Description
The term Audience Development describes activity which is undertaken specifically to meet the needs of existing and potential audiences and to help arts [and cultural] organisations to develop on-going relationships with audiences.
ACCESS AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTRALIA: PERFORMING ARTS RESEARCH PROJECT
Gareth Wreford Executive Director Arts Access Australia Cheryle Yin-Lo Project researcher
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
CONTENTS
Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... 6 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 7 1.1 Executive summary ........................................................................................................ 7 1.2 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 8 1.3 How to use this report ................................................................................................... 10 SECTION 2: BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT ......................................................... 11 2.1 About the project .......................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 Establishing the project ....................................................................................... 11 2.1.2 Project aims ......................................................................................................... 11 2.1.3 Research methodology ........................................................................................ 12 2.1.4 Scope of research................................................................................................. 13 2.1.5 Existing research and data ................................................................................... 14 2.1.6 Limitations .......................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Arts and disability in Australia ..................................................................................... 16 2.2.1 Legislation ........................................................................................................... 16 2.2.2 Disability Action Plans........................................................................................ 18 2.2.3 About Arts Access Australia ............................................................................... 18 2.2.4 Conceptual models of disability .......................................................................... 19 2.2.5 The arts and disability sector ............................................................................... 19 2.3 Performing arts peak bodies and stakeholders ............................................................. 20 2.3.1 Non-government.................................................................................................. 20 2.3.2 Government ......................................................................................................... 23 SECTION 3: SURVEY RESULTS ....................................................................................... 24 3.1 Governance and operations........................................................................................... 24 3.1.1 Governance of performing art venues ................................................................. 24 3.1.2 Employment for people with a disability ............................................................ 26 3.1.3 Disability Action Plans and awareness training .................................................. 27 3.2 Marketing and promotion ............................................................................................. 28 3.2.1 Marketing to people with a disability .................................................................. 28 3.2.2 Access services, promotional material and access symbols ................................ 30 3.2.3 Arts development ................................................................................................ 32 3.3 Use of existing resources .............................................................................................. 34
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SECTION 4: ADDITIONAL RESEARCH FINDINGS ..................................................... 37 4.1 International legislation ................................................................................................ 37 4.1.1 USA ..................................................................................................................... 37 4.1.2 UK ....................................................................................................................... 37 4.2 Policy and funding ........................................................................................................ 37 4.2.1 Federal arts .......................................................................................................... 37 4.2.2 State/Territory arts ............................................................................................... 38 4.2.3 Local arts ............................................................................................................. 40 4.3 Sponsorship .................................................................................................................. 40 4.4 Venue access................................................................................................................. 41 4.4.1 Access to arts premises ....................................................................................... 41 4.4.2 Access and heritage ............................................................................................. 43 4.5 Websites and ticketing .................................................................................................. 43 4.5.1 Websites .............................................................................................................. 43 4.5.2 Ticketing.............................................................................................................. 44 4.6 Resources ...................................................................................................................... 45 4.6.1 Australia .............................................................................................................. 45 4.6.2 International ........................................................................................................ 48 SECTION 5: APPENDICES ................................................................................................. 50 Appendix A: Survey ........................................................................................................... 50 Appendix B: Respondents .................................................................................................. 55 Table B1: List of respondents, location, type of organisation and membership of peak bodies ................................................................................................................... 55 Appendix C: Survey results—data summary ..................................................................... 59 Table C1: Overall survey results—all respondents ...................................................... 59 Table C2: AMPAG members—metropolitan .............................................................. 60 Table C3: APACA members, Venues, Both, Touring—metropolitan ......................... 61 Table C4: APACA members, Venues, Both, Touring—regional ................................ 62 Table C5: Other organisations, non-AMPAG producers ............................................. 63
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© 2010 Arts Access Australia Arts Access Australia 91 Canal Rd Lilyfield NSW 2040
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Author: Title: ISBN: Subjects: Wreford, Gareth Access and audience development in Australia: Performing Arts 9780975132326 Performing arts--Public relations--Australia. Performing arts--Audiences—Australia. Performing arts--Australia--Marketing. People with Disabilities and the Performing Arts – Australia. Yin Lo, Cheryle Driver, Emma Scudds, Krissie 792.0994
Other Authors/Contributors:
Dewey Number:
THIS PUBLICATION IS COPYRIGHT. EXCEPT AS PERMITTED UNDER THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1968 (CTH), NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED BY ANY PROCESS, ELECTRONIC OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT THE SPECIFIC WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.NEITHER MAY INFORMATION BE STORED ELECTRONICALLY IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER WITHOUT SUCH PERMISSION. ENQUIRIES SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE PUBLISHER.
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Foreword
It is a pleasure to write the foreword to this Access and Audience Development report into the Performing Arts. The report will be of interest to venues, producing, touring and related organisations as well as government policy makers and program administrators. The report is particularly relevant for the performing arts sector given the increasing awareness of the one in five Australians with disability and the ageing population. For Arts Access Australia this report marks a beginning. As with any research that is the first of its kind it establishes the ground for what will follow. Since the project began there have also been many changes in the field of access and arts and disability. These changes include the launch of the National Arts and Disability Strategy, Disability (Access to Premises – Building) Standards and National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy, all of which are linked through the current government’s Social Inclusion Agenda. While much has changed at the policy level there remains much to do to achieve practical changes for improving access to the performing arts that will make a difference to the lives of people with disability and older Australians. Arts Access Australia will use this report to inform the strategies we hope to develop with performing arts stakeholders over the next 12 months and beyond. Arts Access Australia launched a new website in 2009 and we also employed a Communications Manager to support it. For our part Arts Access Australia will support this research and ongoing developments in access through identifying and promoting best practice case studies, developing practical resources and leadership in the performing arts by people with disability. See www.artsaccessaustralia.org/Attending. We expect the audience for this report will be both national and international as Arts Access Australia participates in the USA Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) network. Arts Access Australia is committed to bringing the best of international practice to Australia and leading the development of strategies that uphold the rights of people with disability to have full and equitable participation in their communities. We equally acknowledge the expertise, good practice and willingness to embrace access that exists within the performing arts sector and wish to harness this good will to make changes which are reasonable for all parties.
Gareth Wreford Executive Director
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Acknowledgments
The report has been several years in the making and involved a great number of people at different stages. While acknowledging the risk of forgetting some contributions - and apologies to anyone whose hard work is not recognised here - there are a few individuals who deserve particular thanks. They include Ron Layne, Anna Grega, Anne Yates, Karilyn Brown, Trish Ludgate, Cena Josevska and John Baylis at the Australia Council; Kiersten Fishburn and Alison McLaren of Accessible Arts NSW; Fiona Hanrahan and Jane Trengove of Arts Access VIC; and Edwina Jans. Thanks to Cheryle Yin-Lo, the project researcher, who took on an ambitious project, chased up surveys through several extensions to deadlines and identified material that has all provided content and context for the final report. Thanks also to Emma Driver as editor who has gone to considerable lengths to make sense of a complex project and give it some structural cohesion and clarity. Krissie Scudds then made the final edits for publication. The relevant industry peak bodies—Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG), Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA), Live Performance Australia (LPA) and Regional Arts Australia (RAA)—all demonstrated interest and active support for the project. Finally, thanks to the performing arts sector readers who assisted in shaping the final report through their expertise and knowledge of their own sector.
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SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Executive summary
This report was commissioned by Arts Access Australia, with support from the Australia Council, to assess what is currently being done, and what needs to be done, to increase access to the performing arts in Australia for people with a disability. The report highlights the shared responsibility for access among all stakeholders involved in the performing arts, as set out in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The focus of the report is audience development, as opposed to arts development, although the two are related. The report has its origins in discussions between Arts Access Australia, Accessible Arts NSW and Arts Access VIC about the lack of baseline data that was hampering our efforts to develop effective strategies and advocate for improvements to access for people with a disability. The research report demonstrates there is a significant level of unmet need in developing audience development resources and strategies. The report is intended to influence the future directions of the Arts Access Australia network, arts funding authorities, and performing arts peak bodies and their members. This report and its recommendations are a timely and relevant contribution to future government policy and support for people with disabilities, with the federal government launching a national arts and disability strategy, Disability (Access to Premises – Building) Standards and a national disability strategy to follow. The Australia Council’s current Disability Action Plan also highlights the significance of this activity. Statistics available through the Cultural Ministers Council 2007 report Cultural Participation by Persons with a Disability and Older Persons indicate that both groups have significantly lower rates of cultural participation than the overall population. While 85% of Australians attend at least one cultural venue or event in a year, that figure falls to 74% for people with a disability and 69% for older Australians. Responses to the research and survey were received from 134 organisations, including 25 of 28 (90%) Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) members and 77 of 112 (70%) Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA) members. Generally organisations receiving some government subsidy were more responsive than the commercial organisations. The challenge of including the commercial arts sector in strategies to improve access provides a clear role for government leadership and legislation. The 134 responses have been aggregated and divided into four categories: 1 AMPAG members (25) 2 Metropolitan APACA members, additional venues and touring organisations (50) 3 Regional APACA members, additional venues and touring organisations (43) 4 Other organisations: State festivals, funding bodies, small to medium producers (16). Survey responses for each of the four categories have then been grouped and analysed around three areas of organisational responsibility:
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• • •
Governance and operations (questions 2, 3, 4, 4a, 5, 5a, 6) Audience development and marketing (questions 7, 8, 9, 10, 10a, 11, 12, 13) Use of resources (questions 1, 14, 15, 16).
Key findings include the following: • There is a high level of recognition for Arts Access Australia. • The vast majority of organisations are attracting some people with disabilities as audience members and have some access services available. • The vast majority of organisations do not promote productions to people with disabilities or monitor their attendance. • While organisations generally have a very low usage of existing access resources and organisations, this is combined with a very high desire to find out more about access. • People with disabilities have a low level of employment in surveyed organisations, and even lower participation on Boards and management committees. • Regional and smaller organisations are often better at including people with disabilities than their metropolitan counterparts.
1.2 Recommendations
RECOMMENDATION 1—Data collection and reporting That Commonwealth, State, Territory and regional funding authorities collaborate and share information and processes to ensure consistent and comparable collection and reporting of data about the participation and attendance of people with disabilities in the arts. RECOMMENDATION 2—Governance and leadership by people with a disability That arts sector stakeholders identify and develop the governance skills of people with a disability through training, mentorship and leadership programs. RECOMMENDATION 3—Access as a strategic objective That AMPAG and APACA members be supported by their peak and government funding bodies to incorporate access for people with disabilities into their strategic objectives, with annual reports to monitor progress. RECOMMENDATION 4—Training and employment That employment services, and government disability and employment portfolios, recognise and support arts and cultural vocational education, training and employment strategies for people with disabilities. RECOMMENDATION 5—Awareness and training That existing accredited and non-accredited arts and disability awareness training modules provided by Arts Access Australia members be better promoted to stakeholders in the performing arts sector.
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RECOMMENDATION 6—Resources and information That information on access services, symbols and providers be available in one place, such as the Arts Access Australia website, and promoted to performing arts organisations to enable identification and targeting of people with a disability. RECOMMENDATION 7—Arts development and touring That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities increase their support for the arts development of people with disabilities, development of work to tour, and better utilisation of existing State, national and international mechanisms to promote work that is ready to tour. RECOMMENDATION 8—Peer-to-peer learning That peer-to-peer learning and support strategies should be implemented within the performing arts as the preferred way of discussing and supporting improvements in access. The first step is for performing arts organisations to nominate an access coordinator. RECOMMENDATION 9—Government disability legislation reform That the Commonwealth Government adapt USA and UK legislative provisions to amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and place a positive duty on service providers to be accessible. RECOMMENDATION 10—Government disability action plans That, as part of the National Disability Strategy, Commonwealth Government departments be required to develop and report on Disability Action Plans that include the impact of public funding programs and services, and lodge them with the Australian Human Rights Commission. RECOMMENDATION 11—Cross-government partnerships That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities seek partnerships with their equivalent disability, mental health and ageing authority to support arts and disability initiatives and programs. RECOMMENDATION 12—Capital expenditure That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities identify existing programs, or develop new programs, to support capital expenditure and the purchase of access equipment. RECOMMENDATION 13—Local government That further research be undertaken to establish the level of local government provision of cultural services for people with disabilities, data collection and reporting. RECOMMENDATION 14—Local government access award That Arts Access Australia approaches the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to establish a national arts access award.
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RECOMMENDATION 15—Sponsorship That the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) identifies and promotes examples of best practice in access sponsorship. RECOMMENDATION 16—Venue responsibility for access That individual performing arts venues take responsibility for providing audience access information. RECOMMENDATION 17—Funding body responsibility That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding bodies only support productions and tours taking place in venues that can demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to improve access. RECOMMENDATION 18—Access and heritage That recommendations from the final Accessible Arts NSW ‘Access and Heritage’ research report be implemented. RECOMMENDATION 19—Ticketing code of practice That the Live Performance Australia Code of Practice for the Ticketing of Live Entertainment Events in Australia be amended to include accessible ticketing services. RECOMMENDATION 20—Peak body advocacy That performing arts peak bodies advocate and provide models for access, including ticketing services and customer relationship management software, to identify and promote services to patrons with a disability.
1.3 How to use this report
This document gives a national snapshot of current access to the performing arts for people with disabilities. It will be useful to venues, producers, and arts organisations and agencies involved in performing arts and touring. The report provides resources and case studies for further action now. It also makes recommendations for future action and strategy development to increase access to the performing arts for the one in five Australians with a disability. The survey research conducted for this report took place in 2005 and 2006. Arts Access Australia acknowledges that some organisations who were part of this research have taken further steps to improve their accessibility since then. The redevelopment of Arts Access Australia’s website (www.artsaccessaustralia.org) and employment of a communications manager in 2009 are providing an opportunity to highlight new examples of good practice on an ongoing basis. The website will also report future partnerships and work with performing arts stakeholders to improve access.
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SECTION 2: BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT
2.1 About the project
2.1.1 Establishing the project
Arts Access Australia is the national peak body of State and Territory arts and disability organisations. Two of its member organisations—those in NSW and Victoria—have dedicated audience development positions. In 2003 Arts Access Australia brought these two positions together for the first time for a meeting at, and with, the Australia Council to develop a national brief for our collective audience development and access work. The priorities identified through this meeting included the need to gather baseline data on existing practice. Arts Access Australia then developed a proposal to undertake national research into access and audience development issues for people with disabilities which would involve consulting with stakeholders and organisations involved in the arts in Australia. In 2004 this stage of the project received $50,000 in funding from the Community Partnerships and Market Development Division of the Australia Council for the Arts. The project was then split into two sections, reflecting the different stakeholders and approaches necessary to engage with: 1 the performing arts sector 2 the museums and galleries sector. A separate report on access practices in museums and galleries is published as a companion report to this performing arts report.
2.1.2 Project aims
One in five Australians has a disability and this is projected to rise as the population ages. Cultural participation rates for people with disabilities are well below those for the general population. These trends make addressing issues of access and audience development crucial for performing arts venues and arts organisations to ensure their current and future sustainability. The aims of the project are to develop a national overview to: • identify arts organisations and programs of support in Australia for increasing access; • identify real and perceived barriers to increasing access to cultural participation by people with a disability; • identify best practice and gaps to develop effective strategies for organisations to increase access; • identify international models that can stimulate new approaches to access; and • improve coordination and identify existing resources that can have national application and exchange. A key outcome of the project is to promote a broader understanding of access and audience development as something more than just physical access. A performing arts event that is inaccessible to someone using a wheelchair can still provide a range of access services addressing the needs of most people with a disability.
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2.1.3 Research methodology
Through 2005 and 2006 Arts Access Australia engaged Cheryle Yin-Lo as project researcher to develop and distribute a survey, then collate responses. This final report has been prepared using Cheryle’s work with significant additional input from Arts Access Australia. Desktop research into access and the performing arts was supported by the electronic distribution of a three-page survey to Australian Performing Arts Centre Association (APACA) members, Live Performance Australia (LPA), Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) members, Regional Arts Australia and major festivals. The survey was developed by Cheryle with input from Arts Access Australia, Arts Access VIC, Accessible Arts NSW and the Australia Council. The response rate was increased by distributing hard-copy surveys at a 2005 Major Performing Arts Board (MPAB) e-marketing forum in Adelaide and the 2005 APACA conference in Canberra. Subsequent follow-up by phone and email resulted in a very high response rate from AMPAG and APACA members. In 2005 Arts Access Australia attended and presented as part of the USA Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conference in Phoenix, Arizona. LEAD is coordinated by the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It brings together access workers from all States of the USA, in addition to many international workers, mostly from the UK. This conference was instrumental in identifying international models that can stimulate new approaches to access in Australia. A draft of the report, and raw research findings, has been available since early 2007. With a federal election to be held that year and the Australia Council developing a 2008 –10 Disability Action Plan, Arts Access Australia made the strategic decision to hold off on publishing the reports so we had an opportunity to align them with, and inform, government policy and strategy development. Federal Labor’s New Directions for the Arts policy document led to the development of a national arts and disability strategy launched in October 2009. Similarly, the Australia Council’s Disability Action Plan 2008 - 2010 commits the Council to improving access to the arts for people with disabilities. Throughout the life of this research project, Arts Access Australia has also presented, been involved in, influenced or had an advisory role in: • APACA conferences from 2005 to 2010 • an access and heritage buildings project led by Accessible Arts NSW • the Accessing The Arts Group (ATAG) led by Accessible Arts NSW • a fuel4arts access and marketing forum in December 2005 to support the launch of Making the Journey: Arts and Disability in Australia • a theatre captioning trial led by Arts Access VIC in 2006 • a review of Live Performance Australia’s ticketing policy in 2007 and 2008 • conferences held by Accessible Arts NSW in 2005, 2007 and 2010 that included audience development and access sessions • an Australian Bureau of Statistics Culture and Recreation Information Development Plan
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•
• • • •
•
• •
a multi-State collaboration between Arts Access Australia members and significant arts and disability organisations to promote their work at the 2008 Australian Performing Arts Market. the development of the Cultural Ministers Council national arts and disability strategy three-way strategic meetings between Arts Access Australia, Arts Access VIC and Accessible Arts NSW to develop future access and audience development collaborations an arts, education and employment forum held in Adelaide in March 2007, led by Arts Access SA disability awareness training and a keynote speech, with DADAA Inc, at the launch of the Disability Arts Inclusion Initiative (WA Department of Culture, and the Arts and Disability Services Commission) in April 2007 a four-State speaking tour by Betty Siegel, an internationally recognised expert on access, from the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (USA) and coordinator of the annual Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) forum Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conferences in 2005 and 2010 NARPACA Ticketing Professional Conference
Each of the above activities has informed this final report. This report will be available from the Arts Access Australia website on an ongoing basis. The website will also provide updates on our future audience development work.
2.1.4 Scope of research
The complex network of stakeholders who make up the performing arts sector —producers, presenters and venues, touring agencies, festivals, ticketing agencies, peak bodies and funding authorities—all have a shared responsibility for access. To develop a national overview of current access strategies with recommendations for future action is therefore a large and complex task. Arts Access Australia decided that the research would achieve maximum usefulness and impact if the major stakeholders were targeted through their national peak bodies. The very high response rate from AMPAG and APACA members reflects the success of this strategy. Major arts festivals were also targeted, though with less success. The research also includes nonAPACA venues, and small to medium producers picked up through survey distribution to Australia Council key organisations and Regional Arts Australia networks. The survey was designed to cover key areas of organisational responsibility for feedback. The 17 questions in the survey are grouped under three headings: • Governance and operations (questions 2, 3, 4, 4a, 5, 5a, 6) • Audience development and marketing (questions 7, 8, 9, 10, 10a, 11, 12, 13) • Use of resources (questions 1, 14, 15, 16). Each area provides a snapshot of current practice, revealing issues for further investigation, and informing recommendations for action and further funding. While five of eight State and Territory members of the Blue Heeler Touring Network are represented in the respondents, the mechanisms and decision-making process of touring productions was not a specific focus of this research project.
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We recognise that there is a great deal more activity in the performing arts sector than we have been able to capture. As the first report of its type in Australia this research is intended to provide ‘big-picture’ information rather than overwhelm with detail.
