Overview Expand The field of access is changing all the time, in line with developments in how we use technology, and our evolving expectations and experiences of art and culture. In cinemas for example, more people are able to use glasses which show captions within them, rather than having to wait until a subtitled screening time, which is often at an inconvenient or unsociable hour. Gaming and interactive tools have become a greater feature of artistic works than before, and the shutdown of venues during the pandemic changed many people’s habits and behaviours. Some venues are adapting their programmes to build back audience numbers, and while there is a risk that things may return to inaccessible models from the past, it might also prove to be fertile ground for new collaborations, where works with embedded access are appreciated in ways they were not before.
What do we mean by 'embedded access'? Expand Although there is no single 'standard' or method for access provision that venues and creatives work to, there are recognised areas of best practice. This can include: booking access support workers with suitable skills or qualifications working to professional standards in the way that access is managed and devised for a particular setting (with regard to building controls and regulated uses of public space) For the purposes of this resource, we can think of 'standard' access as the minimum access facilitation provided in response to the content of a work or event. When working with venues, it is likely some access provisions will already be available or in place, but this will vary according to location and event type. This does not mean that access is freely available everywhere or that you can alway rely on external partners to know in advance what best practice might be. Usually, access provision is only selectively available. By comparison, embedded access is a more proactive and pre-planned form of access provision, which considers the audience experience right from the concept stage or outset of the planning for a work or event. Embedding access into a performance or exhibition is about ensuring that the adjustments provided are not tokenistic (meaning they are only basic, added last-minute, or functionally unhelpful despite the appearance of support). Tokenistic access is often added in at the end of the planning process, meaning there is little time or budget left to make it work as well as it could have done if more consideration had been made earlier on to ensure the experience is seamless for your audience. It may even be woven or merged with the artistic purpose or vision so that the art and access are inseparable. In this case, rather than there being a 'core' or 'original' work from which accessible 'versions' are derived or created, the work itself has been made to be accessible throughout. For example, rather than creating a transcript for a film once it is complete, you might consider integrating captions - creative or otherwise - into the film itself (although having both is rarely a bad idea!). However, there may still be reasons for setting the work in a different environment to cater for different audience needs. An artwork or event which may be fully accessible for one community may still require some element of mediation to be accessible to others. You may also discover that some people's access needs are in conflict with other's, and it's worthwhile considering how to programme and plan around this to offer options for as many audiences as possible.
Access curation Expand Any form of access used to widen or deepen engagement with an artwork should be well thought out in order to minimise segregation of your audience, which can have the counterproductive impact of making people feel uninvolved or excluded. All forms of access can be thought of as an element of the overall curation that works to enhance the artistic experience from the viewpoint of its audience. In practice, we know this is not usually the case. However, in galleries in particular, the access and public facing teams are often left to work out how to manage accessibility for an event or exhibition because those responsible for the planning - curators or production teams - might not have considered it in advance. This can worsen the experience for both audiences who feel disregarded and staff who aren't confident in how best to support visitors. The process of embedding access does not assume that a venue has sole responsibility over ensuring events are accessible for audiences. Instead, embedded access might be the result of collaboration, co-production, or commission which involves extensive consideration of the audience experience as well as the aesthetic and artistic intentions of the artist. As more and more creative projects blur the lines between making and consuming art and cultural experiences, using access as a creative tool can allow artists and practitioners to combine what makes certain works accessible and what defines them as creative experiences.
