An Introduction to Access

This issue of fine print focuses on the practice of accessibility and its role in arts, culture and society today. Accelerated by the necessity of a global pandemic, a growing recognition and implementation of access strategies continues to appear across arts events on screen and IRL, but is it enough? Are we removing boundaries, or continuing to uphold the limitations and exclusionary measures that divide practitioners and audiences? As Caroline Bowditch of Arts Access Victoria reminds us, the opposite of disability is not ability, the opposite of disability is access.

The pandemic propelled an acute awareness and heightened consideration of each other’s well-being, our varying disabilities, impairments, as well as neurodivergences—and the differing ways we occupy space and consume art and ideas. Frustrating for those who have long advocated for change and watched it move forward slowly, modes of digital accessibility became of high importance as suddenly artworks and programs existed solely in the online realm. We learned the significance of being able to tap into a program in a space, time and at a pace determined by us, as individuals. But as we re-enter physical spaces, how are we maintaining and implementing accessibility frameworks in the production and programming of artistic projects? How can we embed this thinking in the development stage, rather than as an afterthought when it comes to presentation? Put simply, what are the barriers to providing better access?

These considerations extend beyond the physical barriers to entering spaces and engaging with art, to include how people feel in a space. The often-unseen blockages to meaningful engagement can include a fluctuating intersection of mental health, socio-economic status, cultural and religious context, education, language, and more.

Language within d/Deaf, disabled and divergent spaces is in a constant state of evolution. Terms and definitions used to express experiences and ideas can be narrow, lacking and, at worst, ways to ‘other’—but words (as frameworks) can also be affirming, re-defining and re-enforcing communities with shared experiences and ways of seeing the world. After all, language shapes the way we think, and who we can communicate and connect with.

We present our twenty-ninth issue with the recognition that there is no single way to approach the topic of accessibility, nor is there one defined pathway to follow. Instead, we seek to provide a platform for discussion—to share care-full and considered approaches—with the hope that we can free ourselves from ignorance and fear of doing the wrong thing. This is driven by an understanding of the importance of awareness, growth and improvement when it comes to providing intersectional access.

ACCESS unfolds in two parts. Out now, the online component presents discussions around the consideration of accessibility in public spaces, particularly cultural institutions—the urgencies, challenges, and possibilities. We begin with responses by artists and arts workers with lived experiences: Bridget Chappell (NT), Kylie Maslen (SA), Meg Riley (SA), and a conversation between Isobel Marmion, Caitlin Ellen Moore and Kidaan Zelleke (SA).

This online edition is supported by COMMON ACCESS, an in-person session presented as part of fine print’s COMMONS program, focussed on providing opportunities for reciprocal forms of learning, and sharing skills and knowledge in an informal, hospitable format. Co-hosted with Access2Arts, COMMON ACCESS is catered for individual artists and art workers in small to medium organisations and ARIs, focusing on creating a shared protocol for implementation across multiple platforms. This is an opportunity to gather, share ideas and experiences, and learn new directions when considering the accessibility of the presentation of art and ideas.

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— Joanna Kitto for fine print