2.1.5 Existing research and data
Australia One of the drivers of this research report was an identified lack of current arts and disability research. While it is easy to notice the lack of research, there is also a positive view of a growing body of work that assists in building a picture of the participation of people with disabilities in the arts—and in the performing arts in particular. Significantly, Regional Arts Australia has published a report on the Regional Arts Fund which identifies projects that involved or targeted people with a disability. Similarly the Australia Council, as part of its Disability Action Plan, has committed to reporting on the data it collects. In March 2007 the Cultural Ministers Council released a report titled Cultural Participation of People with Disabilities and Older Persons. The report summarises useful information about people with disabilities and older Australians, and includes a State and Territory breakdown of cultural participation. Broadly, the report cites Australian Bureau of Statistics data that, in 2003, 3.98 million people in Australia (20% of the population) had a disability which restricted their everyday activities and which had lasted, or was expected to last, for six months or more. The report then uses data from the 2005–06 report Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events which found that 25% of people with disabilities attended theatres or concerts, compared with 32% of all Australians aged 15 or over. In 2003 there were 3.35 million people in Australia aged 60 or over. Of these, 51% reported that they had a disability and 28% attended theatres and concerts. Australia Council Research in 2010 (More than bums on seats: Australian participation in the arts) found that people with a serious illness or disability reported much lower levels of arts participation. There is almost no literature on the perceptions of people with disabilities who attend performing arts events. In 1995 the Australia Council published an Arts and Disability report by Des Walsh and Juliet London that identified barriers to attendance at arts events including ticketing costs, transport and lack of information about access. Focus groups conducted with people with disabilities prior to the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney identified their positive perceptions of the arts and of the events they had attended with friends and family members. One consistent theme is that people with disabilities often comment on the negative attitudes and the lack of welcome that they encounter in cultural venues from front of house, and how well a venue may or may not provide for patrons with disabilities. These attitudes can be one of the key barriers to access.
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International USA and UK There is one piece of research specific to the performing arts that Arts Access Australia identified in the USA. VSA Arts of Florida (VSAFL), with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, produced a report in 2004 called Survey on the Perceptions of Persons with Disabilities Regarding Attendance at Performing Arts Centers. The report found that people with disabilities are no different from people without disabilities in their general attitudes towards the performing arts. The report went on to make recommendations for venues, including: • explore ways to reduce the cost of tickets • negotiate door-to-door transport for groups • re-evaluate seating arrangements for people with disabilities e.g. to allow family and friends to be seated together • as far as is practical, provide adequate resources to facilitate requests from persons with disabilities • provide adequate training for staff, box office assistants and volunteers to ensure sensitivity towards persons with disabilities • conduct special promotions aimed at including persons with disabilities • hold meetings to appraise stakeholders of the survey’s findings and plan a course of action. These USA research findings support local anecdotal knowledge in Australia, and to the above recommendations we would add: • increase exposure to the arts for people with disabilities • improve physical access to cultural venues • increase understanding of different types of disabilities and needs • seek regular disability specialist advice • increase the involvement of people with disabilities at governance level, in employment and in developing disability policy in performing arts organisations, touring companies and venues • increase promotion of disability services available • know and utilise disability networks for advice and for promoting the organisation and its programs. Addressing most access issues is not cost-prohibitive and an organisation that develops a Disability Action Plan can set goals for the short, medium and long term. The Arts Council England has produced a guide called Action for Access: a Practical Resource for Arts Organisations that sets out examples of actions that can be taken now with little or no money (www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/action-for-access-a-practical-resource-forarts-organisations). The Arts Council England’s New Audiences program and website was set up to encourage as many people as possible, from all backgrounds and every walk of life, to participate in and benefit from the arts. Arts Council England invested £20 million in the programme, over five years, from 1998 to 2003. Information about the New Audiences program is archived at www.takingpartinthearts.com.
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The New Audiences website lists many disability-related projects. Those relevant to the performing arts are described in more detail under Case studies and Resources sections. RECOMMENDATION 1—Data collection and reporting That Commonwealth, State, Territory and regional funding authorities collaborate and share information and processes to ensure consistent and comparable collection and reporting of data about the participation and attendance of people with disabilities in the arts.
2.1.6 Limitations
The data and research collected here is intended to provide a general overview of current access practices across the performing arts. The sample was not randomly selected, and considerable time and energy was put into ensuring the high response rate from AMPAG and APACA members in particular. We are unable to ascertain the degree of overlap between AMPAG, APACA and LPA membership. Another limitation to the scope is specific consideration of the decision making and mechanisms of touring through forums like the Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) and the CyberPaddock/Blue Heeler network. Similarly, ticketing and websites were not specifically considered as part of this research yet both are often the first point of contact for people attending performing arts events. Arts Access Australia also limited the scope of the research to national structures and stakeholders so we have not engaged meaningfully with the extensive support provided for production and touring through State, Territory or local governments. When examining responses to questions, it is clear that a degree of interpretation is required in analysing what at first appear to be simple yes/no responses. There are fine distinctions between a venue for outside hire, a venue that actively seeks out and presents a range of local and touring productions, and a producer who tours work. These distinctions are difficult to maintain in a generalised survey. Similarly, the project attempted to maintain the distinctions between marketing arts and disability productions to mainstream audiences, encouraging people with a disability to see mainstream productions, and targeting either style of production specifically to a disability audience, but these were often unclear to respondents. There were a significant number of ‘see response to previous question’ comments added as free text. For this reason the various responses are grouped in the final report and analysed together. Finally, Arts Access Australia was unable to secure the expertise needed to design and construct an online survey that could automatically collate the entered data, so considerable time was spent by the project researcher and Arts Access Australia doing data entry and analysis. This, combined with the conflation of responses to a series of different questions, has limited our ability to manipulate data, and indeed the usefulness of the data collected.
2.2 Arts and disability in Australia
2.2.1 Legislation
First, a word from Graham Innes, Disability Discrimination Commissioner, from his address to the 2007 NSW Arts Activated conference:
One other matter that we’re often asked about .... is whether organisations that hold arts-related events in inaccessible buildings, be they heritage-listed or otherwise, have any responsibilities
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under the DDA. The answer is that yes, they do. Under the DDA, it is unlawful to permit discrimination if there is a power to prevent it. Bodies that organise events, or provide funding for such events, have some power to decide where those events will be held. If they allow inaccessible venues to be used, then they may be liable for complaints under the DDA.
Graham Innes, ‘Access to the Arts: Being Discriminating rather than Discriminatory’, speech delivered to Arts Activated Conference, Sydney, 26 September 2007, www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/speeches/2007/arts.htm
The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 protects not only people with disabilities but people who are associates of people with disabilities (including families, friends and carers). Its definition of disability is also wider at important points than the definition used by the ABS. The definition of a disability given under the Act includes: • physical disability • intellectual disability • psychiatric disability • sensory (including visual and hearing) disability • neurological disability (including acquired brain injuries) • learning difficulties • physical disfigurement • the presence in the body of disease-causing organisms (including people living with HIV/AIDS). The aim of the Act is to: • eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination on the grounds of disability • ensure that people with a disability have the same rights to equality before the law as the rest of the community • educate the community about the rights of people with a disability. The Act covers various areas but the ones most directly relevant to this research project are: • employment • education • access to premises by the public • provision of goods, services and facilities. People with disabilities also have protection under some State laws including any antidiscrimination legislation. In addition, there is now a uniform set of building codes supported by the Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards. All codes of practice, employment laws and industry standards that apply to people generally also apply to people with disabilities. Anyone in the community may experience disability at some time in life. Disability is a normal part of the human experience, and people with disabilities are part of all sections of the Australian community. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released guidelines and standards specifically designed to prevent discrimination in areas such as employment, public transport, education, insurance and access to the world wide web for people with a disability.
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AHRC Disability Standards and Guidelines can be found at www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/standards/standards.html
2.2.2 Disability Action Plans
An effective way of ensuring an organisation is making itself accessible and meeting the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act is to develop a Disability Action Plan. An effective Action Plan should: • eliminate discrimination in an active way • improve services to existing consumers or customers • enhance organisational image • reduce the likelihood of complaints being made • increase the likelihood of being able to successfully defend complaints • increase the likelihood of avoiding costly legal action • allow for a planned and managed change in business or services • open up new markets and attract new consumers. The member organisations of the Arts Access Australia network are all able to assist organisations in developing an Action Plan.
2.2.3 About Arts Access Australia
Vision A creative culture for all Australians. Mission To lead arts and disability sector development through research, communication and policy with a vibrant national network. The national network Currently the national office of Arts Access Australia is based in NSW. Arts Access Australia’s State and Territory members include: • Accessible Arts NSW • Art Ability ACT • Arts Access Central Australia • Arts Access Darwin • Arts Access VIC • Access Arts QLD • Arts Access SA • DADAA Inc (WA). Arts Action Tasmania closed in December 2009. Arts Access Australia continues to support arts and disability in Tasmania have co-opted a Tasmanian Board member.
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Following a December 2007 Board restructure, State and Territory representatives, with additional co-opted members, make up the Arts Access Australia Board. Two of the State members of Arts Access Australia have dedicated audience development positions—one in NSW and one in Victoria. Most members offer a regular email newsletter, disability information, training, workshops, resources and advice, providing the performing arts sector with an abundance of information about disability. Arts Access Australia is an Australia Council Key Organisation in receipt of triennial funding to support 1.6 staff: an executive director (1.0), communications manager (0.5) and finance manager (0.1).
2.2.4 Conceptual models of disability
Historically, two major conceptual models of disability have been proposed. 1 The medical model views disability as a feature of the person. Disability, on this model, calls for medical or other treatment or intervention to correct the problem with the individual. 2 The social model of disability, on the other hand, sees disability as a socially created problem and not an attribute of an individual. Thus disability demands a political response since the ‘problem’ is created by an unaccommodating physical environment brought about by attitudes and other aspects of the social environment. The social model also enables organisations to focus clearly on universal access and design, which concentrates on making all environments, products and services accessible to all people. As an arts organisation, Arts Access Australia prefers the social model of disability and uses it to inform its work. The social model places responsibility for access on society to remove the barriers which ‘disable’ the ability of individuals to participate fully in their communities.
2.2.5 The arts and disability sector
Within Australia, the term ‘arts and disability’ covers the diversity within our sector. Internationally, there are clearer distinctions made between the ‘arts and disability’ and ‘disability arts’ areas. In the UK, ‘arts and disability’ primarily describes activities aimed to include people with disabilities in the mainstream , while ‘disability arts’ is driven by identity politics. The UK-based organisation Disability Arts Online provides a clear explanation of the issues which inform ‘disability arts’:
The generally agreed definition of disability arts, the one that we in the disability arts movement have found most accurately reflects what we are doing, is that it is art made by disabled people which reflects the experience of disability.
Allan Sutherland, ‘What is Disability Arts?’, Disability Arts Online, 2005, www.disabilityartsonline.org/site/what-is-disarts
There is a growing awareness of these definitional distinctions here in Australia, and while Arts Access Australia supports leadership by people with disability we continue to use ‘arts and disability’ as an umbrella term.
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2.3 Performing arts peak bodies and stakeholders
The following non-government and government organisations and forums provide leadership and represent the major stakeholder groups in the Australian performing arts sector with the capacity to influence access for people with a disability.
2.3.1 Non-government
Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) www.ampag.com.au AMPAG acts as an umbrella body supporting government subsidy as an essential source of income. It is only through government subsidy that some companies can program activities and performances in regional areas which would not be otherwise commercially viable. AMPAG was formed in 1999 to give its member companies a national voice and presence. The companies saw a critical need to work together on basic policy issues which affect both artistic quality and cost/revenue dynamics. An important part of AMPAG’s work is identifying where governments can act effectively to support the business performance—and enhance the art—of its member companies. AMPAG works to gain extra funding and long-term commitment to Australia’s artistic vibrancy. AMPAG’s work also includes: • building better governance within the companies • an annual survey of sponsorship and donation to the major performing arts companies • creating a forum for company leaders to discuss shared issues. Representing six State across Australia, AMPAG’s 28 member companies create music, drama, dance, circus, opera and ballet for Australian and international audiences. In addition to presenting shows and concerts in capital cities, AMPAG companies regularly tour to regional areas, reaching audiences in the hundreds of thousands, as well as over 700,000 school students each year through education programs. Live Performance Australia (trading name of Australian Entertainment Industry Association) www.liveperformance.com.au Live Performance Australia (LPA) is the peak body for Australia’s live entertainment and performing arts industry. Established in 1917 and registered as an employers’ organisation under the Workplace Relations Act 1996, LPA’s activities centre around three core areas: • workplace relations • policy and strategy • membership services and events. Vision and mission The vision of the LPA is to be a key player in maximising the value government, business and the Australian people attach to the Australian live entertainment industry on the basis of the
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significant contribution the live performance industry makes to the cultural, commercial and economic prosperity of our nation. The Ticket Attendance and Revenue Survey: Live Performance Industry in Australia is the most significant piece of research undertaken by LPA each year. It is the cornerstone of the case which LPA makes to government, the media and the general public about the economic, social and cultural value of the Australian live performance industry. The survey is a unique transactional-based survey consisting of two data collection sources—the major ticketing companies, and the member companies of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG), via the Australia Council for the Arts. It currently does not capture the activity of self-ticketing venues and festivals, boutique ticketing agencies and regional performing arts venues, and so understates the size of the industry. LPA’s future plans include developing supplementary reports to cover these smaller but significant industry sectors as well as to lobby government to reduce barriers to investment and increase tax incentives, similar to those available to the film industry. Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA) www.apaca.com.au The Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA) is the national network of performing arts centres, which is dedicated to developing, supporting and advocating for its membership while contributing to the development of the performing arts throughout Australia. Its objectives highlight the potentially key role this kind of peak organisation can have. APACA aims to assist in a more strategic approach and support the performing arts sector to increase disability access in all its artistic and operational management. Its objectives are to: • assist in the presentation of the performing arts by its members • facilitate the bringing together of artists and audiences • foster ethical standards and effective business practices in performing arts centre operation, presentation and management • assist in the professional development of personnel involved in the operation of performing arts centres, and in the presentation and management of performing arts centres • influence public policy and public opinion to advance the interest of its members • assist in the promotion of activities which will enable members to develop audiences and performing arts activity in their own communities • develop, disseminate and exchange information on the management of performing arts centres and the presentation of the performing arts including music, dance, theatre, film, lectures and related programs • promote the freedom of artistic expression and the pursuit of excellence within the performing arts. APACA has established a resource centre on its website which will provide technical data for all of its venue members.
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Regional Arts Australia www.regionalarts.com.au Regional Arts Australia is the key national body representing the broad and complex interests and concerns of those working with and for the arts in regional, rural and remote Australia. As an advocate, Regional Arts Australia has achieved significant results over the last three years in winning better recognition and support for the enormous contribution that regional arts make to the cultural, economic and social wellbeing of the nation. As a project initiator and manager, Regional Arts Australia has become an important partner in equipping regional artists, arts workers and communities to meet the special needs and challenges that accompany arts practice, arts promotion and audience development in the regional and rural sectors. Regional Arts Australia employs an executive officer and funds its administrative activities through income received from membership fees and the leasing out of a Canberra property (Arts House) in which it has an interest. CyberPaddock/Blue Heeler Network www.cyberpaddock.com.au With so many productions ready to hit the road each year, the Blue Heeler Network (State touring coordinators) has developed CyberPaddock to give presenters—i.e. venues—across Australia an opportunity to view all that is available to tour. At CyberPaddock presenters can browse all forms of performing arts, from drama to comedy, from dance to music, from children’s entertainment to physical theatre, and register interest for shows that best suit their programs. In essence, CyberPaddock is an online ‘one-stop product shop’ for presenters. From a producer’s point of view, CyberPaddock serves as an additional tool to help promote shows to venues nationally in the hope of establishing a tour. For all parties, CyberPaddock serves as a protection mechanism by formalising all aspects and expectations of a touring production (i.e. costs, technical requirements, etc.). The Blue Heeler Network is made up of State staff responsible for touring employed by Regional Arts Australia members. NSW and the ACT are represented by a separate agency, Arts on Tour. Tasmania is represented through Regional Arts Victoria and the Northern Territory through Queensland Arts Council. Theatre Network Victoria / Australian Theatre Forum www.tnv.net.au The Theatre Network Victoria is a new player funded by Arts Victoria with the aim of strengthening the small to medium performing arts sector in Victoria. Theatre Network Victoria also played a lead role in the 2009 Australian Theatre Forum which was the first national theatre sector event in over 20 years. Theatre Network Victoria, with Australia Council support, is scoping possibilities for a second Forum in 2011.
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Performing Arts Touring Alliance The Performing Arts Touring Alliance (PATA) is another new entrant to the performing arts sector. PATA is working with other presenters and producers to develop a self-sustaining body focused on a cohesive national touring environment that facilitates improved working relationships across the sector.
2.3.2 Government
Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) www.performingartsmarket.com.au Presented by the Australia Council, APAM brings together more than 400 of the most important performing arts presenters and producers from around Australia and overseas, offering a unique networking opportunity for anyone whose livelihood is in the performing arts. APAM is an essential diary date for artists, companies, performers, agents, government and cultural organisations. It is the prime destination for promotion, networking and gaining an insight into Australia’s performing arts. National Arts Marketing and Communications Meeting This forum, held three times a year, is hosted by the Australia Council. It brings together communications and marketing staff from State and Territory arts funding authorities and Regional Arts Australia. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts—Playing Australia www.arts.gov.au/arts/playing_australia Playing Australia, the National Performing Arts Touring Program, gives all Australians, wherever they live, better access to some of the country’s best performing arts. From ballet to Indigenous dance, jazz to classical music and Shakespeare to bilingual theatre, Playing Australia has assisted the touring of performing arts across Australia since 1992. The program provides Australian Government funding to companies, producers, venues, presenters and tour organisers to tour performing arts across State and Territory boundaries where this is currently not commercially viable and there is demonstrated public demand. Australia Council for the Arts www.australiacouncil.gov.au The Australia Council for the Arts is the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body. It enriches the lives of Australians and their communities by supporting the creation and enjoyment of the arts. The Australia Council cultivates the nation’s creativity by investing in artists and arts organisations working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, community partnerships, dance, literature, music, theatre, visual arts and multi-artform practices. The Australia Council and the AMPAG companies also hold an annual arts marketing summit.
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SECTION 3: SURVEY RESULTS
The following section contains an overview of the survey results received from 134 organisations in 2005 and 2006. See the Appendices at the end of this report for a copy of the survey, a list of respondents and a summary of the data collected.
3.1 Governance and operations
3.1.1 Governance of performing art venues
Question 2: Do you have any people who identify as having a disability on your Board or management committee?
YES Overall .............................................................. 8 AMPAG ............................................................ 0 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 0 Regional venues including APACA .................. 4 Other organisations ............................................ 4
(6%)
(9%) (25%)
Regional venues and other organisations, which includes small to medium producers, are more likely to have a Board member with a disability. For regional venues this may reflect the comparatively good integration of people with disabilities that can occur in some areas. For small to medium producers this may directly reflect their community brief and their work with disability groups. A small number of organisations who participated in this research project indicated it was difficult to identify Board or committee members with a disability. Respondents saw identification as a sensitive area and stated that it is up to individuals to identify their disability. This is a comment Arts Access Australia is familiar with and, while respecting people’s right t o privacy, our view is that asking who identifies as having a disability is a valuable opportunity to collect demographic data and assess progress with inclusion. At its best, audience development is about more than just removing barriers to access —it is about taking active steps to make as many people as possible feel welcome. This can lead to cultural change within organisations. Building relationships with people with disabilities, and influencing the attitudes of staff and volunteers, can be driven by leadership at the top of an organisation. Arts Access Australia’s view is that skills and disability rather than token representation should be the criteria for inclusion in Boards and management committees. RECOMMENDATION 2—Governance and leadership by people with a disability That arts sector stakeholders identify and develop the governance skills of people with a disability through training, mentorship and leadership programs.
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Question 4: Do you have a strategic plan?
YES Overall .............................................................. 109 AMPAG ........................................................... 23 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 38 Regional venues including APACA ................. 35 Other organisations ........................................... 13
(81%) (92%) (76%) (81%) (81%)
Generally, 100% of organisations do have a strategic plan. The lower than expected response rate is explained by those that left the question blank, while those that said ‘no’ were often venues who were part of a local council and, while not having their own venue-specific plan, were part of an overall council plan. The setting of strategic objectives is a Board or governance responsibility which then drives the operational areas of work carried out by management and staff. Question 4a: Is access and disability a strategic objective incorporated in your plan?
