Washington - Policy and Power

Up close at the White House

The Oval Office - so beautiful in the gardens

Sarah Barton reporting from Washington

Special event - Wheelchair fabulousness.

It's so male!!

Washington Metro - Pizazz

Australian Embassy - depressingly ordinary - but quaint.

Three days no blog – just been way too tired and busy and I thought I’d give you all a break.  Sunday was a real treat actually.  The day started off with me feeling too tired to start all over again in a new city.  New Public transport system, new map, new sights to see – all felt a bit too much.  So I spend the morning sitting in my room listening to the last of may carousing neighbours – gosh they had a good weekend – and writing a submission.  Got really into it but by lunch time the sun was beaming in so strongly that I thought I really should get out at least for a little while.  Decided to hire a bike again as that’s a great way to see a new city but sadly the automated system didn’t like my credit card so no bile for me – I was forced to walk.  Well this actually turned out to be a good thing as I walked down to the White House – about 20 minute walk and had a snoop around and when I got round the other side a man in the street asked if I’d like a ticket to go inside? 

Tickets were free and it turns out that the While House Gardens are only open twice a year and Sunday was one of those days.  Well the weather couldn’t have been any more perfect and it was a realy treat to get up so close to the Oval Office, West Wing and the entrance to the house as well as seeing the gardens including the famous veggie garden that provides a balanced diet for squirrels as well as something for humans too.

After my stroll around the White house I wandered off in the direction of the capital building which is about a mile away and on the way found myself irresistibly close to the National Gallery of Art (modern east wing) so went in for some more free entertainment in the form of their stunning art collection – all my favourites Pollock, Frank Stella, the pop mob, and my absolute fave who has to be seen live so to speak – Rothko.  They even had a special exhibition of black Rothkos in the tower complete with soundtrack from the Houston Chapel where bigger black Rothko panels hang in a non-denominational space for meditation.  That was lots of fun – if fun is the word for a room full of black Rothkos.

Next I stumbled into a room full of 19^th century French paintings the likes of which would have them 20 deep for winter masterpieces at the NGV – but my luck only a handful of others were there to enjoy them.  Then they had another enchanting display from Arcimboldo the Italian guy who made faces out of fruit in the 16^th century– way ahead of his time.  The final room was full of Munch – maybe exciting for many but I just find his work a little dreary.  Did an obligatory walk through but couldn’t get excited.  The final piece of resistance I stumbled upon was Dali’s last supper – a stunning work – one of his really great paintings which reminded me how disappointing the Melbourne Dali exhibition was filled with so many minor works and not enough really big strong pieces and of course way too many people.  I was happier to see just this one stunning piece than to wade through that whole show frankly.

After dragging myself out of the Art Gallery I pressed on toward the Capital building and got close enough for a reasonable photo before turning back towards my hotel which by now was several miles back in the other direction.

Sunday night I had arranged to meet with Curtis Richards who Judy Heumann suggested could help me with my film.  Although Curtis wasn’t one to be interviewed he did indeed provide me with some good leads and an overview of who and what I needed to know.  The whole meeting however was accompanied by double gin and tonics (the bar man took a shine to me) followed by several glasses of red wine.  Needless to say I woke up the next day feeling a little seedy.

Monday I spent the morning on the phone and spoke to the lovely and charming Japanese widow of Justin Dart who sadly won’t be interviewed because she doesn’t feel confident about her English and also doesn’t want to harm Justin’s legacy by misrepresenting his ideas.  I can only respect her position but it was a pleasure talking to her.  Made more calls to people who were just about to go out of town or weren’t back yet  and generally weren’t available for me when I needed them – I think that’s Washington, lots of coming and going.

In the afternoon I went to meet Katherine Ott who’s the disability history expert at the Smithsonian Institute.  She had one of the loveliest offices I have ever been in – very homey and overfilled with ephemera and neat piles of papers and books interspersed with interesting toys, many of them figures with some kind of physical difference – including Barbie’s friend “Becky” from the 2000 Sydney Paralympics – pondering her event we decided it was wheelchair fabulousness.  Katherine actually gets paid to research and develop exhibitions about disability (always through a rights lens) – I so want her job if only it existed in Melbourne.

By the time I got home on Monday, arrangements for today had fallen into place perfectly.  This morning I went to the Department of Transportation to meet with Richard Devylder (check out the video of his story here if you have time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l96aNpaZ-xc ).  I talked to him about transport and emergency services but he also gave some really quotable quotes about rights in general.  Smart and succinct – these Americans really do good interviews.

Caught the metro back to the hotel – fully accessible with lifts – yay.  Washington DC metro system is a fine and very handsome example of the brutalist architectural style (think Harold Holt swimming pool).  Lots of hard concrete but beautifully lit and a lovely touch of red in floor lights along the edge of the platforms that dim lighter and darker when a train is approaching – very elegant.  Unfortunately when I took the metro the second time later int eh day I accidently bought a $15 ticket from the machine that I can’t possibly use in the next 24 hours.  I’ll have to give it away to someone who needs it more than me.

This afternoon I filmed an interview with Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Disability Employment Policy in the US Department of Labor – phew!  The interview was pre arranged by the public relations people to take place in the departmental library as all other spaces were unavailable.  Only later did it occur to me that filming an interview with a blind woman in front of a library full of books contains more than a hint of irony.  At the time I was too busy pulling out all 3 of my lights for a beautifully lit moment – set up, recorded and out the door in less than 90 minutes.

The interview itself again was spot on and as she was talking I could see pieces of the puzzle clicking together – linking to other comments and building on them.  It’s exciting when that happens as I’ve shot a lot of material and sometimes I’ve wondered where it’s all going.  Kathy says great stuff about employment and also about what we call poverty traps and how to help people take that leap from welfare to employment – especially in America where health care is such a barrier and a frightening chasm to fall into.

So tonight looks like being the first early night I’ve had in ages and tomorrow the plan is to make plans – get ready for Austin on Friday and California next week.  I don’t want to get caught on the hop like I sort of did this week so I think a planning and admin day is what’s needed.  Boring but true.

Australian embassy I discovered is directly across the road from my hotel room – a smallish, square, Canberra sized building in a town full of oversized, overblown, monumental expressions of American might.  Rather quaint in the circumstances.