Alice – On Access in the Arts

These could range from physical, geographical, socio-economic barriers to non-visible community specific barriers.  

Celebrating and championing access to the arts, especially for underrepresented demographics, is something I am particularly passionate about and, throughout my career, I have found myself drawn to projects and artists that hold inclusivity and accessibility as a central pillar of their practice. This has included, during covid, producing and touring a ‘sort of dance’ show centring fat masculine and non-binary bodies and working with Unlimited and ND artist Byron Vincent to develop the UK’s first neurodiverse accessible rave - Disco Neurotica.  

It was my desire to continue developing innovative creative projects with an accessible minded ethos that appealed to me about Walk the Plank, and since joining the team just over 18 months ago I have seen exactly how Walk the Plank works to embed access into each project we deliver.  

Most recently within Walk the Plank’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Working Group we have been discussing how access intersects with the different areas of our work. 

There is an immediate freedom that comes from working outdoors, untethered by the physical constraints of a building, that is exciting. The scope of what you can dream up feels wider and taller, with no building regulations or faulty lifts to prevent people from accessing the work you dream up.  

Access will look different from project to project. Regardless, I have found it crucial to think about access during the planning stage of a project and embed it into every step of that project’s creation, delivery and evaluation. This ranges from budget creation, to the artists we decide to work with, the conversations we have with those artists to understand both their individual needs and communicate the project’s creative approach, to how we collaborate with the communities we’re working in to better understand and address their specific needs.  

As a Producer, I have found the most success when I am honest with myself and the people I am working with about the resources available and what we can realistically achieve. In my experience, this may mean identifying one or maybe two barriers to focus on and using your resources to effectively put in place funds and initiatives to support the community most affected by those barriers. One of the worst things you can do at the project planning stage with regards to access is overpromise and underdeliver.  

I feel strongly that best practice should be to work collaboratively with people with lived experience of the access needs you are addressing. It is also helpful to research what work is already happening in the area you’re working in and look to support rather than ignore that work. Partnering with local organisations or individuals within the community allows you to contribute to the ongoing ecology of the area, enhancing initiatives and agendas that last beyond the immediate scope of your project. 

Recently myself and some of the Walk the Plank team were lucky enough to attend Graeae Theatre’s Beyond Artist Showcase, spotlighting work from Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent artists.  

As part of the day, we chatted to the Graeae leadership team about the organisations work around and use of Access Riders, discussing their increasing prevalence within the culture industries and best practice for supporting artists, collaborators and audiences’ with access needs.  

The result is that in DEIB we have begun to examine whether a formalised access rider could be a useful tool in supporting Walk the Plank’s communication with artists and audiences. It’s an ongoing process which, as all good conversations should, raises more questions than answers, opening up new areas for exploration and allows Walk the Plank and myself to continue developing and embedding access at the heart of our creative practice.  

Ultimately, we feel that culture is vital for a healthy and rich society but that is only meaningful if we realise that dream for all and not just some.