YES Overall .............................................................. 63 AMPAG ........................................................... 7 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 22 Regional venues including APACA ................. 26 Other organisations ........................................... 8
(47%) (28%) (44%) (61%) (50%)
The positive response is significantly higher for both regional venues and other organisations. Regional venues may be more likely to respond to their local community’s needs and p lay a more significant role in the cultural life of a smaller community than their metropolitan counterparts. The low response from AMPAG members may be because most hire venues and may presume that access is the venues’ responsibility. As is clear from section 2.2.1 above, this is not the view of the Australian Human Rights Commission. All AMPAG members, and all outside hirers generally, share responsibility for access and may be liable in the event of a complaint under the Disability Discrimination Act. With less than half of all respondents indicating that disability is part of their strategic objectives, there is a view that disability is often seen as a compliance requirement rather than a strategic or business opportunity. With one in five Australians identifying as having a disability, and an ageing population, the compliance-based view is limiting the potential audience for those organisations. RECOMMENDATION 3—Access as a strategic objective That AMPAG and APACA members be supported by their peak and government funding bodies to incorporate access for people with disabilities into their strategic objectives, with annual progress reports to monitor progress.
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3.1.2 Employment for people with a disability
Question 3: Do you have any staff or volunteers who identify as a person with specific needs or a disability?
YES Overall .............................................................. 39 AMPAG ........................................................... 6 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 11 Regional venues including APACA ................. 16 Other organisations ........................................... 6
(29%) (24%) (22 %) (37%) (38%)
The positive response is significantly higher for both regional venues and other organisations. The survey did not attempt to measure the proportion of people with a disability employed as a percentage of an organisation’s staff profile, or the level of seniority at which they are employed. We can also presume that the responses relate to administrative and core staff rather than artists. Of the organisations that had staff or volunteers with a disability, almost half had more than one, which may indicate a work environment that is generally inclusive. The organisation employing the most people with a disability (14) also indicated that this was 2% of their staff profile. People with disabilities face a number of barriers to employment in the arts. The perception of the arts as non-vocational, and attitudinal barriers from within the arts sector, can limit access to arts networks and training opportunities. As part of a March 2007 conference hosted by Arts Access SA called On the Job, Arts Access Australia participated in a panel discussion with representatives from federal government departments responsible for disability and employment. It was clear from the discussion that the federal departments did not see the arts and cultural sector as a priority for the employment of people with a disability. What was missing from the discussion was recognition of the human right of people with a disability to make vocational choices. The pathways from community participation to professional practice are hard to find for anyone in the arts, and especially for people with disabilities, whose choices are often constrained. We know from the 2007 Statistical Overview of Arts and Culture in Australia that the cultural sector is on an economic par with residential construction, health services and education. Given government interest in moving people with disabilities into paid employment, it is surprising that there isn’t a specific employment strategy looking at the cultural sector. Case study: Melbourne International Arts Festival
Melbourne International Arts Festival has several staff members who identify as having a disability. The festival has had a consistent commitment to disability issues in providing services and programs as part of the festival. It produces promotional material with information about accessible events and services. Events the festival has presented include Soft and Small Metal Objects by Back to Back Theatre. One of the strengths of this is also attributed to individual staff members. As Tracey Schueler, former marketing manager of the Melbourne International Arts Festival expresses it:
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Offering accessible events and communication strategies can be easy; the real challenge lies in making meaningful connections with people who have disabilities so that they want to engage with your event. The leaders within an organisation need to be driving the access priorities in order to ensure a successful, long-lasting and active access program. Accessibility needs to be integrated into the overall organisational systems so it can be sustained and outlive any staff transitions. Ultimately making events and communications accessible is a necessity; ensuring diverse audiences enriches the culture of an organisation and, given that one in five Australians has a disability, this is a large number of people to ignore for even the most forgiving box office.
www.melbournefestival.com.au
RECOMMENDATION 4—Training and employment That employment services, and government disability and employment portfolios, recognise and support arts and cultural vocational education, training and employment strategies for people with disabilities.
3.1.3 Disability Action Plans and awareness training
Question 5: Does your organisation have a disability policy and Action Plan?
YES Overall .............................................................. 56 AMPAG ........................................................... 4 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 28 Regional venues including APACA ................. 18 Other organisations ........................................... 6
(43%) (16%) (56%) (42%) (38%)
Question 6: Have you or your staff ever undertaken any disability awareness training?
YES Overall .............................................................. 73 AMPAG ........................................................... 7 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 29 Regional venues including APACA ................. 29 Other organisations ........................................... 8
(54%) (28%) (58%) (67%) (50%)
Our presumption was that Disability Action Plans and awareness training would be linked, yet it is surprising how many organisations with an Action Plan had not undertaken disability awareness training and vice versa. This may reflect the focus on compliance or physical access to premises in most Disability Action Plans. The low response from AMPAG members to both questions may indicate that they do not see access as their responsibility. The directors of several major cultural institutions and venues owned by local government indicated that Disability Action Plans and policy were mandatory for them as part of their local government’s policy. The Disability Discrimination Act has been in force since 1992 and having a Disability Action Plan will be considered in the event of a complaint of discrimination. The organisations surveyed
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who don’t have a Disability Action Plan—over half of the survey respondents—may be leaving themselves exposed to potential liability. Some of the staff that had received disability awareness training indicated that it was diverse, at times not in great depth and hadn’t been done in the last five years. The training was provided through: • local councils as part of an induction course, often as part of EEO training • arts and disability organisations such as Arts Access Australia members or disabilityspecific organisations like Vision Australia. • previous jobs in other industries, such as the education, community and social sector • front-of-house staff training and training in the use of specific equipment e.g. hearing loops. Arts Access Australia members offer TAFE-accredited and non-accredited arts and disability awareness training. Awareness training for staff is a key strategy for organisations to provide a welcoming experience for their patrons. It directly addresses attitudinal barriers commonly identified by people with disabilities as a reason for not attending arts events. RECOMMENDATION 5—Awareness and training That existing accredited and non-accredited arts and disability awareness training modules provided by Arts Access Australia members be better promoted to stakeholders in the performing arts sector.
3.2 Marketing and promotion
3.2.1 Marketing to people with a disability
Question 11: Do you have a marketing plan?
YES Overall .............................................................. 106 AMPAG ........................................................... 22 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 39 Regional venues including APACA ................. 31 Other organisations ........................................... 14
(79%) (88%) (78%) (72%) (88%)
Question 11a: Are disability groups one of your targets?
YES Overall .............................................................. 44 AMPAG ........................................................... 4 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 14 Regional venues including APACA ................. 20 Other organisations ........................................... 6
(33%) (16%) (38%) (46%) (38%)
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Question 8: Are you currently attracting disability audiences to your venue or performance?
YES Overall .............................................................. 118 AMPAG ........................................................... 22 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 40 Regional venues including APACA ................. 42 Other organisations ........................................... 14
(88%) (88%) (80%) (98%) (88%)
Question 9: Do you undertake any monitoring regarding attendance?
YES Overall .............................................................. 41 AMPAG ........................................................... 9 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 12 Regional venues including APACA ................. 16 Other organisations ........................................... 4
(31%) (36%) (24%) (37%) (25%)
Most organisations have a marketing plan; some of those that do not indicated they were part of a local council which had overall responsibility for marketing. Nearly all organisations are attracting people with disabilities as audience members. Comments indicate that this is limited to people with physical or sensory disabilities (e.g. hearing, vision). Only a couple of venues indicated they were attracting people with mental health issues, intellectual disabilities or through disability support services as groups. This may indicate an understanding of disability that is limited to physical and visible disabilities. Venues identifying the elderly as a target group were often also promoting specific programs like ‘Morning Melodies’ or daytime programs. Organisations based in Victoria cited t he EASE access service and ticketing program run by Arts Access VIC as their main point of contact for people with disabilities. The few organisations specifically monitoring attendance by people with disabilities are recording figures for wheelchair-accessible seating, use of hearing loops and group bookings. This is done through front-of-house reports, ticketing records (in-house) and ticketing agencies. Regional venues appear to do comparatively well, although it was sometimes unclear whether the higher than average targeting and monitoring of attendance was through an ongoing relationship with audiences or the result of one-off events, like an end-of-year community function. In NSW and other States the International Day of People With a Disability (IDPWD) on 3 December each year has been promoted as a focal point for inclusion. The challenge is for one-off engagement to translate into year-round improvements in access and attendance. AMPAG members score lower than average on targeting people with disabilities yet do well on other measures. This may indicate a need to emphasise the shared responsibility between venues and producers for access. A few organisations felt uncomfortable asking people with a disability to identify themselves. Anecdotally, Arts Access Australia knows this to be a common concern, and we suggest asking
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people with a disability to self-identify as part of a general audience survey is the easiest way to collect information while respecting privacy. In this way organisations can also identify and monitor attendance by people with disabilities that are not visible.
3.2.2 Access services, promotional material and access symbols
Question 10: Do you offer any special services/facilities for people with a disability?
YES Overall .............................................................. 115 AMPAG ........................................................... 22 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 40 Regional venues including APACA ................. 41 Other organisations ........................................... 12
(86%) (88%) (80%) (95%) (75%)
Question 10a: If so, do you use the international access symbols on your promotional material?
YES Overall .............................................................. 36 AMPAG ........................................................... 4 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 13 Regional venues including APACA ................. 17 Other organisations ........................................... 2
(27%) (16%) (26%) (40%) (13%)
A particular interest with these questions was to identify organisations providing more than just some level of physical access—which most do. Respondents to the survey indicated that the following types of services were currently offered by performing arts organisations: • performances and events for specific disability groups and the elderly • audio description of performances and programs • Auslan signing of performances • captioned performances and videos • physical accessibility to venue: toilets, seating, parking • free admission for carers (companion card) • introductory talks, venue and set • hearing loops and infra-red hearing loops • surtitles on screen • large-print documents • braille signage • monthly access mornings for people with disabilities and their carers (advisory groups) • staff assistance and guides when required • wheelchairs • websites featuring artists with disabilities, and text that could be resized and accessed by screen-reading technology
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• • • •
maps and information about access facilities, accessible routes and transport group bookings for people with disabilities accessible stage and backstage areas use of access symbols.
Access for people with a disability can be driven by a desire to comply with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act. A compliance-driven approach can fail to appreciate the potential audience of people with disabilities. Appropriately skilled access auditors can assist organisations with access and will bring building knowledge, along with queries and recommendations about programming and services. Similarly Arts Access Australia members can support organisations in developing and implementing access services. Arts Access Australia members have also played a leadership role in forming partnerships and trialling new access equipment, like live theatre captioning in 2006. A challenge for arts organisations interested in providing access services is that the service providers generally do not collaborate and information is not currently available in any one place. While the use of internationally recognised disability access symbols appears low, it is higher than Arts Access Australia expected to find. The 12 symbols were developed by the US Graphic Artists Guild and are available online at http://www.graphicartistsguild.org/resources/disabilityaccess-symbols/ In particular, at least one organisation, the Melbourne International Arts Festival, has developed its own symbol for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences to indicate the level of visual content in an event. There is also the question of who is responsible for providing access services, especially when a show is touring. As Brett Davidson, general manager of Bangarra Dance Theatre explains, for touring shows the differences between who is responsible for marketing and the access facilities for venues nationally can vary:
Access and audience development strategies for people with disabilities fall under our marketing banner. As such, it needs to be noted that our regional touring is third party presented (i.e. all marketing and access initiatives are handled by the local presenter), Melbourne and Brisbane seasons are marketing and managed in a similar way by QPAT and VAC and our Sydney season is the only one in which we take responsibility for marketing etc. In this latter case we tie in with the programs and initiatives of the Sydney Opera House and utilise their communications and access strategies.
Case study: Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House has produced a well-designed Access Guide, which clearly outlines access information to all venues and facilities for visitors. It demonstrates the venue’s commitment to access using the international access symbols consistently throughout the brochure. The booklet states:
Our promise is for all our customers to have an inspiring experience. We believe that all people with a disability have the right to fully participate in the community. Therefore, we endeavour towards enabling our facilities, events and services for all people, including people with disability.
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Sydney Opera House, Access Guide, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, n.d., <www.sydneyoperahouse.com/Visit/Accessibility_Info.aspx>, p. 3
For the Sydney Opera House, developing a strategic approach to disability has taken several years. Emphasis on policy, and increased consultation and market research with the disability sector, has produced tangible and successful outcomes. The Sydney Opera House demonstrates that there is much that can be done to improve access services while working towards improving access to the building itself. www.sydneyoperahouse.com/uploadedFiles/About_Us/Corporate_Information/11_Govern ment_Reporting.pdf www.sydneyoperahouse.com/Visit/Accessibility_Info.aspx
RECOMMENDATION 6—Resources and information That information on access services, symbols and providers be available in one place, such as the Arts Access Australia website, and promoted to performing arts organisations to enable identification and targeting of people with a disability.
3.2.3 Arts development
Question 7: Do you promote or present any artists in performances which have a disability focus?
YES Overall .............................................................. 62 AMPAG ........................................................... 5 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 26 Regional venues including APACA ................. 19 Other organisations ........................................... 12
(46%) (20%) (56%) (44%) (75%)
Question 12: Have you presented any performance, event or public program with a specific disability focus?
YES Overall .............................................................. 51 AMPAG ........................................................... 7 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 22 Regional venues including APACA ................. 16 Other organisations ........................................... 6
(38%) (28%) (44%) (37%) (38%)
Question 13: Do you promote or present any performances or events specifically to disability groups?
YES Overall .............................................................. 47 AMPAG ........................................................... 11 Metropolitan Venues including APACA ........... 14 Regional Venues including APACA ................ 19 Other organisations ........................................... 3
(35%) (44%) (28%) (37%) (19%)
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The whole discussion around marketing to people with disabilities needs to include product development. Similarly, the marketing of work by people with disabilities to mainstream audiences also needs to be considered as part of an overall approach to arts and audience development. The three questions were intended to acknowledge the overlap while making some distinctions between individual artists and disability themes, arts and disability work promoted to mainstream audiences, and mainstream work presented to disability audiences. The comments from respondents indicate that the distinctions were not universally understood by people outside the arts and disability sector. While the positive responses are higher than Arts Access Australia expected, comments from some respondents indicate that the last arts and disability work they presented was the Access Arts QLD CaCa Courage 2002 National Tour. Others cited even earlier work. In addition, several arts centres have provided examples of visual arts exhibitions held in their multipurpose venues without mentioning the performing arts at all. Responses also identified characters who had a disability, though the performer did not. While some productions featuring a character with a disability, such as Performing Lines’ Unspoken, were well received in general, the portrayal of people with disabilities in the arts is not always sympathetic. Several venues also provided examples of one-off or annual events like performances by local groups of young people or the elderly with disabilities, or addressing disability themes like Mental Health Week. These results are not so surprising when the number of companies and individuals with a disability producing work that is high-quality and ready to tour is so small. Even with the success of Back to Back Theatre, the Tutti Ensemble, Australian Theatre of the Deaf, individuals like Steady Eddy and occasional one-off productions like CaCa Courage, there is still a significant need for arts and touring development. Aware of the small number of companies producing quality work, and inspired by a 2001 Arts Council of England report Knocking on Doors: Exploring the Potential for Developing a Touring Circuit for Disability-Related Performing Arts, Arts Access Australia prepared a briefing paper in 2002 on arts and disability touring for the Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) Playing Australia program. Discussions with Playing Australia centred on the need for leadership in promoting and using accessible venues, increasing awareness of arts and disability work, and the experience of arts and disability organisations in touring. The Playing Australia Committee subsequently declined to fund the current research project though indicated interest in the report findings and recommendations. While Playing Australia keeps no statistics on arts and disability applications or success rates, Arts Access Australia received positive feedback on the Committee’s willingness to consider budget costs for carers, access services and more rest days in touring schedules. In the last couple of years Playing Australia has supported tours of Dislabelled by Australian Theatre of the Deaf and Small Metal Objects by Back to Back Theatre. Many of the barriers identified by Arts Access Australia in 2002 are still current. Several venues surveyed for the current research project indicated that they saw a financial risk in programming
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arts and disability work, while others indicated that they would be happy to program work if it was available. In the interim, Arts Access Australia continues to seek arts development opportunities for people with disabilities. Three Arts Access Australia members from NSW, VIC and SA collaborated to establish a presence at the 2008 Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM). Case study: The Graeae Project, UK
Recent initiatives from the Arts Council of England in deaf and disabled theatre to support mainstream casting and training opportunities provide examples of strategic development work that is not yet happening in Australia. The Graeae Project is a collaboration between the Graeae Theatre Company, and the Centre for Excellence in Training for Theatre at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama. As Graeae’s website explains, ‘Graeae is a disabled -led theatre company that profiles the skills of actors, writers and directors with physical and sensory impairments. The artistic approach creates aesthetically accessible productions that include a disabled and non-disabled audience’. Graeae was awarded a grant by the Arts Council England in 2007 to fund the project Into the Scene, which explores issues of inclusiveness, access and training of students with disabilities in theatre training. www.cssd.ac.uk/content/course-detail-ma-applied-theatre-drama-community-and-dramaeducation www.graeae.org
Case study: Gaelle Mellis Churchill Fellowship report
For an Australian perspective on the UK arts and disability scene, the 2004 Churchill Fellowship report by South Australian Theatre worker Gaelle Mellis highlights numerous examples and strategies for the inclusion of disabled artists in mainstream theatre. www.churchilltrust.com.au/site_media/fellows/Mellis_Gaelle_2004.pdf
RECOMMENDATION 7—Arts development and touring That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities increase their support for the arts development of people with disabilities, development of work to tour, and better utilisation of existing State, national and international mechanisms to promote work that is ready to tour.
3.3 Use of existing resources
Question 1: Have you heard of Arts Access Australia before?
YES Overall .............................................................. AMPAG ........................................................... Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ Regional venues including APACA ................. Other organisations ...........................................
109 (81%) 19 (76%) 42 (84%) 34 (79%) 14 (88%)
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Question 14: Are you interested in finding out more about strategies for audience development and improving access for people with disabilities?
YES Overall .............................................................. AMPAG ........................................................... Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ Regional venues including APACA ................. Other organisations ...........................................
111 (83%) 21 (84%) 41 (82%) 35 (81%) 14 (88%)
Question 15: Do you have any information and/or resources available within your organisation for developing audiences on people with disabilities?
YES Overall .............................................................. AMPAG ........................................................... Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ Regional venues including APACA ................. Other organisations ...........................................
29 (22%) 6 (24%) 7 (14%) 12 (28%) 4 (25%)
Question 16: Have you or your organisation used the services of a disability arts organisation e.g. Accessible Arts for training, program, marketing or other advice?
YES Overall .............................................................. AMPAG ........................................................... Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ Regional venues including APACA ................. Other organisations ...........................................
48 (34%) 10 (40%) 19 (38%) 11 (26%) 6 (38%)
Overall, there is a very high awareness of Arts Access Australia and an identified desire for further information about audience development and access. The search for resources or information within organisations revealed little of significance, with some naming in-house access plans and very few noting Australia Council and Arts Access Australia publications. The low awareness and usage of existing Australia Council publications is consistent with the findings of a 2002 report called Marketing Victorian Museums, which found that the then recent publication Access All Areas: Guidelines for Marketing the Arts to People with Disabilities was recognised by only 18% of 121 respondents. One-third of respondents indicate they have used the services provided by Arts Access Australia members, especially in Victoria and NSW where there are dedicated audience and industry development staff. The result could also indicate a need to better promote services nationally, or that existing services have not kept pace with the needs of the performing arts sector. Arts Access Australia supported a peer-to-peer learning approach to access in putting together a panel discussion on access for the 2006 APACA conference. The panel featured representatives from Bell Shakespeare, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Melbourne Theatre Company and Canberra Theatre Company. The model was loosely based on the NSW Accessing The Arts Group (ATAG) and the USA Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD), which bring
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together a cross-section of staff in arts organisations who have an interest in and responsibility for access. In these forums they are able to share resources and ideas. Case study: Accessing the Arts Group (ATAG)
The NSW-based Accessing the Arts Group (ATAG) is dedicated to improving access for people with disabilities within the arts, disseminating current best practice and providing a forum for arts professionals to discuss areas of interest. The goal for ATAG is to act as a lobby group across the arts and at all levels of government, including the grassroots and high-level decision makers. ATAG will raise the profile of issues discussed at meetings by distributing a media release after each meeting promoting key outcomes. These media releases will be distributed to all ATAG members for promotion to their contacts including directors, CEOs and managers within their organisations. ATAG was initially formed by Accessible Arts NSW as a way of supporting cultural organisations to participate in the annual International Day of People With a Disability on 3 December, and has grown into an independent group chaired by staff from mainstream arts organisations with responsibility for access. www.aarts.net.au/projects/accessing-the-arts-group/
Case study: Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD), USA
The aim of the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) in the USA is to explore practical methods for implementing accessibility strategies, communicating information about arts and accessibility, and sharing resources and knowledge among professionals. In 2000, a group of 25 education managers, executive directors, development directors and house managers—all of whom were responsible for accessibility at their respective cultural venues— met at the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC to discuss institutional access issues. While the level of experience among participants ranged from 20 years in the job to a few years, everyone shared one common goal: ‘the desire to create accessible cultural arts program for people with disabilities’. That initial group has now grown into a national professional network and an annual conference. www.kennedy-center.org/accessibility/education/lead/
RECOMMENDATION 8—Peer-to-peer learning That peer-to-peer learning and support within the performing arts is the preferred way of discussing and supporting improvements in access. The first step is for performing arts organisations to nominate an access coordinator.
