Daniel(ink) and Ability WA have had a long-standing relationship.

 

Ability WA has provided support to Daniel since his diagnosis at the age of two; and since establishing daniel(ink) in 2013, Daniel has donated 10% of his profits every year to them.

 

In 2018, Daniel began wondering if he could do something even more. This is where the idea of the ArtAbility Gala was born.

 

Daniel is keen to provide opportunities for young West Australian people living with a disability to have better access to participation in culture and the arts.

 

So, all the funds raised from the inaugural ArtAbility Gala will go towards creating an arts centre within the Ability WA in Coolbinia.

For 70 years, Ability WA has been providing support and services to West Australian’s and their families, living with disability.

 

What started as a small group of parents championing the needs of children living with cerebral palsy has grown to one of the largest disability service providers in WA supporting people with cerebral palsy, autism and a wide range of physical and intellectual disabilities.

 

Our vision is people of all abilities, thriving in their community throughout their lives.

My name is Daniel Pavlovic and I am the artist behind daniel(ink).  I also happen to have cerebral palsy.

 

I didn’t set out to be a t-shirt designer.  I really wanted to be a stand-up comedian. But my friends said my act wasn’t that funny!

 

At TAFE, I had done a couple of illustrations in art class, screen-printed one onto a tee, and suddenly, my friends wanted one of those.

 

This set my Dad off, and we started to talk about  how this could be an opportunity for me. After quite a few nights of this, I began to think that  it was a good idea too (Well, maybe it was a way to keep the old man quiet for a while!)

 

That’s how my little t-shirt business started. It was seven years ago now, and it has given me a whole new direction in life

 

From the early days of my business, I knew I wanted to ‘give back’ to the people who had helped me so much, growing up.

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So since 2013, I have been donating 10% of my profits every year to Ability WA, formerly known as the Centre for Cerebral Palsy.

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I would love to see other businesses follow that model.