Connor Wink

Connor Wick
Connor Wink signs on for WhiteStickFest 2022!
What a year it has been for the mercurial star on the rise.
Top ten for the worldwide Disability Pride Festival in New York in July , multiple hit singles and Top 48 on TheVoiceAU with his blind audition song ‘Believe’ by Cher now having reached over 10 million views worldwide and counting, see below.
Smooth and melodic vocals with perfect pitch  complimented by his trusty acoustic guitar will have you hanging on every verse of this young mans well written lyrics.
We are super privileged to welcome Connor back.

Platinum cre8ive

Platinum Cre8ive logo

Event Sponsor

Platinum Cre8ive is a representation and management business that specializes in looking after talent with disabilities across Australia,, as well as providing business services for the entertainment industry.

Cobhams Asuquo

Cobhams Asuquo

WhiteStickFest is thrilled to announce that internationally renowned Nigerian singer-songwriter and Unicef AmbassadorCobhams Asuquo will once again grace our virtual stage. 

 

A mix of RnB, Afropop, Soul and Gospel Cobhams is as gifted a vocalist as he is versatile as a performer.

 

A global sensation in his own right he is responsible for a string of hits over his lifetime including We Plenti (feat Simi), One Hit and Empty.

 

See below for his live performance of We Plenti from last year’s WhiteStickFest

 

 

 

Cobhams has gone on to perform alongside a slew global superstars such as Asa, Angelique Kidjo, Pearl Jam, Beyonce, Common, Cold Play and Ed Sheeran to name a few.

 

As a keynote speaker he has spoken at multiple TEDx events around the world and recently sat down with WhiteStickFestpartner Studio 1 on Vision Australia Radio to talk about his new album. 

 

https://omny.fm/shows/studio1/cobhams

 

 

We cant wait to share his talent once again for WhiteStickFest2022

Oleb Media

 Oleb media logo

Accessibility partner

 

WhiteStickFest is thrilled to announce Oleb Media as our official accessibility partner.

Oleb Media Is a Latinx, Disabled, and LGBTQ owned accessibility firm that breathes inclusion into all they do.

They offer digital accessibility testing and remediation services for websites, mobile apps, pdf documents, and eBooks.

Oleb Media are your resource for group and online training in accessible content creation.

Sign up for their newsletter, get free accessibility tips at www.olebmedia.com

Cocky Guides

Cocky Guides logo

Event Sponsor


Since launching in August 2018, more than 400 travellers have visited over 40 destinations around Australia with Cocky Guides, who specialise in providing unique, multi-sensory adventures for the blind and low-vision community.

Cocky Guides Founder James (Buck) McFarlane says ‘Supporting the inaugural White Stick Fest was a natural fit. There are so many positives our Travellers and Trip Leaders have witnessed as we connect community through travel, it blows me away imagining what can be achieved by White Stick Fest, connecting communities around the world through music!”

Learn more about Cocky Guides at www.cockyguides.com.au

Vision Australia Radio

Vision Australia Radio logo

Media Partner

The Vision Australia Radio Network incorporates ten community radio stations across Victoria, southern New South Wales, Adelaide, and Perth.

There are also five digital radio
services available in the three metropolitan areas as VAR, VA Radio, and IRIS. They offer a range of interesting and informative programs including readings from newspapers, magazines and books, interview and specialist programs on new technology, gardening, finance, travel, wine and food and the arts.


For more information visit radio.visionaustralia.org

Foundation Fighting Blindness

The Foundation Fighting Blindness logo

WhiteStickFest is proud to announce a partnership with Foundation Fighting Blindness to bring you WhiteStickFest 2023.

Going live on October 15th (Australian time zone) our concert will once again feature a host of musical talents (blind, low-vision, and sighted supporters) from all around the globe to celebrate the achievements of people that are blind or low vision excelling in a sighted world.

Foundation Fighting Blindness has a proud 52-year history of driving research leading to treatments and cures for blinding diseases. Today, the Foundation is the world’s leading private funder of retinal disease research, raising over $891 million in support of its mission. This funding has been a driving force behind the progress toward cures, including the identification of more than 270 genes linked to blinding diseases, and the launch of over 40 clinical trials for potential treatments.

WhiteStickFest is pleased to work with an organisation with a rich tradition of helping the blind and low vision community and is proud to play a part in supporting potential cures for blinding diseases worldwide.

For information including how to donate to Foundation Fighting Blindness check out  https://www.fightingblindness.org/ways-to-give.

Lachi

lachi

WhiteStickFest 2022 is pleased to announce that we will be headlined by a special performance from New York’s own Lachi!

Lachi is a multi-award-winning artist, Grammys Board DEI Ambassador, Founder and President of RAMPD.org. 

Known for her breathtaking vocals, charismatic keynote speeches and empowering live sets at famous venues such as the Kennedy and Lincoln Centers to name a few.

She also graced the stage recently as a host of the PBS’ American Masters segment.

Lachi, being legally blind, has dedicated her career to amplifying Disability Culture, promoting inclusion, and advocating for accessibility in the Music Industry.

We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Lachi to our WhiteStickFest virtual stage for 2022!

Lachi – Selfish (Official Music Video)

Lachi

Lachi

Award winning creative artist, actress and record producer Lachi has been profiled in Forbes, Essence, The New York Times and more for her voice as an Inclusion advocate. From presenting on national stages at the Recording Academy, Adweek, the National Endowment for the Arts, to performing at global disability pride events, to hosting a PBS American Masters segment, to co-chairing a GRAMMY committee, Lachi has gained an international platform on Inclusion in the Music and Entertainment industry.

As a recording artist, Lachi boasts millions of streams across platforms, having released tracks with independent and major producers and labels across the globe. Collaborating with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Apl.De.Ap, Styles P, Markus Schulz and Maduk, Lachi has seen her music debut on national charts, featured on national TV, FM and radio, major playlists, feature film, and twice Independent Music Awards nominated. Well-known for her dynamic toplines and cheeky lyrics, Lachi is a go-to singer-songwriter in Dance and Pop-EDM. Named a “Blind Influencer” by Influencive, Lachi has also been featured in the Huffington Post, American Songwriter and Music Tech Magazine among others for her work bringing disability inclusion in entertainment into mainstream discussion.

Dr. Belo Miguel Cipriani Ed.D

Dr. Belo Miguel Cipriani Ed.D

Author, Creator of the Digital Inclusion Sphere, Oleb Books and Media

In the spring of 2007, Cipriani was assaulted by a group of former friends in San Francisco, CA. He received multiple blows to the head, which rendered him completely blind. A time he describes as one of the toughest in his life.Encouraged to write as a form of therapy ,Cipriani made quite the splash in the national literary scene with the publication of his memoir, Blind. The title also received Honorable Mention from the Eric Hoffer Book Awards for Best Culture Book and an Honourable Mention from the LGBT Rainbow Awards for the nonfiction category. The success of Blind also brought lectureships at Yale, University of San Francisco, Holy Names University, and University of Minnesota, as well as columns with the San Francisco Chronicle, Bay Area Reporter and a correspondent position with the Ed Baxter Show on Clear Channel.

As the founder of Oleb books (a disability specific publishing firm) he and his team seek to expand representation of disability in literature, or D Lit, by publishing disability stories by emerging and mid-career writers with disabilities.Cipriani is also the creator of the Digital Inclusion Sphere — a model that helps organisations operationalise digital access and inclusion (something he feels greatly passionate about through his own lived experience), as well as the founder of the digital access firm Oleb Media.Cipriani lives in the Twin Cities of Minnesota with his husband, James. He is active on social media and can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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