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SECTION 4: ADDITIONAL RESEARCH FINDINGS
4.1 International legislation
4.1.1 USA
In 2005, Arts Access Australia participated in the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) forum. LEAD is organised by the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ director of accessibility, Betty Siegel. In 2008, Accessible Arts NSW, Arts Access VIC and Arts Access Australia coordinated Betty Siegel’s visit to Australia where she spoke to arts administrators and artists in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Apart from sharing her wealth of experience, she also discussed how the US legislative context for arts and disability was a significant driver of access (www.aarts.net.au/projects/past-projects/betty-siegel-tour). In the US, the law states that if an arts organisation receives federal funding it must employ an access officer, commonly known as a ‘section 504 coordinator’. The name refers to the relevant section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. It is then the section 504 coordinator’s role to raise the profile of access issues within the organisation.
4.1.2 UK
In December 2006, the UK Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 was amended through the Disability Equality Duty to place a positive duty on all public bodies to promote disability equality. The intention is to bring about a shift in the legal framework from relying on individual people with disabilities complaining about discrimination, to a situation where the public sector becomes a proactive agent of change. The specific duties of the Arts Council England under the Disability Equality Duty include developing a disability equity scheme to set out its approach to achieving disability equality, both within the organisation and within the arts and creative sectors that they fund and support. RECOMMENDATION 9—Government disability legislation reform That the Commonwealth Government adapt USA and UK legislative provisions to amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and place a positive duty on service providers to be accessible.
4.2 Policy and funding
4.2.1 Federal arts
The Commonwealth Government does have an overall Disability Strategy though its 1999 midterm review led to an important change by removing the requirements for departments to produce annual Disability Action Plans and lodge them with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (Erebus International, Report of the Evaluation of the Commonwealth
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Disability Strategy, 2006). This has important implications for departments like Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts which is now responsible for the arts portfolio previously managed by the Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA). While DCITA did provide some information on access strategies in its annual report, it kept no statistics on disability participation in funding programs like Playing and Festivals Australia. Arts Access Australia’s understanding is that DCITA were in the process of upgrading their grants management system to be able to provide information on participation and attendance by people with disabilities. Interestingly, Regional Arts Australia, who administer Commonwealth money as the Regional Arts Fund, do not have a Disability Action Plan yet have produced a report on regional arts funding from 2004 to 2006 that identifies the involvement of people with a disability. While Regional Arts Australia is a non-government agency, their initiative is a first for federal arts funding and could serve as a guide for federal arts authorities. In 2008, Australia signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons (CRDP). The Convention recognises cultural rights and the need to collect data and statistics, in Articles 30 and 31 respectively. The timing of the Convention will support recent federal developments including the National Disability Strategy, the Australia Council 2008–10 Disability Action Plan, Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards and the Cultural Ministers Council national arts and disability strategy. RECOMMENDATION 10—Government disability action plans That, as part of the National Disability Strategy, Commonwealth Government departments be required to develop and report on Disability Action Plans that include public funding programs and services, and lodge them with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
4.2.2 State/Territory arts
The policy and funding of access for people with a disability by State and Territory governments was not investigated in great depth. All eight State and Territory arts funding authorities were invited to respond to the survey and one did. As with federal arts funding, data collection and reporting by State and Territory arts funders of arts attendance and participation by people with a disability lacks clarity. The requirement to develop a Disability Action Plan does exist in some States, reflecting State legislation. Looking at the AHRC register of Disability Action Plans, the three authorities who have submitted them are: • Arts Victoria (2009) • Arts South Australia (2003 with a more recent 2007 Arts and Disability Framework that hasn’t been submitted) • the Department of Culture and the Arts Western Australia (2007). Victoria The Arts Victoria Disability Action Plan 2009 – 2013 reflects Arts Victoria's commitment to ensuring that its policies, programs and services are accessible and responsive to the needs of people with disabilities.
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Arts Victoria is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities are involved in its consultative processes and to maximising the opportunities for people with disabilities to be involved in the Arts industry - as Board members of organisations, as employees, participants or audience members. The DAP demonstrates Arts Victoria's role as an industry leader in the role of disability awareness in the Arts. As such, Arts Victoria encourages its clients, agencies, and funded organisations to develop Disability Awareness Training Programs and Disability Action Plans. Creative Capacity+ is the key policy document for Arts Victoria. A major strength of this policy is a commitment to inclusion, participation and the contribution art makes to creating strong and vibrant communities. Arts Victoria, the Office of Disability and Department of Human Services have established an interdepartmental Arts and Disability Access Network (ADAN) to develop a collaborative approach to the consideration of policy and practice issues affecting people with a disability. South Australia Arts SA completed an Arts and Disability Framework in late 2007. Arts SA requires that recipients of major organisations performance funding and industry development organisations have an up-to-date Disability Action Plan. In 2006, the South Australian Government established the Richard Llewellyn arts and disability trust fund. The trust is a partnership between Arts SA and the SA Department of Families and Communities that support arts and disability projects and initiatives in addition to the ongoing Arts SA funding programs. Western Australia In Western Australia the Department of Culture and the Arts is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities, their families and carers are able to access and participate in arts and cultural services. In June 2006 the Department was approached by the Disability Services Commission to form a partnership with the aim of enabling people with disabilities to access and experience positive connections to everyday community life through arts and cultural activities. As part of the new strategic plan, the Disability Services Commission has provided $550,000 over three years to the Department to deliver and administer Disability Arts Inclusion Initiatives. The Department is working with a selection of its portfolio organisations and funded arts organisations to create opportunities for people with disabilities to enhance participation in events, performances, workshops and services through the Disability Arts Inclusion Initiatives (DAII). The project development process includes self-assessment, professional development, networking; project planning and evaluation (see www.dca.wa.gov.au/programs/disability). RECOMMENDATION 11—Cross-government partnerships That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities seek partnerships with their equivalent disability, mental health and ageing authority to support arts and disability initiatives and programs.
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RECOMMENDATION 12—Capital expenditure That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities identify existing programs or develop new programs to support capital expenditure and the purchase of access equipment.
4.2.3 Local arts
The policy and funding of access for people with a disability by local government was beyond the scope of this research project. Arts Access Australia recognises the significant role local government plays in support all aspects of arts and culture in local communities. A number of performing arts venues who responded to the survey indicated that they operated within their local government’s overall strategic plan. In general , local government appears to be ahead of the other tiers of government in developing and implementing access strategies. The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has produced several documents about accessible communities, accessible workplaces and a guide to the Disability Action Plans. See their website at www.alga.com.au/publications for a complete list. Within the overall area of arts and culture, Accessible Arts NSW have established the first award which recognises cultural activity accessible to people with a disability. All submissions to the Local Government and Shires NSW Cultural Awards are considered for the Accessible Arts Award. RECOMMENDATION 13—Local government That further research be undertaken to establish the level of local government provision of cultural services for people with disabilities, data collection and reporting. RECOMMENDATION 14—Local government access award That Arts Access Australia approaches the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to establish a national arts access award.
4.3 Sponsorship
This research project was able to identify three examples of access programs —at Canberra Theatre Centre, Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir St Theatre (NSW) —that had corporate sponsorship arrangements to support them. Given government interest in facilitating corporate arts sponsorship, access programs and services may represent a potential area deserving increased attention. Case study: Canberra Theatre Centre
Canberra Theatre Centre in the ACT is a performing arts venue. It provides a subscription series and provides work and entertainment to the people of Canberra and surrounding regions. Its accessible programs are provided for a wide range of age groups in the community, such as families, children and under-27s. Special information is also offered to social groups and schools, and the Centre works closely with the local community. The Centre is also recognised by other theatre venues, peak disability services and companies nationally for its access initiatives. It has been successful in attracting sponsorship for its access
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services, and clearly promotes its access services on the website—along with international access symbols. Specific performances are also outlined, with details of the type of access service that is available, and when it is offered. By providing these cultural facilities, the Centre provides an example of how an organisation can undertake programming that contributes to community building, working with cultural assets within the region and advancing community engagement. In 2006, the Centre’s subscription season attracted corporate sponsorship from The Home Loan Centre to provide access initiatives. These included six performances from the Subscription Season and two performances within the Treats Season specifically for families; and two productions from the Playtime Season for families with live captioning, audio description and priority seating. These allowed people who had not previously visited the Centre to enjoy its performances. As David Whitney, Canberra Theatre Centre manager in 2006, commented: ‘The potential to reach audiences who before have been inaccessible is a very exciting prospect. We want to get the word out to those who have not been able to attend the theatre before: Canberra Theatre Centre is accessible’. www.canberratheatre.org.au
RECOMMENDATION 15—Sponsorship That the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) identifies and promotes examples of best practice in access sponsorship.
4.4 Venue access
While access means more than just physical access to premises, the realities of getting into and around venues, being seated and performing remain important focal points for people with disabilities. Touring companies and arts organisations also commented that they do not have control over disability access and are dependent on the venue to provide services and facilities for patrons with disabilities. In response, it is worth repeating the advice of Graham Innes from AHRC that:
Under the [Disability Discrimination Act], it is unlawful to permit discrimination if there is a power to prevent it. Bodies that organise events, or provide funding for such events, have some power to decide where those events will be held. If they allow inaccessible venues to be used, then they may be liable for complaints under the DDA.
4.4.1 Access to arts premises
The rights of people with disabilities to access premises is recognised by State and Commonwealth legislation. In March 2010 the Australian Government launched the Disability Standards for Access to Premises, which for the first time set the minimum access requirements for people with a disability to publicly accessible buildings. The Standards cover features such as accessible lifts, stairs, ramps, toilets and corridors and include buildings such as office blocks, shops, hotels, motels, and common areas of new apartment buildings. The Standards will also provide greater certainty for business by providing for national consistency and reducing different regulatory arrangements. They will also provide the basis for improved arrangements for disability access in the Building Code of Australia.
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Currently for people with a disability, finding access information about venues that allows them to plan their attendance is an ongoing challenge. This research project identified several current and potential sources of access information for venues. In 1998, Arts Access VIC and VicHealth published The Vic Venue Guide. The guide provided details of access and facilities at over 75 Victorian entertainment, sporting and cultural facilities. The publication is out of print and information about access to Victorian cultural venues can be found through the EASE ticketing service run by Arts Access VIC. Initially created for the Perth International Arts Festival, the Western Australian Department of Culture and the Arts provides a list of accessible venues. See: www.dca.wa.gov.au/about/properties/disability_access The website Accessibility.com.au was established in May 1999 by two access consultants. They recognised a need for an Australian resource that provided comprehensive and ready access to information on accessible venues, facilities, services, transport, mobility aids and news. The site provides city guides which includes details of accessible cultural venues. See: http://www.accessibility.com.au/resourceview.php?category_id=bf0f1717a81cb18c1d0c1180417bce79 The Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA) launched a venue resource centre on its website in 2005 (see www.apaca.com.au). The resource centre details the technical specifications of APACA member venues, providing ‘one-stop shop’ technical information about the equipment and facilities available at each venue for the information of other venues, production companies and hirers. The information collected includes seating plans and could be extended to include access information. There would still be an additional leap required to present the information in a useable format for members of the general public planning a visit. For audience members with a disability the most useful and reliable resource may be access information provided by each individual venue. Arts Access Australia recognises that access can have a cost to organisations and that change happens over time. Arts Access Australia supports improvements to access that do not cause detriment to existing audiences or venues. Case study: Arts Access UK
Arts Access UK has been established by the National Disability Arts Forum as a database of access information for the arts and cultural sector. The site relies on the voluntary provision of information from venues and notes that its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. http://artsaccessuk.org
RECOMMENDATION 16—Venue responsibility for access That individual performing arts venues take responsibility for providing audience access information. RECOMMENDATION 17—Funding body responsibility That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding bodies only support productions and tours taking place in venues that can demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to improve access.
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4.4.2 Access and heritage
The tension between heritage and access considerations does occur regularly in the performing arts sector. In response, Accessible Arts NSW and Arts Access Australia are working on a research project with the Arts Law Centre of Australia and the University of Technology Sydney Shopfront Program to: • identify inconsistencies between heritage and disability discrimination legislation and case law at both State and Commonwealth levels • identify case studies of best-practice accessible design incorporated into heritage buildings • provide a report that addresses both the legal and design issues which can be used as a tool for advocacy. An unpublished progress report, expected to be finalised by late 2010, has found that heritage status should be taken into account, but does not excuse a venue from a responsibility to implement access strategies. In 1999, the Australian Council of National Trusts and the Australian Heritage Commission produced a publication called Improving Access to Heritage Buildings: A Practical Guide to Meeting the Needs of People with Disabilities. It has a specific focus on heritage buildings and contains information and guidance applicable to performing arts venues. RECOMMENDATION 18—Access and heritage That recommendations from the final Accessible Arts NSW ‘Access and Heritage’ research project report be implemented.
4.5 Websites and ticketing
4.5.1 Websites
Although not covered in specific survey questions, access to websites and online ticketing services were identified as significant through the research. The Australian Human Rights Commission has released web guidelines specifically to avoid discrimination without compromising the richness of online communication. These guidelines do not appear to be well utilised by arts organisations. The research project did find a piece of arts research which we suggest is equally as relevant to the performing arts. A 2005 UK report Accessibility of Museum, Library and Archive Websites: The MLA Audit found that only 42% of sites surveyed met the most basic technical accessibility guidelines. Using a series of Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) checkpoints as a basis, the research nevertheless found that if web developers addressed just 6 out of 65 checkpoints, and 13 of the 189 problems encountered by users with a disability, they could solve 68% of the overall accessibility problems on their sites. These findings indicate that accessibility can be achieved through commitment, planning and training, and by making web accessibility a criterion for every web development tender brief.
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Case study: Society of London Theatre
The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) aimed to improve the format and content of Disabled Audiences in the West End, its guide to the West End for theatre-goers with disabilities, which has been produced since 1992. By consulting with focus groups of people with disabilities, it aimed to create a program of audio-described and sign-language interpreted theatre nights, marketing them in such a way that they would attract new audiences. A website was also to be devised, using high standards of accessibility in web design, to disseminate access information and to promote the accessibility of West End theatre. SOLT commissioned research on standards for creating web accessibility, looking at the hierarchy of website design and presentation of information. The findings are presented as an appendix to the final project report. www.takingpartinthearts.com/content.php?content=1046
4.5.2 Ticketing
Access to online ticketing services was not a specific survey question, but it was identified as significant through the research. There are two aspects to access for ticketing websites: one is access to the site and ticketing purchasing facilities; the other is the provision of access information about venues by ticketing websites. From ticketing forums held as part of APACA conferences, it appears that major ticketing agencies see themselves as third-party users or shopfronts who rely on access information and services provided by venues. Ticketing software is increasingly powerful and integrated with customer relationship management (CRM) functions, enabling better tracking and targeting of patrons. Venues and producers need to ensure the ticketing service they use is both accessible and provides access information, while the ticketing service has responsibility to be accessible and provide access information about the producers and venues it is representing. Article 15 of the Live Performance Australia Code of Practice for Ticketing of Live Entertainment in Australia is specifically about access for people with a disability, but makes no mention of ticketing agencies: ‘Presenters and Venues should ensure that patrons with a disability are provided with access to performances in accordance with Federal and State legislation’. Frustration with the purchase of online cinema tickets is the subject of a specific campaign by Media Access Australia and is equally relevant to the performing arts. There is a significant difference between compliance with legislative requirements and excellence in customer service. Specific ticketing services for people with disabilities have been established to fill this gap. Case study: EASE Ticket Service, Victoria
The EASE ticket service, initially named Entertainment Access Service, was established by Arts Access in Victoria in 1987. At this time the major ticket agencies were becoming more automated and corporatised. Venue marketing rarely provides information about access or used alternate formats for information about programs, ticket prices and booking arrangements. These continuing problems will only be addressed when mainstream ticketing services take up the EASE model and when the presenters, producers and major ticket agencies take on their
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obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act. This has always been EASE’s long-term goal—to reach the point when there is no longer a need for a separate ‘ghettoised’ ticket service. http://artsaccess.com.au/ease-ticketing www.artsaccessaustralia.org/makingthejourney/ease_ticketing.html
Case study: Shape Tickets, UK
Shape Tickets offer a wide range of arts and entertainment events across London, often at reduced prices and with no booking fees. Their service includes: • a seasonal brochure and up-to-date online listings for all current productions and events throughout London, including assisted performances taking place for that season; this is available in a variety of accessible formats • a fully accessible online, telephone or postal booking service, and up-to-date information about each venue’s accessibility • regular ‘meet and greets’—Shape events where members can socialise with other members, volunteers and Shape staff • an advocacy network where other members offer advice and encouragement • helpful and attentive staff on hand to assist with bookings and queries. http://tickets.shapearts.org.uk
RECOMMENDATION 19—Ticketing code of practice That the Live Performance Australia Code of Practice for the Ticketing of Live Entertainment Events in Australia be amended to include accessible ticketing services. RECOMMENDATION 20—Peak body advocacy That performing arts peak bodies advocate and provide models for access, including ticketing services and customer relationship management software, to identify and promote services to patrons with a disability.
4.6 Resources
Note that the following resource list is limited to reports and services that can be found online.
