the UK to pursue her dream of becoming an expert audio describer thanks to the British Council’s Realise Your Dream competition.

Torr is an arts professional from South Australia who works across visual arts and theatre. In 2011 she trained to become an audio describer, someone who describes an artwork, performance or program for those who are blind or vision impaired. So far in 2013, Torr has described productions for the Adelaide Festival and the State Theatre Company of SA. She also wrote the description for the National Gallery of Victoria’s Monet’s Garden exhibition and run an audio description workshop in Hobart.

If Torr wins the Realise Your Dream competition, the British Council will tailor a professional development program to allow Torr to become an expert audio describer. The UK is a world leader in audio description, providing frequent description across visual and performing arts as well as fields as diverse as themed architecture. In Britain regular collaborative partnerships with caption service providers and arts groups work toward a holistic and discernible approach to accessibility.

“Audio description is the most amazing process- a real marriage between concentration and creativity,” said Torr. “For me, working as a describer is about bringing together work my as an artist, my passion for language and my belief that high-quality access to the arts is a human right.

“Getting to the UK for professional development would really help me take my description practice to the next level.”

Torr is one of 15 Realise Your Dream finalists. To help her out you can vote for her in the Realise Your Dream/Time Out People’s Choice awards via the Realise Your Dream Facebook page before Tuesday 22 October.

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