Access

Access is multifaceted, encompassing social, financial, mobility, and temporal considerations. Therefore, we strive to create environments that are adaptable to multiple individual needs, recognising that one-size-fits-all approaches are often exclusionary. Access is not only about physical entry but about enabling meaningful participation. Considering access tangibly involves offering resources like family rooms, flexible workspaces, and care-informed scheduling to ensure people from diverse backgrounds, ages, and caring circumstances have equitable opportunities to engage. It’s about creating a container where each person can belong and thrive regardless of their unique personal circumstances, through the support of the surrounding community and a shared culture of care. Flexible engagement tools, such as live streaming, recordings, or unsynchronised participation, can hugely help accommodate varied rhythms and accessibility needs.

Suggested Applications

  • Use access forms during application and registration processes to understand, plan for and meet participants’ unique needs. Use feedback forms post-event to assess participants’ experience, and identify areas of improvement. 
  • Incorporate unstructured networking time during events and residencies to encourage informal exchange amongst participants and promote intergenerational participation. 


  • Rethink or remove age limits for residency participation, open calls, and awards; re-evaluate rigid eligibility criteria that can exclude participation / submission of work from practitioners who have had nonlinear career paths shaped by caregiving or other life circumstances.
  • Provide flexible, tailored residency and commission formats for participants with caring responsibilities. (E.g.: accommodate parenting through phased formats, remote support through R&D periods, child-inclusive spaces, community engagement through artists’ sharing and workshops opportunities).

  • Select venues with step-free entry and wide access points for buggies or wheelchairs, whenever possible. 
  • Create sensory-friendly spaces within studios and event spaces, favouring low lighting, soft seating, and noise-dampening materials.
  • Clearly communicate venue accessibility details in advance even for fully accessible venues.
  • Provide BSL interpretation, live captions, transcripts, and streaming options for all events, wherever possible, with recordings available afterwards.