4.6.1 Australia
Arts Access Australia www.artsaccessaustralia.org National Arts and Disability Strategy Produced by the Cultural Ministers Council this Strategy sets out a vision for improving access and participation in the artistic and cultural activities for people with disabilities. The Strategy provides a framework within which jurisdictions can assess and improve existing activities. It also identifies new priority projects that could be progressed as national initiatives or by individual jurisdictions. www.cmc.gov.au/working_groups/national_arts_and_disability_strategy
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Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards These Standards for the first time set the minimum access requirements for people with a disability to publicly accessible buildings. www.ag.gov.au/premisesstandards Disability Fact Pack This outlines a variety of issues for arts organisations regarding people with disabilities, including access, attitude, employment and discrimination. It also provides an overview of the Disability Discrimination Act. www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/disability_and_the_arts/reports_and_publications/disabilit y_fact_pack Access All Areas: Guidelines for Marketing the Arts to People with Disabilities This guide is intended to be practical, covering actions which are within reach of arts organisations, especially marketing officers and their departments. www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/disability_and_the_arts/reports_and_publications/access_ all_areas_guidelines_for_marketing_the_arts_to_people_with_disabilities Association of Consultants in Access, Australia Inc (ACA Australia) www.access.asn.au Making the Journey: Arts and Disability in Australia www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/disability_and_the_arts/reports_and_publications/making _the_journey_arts_and_disability_in_australia Way with Words: Guidelines for the Portrayal of People with Disabilities A Queensland Government publication. www.disability.qld.gov.au/community/communication/way-words/ Mindframe Stage and Screen Guidelines This website provides practical advice and information for people involved in the development of Australian film, television and theatre. It is designed to help inform truthful and authentic portrayals of mental illness and suicide. www.mindframe-media.info/site/index.cfm?display=86070 Disability Rights: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission A useful overview of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/ Web Access Guidelines: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/standards/www_3/www_3.html
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Red Bee Media (incorporating the Australian Caption Centre), NSW www.auscap.com.au The Captioning Studio, ACT www.thecaptioningstudio.com Media Access Australia Captioning advocacy group for the media and theatre. www.mediaaccess.org.au Audio description: Media Access Australia www.audiodescription.com.au Master Lifts www.masterlifts.com.au Independent Living Centres Australia Source of advice on commercially available assistive equipment. www.ilcaustralia.org/home/default.asp Technical Aid to the Disabled Source of advice and custom-made assistive equipment. www.tadnsw.org.au/About/tadaust.html Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association Find an interpreter and relevant policies. http://aslia.com.au/mambo/content/section/6/54/ Better Hearing Australia Adaptive hearing technology. www.betterhearing.org.au Deafness Forum of Australia Advice on best practice in captioning. www.deafnessforum.org.au Assistive Listening: Disability WA Links to signage guide and installation guide for listening technology. www.disability.wa.gov.au/aud/planningbetteraccess/buildingfacilities/assistive_listening_device s.html
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Vision Australia Blindness and low vision services, including advice and provision of audio description, and tactile tours (primarily in NSW, VIC, ACT). www.visionaustralia.org.au Companion Card A card system developed in Victoria, with other States following. Allows carers of people with disabilities to attend arts and cultural events free of charge. www.companioncard.gov.au Improving Access to Heritage Buildings: Australian Heritage Council www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ahc/publications/commission/books/access-heritagebuildings.html
4.6.2 International
Arts Council England (UK) Enter ‘disability’ as a search term to find relevant projects an d reports. www.artscouncil.org.uk Disability Access: A Good Practice Guide for the Arts (UK) Comprehensive guide to increasing participation in the arts by disabled people as artists, audience members, participants and employees. Includes checklists and an action plan template www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/disability-access-a-good-practice-guide-for-thearts/ New Audiences Archive: Taking Part in the Arts (UK) Arts Council England’s New Audiences archive features details of over 50 audience development projects in the UK, and a range of resources. Click on ‘New Audiences Archive’, then enter ‘disability’ as a search term. www.takingpartinthearts.com Action for Access: A Practical Resource for Arts Organisations (UK) Describes levels of engagement with access, ranging from no-cost strategies through to larger scale and long-term improvements. It is particularly good example of a practical resource. www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/action-for-access-a-practical-resource-for-artsorganisations/ Arts Access UK Access information for arts and cultural venues. www.artsaccessuk.org
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Kennedy Center Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability: Resources (USA) Includes information on how to obtain copies of the Center’s ‘t ip sheets’ on different aspects of access in the performing arts, plus other resources. www.kennedy-center.org/accessibility/education/lead/resources.html NEA Office for AccessAbility (USA) Resources on accessibility from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office for AccessAbility. www.nea.gov/resources/Accessibility/ Disability Access Symbols: Graphic Artists Guild (USA) The Graphic Artists Guild site provides information and image downloads. www.graphicartistsguild.org/resources/disability-access-symbols/ Beyond the Ramp: Accessibility as an Organizational Asset (USA) A report commissioned by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. www.apap365.org/KNOWLEDGE/knowledge_products/Documents/MetLife/Accessibility_Whi te_Paper.pdf Additional access and the arts resources from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters: www.apap365.org/knowledge/knowledge_products/pages/access.aspx Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator ’s Handbook (USA) www.nea.gov/resources/accessibility/pubs/DesignAccessibility/DesignAccess.pdf Theatre Development Fund: TDF Accessibility Programs (USA) Project based in New York which aims to increase access to theatre. www.tdf.org/tap
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SECTION 5: APPENDICES
Appendix A: Survey
ARTS ACCESS AUSTRALIA ACCESS & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE Arts Access Australia is the national peak body of State and Territory arts and disability organisations. Arts Access Australia is currently undertaking national research into access and audience development issues for people with disabilities and consulting with stakeholders and organisations involved in the arts in Australia. This stage of the project is funded by the Audience and Market Development Division of the Australia Council for the Arts. One in five Australians has a disability and this is projected to rise as the population ages. Cultural participation rates for people with disabilities are well below that for the general population. These trends make addressing issues of access and audience development a necessary opportunity for arts organisations to ensure their current and future sustainability. This research project will assist developing a national overview to: • identify arts organisations and programs of support in Australia for increasing access • identify real and perceived barriers to increasing access to cultural participation by people with disabilities • identify best practice and gaps to develop effective strategies for organisations to increase access • identify international models that can stimulate new approaches to access • improve coordination and identify existing resources that can have national application and exchange. For more information contact: Cheryle Yin-Lo Project Researcher PO Box 72 Hazelbrook NSW 2779 Mobile 0407 409 445
Email: [email protected]
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ARTS ACCESS AUSTRALIA ACCESS & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NATIONAL SURVEY FOR PERFORMING ARTS Arts Access Australia (formerly DADAA National Network) is the national peak body of State and Territory arts and disability organisations. Arts Access Australia is currently undertaking national research into access and audience development issues for people with disabilities. This national survey is aimed at stakeholders, venues and arts organisations in Australia. This stage of the project is funded by the Audience and Market Development Division of the Australia Council for the Arts. Please complete the following details. Organization name: ___________________________________________________________ Mailing address: _____________________________________________________________ Tel: ________________________________ Fax no: ________________________________ Contact person: _______________________ Email: ________________________________ Position: ____________________________________________________________________ Please tick the relevant box: Venue ? Arts company ? Other ? (Please specify) ____________________________
We would appreciate 20–30 minutes of your time to complete this survey. Please return the survey by Friday 29 September 2006.
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DISABILITY ACCESS & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NATIONAL SURVEY FOR PERFORMING ARTS 1. Have you heard of Arts Access Australia before? (formerly DADAA National Network) Please circle Yes No 2. Do you have any people who identify as having a disability on your Board/management committee? Please circle Yes No If so, how many?______ 3. Do you have any staff or volunteers who identify as a person with specific needs or a disability? Please circle Yes No If so, how many?______ 4. Do you have a strategic plan? Please circle Yes No 4a. If yes, is access and disability a strategic objective incorporated in your plan? Please circle Yes No 5. Does your organisation have a disability policy and Action Plan? Please circle Yes No 5a. Are you willing to provide copies? Yes No
6. Have you or your staff ever undertaken any disability awareness training? Yes No If yes, please give details: ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. Do you promote or present any artists in performances which have a disability focus? Yes No If yes, please give details: ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 8. Are you currently attracting disability audiences to your venue or performances? Yes No If yes, please give details: ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 9. Do you undertake any monitoring regarding attendance of people with disabilities to your venue or performances? Yes No If yes, explain what type of monitoring method you undertake: ________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
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10. Do you offer any special services/facilities for people with a disability? Please circle Yes No If yes, please specify: _________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 10a. If so, do you use the international access symbols on your promotional material? Please circle Yes No 11. Do you have a marketing plan? 11a. Are disability groups one of your target groups? Yes Yes No No
12. Have you presented any performance, event or public program with a specific disability focus? Yes No If yes, please give details: ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 13. Do you promote or present any performances or event specifically to disability groups? Yes No Please give details: ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 14. Are you interested in finding out more about strategies for audience development and improving access for people with a disability? Please circle Yes No If you would like to know more about available resources please contact: Email: ed@ artsaccessaustralia.org 15. Do you have any information and/or resources available within your organization for developing audiences for people with a disability? (e.g. audits, publications, reports, training, promotional material, education kits, skills and dedicated staff) Please circle Yes No If yes, please list or, if possible, please attach copies with the completed questionnaire. 16. Have you or your organisation used the services of a disability arts organisation, e.g. Accessible Arts, for training, program, marketing or other advice? Please circle Yes No If so, please give details: _______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Please attach any additional pages if necessary.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TO COMPLETE THIS SURVEY. Please return your completed survey by Friday 29 September 2006 to: Cheryle Yin-Lo Arts Access Australia Disability Access & Audience Development Project PO Box 72 Hazelbrook NSW 2779 Email: [email protected] Mobile: 0407 409 445
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Appendix B: Respondents
Table B1: List of respondents, location, type of organisation and membership of peak bodies
Venue (V), Producer (P), Both (B), Touring (T) or Other (O)
Organisation
Location
Regional (R) or Metro (M)
Member of AMPAG?
Member of APACA?
ACT Canberra Theatre Centre Hidden Corners Theatre Tuggeranong Community Arts Centre Total NEW SOUTH WALES Albury Convention Centre Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Australian Chamber Orchestra Bangarra Dance Theatre Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre Christine Dunstan Productions Company B Belvoir Coffs Harbour City Council (Jetty Theatre) City Recital Hall, Angel Place Civic Precinct (Civic Theatre, City Hall and Playhouse), Newcastle Glen Street Theatre Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre Legs on the Wall Manning Entertainment Centre Musica Viva NORPA (inc. Lismore City Hall) Opera Australia Performing Lines Riverside Theatres Song Company Sutherland Entertainment Centre Sydney Dance Company Sydney Festival Sydney Opera House Sydney Symphony Orchestra Sydney Theatre Company Albury Sydney Sydney Sydney Bathurst Berry Sydney Coffs Harbour Sydney Newcastle Frenchs Forest Penrith Sydney Taree Sydney Lismore Strawberry Hills Sydney Parramatta Sydney Sutherland Sydney Sydney Sydney Sydney Sydney R M M M R R M R M R M M M R M R M M M M M M M M M M V P P P V T B V V V (3) V V V V B B P T V P V P O B P B ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?* (2) ?? ?? ?? ?* ?? ?? ?? Canberra Watson Tuggeranong 3 M M M V P V ?? ?**
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Wagga City Council (Civic Theatre) Willoughby Civic Centre Willoughby Symphony Zenith Theatre and Convention Centre Total NORTHERN TERRITORY Araluen Centre Browns Mart Community Arts Corrugated Iron Youth Arts InCite Youth Arts Tracks Inc Total QUEENSLAND Brisbane Powerhouse Burdekin Theatre Cairns Civic Theatre Caloundra Cultural Centre City Hall Empire Theatres Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Art Gladstone Entertainment Centre Gold Coast Arts Centre Logan Entertainment Centre Mackay Entertainment Centre Maroochy Shire Council (Nambour Civic Centre) Queensland Ballet Queensland Conservatorium Opera Queensland Queensland Arts Council Queensland Theatre Company Redland Shire Council Rockhampton Venues & Events Roundhouse Theatre/ La Boite Theatre Co The Queensland Orchestra The Junction, Noosa Shire Council Total SOUTH AUSTRALIA Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Barossa Arts and Convention Centre
Wagga Wagga Willoughby Chatswood Chatswood 32
R M M M
V V P V
??
??
Alice Springs Darwin Nightcliff Alice Springs Darwin 5
R M M R M
B B P P P
??
New Farm Ayr Cairns Caloundra Brisbane Toowoomba Fortitude Valley Gladstone Surfers Paradise Logan Central Mackay Nambour Brisbane South Bank Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane Cleveland Rockhampton Brisbane Brisbane Noosa Heads 22
M R R R M R M R M M R R M M M M M M R M M R
V V V V V V V V V V V V P V P T P V V B P V ?? ?? ?? ??
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
?? ?? ?? ??
Adelaide Adelaide Tanunda
M M R
V P V ?*
?? ??
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Country Arts SA (Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre in Mt Gambier, Chaffey Theatre in Renmark, Northern Festival Centre in Port Pirie, Middleback Theatre in Whyalla) Golden Grove Arts Centre Marion Cultural Centre Parallelo State Theatre Co SA Windmill Performing Arts Total TASMANIA Arts Tasmania Live Tasmania Tasmania Symphony Orchestra Ten Days on the Island Theatre Royal Total VICTORIA The Australian Ballet Back to Back Theatre Circus Oz Clocktower Centre Colac Otway Performing Arts Centre Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre Drum Theatre Esso BHP Biliton Entertainment Centre Frankston Arts Centre Geelong Performing Arts Centre Hamilton Performing Arts Centre Her Majesty’s Theatre Karralyka Kingston Arts Centre La Trobe Performing Arts Centre Malthouse Theatre Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Arts Festival Melbourne Theatre Company Monash University Arts Centres National Theatre Paramount Theatre Portland Arts Centre Regional Arts VIC Tarra Festival
Port Adelaide
R
V (4) T (1)
?* (5)
Modbury Oaklands Park Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide 13
M M M M M
V V P P P ??
?? ??
Hobart Hobart Hobart Hobart 5
M M M M M
O O P O V ?? ??
Southbank Geelong Port Melbourne Vito Matarelli Colac Preston Dandenong Sale Frankston Geelong Hamilton Ballarat Ringwood Moorabbin Morwell Southbank Southbank Melbourne Southbank Melbourne St Kilda Echuca Portland Port Melbourne Yarram
M M M M R R M R M R R R M M R M M M M M M R R M R
P P P V V V V V V V V V V V V V P O P V V V V V O
?? ?? ??
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
?? ??
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The Capital, Bendigo Wangaratta Arts Centre Warrnambool Entertainment Centre West Gippsland Arts Centre Women’s Circus Whitehorse Centre Wyndham Cultural Centre Total WESTERN AUSTRALIA Albany Town Hall Theatre Black Swan Theatre Co Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre Carnarvon Civic Centre Country Arts WA Don Russell Performing Arts Centre Goldfields Arts Centre Mandurah Performing Arts Centre Matt Dann Cultural Centre Ogden Int’l Facilities Corporation (His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth Concert Hall, Playhouse Theatre, Subiaco Theatre Centre) Performing Arts Centre Society Queens Park Theatre West Australian Opera West Australia Ballet West Australian Symphony Orchestra Yirra Yaakin Aboriginal Corp Total FINAL TOTAL
Bendigo Wangaratta Warrnambool Warragul Footscray Nunawading Werribee 32
R R R R M M M
V V V V P V V
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
Albany Crawley Bunbury Carnarvon Perth Gosnells Kalgoorlie Mandurah Port Hedland
R M R R M M R R R
V P V V V V V V V ??
??
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?* (1)
Perth
M
V (4)
Perth Geraldton Perth Perth Perth Perth 19 131
M R M M M M
V V P P P B ?? ?? ?? ??
47 of 131 (35%) are located outside capital cities and surrounds
81 Venues 31 Producers 9 Both 4 Touring 6 Other (festival, peak org, funding body) = 131 total
25 of 28 (90%) possible, including * two written responses, no survey
77 (inc. 40 regional) of 112 (70%) possible, including * multiple responses ** written response, no survey
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Appendix C: Survey results—data summary*
Table C1: Overall survey results—all respondents
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 109 (81%) 8 (6%) 39 (29%) 109 (81%) 63 (47%) 56 (42%) 32 (24%) 73 (54%) 62 (46%) 118 (88%) 41 (31%) 115 (86%) 36 (27%) 106 (79%) 44 (33%) 51 (38%) 47 (35%) 111 (83%) 29 (22%) 46 (34%) NO 21 (16%) 115 (86%) 89 (66%) 20 (15%) 40 (30%) 71 (53%) 13 (10%) 54 (40%) 63 (47%) 10 (7%) 86 (64%) 14 (10%) 90 (67%) 21 (16%) 74 (55%) 76 (57%) 81 (60%) 16 (12%) 99 (74%) 83 (62%) Blank or not applicable 4 (3%) 11 (8%) 6 (4%) 5 (4%) 31 (23%) 7 (5%) 89 (66%) 7 (5%) 9 (7%) 6 (4%) 7 (5%) 5 (4%) 8 (6%) 7 (5%) 16 (12%) 7 (5%) 6 (4%) 7 (5%) 6 (4%) 5 (4%) Total 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134
*
Three organisations (Malthouse Theatre, Musica Viva and the Sydney Theatre Company) are members of both AMPAG and APACA. These organisations have been double counted in the tables in this section, making a total number of 134 survey responses. Due to rounding, some percentages don’t always equal 100.
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Table C2: AMPAG members—metropolitan
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 19 (76%) 0 6 {1,1,1,6, ?,?} (24%) 23 (92%) 7 (28%) 4 (16%) 3 (12%) 7 (28%) 5 (20%) 22 (88%) 9 (36%) 22 (88%) 4 (16%) 22 (88%) 4 (16%) 7 (28%) 11 (44%) 21 (84%) 6 (24%) 10 (40%) NO 4 (16%) 23 (92%) 17 (68%) 0 14 (56%) 19 (76%) 1 (4%) 15 (60%) 17 (68%) 1 (4%) 14 (56%) 1 (4%) 18 (72%) 0 18 (72%) 15 (60%) 11 (44%) 0 16 (64%) 12 (48%) Blank or not applicable 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 4 (16%) 2 (8%) 21 (84%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 4 (16%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 2 organisations provided responses without completing the survey; other survey forms were incomplete Total 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
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Table C3: APACA members, Venues, Both, Touring—metropolitan
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 42 (84%) 0 11 {1,1,2,14,1,3,3,1,?,?,?} (22%) 38 (76%) 22 (44%) 28 (56%) 12 (24% 29 (58%) 26 (52%) 40 (80%) 12 (24%) 40 (80%) 13 (26%) 39 (78%) 14 (38%) 22 (44%) 14 (28%) 41 (82%) 7 (14%) 19 (38%) NO 6 (12%) 44 (88%) 36 (72%) 9 (18%) 15 (30%) 20 (40%) 10 (20%) 17 (34%) 19 (38%) 7 (14%) 35 (70%) 8 (16%) 33 (66%) 9 (18%) 31 (62%) 24 (48%) 33 (66%) 7 (14%) 40 (80%) 29 (58%) Blank or not applicable 2 (4%) 6 (12%) 3 (6%) 3 (6%) 13 (26%) 2 (4%) 28 (56%) 4 (8%) 5 (10%) 3 (6%) 3 (6%) 2 (4%) 4 (8%) 2 (4%) 5 (10%) 4 (8%) 3 (6%) 2 (4%) 3 (6%) 2 (4%) Total 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50
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Table C4: APACA members, Venues, Both, Touring—regional
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 34 (79%) 4 {1,1,1,1} (9%) 16 {2,2,1,1,1,3,1,3,1,2,2,1,1,1,2,?} (37%) 35 (81%) 26 (61%) 18 (42%) 13 (30%) 29 (67%) 19 (44%) 42 (98%) 16 (37%) 41 (95%) 17 (40%) 31 (72%) 20 (46%) 16 (37%) 19 (37%) 35 (81%) 12 (28%) 11 (26%) NO 9 (21%) 36 (84%) 26 (61%) 8 (19%) 7 (16%) 22 (51%) 2 (5%) 14 (33%) 23 (54%) 1 (2%) 26 (61%) 2 (5%) 26 (61%) 10 (23%) 17 (40%) 27 (63%) 24 (56%) 7 (16%) 31 (72%) 32 (74%) Blank or not applicable 0 3 (7%) 1 (2%) 0 10 (23%) 3 (7%) 28 (65%) 0 1 (2%) 0 1 (2%) 0 0 2 (5%) 6 (14%) 0 0 1 (2%) 0 0 Total 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43
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Table C5: Other organisations, non-AMPAG producers
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 14 (88%) 4 (1,1,?,1) (25%) 6 {6,?,2,5,2,3} (38%) 13 (81%) 8 (50%) 6 (38%) 4 (25%) 8 (50%) 12 (75%) 14 (88%) 4 (25%) 12 (75%) 2 (13%) 14 (88%) 6 (38%) 6 (38%) 3 (19%) 14 (88%) 4 (25%) 6 (38%) NO 2 (12%) 12 (75%) 10 (62%) 3 (19%) 4 (25%) 10 (62%) 0 8 (50%) 4 (25%) 1 (6%) 11 (69%) 3 (19%) 13 (87%) 2 (12%) 8 (50%) 10 (62%) 13 (87%) 2 (12%) 12 (75%) 10 (62%) Blank or not applicable 0 0 0 0 4 (25%) 0 12 (75%) 0 0 1 (6%) 1 (6%) 1 (6%) 1 (6%) 0 2 (12%) 0 0 0 0 0 Total 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
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doc_327702848.pdf
The term Audience Development describes activity which is undertaken specifically to meet the needs of existing and potential audiences and to help arts [and cultural] organisations to develop on-going relationships with audiences.