The information gap Expand What makes access ‘good’ may be thought of like a referee of a sports match: it is there to make the activity work, but the referee is not the focus of the match. Consideration will need to go into whether the ‘creative access’ elements you may be planning are at risk with competing with the work, or acting as a distraction, when the aim is to enhance the aesthetic experience. It can help to start the planning process by thinking of access as information. For example, for a deaf BSL user attending a screening or performance, the information they are missing is the dialogue - the spoken parts. A sign language interpreter therefore has the role of conveying this information to bridge the gap. In the case of a blind or partially sighted person, an audio describer can bridge the information gap by describing movements or changes to a setting that are not conveyed through sound or dialogue. By considering access as information, it becomes easier to consider where these gaps might arise and for whom they have an impact. Below are some examples of access curation in practice: If we were devising a performance piece with the intention of making it accessible to both deaf and blind/partially sighted audiences, then in considering how to bridge the information gaps, we could explore options to embed audio description, captioning, and signing. If the piece worked to a fixed script, then pre-recorded sign language interpretation and captions could appear in certain settings via projections. This could be done in a discrete way to match the style, era, or other aspect of the setting, or imaginatively, for example, with characters carrying small projectors with them that fire against walls or hangings as they move around the set. Alternatively the piece might be devised to include a BSL signer in the cast so that signed dialogue is inbuilt throughout. While audio description could be conveyed in a conventional way, through earpieces to those opting to use them, it’s also possible that conveying the features of a setting or key movements and changes could be embedded into dialogue or a soundtrack. The writer or dramaturge, as they begin to consider these approaches, may find themselves opting for a multi-access embedded result - or they may favour one route as the embedded route, and leave other access options to be included through discussion with the venue. It often depends on how seamlessly aspects of access can be embedded so as not to distract or overwhelm your audience or find alternative formats competing with the work itself. A blind artist devising an exhibition might have as their starting point the intention of displacing the visual, and promoting the experience of touch or sound. In factoring in the audience experience, they may wish to elevate the experience of visitors with a visual impairment, and the resulting show will be, for that particular community, accessible in a way that other exhibitions may not be. Addressing the access needs of people outside of that impairment group may then depend on their experience in this area, or on discussions with the host gallery or other collaborators. The issue of embedding access may often be about addressing existing curatorial rules or practice. For example, an artist might be casting a sculpture for a particular space where sounds travels well. The existing expectation may be that such a work is to be isolated in some way, but the artist may view this as an opportunity for a work to be both touched and even struck in a way that generates sound. On this basis, the work becomes accessible to wider groups of people who may have impairments, yet we know that these experiences may be different to one another and are not 100% translatable or interchangeable with another. For a deaf person, they may see, touch, and feel the reverberation of the struck work. For a blind or partially sighted person, they may touch and hear the work being struck, and to some degree be able to view it in the space, or wish to listen to descriptions of its appearance. Neither impairment group has the exact same experience of the work, yet it is clear that we are in a very different and much more highly engaged scenario than if the work was to be seen alone and kept slightly apart for the purposes of making room for people to circulate around it. If we then factor in accessible tours, and accessible formats for discussing the work or having a conversation with the artist, and then broadcasting some or all of this in accessible formats, then the potential for increased numbers of people to appreciate the work, and with deep levels of engagement, are high. [Include links to other resources for general further reading, both Shape and external] Once these approaches and ideas are noted, then the next step is to consider to what degree these approaches enhance the artistic aims of the artist or writer. Disabled creatives may well have an advantage here in bringing in their own lived experience to inform these decisions.
Promoting choice Expand The underlying philosophy of using access as a creative tool is that by providing options for your audience, regardless of impairment or status, you are, in turn, promoting their ability to choose for themselves. The Social Model of Disability states that it is not an individual's impairment that disables them but rather the built and social environment around them - in other words, it is other people who disable us through their attitudes, prejudice, or lack of consideration. By approaching accessibility in the arts with an open mind, honest outlook, and willingness to adapt, you are not only increasing the potential audience size and engagement of your project, but you are embedding a positive and affirming attitude around disability more broadly. You can think of autonomy - a person's capacity to make decisions for themselves - as a cornerstone of best practice when it comes to accessibility. You should aim to avoid segregating or sidelining accessible formats or accessible performances so as not to further push away a marginalised community. Choice is the goal, and you should consider from the outset of your work how you might provide options for individuals - whether disabled or not - to engage with your project in a way most comfortable and meaningful for them.