Melinda Smith

Melinda Smith OAM comes from a professional background of mentoring and consultancy in the disability and education sectors. In 2008, Melinda began promoting the health and wellbeing outcomes of dance and movement for people with physical disabilities. In 2016, Melinda received grants from the Australia Council for the Arts and Creative Victoria to collaborate with choreographer Dianne Reid on their duet practice and performance Dance Interrogations and, in 2017, for the creative development of her solo work, Spasmotive. As a performer, Melinda worked with Weave Movement Theatre. The next phase of her work sees her collaborating with Melbourne’s Women’s Circus as well as working on a series of audio-visual expressions of life in social isolation. Melinda lives with cerebral palsy and is a passionate advocate of disability inclusion in the arts. In 2019, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Deakin University “for her outstanding contribution to the arts and her tireless work in breaking down barriers to inclusion for people with disability both in Australia and internationally.” Melinda recently became a member of the Deakin University Disability and Inclusion team as a Lecturer in Inclusive Arts.