ACCESS AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTRALIA: PERFORMING ARTS RESEARCH PROJECT
Gareth Wreford Executive Director Arts Access Australia Cheryle Yin-Lo Project researcher
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
CONTENTS
Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... 6 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 7 1.1 Executive summary ........................................................................................................ 7 1.2 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 8 1.3 How to use this report ................................................................................................... 10 SECTION 2: BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT ......................................................... 11 2.1 About the project .......................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 Establishing the project ....................................................................................... 11 2.1.2 Project aims ......................................................................................................... 11 2.1.3 Research methodology ........................................................................................ 12 2.1.4 Scope of research................................................................................................. 13 2.1.5 Existing research and data ................................................................................... 14 2.1.6 Limitations .......................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Arts and disability in Australia ..................................................................................... 16 2.2.1 Legislation ........................................................................................................... 16 2.2.2 Disability Action Plans........................................................................................ 18 2.2.3 About Arts Access Australia ............................................................................... 18 2.2.4 Conceptual models of disability .......................................................................... 19 2.2.5 The arts and disability sector ............................................................................... 19 2.3 Performing arts peak bodies and stakeholders ............................................................. 20 2.3.1 Non-government.................................................................................................. 20 2.3.2 Government ......................................................................................................... 23 SECTION 3: SURVEY RESULTS ....................................................................................... 24 3.1 Governance and operations........................................................................................... 24 3.1.1 Governance of performing art venues ................................................................. 24 3.1.2 Employment for people with a disability ............................................................ 26 3.1.3 Disability Action Plans and awareness training .................................................. 27 3.2 Marketing and promotion ............................................................................................. 28 3.2.1 Marketing to people with a disability .................................................................. 28 3.2.2 Access services, promotional material and access symbols ................................ 30 3.2.3 Arts development ................................................................................................ 32 3.3 Use of existing resources .............................................................................................. 34
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SECTION 4: ADDITIONAL RESEARCH FINDINGS ..................................................... 37 4.1 International legislation ................................................................................................ 37 4.1.1 USA ..................................................................................................................... 37 4.1.2 UK ....................................................................................................................... 37 4.2 Policy and funding ........................................................................................................ 37 4.2.1 Federal arts .......................................................................................................... 37 4.2.2 State/Territory arts ............................................................................................... 38 4.2.3 Local arts ............................................................................................................. 40 4.3 Sponsorship .................................................................................................................. 40 4.4 Venue access................................................................................................................. 41 4.4.1 Access to arts premises ....................................................................................... 41 4.4.2 Access and heritage ............................................................................................. 43 4.5 Websites and ticketing .................................................................................................. 43 4.5.1 Websites .............................................................................................................. 43 4.5.2 Ticketing.............................................................................................................. 44 4.6 Resources ...................................................................................................................... 45 4.6.1 Australia .............................................................................................................. 45 4.6.2 International ........................................................................................................ 48 SECTION 5: APPENDICES ................................................................................................. 50 Appendix A: Survey ........................................................................................................... 50 Appendix B: Respondents .................................................................................................. 55 Table B1: List of respondents, location, type of organisation and membership of peak bodies ................................................................................................................... 55 Appendix C: Survey results—data summary ..................................................................... 59 Table C1: Overall survey results—all respondents ...................................................... 59 Table C2: AMPAG members—metropolitan .............................................................. 60 Table C3: APACA members, Venues, Both, Touring—metropolitan ......................... 61 Table C4: APACA members, Venues, Both, Touring—regional ................................ 62 Table C5: Other organisations, non-AMPAG producers ............................................. 63
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© 2010 Arts Access Australia Arts Access Australia 91 Canal Rd Lilyfield NSW 2040
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Author: Title: ISBN: Subjects: Wreford, Gareth Access and audience development in Australia: Performing Arts 9780975132326 Performing arts--Public relations--Australia. Performing arts--Audiences—Australia. Performing arts--Australia--Marketing. People with Disabilities and the Performing Arts – Australia. Yin Lo, Cheryle Driver, Emma Scudds, Krissie 792.0994
Other Authors/Contributors:
Dewey Number:
THIS PUBLICATION IS COPYRIGHT. EXCEPT AS PERMITTED UNDER THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1968 (CTH), NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED BY ANY PROCESS, ELECTRONIC OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT THE SPECIFIC WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.NEITHER MAY INFORMATION BE STORED ELECTRONICALLY IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER WITHOUT SUCH PERMISSION. ENQUIRIES SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE PUBLISHER.
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Foreword
It is a pleasure to write the foreword to this Access and Audience Development report into the Performing Arts. The report will be of interest to venues, producing, touring and related organisations as well as government policy makers and program administrators. The report is particularly relevant for the performing arts sector given the increasing awareness of the one in five Australians with disability and the ageing population. For Arts Access Australia this report marks a beginning. As with any research that is the first of its kind it establishes the ground for what will follow. Since the project began there have also been many changes in the field of access and arts and disability. These changes include the launch of the National Arts and Disability Strategy, Disability (Access to Premises – Building) Standards and National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy, all of which are linked through the current government’s Social Inclusion Agenda. While much has changed at the policy level there remains much to do to achieve practical changes for improving access to the performing arts that will make a difference to the lives of people with disability and older Australians. Arts Access Australia will use this report to inform the strategies we hope to develop with performing arts stakeholders over the next 12 months and beyond. Arts Access Australia launched a new website in 2009 and we also employed a Communications Manager to support it. For our part Arts Access Australia will support this research and ongoing developments in access through identifying and promoting best practice case studies, developing practical resources and leadership in the performing arts by people with disability. See www.artsaccessaustralia.org/Attending. We expect the audience for this report will be both national and international as Arts Access Australia participates in the USA Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) network. Arts Access Australia is committed to bringing the best of international practice to Australia and leading the development of strategies that uphold the rights of people with disability to have full and equitable participation in their communities. We equally acknowledge the expertise, good practice and willingness to embrace access that exists within the performing arts sector and wish to harness this good will to make changes which are reasonable for all parties.
Gareth Wreford Executive Director
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Acknowledgments
The report has been several years in the making and involved a great number of people at different stages. While acknowledging the risk of forgetting some contributions - and apologies to anyone whose hard work is not recognised here - there are a few individuals who deserve particular thanks. They include Ron Layne, Anna Grega, Anne Yates, Karilyn Brown, Trish Ludgate, Cena Josevska and John Baylis at the Australia Council; Kiersten Fishburn and Alison McLaren of Accessible Arts NSW; Fiona Hanrahan and Jane Trengove of Arts Access VIC; and Edwina Jans. Thanks to Cheryle Yin-Lo, the project researcher, who took on an ambitious project, chased up surveys through several extensions to deadlines and identified material that has all provided content and context for the final report. Thanks also to Emma Driver as editor who has gone to considerable lengths to make sense of a complex project and give it some structural cohesion and clarity. Krissie Scudds then made the final edits for publication. The relevant industry peak bodies—Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG), Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA), Live Performance Australia (LPA) and Regional Arts Australia (RAA)—all demonstrated interest and active support for the project. Finally, thanks to the performing arts sector readers who assisted in shaping the final report through their expertise and knowledge of their own sector.
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SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Executive summary
This report was commissioned by Arts Access Australia, with support from the Australia Council, to assess what is currently being done, and what needs to be done, to increase access to the performing arts in Australia for people with a disability. The report highlights the shared responsibility for access among all stakeholders involved in the performing arts, as set out in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The focus of the report is audience development, as opposed to arts development, although the two are related. The report has its origins in discussions between Arts Access Australia, Accessible Arts NSW and Arts Access VIC about the lack of baseline data that was hampering our efforts to develop effective strategies and advocate for improvements to access for people with a disability. The research report demonstrates there is a significant level of unmet need in developing audience development resources and strategies. The report is intended to influence the future directions of the Arts Access Australia network, arts funding authorities, and performing arts peak bodies and their members. This report and its recommendations are a timely and relevant contribution to future government policy and support for people with disabilities, with the federal government launching a national arts and disability strategy, Disability (Access to Premises – Building) Standards and a national disability strategy to follow. The Australia Council’s current Disability Action Plan also highlights the significance of this activity. Statistics available through the Cultural Ministers Council 2007 report Cultural Participation by Persons with a Disability and Older Persons indicate that both groups have significantly lower rates of cultural participation than the overall population. While 85% of Australians attend at least one cultural venue or event in a year, that figure falls to 74% for people with a disability and 69% for older Australians. Responses to the research and survey were received from 134 organisations, including 25 of 28 (90%) Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) members and 77 of 112 (70%) Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA) members. Generally organisations receiving some government subsidy were more responsive than the commercial organisations. The challenge of including the commercial arts sector in strategies to improve access provides a clear role for government leadership and legislation. The 134 responses have been aggregated and divided into four categories: 1 AMPAG members (25) 2 Metropolitan APACA members, additional venues and touring organisations (50) 3 Regional APACA members, additional venues and touring organisations (43) 4 Other organisations: State festivals, funding bodies, small to medium producers (16). Survey responses for each of the four categories have then been grouped and analysed around three areas of organisational responsibility:
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• • •
Governance and operations (questions 2, 3, 4, 4a, 5, 5a, 6) Audience development and marketing (questions 7, 8, 9, 10, 10a, 11, 12, 13) Use of resources (questions 1, 14, 15, 16).
Key findings include the following: • There is a high level of recognition for Arts Access Australia. • The vast majority of organisations are attracting some people with disabilities as audience members and have some access services available. • The vast majority of organisations do not promote productions to people with disabilities or monitor their attendance. • While organisations generally have a very low usage of existing access resources and organisations, this is combined with a very high desire to find out more about access. • People with disabilities have a low level of employment in surveyed organisations, and even lower participation on Boards and management committees. • Regional and smaller organisations are often better at including people with disabilities than their metropolitan counterparts.
1.2 Recommendations
RECOMMENDATION 1—Data collection and reporting That Commonwealth, State, Territory and regional funding authorities collaborate and share information and processes to ensure consistent and comparable collection and reporting of data about the participation and attendance of people with disabilities in the arts. RECOMMENDATION 2—Governance and leadership by people with a disability That arts sector stakeholders identify and develop the governance skills of people with a disability through training, mentorship and leadership programs. RECOMMENDATION 3—Access as a strategic objective That AMPAG and APACA members be supported by their peak and government funding bodies to incorporate access for people with disabilities into their strategic objectives, with annual reports to monitor progress. RECOMMENDATION 4—Training and employment That employment services, and government disability and employment portfolios, recognise and support arts and cultural vocational education, training and employment strategies for people with disabilities. RECOMMENDATION 5—Awareness and training That existing accredited and non-accredited arts and disability awareness training modules provided by Arts Access Australia members be better promoted to stakeholders in the performing arts sector.
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RECOMMENDATION 6—Resources and information That information on access services, symbols and providers be available in one place, such as the Arts Access Australia website, and promoted to performing arts organisations to enable identification and targeting of people with a disability. RECOMMENDATION 7—Arts development and touring That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities increase their support for the arts development of people with disabilities, development of work to tour, and better utilisation of existing State, national and international mechanisms to promote work that is ready to tour. RECOMMENDATION 8—Peer-to-peer learning That peer-to-peer learning and support strategies should be implemented within the performing arts as the preferred way of discussing and supporting improvements in access. The first step is for performing arts organisations to nominate an access coordinator. RECOMMENDATION 9—Government disability legislation reform That the Commonwealth Government adapt USA and UK legislative provisions to amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and place a positive duty on service providers to be accessible. RECOMMENDATION 10—Government disability action plans That, as part of the National Disability Strategy, Commonwealth Government departments be required to develop and report on Disability Action Plans that include the impact of public funding programs and services, and lodge them with the Australian Human Rights Commission. RECOMMENDATION 11—Cross-government partnerships That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities seek partnerships with their equivalent disability, mental health and ageing authority to support arts and disability initiatives and programs. RECOMMENDATION 12—Capital expenditure That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities identify existing programs, or develop new programs, to support capital expenditure and the purchase of access equipment. RECOMMENDATION 13—Local government That further research be undertaken to establish the level of local government provision of cultural services for people with disabilities, data collection and reporting. RECOMMENDATION 14—Local government access award That Arts Access Australia approaches the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to establish a national arts access award.
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RECOMMENDATION 15—Sponsorship That the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) identifies and promotes examples of best practice in access sponsorship. RECOMMENDATION 16—Venue responsibility for access That individual performing arts venues take responsibility for providing audience access information. RECOMMENDATION 17—Funding body responsibility That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding bodies only support productions and tours taking place in venues that can demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to improve access. RECOMMENDATION 18—Access and heritage That recommendations from the final Accessible Arts NSW ‘Access and Heritage’ research report be implemented. RECOMMENDATION 19—Ticketing code of practice That the Live Performance Australia Code of Practice for the Ticketing of Live Entertainment Events in Australia be amended to include accessible ticketing services. RECOMMENDATION 20—Peak body advocacy That performing arts peak bodies advocate and provide models for access, including ticketing services and customer relationship management software, to identify and promote services to patrons with a disability.
1.3 How to use this report
This document gives a national snapshot of current access to the performing arts for people with disabilities. It will be useful to venues, producers, and arts organisations and agencies involved in performing arts and touring. The report provides resources and case studies for further action now. It also makes recommendations for future action and strategy development to increase access to the performing arts for the one in five Australians with a disability. The survey research conducted for this report took place in 2005 and 2006. Arts Access Australia acknowledges that some organisations who were part of this research have taken further steps to improve their accessibility since then. The redevelopment of Arts Access Australia’s website (www.artsaccessaustralia.org) and employment of a communications manager in 2009 are providing an opportunity to highlight new examples of good practice on an ongoing basis. The website will also report future partnerships and work with performing arts stakeholders to improve access.
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SECTION 2: BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT
2.1 About the project
2.1.1 Establishing the project
Arts Access Australia is the national peak body of State and Territory arts and disability organisations. Two of its member organisations—those in NSW and Victoria—have dedicated audience development positions. In 2003 Arts Access Australia brought these two positions together for the first time for a meeting at, and with, the Australia Council to develop a national brief for our collective audience development and access work. The priorities identified through this meeting included the need to gather baseline data on existing practice. Arts Access Australia then developed a proposal to undertake national research into access and audience development issues for people with disabilities which would involve consulting with stakeholders and organisations involved in the arts in Australia. In 2004 this stage of the project received $50,000 in funding from the Community Partnerships and Market Development Division of the Australia Council for the Arts. The project was then split into two sections, reflecting the different stakeholders and approaches necessary to engage with: 1 the performing arts sector 2 the museums and galleries sector. A separate report on access practices in museums and galleries is published as a companion report to this performing arts report.
2.1.2 Project aims
One in five Australians has a disability and this is projected to rise as the population ages. Cultural participation rates for people with disabilities are well below those for the general population. These trends make addressing issues of access and audience development crucial for performing arts venues and arts organisations to ensure their current and future sustainability. The aims of the project are to develop a national overview to: • identify arts organisations and programs of support in Australia for increasing access; • identify real and perceived barriers to increasing access to cultural participation by people with a disability; • identify best practice and gaps to develop effective strategies for organisations to increase access; • identify international models that can stimulate new approaches to access; and • improve coordination and identify existing resources that can have national application and exchange. A key outcome of the project is to promote a broader understanding of access and audience development as something more than just physical access. A performing arts event that is inaccessible to someone using a wheelchair can still provide a range of access services addressing the needs of most people with a disability.
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2.1.3 Research methodology
Through 2005 and 2006 Arts Access Australia engaged Cheryle Yin-Lo as project researcher to develop and distribute a survey, then collate responses. This final report has been prepared using Cheryle’s work with significant additional input from Arts Access Australia. Desktop research into access and the performing arts was supported by the electronic distribution of a three-page survey to Australian Performing Arts Centre Association (APACA) members, Live Performance Australia (LPA), Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) members, Regional Arts Australia and major festivals. The survey was developed by Cheryle with input from Arts Access Australia, Arts Access VIC, Accessible Arts NSW and the Australia Council. The response rate was increased by distributing hard-copy surveys at a 2005 Major Performing Arts Board (MPAB) e-marketing forum in Adelaide and the 2005 APACA conference in Canberra. Subsequent follow-up by phone and email resulted in a very high response rate from AMPAG and APACA members. In 2005 Arts Access Australia attended and presented as part of the USA Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conference in Phoenix, Arizona. LEAD is coordinated by the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It brings together access workers from all States of the USA, in addition to many international workers, mostly from the UK. This conference was instrumental in identifying international models that can stimulate new approaches to access in Australia. A draft of the report, and raw research findings, has been available since early 2007. With a federal election to be held that year and the Australia Council developing a 2008 –10 Disability Action Plan, Arts Access Australia made the strategic decision to hold off on publishing the reports so we had an opportunity to align them with, and inform, government policy and strategy development. Federal Labor’s New Directions for the Arts policy document led to the development of a national arts and disability strategy launched in October 2009. Similarly, the Australia Council’s Disability Action Plan 2008 - 2010 commits the Council to improving access to the arts for people with disabilities. Throughout the life of this research project, Arts Access Australia has also presented, been involved in, influenced or had an advisory role in: • APACA conferences from 2005 to 2010 • an access and heritage buildings project led by Accessible Arts NSW • the Accessing The Arts Group (ATAG) led by Accessible Arts NSW • a fuel4arts access and marketing forum in December 2005 to support the launch of Making the Journey: Arts and Disability in Australia • a theatre captioning trial led by Arts Access VIC in 2006 • a review of Live Performance Australia’s ticketing policy in 2007 and 2008 • conferences held by Accessible Arts NSW in 2005, 2007 and 2010 that included audience development and access sessions • an Australian Bureau of Statistics Culture and Recreation Information Development Plan
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•
• • • •
•
• •
a multi-State collaboration between Arts Access Australia members and significant arts and disability organisations to promote their work at the 2008 Australian Performing Arts Market. the development of the Cultural Ministers Council national arts and disability strategy three-way strategic meetings between Arts Access Australia, Arts Access VIC and Accessible Arts NSW to develop future access and audience development collaborations an arts, education and employment forum held in Adelaide in March 2007, led by Arts Access SA disability awareness training and a keynote speech, with DADAA Inc, at the launch of the Disability Arts Inclusion Initiative (WA Department of Culture, and the Arts and Disability Services Commission) in April 2007 a four-State speaking tour by Betty Siegel, an internationally recognised expert on access, from the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (USA) and coordinator of the annual Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) forum Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conferences in 2005 and 2010 NARPACA Ticketing Professional Conference
Each of the above activities has informed this final report. This report will be available from the Arts Access Australia website on an ongoing basis. The website will also provide updates on our future audience development work.
2.1.4 Scope of research
The complex network of stakeholders who make up the performing arts sector —producers, presenters and venues, touring agencies, festivals, ticketing agencies, peak bodies and funding authorities—all have a shared responsibility for access. To develop a national overview of current access strategies with recommendations for future action is therefore a large and complex task. Arts Access Australia decided that the research would achieve maximum usefulness and impact if the major stakeholders were targeted through their national peak bodies. The very high response rate from AMPAG and APACA members reflects the success of this strategy. Major arts festivals were also targeted, though with less success. The research also includes nonAPACA venues, and small to medium producers picked up through survey distribution to Australia Council key organisations and Regional Arts Australia networks. The survey was designed to cover key areas of organisational responsibility for feedback. The 17 questions in the survey are grouped under three headings: • Governance and operations (questions 2, 3, 4, 4a, 5, 5a, 6) • Audience development and marketing (questions 7, 8, 9, 10, 10a, 11, 12, 13) • Use of resources (questions 1, 14, 15, 16). Each area provides a snapshot of current practice, revealing issues for further investigation, and informing recommendations for action and further funding. While five of eight State and Territory members of the Blue Heeler Touring Network are represented in the respondents, the mechanisms and decision-making process of touring productions was not a specific focus of this research project.
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We recognise that there is a great deal more activity in the performing arts sector than we have been able to capture. As the first report of its type in Australia this research is intended to provide ‘big-picture’ information rather than overwhelm with detail.
