Resource

Access Development: Including Deaf & Disabled Audiences

Access

Incorporating access into your Audience Development plans

In February 2020, Without Walls provided two training sessions focused on engaging with Deaf & disabled audiences which included presentations from our Without Walls Access Advisor Alex Covell, Engagement & Access Producer for Artistic Directorate partner FESTIVAL.ORG, and Kat Boon, Project Manager at Touring Network Partnership member Appetite Festival. Together they shared their experiences, challenges and tips for incorporating access into their Audience Development programmes.

Their expertise covered many aspects of engaging Deaf and disabled audiences, from providing audio description on your organisation’s website to offering ‘Quiet Zones’ at your festival. Use the downloads at the bottom of the page to explore GDIF and Appetite’s approach to incorporating access into Audience Development plans.

Without Walls aims to inspire partners to think of new ways to engage audiences, and give practical examples of how to deliver audience development on different budgets and how to evaluate activities effectively. Across the network, partners deliver events and festivals in a variety of contexts, with different scales, contexts and different types of communities they are aiming to reach. This diversity within the network creates different experiences of delivering Audience Development activities and engaging audiences and you can explore other projects here.

What to consider when incorporating access into your Audience Development plans

  • What does accessibility mean to you/your organisation?
  • Have you integrated elements to enhance accessibility in your Audience Development plans?
  • What is/would be your biggest challenge when planning and creating an accessible Audience Development programme?
  • How do you plan to engage access audiences and measure the success of your efforts?