2.1.5 Existing research and data
Australia One of the drivers of this research report was an identified lack of current arts and disability research. While it is easy to notice the lack of research, there is also a positive view of a growing body of work that assists in building a picture of the participation of people with disabilities in the arts—and in the performing arts in particular. Significantly, Regional Arts Australia has published a report on the Regional Arts Fund which identifies projects that involved or targeted people with a disability. Similarly the Australia Council, as part of its Disability Action Plan, has committed to reporting on the data it collects. In March 2007 the Cultural Ministers Council released a report titled Cultural Participation of People with Disabilities and Older Persons. The report summarises useful information about people with disabilities and older Australians, and includes a State and Territory breakdown of cultural participation. Broadly, the report cites Australian Bureau of Statistics data that, in 2003, 3.98 million people in Australia (20% of the population) had a disability which restricted their everyday activities and which had lasted, or was expected to last, for six months or more. The report then uses data from the 2005–06 report Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events which found that 25% of people with disabilities attended theatres or concerts, compared with 32% of all Australians aged 15 or over. In 2003 there were 3.35 million people in Australia aged 60 or over. Of these, 51% reported that they had a disability and 28% attended theatres and concerts. Australia Council Research in 2010 (More than bums on seats: Australian participation in the arts) found that people with a serious illness or disability reported much lower levels of arts participation. There is almost no literature on the perceptions of people with disabilities who attend performing arts events. In 1995 the Australia Council published an Arts and Disability report by Des Walsh and Juliet London that identified barriers to attendance at arts events including ticketing costs, transport and lack of information about access. Focus groups conducted with people with disabilities prior to the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney identified their positive perceptions of the arts and of the events they had attended with friends and family members. One consistent theme is that people with disabilities often comment on the negative attitudes and the lack of welcome that they encounter in cultural venues from front of house, and how well a venue may or may not provide for patrons with disabilities. These attitudes can be one of the key barriers to access.
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International USA and UK There is one piece of research specific to the performing arts that Arts Access Australia identified in the USA. VSA Arts of Florida (VSAFL), with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, produced a report in 2004 called Survey on the Perceptions of Persons with Disabilities Regarding Attendance at Performing Arts Centers. The report found that people with disabilities are no different from people without disabilities in their general attitudes towards the performing arts. The report went on to make recommendations for venues, including: • explore ways to reduce the cost of tickets • negotiate door-to-door transport for groups • re-evaluate seating arrangements for people with disabilities e.g. to allow family and friends to be seated together • as far as is practical, provide adequate resources to facilitate requests from persons with disabilities • provide adequate training for staff, box office assistants and volunteers to ensure sensitivity towards persons with disabilities • conduct special promotions aimed at including persons with disabilities • hold meetings to appraise stakeholders of the survey’s findings and plan a course of action. These USA research findings support local anecdotal knowledge in Australia, and to the above recommendations we would add: • increase exposure to the arts for people with disabilities • improve physical access to cultural venues • increase understanding of different types of disabilities and needs • seek regular disability specialist advice • increase the involvement of people with disabilities at governance level, in employment and in developing disability policy in performing arts organisations, touring companies and venues • increase promotion of disability services available • know and utilise disability networks for advice and for promoting the organisation and its programs. Addressing most access issues is not cost-prohibitive and an organisation that develops a Disability Action Plan can set goals for the short, medium and long term. The Arts Council England has produced a guide called Action for Access: a Practical Resource for Arts Organisations that sets out examples of actions that can be taken now with little or no money (www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/action-for-access-a-practical-resource-forarts-organisations). The Arts Council England’s New Audiences program and website was set up to encourage as many people as possible, from all backgrounds and every walk of life, to participate in and benefit from the arts. Arts Council England invested £20 million in the programme, over five years, from 1998 to 2003. Information about the New Audiences program is archived at www.takingpartinthearts.com.
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The New Audiences website lists many disability-related projects. Those relevant to the performing arts are described in more detail under Case studies and Resources sections. RECOMMENDATION 1—Data collection and reporting That Commonwealth, State, Territory and regional funding authorities collaborate and share information and processes to ensure consistent and comparable collection and reporting of data about the participation and attendance of people with disabilities in the arts.
2.1.6 Limitations
The data and research collected here is intended to provide a general overview of current access practices across the performing arts. The sample was not randomly selected, and considerable time and energy was put into ensuring the high response rate from AMPAG and APACA members in particular. We are unable to ascertain the degree of overlap between AMPAG, APACA and LPA membership. Another limitation to the scope is specific consideration of the decision making and mechanisms of touring through forums like the Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) and the CyberPaddock/Blue Heeler network. Similarly, ticketing and websites were not specifically considered as part of this research yet both are often the first point of contact for people attending performing arts events. Arts Access Australia also limited the scope of the research to national structures and stakeholders so we have not engaged meaningfully with the extensive support provided for production and touring through State, Territory or local governments. When examining responses to questions, it is clear that a degree of interpretation is required in analysing what at first appear to be simple yes/no responses. There are fine distinctions between a venue for outside hire, a venue that actively seeks out and presents a range of local and touring productions, and a producer who tours work. These distinctions are difficult to maintain in a generalised survey. Similarly, the project attempted to maintain the distinctions between marketing arts and disability productions to mainstream audiences, encouraging people with a disability to see mainstream productions, and targeting either style of production specifically to a disability audience, but these were often unclear to respondents. There were a significant number of ‘see response to previous question’ comments added as free text. For this reason the various responses are grouped in the final report and analysed together. Finally, Arts Access Australia was unable to secure the expertise needed to design and construct an online survey that could automatically collate the entered data, so considerable time was spent by the project researcher and Arts Access Australia doing data entry and analysis. This, combined with the conflation of responses to a series of different questions, has limited our ability to manipulate data, and indeed the usefulness of the data collected.
2.2 Arts and disability in Australia
2.2.1 Legislation
First, a word from Graham Innes, Disability Discrimination Commissioner, from his address to the 2007 NSW Arts Activated conference:
One other matter that we’re often asked about .... is whether organisations that hold arts-related events in inaccessible buildings, be they heritage-listed or otherwise, have any responsibilities
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under the DDA. The answer is that yes, they do. Under the DDA, it is unlawful to permit discrimination if there is a power to prevent it. Bodies that organise events, or provide funding for such events, have some power to decide where those events will be held. If they allow inaccessible venues to be used, then they may be liable for complaints under the DDA.
Graham Innes, ‘Access to the Arts: Being Discriminating rather than Discriminatory’, speech delivered to Arts Activated Conference, Sydney, 26 September 2007, www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/speeches/2007/arts.htm
The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 protects not only people with disabilities but people who are associates of people with disabilities (including families, friends and carers). Its definition of disability is also wider at important points than the definition used by the ABS. The definition of a disability given under the Act includes: • physical disability • intellectual disability • psychiatric disability • sensory (including visual and hearing) disability • neurological disability (including acquired brain injuries) • learning difficulties • physical disfigurement • the presence in the body of disease-causing organisms (including people living with HIV/AIDS). The aim of the Act is to: • eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination on the grounds of disability • ensure that people with a disability have the same rights to equality before the law as the rest of the community • educate the community about the rights of people with a disability. The Act covers various areas but the ones most directly relevant to this research project are: • employment • education • access to premises by the public • provision of goods, services and facilities. People with disabilities also have protection under some State laws including any antidiscrimination legislation. In addition, there is now a uniform set of building codes supported by the Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards. All codes of practice, employment laws and industry standards that apply to people generally also apply to people with disabilities. Anyone in the community may experience disability at some time in life. Disability is a normal part of the human experience, and people with disabilities are part of all sections of the Australian community. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released guidelines and standards specifically designed to prevent discrimination in areas such as employment, public transport, education, insurance and access to the world wide web for people with a disability.
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AHRC Disability Standards and Guidelines can be found at www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/standards/standards.html
2.2.2 Disability Action Plans
An effective way of ensuring an organisation is making itself accessible and meeting the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act is to develop a Disability Action Plan. An effective Action Plan should: • eliminate discrimination in an active way • improve services to existing consumers or customers • enhance organisational image • reduce the likelihood of complaints being made • increase the likelihood of being able to successfully defend complaints • increase the likelihood of avoiding costly legal action • allow for a planned and managed change in business or services • open up new markets and attract new consumers. The member organisations of the Arts Access Australia network are all able to assist organisations in developing an Action Plan.
2.2.3 About Arts Access Australia
Vision A creative culture for all Australians. Mission To lead arts and disability sector development through research, communication and policy with a vibrant national network. The national network Currently the national office of Arts Access Australia is based in NSW. Arts Access Australia’s State and Territory members include: • Accessible Arts NSW • Art Ability ACT • Arts Access Central Australia • Arts Access Darwin • Arts Access VIC • Access Arts QLD • Arts Access SA • DADAA Inc (WA). Arts Action Tasmania closed in December 2009. Arts Access Australia continues to support arts and disability in Tasmania have co-opted a Tasmanian Board member.
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Following a December 2007 Board restructure, State and Territory representatives, with additional co-opted members, make up the Arts Access Australia Board. Two of the State members of Arts Access Australia have dedicated audience development positions—one in NSW and one in Victoria. Most members offer a regular email newsletter, disability information, training, workshops, resources and advice, providing the performing arts sector with an abundance of information about disability. Arts Access Australia is an Australia Council Key Organisation in receipt of triennial funding to support 1.6 staff: an executive director (1.0), communications manager (0.5) and finance manager (0.1).
2.2.4 Conceptual models of disability
Historically, two major conceptual models of disability have been proposed. 1 The medical model views disability as a feature of the person. Disability, on this model, calls for medical or other treatment or intervention to correct the problem with the individual. 2 The social model of disability, on the other hand, sees disability as a socially created problem and not an attribute of an individual. Thus disability demands a political response since the ‘problem’ is created by an unaccommodating physical environment brought about by attitudes and other aspects of the social environment. The social model also enables organisations to focus clearly on universal access and design, which concentrates on making all environments, products and services accessible to all people. As an arts organisation, Arts Access Australia prefers the social model of disability and uses it to inform its work. The social model places responsibility for access on society to remove the barriers which ‘disable’ the ability of individuals to participate fully in their communities.
2.2.5 The arts and disability sector
Within Australia, the term ‘arts and disability’ covers the diversity within our sector. Internationally, there are clearer distinctions made between the ‘arts and disability’ and ‘disability arts’ areas. In the UK, ‘arts and disability’ primarily describes activities aimed to include people with disabilities in the mainstream , while ‘disability arts’ is driven by identity politics. The UK-based organisation Disability Arts Online provides a clear explanation of the issues which inform ‘disability arts’:
The generally agreed definition of disability arts, the one that we in the disability arts movement have found most accurately reflects what we are doing, is that it is art made by disabled people which reflects the experience of disability.
Allan Sutherland, ‘What is Disability Arts?’, Disability Arts Online, 2005, www.disabilityartsonline.org/site/what-is-disarts
There is a growing awareness of these definitional distinctions here in Australia, and while Arts Access Australia supports leadership by people with disability we continue to use ‘arts and disability’ as an umbrella term.
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2.3 Performing arts peak bodies and stakeholders
The following non-government and government organisations and forums provide leadership and represent the major stakeholder groups in the Australian performing arts sector with the capacity to influence access for people with a disability.
2.3.1 Non-government
Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) www.ampag.com.au AMPAG acts as an umbrella body supporting government subsidy as an essential source of income. It is only through government subsidy that some companies can program activities and performances in regional areas which would not be otherwise commercially viable. AMPAG was formed in 1999 to give its member companies a national voice and presence. The companies saw a critical need to work together on basic policy issues which affect both artistic quality and cost/revenue dynamics. An important part of AMPAG’s work is identifying where governments can act effectively to support the business performance—and enhance the art—of its member companies. AMPAG works to gain extra funding and long-term commitment to Australia’s artistic vibrancy. AMPAG’s work also includes: • building better governance within the companies • an annual survey of sponsorship and donation to the major performing arts companies • creating a forum for company leaders to discuss shared issues. Representing six State across Australia, AMPAG’s 28 member companies create music, drama, dance, circus, opera and ballet for Australian and international audiences. In addition to presenting shows and concerts in capital cities, AMPAG companies regularly tour to regional areas, reaching audiences in the hundreds of thousands, as well as over 700,000 school students each year through education programs. Live Performance Australia (trading name of Australian Entertainment Industry Association) www.liveperformance.com.au Live Performance Australia (LPA) is the peak body for Australia’s live entertainment and performing arts industry. Established in 1917 and registered as an employers’ organisation under the Workplace Relations Act 1996, LPA’s activities centre around three core areas: • workplace relations • policy and strategy • membership services and events. Vision and mission The vision of the LPA is to be a key player in maximising the value government, business and the Australian people attach to the Australian live entertainment industry on the basis of the
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significant contribution the live performance industry makes to the cultural, commercial and economic prosperity of our nation. The Ticket Attendance and Revenue Survey: Live Performance Industry in Australia is the most significant piece of research undertaken by LPA each year. It is the cornerstone of the case which LPA makes to government, the media and the general public about the economic, social and cultural value of the Australian live performance industry. The survey is a unique transactional-based survey consisting of two data collection sources—the major ticketing companies, and the member companies of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG), via the Australia Council for the Arts. It currently does not capture the activity of self-ticketing venues and festivals, boutique ticketing agencies and regional performing arts venues, and so understates the size of the industry. LPA’s future plans include developing supplementary reports to cover these smaller but significant industry sectors as well as to lobby government to reduce barriers to investment and increase tax incentives, similar to those available to the film industry. Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA) www.apaca.com.au The Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA) is the national network of performing arts centres, which is dedicated to developing, supporting and advocating for its membership while contributing to the development of the performing arts throughout Australia. Its objectives highlight the potentially key role this kind of peak organisation can have. APACA aims to assist in a more strategic approach and support the performing arts sector to increase disability access in all its artistic and operational management. Its objectives are to: • assist in the presentation of the performing arts by its members • facilitate the bringing together of artists and audiences • foster ethical standards and effective business practices in performing arts centre operation, presentation and management • assist in the professional development of personnel involved in the operation of performing arts centres, and in the presentation and management of performing arts centres • influence public policy and public opinion to advance the interest of its members • assist in the promotion of activities which will enable members to develop audiences and performing arts activity in their own communities • develop, disseminate and exchange information on the management of performing arts centres and the presentation of the performing arts including music, dance, theatre, film, lectures and related programs • promote the freedom of artistic expression and the pursuit of excellence within the performing arts. APACA has established a resource centre on its website which will provide technical data for all of its venue members.
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Regional Arts Australia www.regionalarts.com.au Regional Arts Australia is the key national body representing the broad and complex interests and concerns of those working with and for the arts in regional, rural and remote Australia. As an advocate, Regional Arts Australia has achieved significant results over the last three years in winning better recognition and support for the enormous contribution that regional arts make to the cultural, economic and social wellbeing of the nation. As a project initiator and manager, Regional Arts Australia has become an important partner in equipping regional artists, arts workers and communities to meet the special needs and challenges that accompany arts practice, arts promotion and audience development in the regional and rural sectors. Regional Arts Australia employs an executive officer and funds its administrative activities through income received from membership fees and the leasing out of a Canberra property (Arts House) in which it has an interest. CyberPaddock/Blue Heeler Network www.cyberpaddock.com.au With so many productions ready to hit the road each year, the Blue Heeler Network (State touring coordinators) has developed CyberPaddock to give presenters—i.e. venues—across Australia an opportunity to view all that is available to tour. At CyberPaddock presenters can browse all forms of performing arts, from drama to comedy, from dance to music, from children’s entertainment to physical theatre, and register interest for shows that best suit their programs. In essence, CyberPaddock is an online ‘one-stop product shop’ for presenters. From a producer’s point of view, CyberPaddock serves as an additional tool to help promote shows to venues nationally in the hope of establishing a tour. For all parties, CyberPaddock serves as a protection mechanism by formalising all aspects and expectations of a touring production (i.e. costs, technical requirements, etc.). The Blue Heeler Network is made up of State staff responsible for touring employed by Regional Arts Australia members. NSW and the ACT are represented by a separate agency, Arts on Tour. Tasmania is represented through Regional Arts Victoria and the Northern Territory through Queensland Arts Council. Theatre Network Victoria / Australian Theatre Forum www.tnv.net.au The Theatre Network Victoria is a new player funded by Arts Victoria with the aim of strengthening the small to medium performing arts sector in Victoria. Theatre Network Victoria also played a lead role in the 2009 Australian Theatre Forum which was the first national theatre sector event in over 20 years. Theatre Network Victoria, with Australia Council support, is scoping possibilities for a second Forum in 2011.
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Performing Arts Touring Alliance The Performing Arts Touring Alliance (PATA) is another new entrant to the performing arts sector. PATA is working with other presenters and producers to develop a self-sustaining body focused on a cohesive national touring environment that facilitates improved working relationships across the sector.
2.3.2 Government
Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) www.performingartsmarket.com.au Presented by the Australia Council, APAM brings together more than 400 of the most important performing arts presenters and producers from around Australia and overseas, offering a unique networking opportunity for anyone whose livelihood is in the performing arts. APAM is an essential diary date for artists, companies, performers, agents, government and cultural organisations. It is the prime destination for promotion, networking and gaining an insight into Australia’s performing arts. National Arts Marketing and Communications Meeting This forum, held three times a year, is hosted by the Australia Council. It brings together communications and marketing staff from State and Territory arts funding authorities and Regional Arts Australia. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts—Playing Australia www.arts.gov.au/arts/playing_australia Playing Australia, the National Performing Arts Touring Program, gives all Australians, wherever they live, better access to some of the country’s best performing arts. From ballet to Indigenous dance, jazz to classical music and Shakespeare to bilingual theatre, Playing Australia has assisted the touring of performing arts across Australia since 1992. The program provides Australian Government funding to companies, producers, venues, presenters and tour organisers to tour performing arts across State and Territory boundaries where this is currently not commercially viable and there is demonstrated public demand. Australia Council for the Arts www.australiacouncil.gov.au The Australia Council for the Arts is the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body. It enriches the lives of Australians and their communities by supporting the creation and enjoyment of the arts. The Australia Council cultivates the nation’s creativity by investing in artists and arts organisations working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, community partnerships, dance, literature, music, theatre, visual arts and multi-artform practices. The Australia Council and the AMPAG companies also hold an annual arts marketing summit.
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SECTION 3: SURVEY RESULTS
The following section contains an overview of the survey results received from 134 organisations in 2005 and 2006. See the Appendices at the end of this report for a copy of the survey, a list of respondents and a summary of the data collected.
3.1 Governance and operations
3.1.1 Governance of performing art venues
Question 2: Do you have any people who identify as having a disability on your Board or management committee?
YES Overall .............................................................. 8 AMPAG ............................................................ 0 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 0 Regional venues including APACA .................. 4 Other organisations ............................................ 4
(6%)
(9%) (25%)
Regional venues and other organisations, which includes small to medium producers, are more likely to have a Board member with a disability. For regional venues this may reflect the comparatively good integration of people with disabilities that can occur in some areas. For small to medium producers this may directly reflect their community brief and their work with disability groups. A small number of organisations who participated in this research project indicated it was difficult to identify Board or committee members with a disability. Respondents saw identification as a sensitive area and stated that it is up to individuals to identify their disability. This is a comment Arts Access Australia is familiar with and, while respecting people’s right t o privacy, our view is that asking who identifies as having a disability is a valuable opportunity to collect demographic data and assess progress with inclusion. At its best, audience development is about more than just removing barriers to access —it is about taking active steps to make as many people as possible feel welcome. This can lead to cultural change within organisations. Building relationships with people with disabilities, and influencing the attitudes of staff and volunteers, can be driven by leadership at the top of an organisation. Arts Access Australia’s view is that skills and disability rather than token representation should be the criteria for inclusion in Boards and management committees. RECOMMENDATION 2—Governance and leadership by people with a disability That arts sector stakeholders identify and develop the governance skills of people with a disability through training, mentorship and leadership programs.
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Question 4: Do you have a strategic plan?
YES Overall .............................................................. 109 AMPAG ........................................................... 23 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 38 Regional venues including APACA ................. 35 Other organisations ........................................... 13
(81%) (92%) (76%) (81%) (81%)
Generally, 100% of organisations do have a strategic plan. The lower than expected response rate is explained by those that left the question blank, while those that said ‘no’ were often venues who were part of a local council and, while not having their own venue-specific plan, were part of an overall council plan. The setting of strategic objectives is a Board or governance responsibility which then drives the operational areas of work carried out by management and staff. Question 4a: Is access and disability a strategic objective incorporated in your plan?
YES Overall .............................................................. 63 AMPAG ........................................................... 7 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 22 Regional venues including APACA ................. 26 Other organisations ........................................... 8
(47%) (28%) (44%) (61%) (50%)
The positive response is significantly higher for both regional venues and other organisations. Regional venues may be more likely to respond to their local community’s needs and p lay a more significant role in the cultural life of a smaller community than their metropolitan counterparts. The low response from AMPAG members may be because most hire venues and may presume that access is the venues’ responsibility. As is clear from section 2.2.1 above, this is not the view of the Australian Human Rights Commission. All AMPAG members, and all outside hirers generally, share responsibility for access and may be liable in the event of a complaint under the Disability Discrimination Act. With less than half of all respondents indicating that disability is part of their strategic objectives, there is a view that disability is often seen as a compliance requirement rather than a strategic or business opportunity. With one in five Australians identifying as having a disability, and an ageing population, the compliance-based view is limiting the potential audience for those organisations. RECOMMENDATION 3—Access as a strategic objective That AMPAG and APACA members be supported by their peak and government funding bodies to incorporate access for people with disabilities into their strategic objectives, with annual progress reports to monitor progress.
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3.1.2 Employment for people with a disability
Question 3: Do you have any staff or volunteers who identify as a person with specific needs or a disability?
YES Overall .............................................................. 39 AMPAG ........................................................... 6 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 11 Regional venues including APACA ................. 16 Other organisations ........................................... 6
(29%) (24%) (22 %) (37%) (38%)
The positive response is significantly higher for both regional venues and other organisations. The survey did not attempt to measure the proportion of people with a disability employed as a percentage of an organisation’s staff profile, or the level of seniority at which they are employed. We can also presume that the responses relate to administrative and core staff rather than artists. Of the organisations that had staff or volunteers with a disability, almost half had more than one, which may indicate a work environment that is generally inclusive. The organisation employing the most people with a disability (14) also indicated that this was 2% of their staff profile. People with disabilities face a number of barriers to employment in the arts. The perception of the arts as non-vocational, and attitudinal barriers from within the arts sector, can limit access to arts networks and training opportunities. As part of a March 2007 conference hosted by Arts Access SA called On the Job, Arts Access Australia participated in a panel discussion with representatives from federal government departments responsible for disability and employment. It was clear from the discussion that the federal departments did not see the arts and cultural sector as a priority for the employment of people with a disability. What was missing from the discussion was recognition of the human right of people with a disability to make vocational choices. The pathways from community participation to professional practice are hard to find for anyone in the arts, and especially for people with disabilities, whose choices are often constrained. We know from the 2007 Statistical Overview of Arts and Culture in Australia that the cultural sector is on an economic par with residential construction, health services and education. Given government interest in moving people with disabilities into paid employment, it is surprising that there isn’t a specific employment strategy looking at the cultural sector. Case study: Melbourne International Arts Festival
Melbourne International Arts Festival has several staff members who identify as having a disability. The festival has had a consistent commitment to disability issues in providing services and programs as part of the festival. It produces promotional material with information about accessible events and services. Events the festival has presented include Soft and Small Metal Objects by Back to Back Theatre. One of the strengths of this is also attributed to individual staff members. As Tracey Schueler, former marketing manager of the Melbourne International Arts Festival expresses it:
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Offering accessible events and communication strategies can be easy; the real challenge lies in making meaningful connections with people who have disabilities so that they want to engage with your event. The leaders within an organisation need to be driving the access priorities in order to ensure a successful, long-lasting and active access program. Accessibility needs to be integrated into the overall organisational systems so it can be sustained and outlive any staff transitions. Ultimately making events and communications accessible is a necessity; ensuring diverse audiences enriches the culture of an organisation and, given that one in five Australians has a disability, this is a large number of people to ignore for even the most forgiving box office.
www.melbournefestival.com.au
RECOMMENDATION 4—Training and employment That employment services, and government disability and employment portfolios, recognise and support arts and cultural vocational education, training and employment strategies for people with disabilities.
3.1.3 Disability Action Plans and awareness training
Question 5: Does your organisation have a disability policy and Action Plan?
YES Overall .............................................................. 56 AMPAG ........................................................... 4 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 28 Regional venues including APACA ................. 18 Other organisations ........................................... 6
(43%) (16%) (56%) (42%) (38%)
Question 6: Have you or your staff ever undertaken any disability awareness training?
YES Overall .............................................................. 73 AMPAG ........................................................... 7 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 29 Regional venues including APACA ................. 29 Other organisations ........................................... 8
(54%) (28%) (58%) (67%) (50%)
Our presumption was that Disability Action Plans and awareness training would be linked, yet it is surprising how many organisations with an Action Plan had not undertaken disability awareness training and vice versa. This may reflect the focus on compliance or physical access to premises in most Disability Action Plans. The low response from AMPAG members to both questions may indicate that they do not see access as their responsibility. The directors of several major cultural institutions and venues owned by local government indicated that Disability Action Plans and policy were mandatory for them as part of their local government’s policy. The Disability Discrimination Act has been in force since 1992 and having a Disability Action Plan will be considered in the event of a complaint of discrimination. The organisations surveyed
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who don’t have a Disability Action Plan—over half of the survey respondents—may be leaving themselves exposed to potential liability. Some of the staff that had received disability awareness training indicated that it was diverse, at times not in great depth and hadn’t been done in the last five years. The training was provided through: • local councils as part of an induction course, often as part of EEO training • arts and disability organisations such as Arts Access Australia members or disabilityspecific organisations like Vision Australia. • previous jobs in other industries, such as the education, community and social sector • front-of-house staff training and training in the use of specific equipment e.g. hearing loops. Arts Access Australia members offer TAFE-accredited and non-accredited arts and disability awareness training. Awareness training for staff is a key strategy for organisations to provide a welcoming experience for their patrons. It directly addresses attitudinal barriers commonly identified by people with disabilities as a reason for not attending arts events. RECOMMENDATION 5—Awareness and training That existing accredited and non-accredited arts and disability awareness training modules provided by Arts Access Australia members be better promoted to stakeholders in the performing arts sector.
3.2 Marketing and promotion
3.2.1 Marketing to people with a disability
Question 11: Do you have a marketing plan?
YES Overall .............................................................. 106 AMPAG ........................................................... 22 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 39 Regional venues including APACA ................. 31 Other organisations ........................................... 14
(79%) (88%) (78%) (72%) (88%)
Question 11a: Are disability groups one of your targets?
YES Overall .............................................................. 44 AMPAG ........................................................... 4 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 14 Regional venues including APACA ................. 20 Other organisations ........................................... 6
(33%) (16%) (38%) (46%) (38%)
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Question 8: Are you currently attracting disability audiences to your venue or performance?
YES Overall .............................................................. 118 AMPAG ........................................................... 22 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 40 Regional venues including APACA ................. 42 Other organisations ........................................... 14
(88%) (88%) (80%) (98%) (88%)
Question 9: Do you undertake any monitoring regarding attendance?
YES Overall .............................................................. 41 AMPAG ........................................................... 9 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 12 Regional venues including APACA ................. 16 Other organisations ........................................... 4
(31%) (36%) (24%) (37%) (25%)
Most organisations have a marketing plan; some of those that do not indicated they were part of a local council which had overall responsibility for marketing. Nearly all organisations are attracting people with disabilities as audience members. Comments indicate that this is limited to people with physical or sensory disabilities (e.g. hearing, vision). Only a couple of venues indicated they were attracting people with mental health issues, intellectual disabilities or through disability support services as groups. This may indicate an understanding of disability that is limited to physical and visible disabilities. Venues identifying the elderly as a target group were often also promoting specific programs like ‘Morning Melodies’ or daytime programs. Organisations based in Victoria cited t he EASE access service and ticketing program run by Arts Access VIC as their main point of contact for people with disabilities. The few organisations specifically monitoring attendance by people with disabilities are recording figures for wheelchair-accessible seating, use of hearing loops and group bookings. This is done through front-of-house reports, ticketing records (in-house) and ticketing agencies. Regional venues appear to do comparatively well, although it was sometimes unclear whether the higher than average targeting and monitoring of attendance was through an ongoing relationship with audiences or the result of one-off events, like an end-of-year community function. In NSW and other States the International Day of People With a Disability (IDPWD) on 3 December each year has been promoted as a focal point for inclusion. The challenge is for one-off engagement to translate into year-round improvements in access and attendance. AMPAG members score lower than average on targeting people with disabilities yet do well on other measures. This may indicate a need to emphasise the shared responsibility between venues and producers for access. A few organisations felt uncomfortable asking people with a disability to identify themselves. Anecdotally, Arts Access Australia knows this to be a common concern, and we suggest asking
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people with a disability to self-identify as part of a general audience survey is the easiest way to collect information while respecting privacy. In this way organisations can also identify and monitor attendance by people with disabilities that are not visible.
3.2.2 Access services, promotional material and access symbols
Question 10: Do you offer any special services/facilities for people with a disability?
YES Overall .............................................................. 115 AMPAG ........................................................... 22 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 40 Regional venues including APACA ................. 41 Other organisations ........................................... 12
(86%) (88%) (80%) (95%) (75%)
Question 10a: If so, do you use the international access symbols on your promotional material?
YES Overall .............................................................. 36 AMPAG ........................................................... 4 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 13 Regional venues including APACA ................. 17 Other organisations ........................................... 2
(27%) (16%) (26%) (40%) (13%)
A particular interest with these questions was to identify organisations providing more than just some level of physical access—which most do. Respondents to the survey indicated that the following types of services were currently offered by performing arts organisations: • performances and events for specific disability groups and the elderly • audio description of performances and programs • Auslan signing of performances • captioned performances and videos • physical accessibility to venue: toilets, seating, parking • free admission for carers (companion card) • introductory talks, venue and set • hearing loops and infra-red hearing loops • surtitles on screen • large-print documents • braille signage • monthly access mornings for people with disabilities and their carers (advisory groups) • staff assistance and guides when required • wheelchairs • websites featuring artists with disabilities, and text that could be resized and accessed by screen-reading technology
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• • • •
maps and information about access facilities, accessible routes and transport group bookings for people with disabilities accessible stage and backstage areas use of access symbols.
Access for people with a disability can be driven by a desire to comply with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act. A compliance-driven approach can fail to appreciate the potential audience of people with disabilities. Appropriately skilled access auditors can assist organisations with access and will bring building knowledge, along with queries and recommendations about programming and services. Similarly Arts Access Australia members can support organisations in developing and implementing access services. Arts Access Australia members have also played a leadership role in forming partnerships and trialling new access equipment, like live theatre captioning in 2006. A challenge for arts organisations interested in providing access services is that the service providers generally do not collaborate and information is not currently available in any one place. While the use of internationally recognised disability access symbols appears low, it is higher than Arts Access Australia expected to find. The 12 symbols were developed by the US Graphic Artists Guild and are available online at http://www.graphicartistsguild.org/resources/disabilityaccess-symbols/ In particular, at least one organisation, the Melbourne International Arts Festival, has developed its own symbol for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences to indicate the level of visual content in an event. There is also the question of who is responsible for providing access services, especially when a show is touring. As Brett Davidson, general manager of Bangarra Dance Theatre explains, for touring shows the differences between who is responsible for marketing and the access facilities for venues nationally can vary:
Access and audience development strategies for people with disabilities fall under our marketing banner. As such, it needs to be noted that our regional touring is third party presented (i.e. all marketing and access initiatives are handled by the local presenter), Melbourne and Brisbane seasons are marketing and managed in a similar way by QPAT and VAC and our Sydney season is the only one in which we take responsibility for marketing etc. In this latter case we tie in with the programs and initiatives of the Sydney Opera House and utilise their communications and access strategies.
Case study: Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House has produced a well-designed Access Guide, which clearly outlines access information to all venues and facilities for visitors. It demonstrates the venue’s commitment to access using the international access symbols consistently throughout the brochure. The booklet states:
Our promise is for all our customers to have an inspiring experience. We believe that all people with a disability have the right to fully participate in the community. Therefore, we endeavour towards enabling our facilities, events and services for all people, including people with disability.
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Sydney Opera House, Access Guide, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, n.d., <www.sydneyoperahouse.com/Visit/Accessibility_Info.aspx>, p. 3
For the Sydney Opera House, developing a strategic approach to disability has taken several years. Emphasis on policy, and increased consultation and market research with the disability sector, has produced tangible and successful outcomes. The Sydney Opera House demonstrates that there is much that can be done to improve access services while working towards improving access to the building itself. www.sydneyoperahouse.com/uploadedFiles/About_Us/Corporate_Information/11_Govern ment_Reporting.pdf www.sydneyoperahouse.com/Visit/Accessibility_Info.aspx
RECOMMENDATION 6—Resources and information That information on access services, symbols and providers be available in one place, such as the Arts Access Australia website, and promoted to performing arts organisations to enable identification and targeting of people with a disability.
3.2.3 Arts development
Question 7: Do you promote or present any artists in performances which have a disability focus?
YES Overall .............................................................. 62 AMPAG ........................................................... 5 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 26 Regional venues including APACA ................. 19 Other organisations ........................................... 12
(46%) (20%) (56%) (44%) (75%)
Question 12: Have you presented any performance, event or public program with a specific disability focus?
YES Overall .............................................................. 51 AMPAG ........................................................... 7 Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ 22 Regional venues including APACA ................. 16 Other organisations ........................................... 6
(38%) (28%) (44%) (37%) (38%)
Question 13: Do you promote or present any performances or events specifically to disability groups?
YES Overall .............................................................. 47 AMPAG ........................................................... 11 Metropolitan Venues including APACA ........... 14 Regional Venues including APACA ................ 19 Other organisations ........................................... 3
(35%) (44%) (28%) (37%) (19%)
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The whole discussion around marketing to people with disabilities needs to include product development. Similarly, the marketing of work by people with disabilities to mainstream audiences also needs to be considered as part of an overall approach to arts and audience development. The three questions were intended to acknowledge the overlap while making some distinctions between individual artists and disability themes, arts and disability work promoted to mainstream audiences, and mainstream work presented to disability audiences. The comments from respondents indicate that the distinctions were not universally understood by people outside the arts and disability sector. While the positive responses are higher than Arts Access Australia expected, comments from some respondents indicate that the last arts and disability work they presented was the Access Arts QLD CaCa Courage 2002 National Tour. Others cited even earlier work. In addition, several arts centres have provided examples of visual arts exhibitions held in their multipurpose venues without mentioning the performing arts at all. Responses also identified characters who had a disability, though the performer did not. While some productions featuring a character with a disability, such as Performing Lines’ Unspoken, were well received in general, the portrayal of people with disabilities in the arts is not always sympathetic. Several venues also provided examples of one-off or annual events like performances by local groups of young people or the elderly with disabilities, or addressing disability themes like Mental Health Week. These results are not so surprising when the number of companies and individuals with a disability producing work that is high-quality and ready to tour is so small. Even with the success of Back to Back Theatre, the Tutti Ensemble, Australian Theatre of the Deaf, individuals like Steady Eddy and occasional one-off productions like CaCa Courage, there is still a significant need for arts and touring development. Aware of the small number of companies producing quality work, and inspired by a 2001 Arts Council of England report Knocking on Doors: Exploring the Potential for Developing a Touring Circuit for Disability-Related Performing Arts, Arts Access Australia prepared a briefing paper in 2002 on arts and disability touring for the Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) Playing Australia program. Discussions with Playing Australia centred on the need for leadership in promoting and using accessible venues, increasing awareness of arts and disability work, and the experience of arts and disability organisations in touring. The Playing Australia Committee subsequently declined to fund the current research project though indicated interest in the report findings and recommendations. While Playing Australia keeps no statistics on arts and disability applications or success rates, Arts Access Australia received positive feedback on the Committee’s willingness to consider budget costs for carers, access services and more rest days in touring schedules. In the last couple of years Playing Australia has supported tours of Dislabelled by Australian Theatre of the Deaf and Small Metal Objects by Back to Back Theatre. Many of the barriers identified by Arts Access Australia in 2002 are still current. Several venues surveyed for the current research project indicated that they saw a financial risk in programming
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arts and disability work, while others indicated that they would be happy to program work if it was available. In the interim, Arts Access Australia continues to seek arts development opportunities for people with disabilities. Three Arts Access Australia members from NSW, VIC and SA collaborated to establish a presence at the 2008 Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM). Case study: The Graeae Project, UK
Recent initiatives from the Arts Council of England in deaf and disabled theatre to support mainstream casting and training opportunities provide examples of strategic development work that is not yet happening in Australia. The Graeae Project is a collaboration between the Graeae Theatre Company, and the Centre for Excellence in Training for Theatre at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama. As Graeae’s website explains, ‘Graeae is a disabled -led theatre company that profiles the skills of actors, writers and directors with physical and sensory impairments. The artistic approach creates aesthetically accessible productions that include a disabled and non-disabled audience’. Graeae was awarded a grant by the Arts Council England in 2007 to fund the project Into the Scene, which explores issues of inclusiveness, access and training of students with disabilities in theatre training. www.cssd.ac.uk/content/course-detail-ma-applied-theatre-drama-community-and-dramaeducation www.graeae.org
Case study: Gaelle Mellis Churchill Fellowship report
For an Australian perspective on the UK arts and disability scene, the 2004 Churchill Fellowship report by South Australian Theatre worker Gaelle Mellis highlights numerous examples and strategies for the inclusion of disabled artists in mainstream theatre. www.churchilltrust.com.au/site_media/fellows/Mellis_Gaelle_2004.pdf
RECOMMENDATION 7—Arts development and touring That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities increase their support for the arts development of people with disabilities, development of work to tour, and better utilisation of existing State, national and international mechanisms to promote work that is ready to tour.
3.3 Use of existing resources
Question 1: Have you heard of Arts Access Australia before?
YES Overall .............................................................. AMPAG ........................................................... Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ Regional venues including APACA ................. Other organisations ...........................................
109 (81%) 19 (76%) 42 (84%) 34 (79%) 14 (88%)
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Question 14: Are you interested in finding out more about strategies for audience development and improving access for people with disabilities?
YES Overall .............................................................. AMPAG ........................................................... Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ Regional venues including APACA ................. Other organisations ...........................................
111 (83%) 21 (84%) 41 (82%) 35 (81%) 14 (88%)
Question 15: Do you have any information and/or resources available within your organisation for developing audiences on people with disabilities?
YES Overall .............................................................. AMPAG ........................................................... Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ Regional venues including APACA ................. Other organisations ...........................................
29 (22%) 6 (24%) 7 (14%) 12 (28%) 4 (25%)
Question 16: Have you or your organisation used the services of a disability arts organisation e.g. Accessible Arts for training, program, marketing or other advice?
YES Overall .............................................................. AMPAG ........................................................... Metropolitan venues including APACA ............ Regional venues including APACA ................. Other organisations ...........................................
48 (34%) 10 (40%) 19 (38%) 11 (26%) 6 (38%)
Overall, there is a very high awareness of Arts Access Australia and an identified desire for further information about audience development and access. The search for resources or information within organisations revealed little of significance, with some naming in-house access plans and very few noting Australia Council and Arts Access Australia publications. The low awareness and usage of existing Australia Council publications is consistent with the findings of a 2002 report called Marketing Victorian Museums, which found that the then recent publication Access All Areas: Guidelines for Marketing the Arts to People with Disabilities was recognised by only 18% of 121 respondents. One-third of respondents indicate they have used the services provided by Arts Access Australia members, especially in Victoria and NSW where there are dedicated audience and industry development staff. The result could also indicate a need to better promote services nationally, or that existing services have not kept pace with the needs of the performing arts sector. Arts Access Australia supported a peer-to-peer learning approach to access in putting together a panel discussion on access for the 2006 APACA conference. The panel featured representatives from Bell Shakespeare, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Melbourne Theatre Company and Canberra Theatre Company. The model was loosely based on the NSW Accessing The Arts Group (ATAG) and the USA Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD), which bring
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together a cross-section of staff in arts organisations who have an interest in and responsibility for access. In these forums they are able to share resources and ideas. Case study: Accessing the Arts Group (ATAG)
The NSW-based Accessing the Arts Group (ATAG) is dedicated to improving access for people with disabilities within the arts, disseminating current best practice and providing a forum for arts professionals to discuss areas of interest. The goal for ATAG is to act as a lobby group across the arts and at all levels of government, including the grassroots and high-level decision makers. ATAG will raise the profile of issues discussed at meetings by distributing a media release after each meeting promoting key outcomes. These media releases will be distributed to all ATAG members for promotion to their contacts including directors, CEOs and managers within their organisations. ATAG was initially formed by Accessible Arts NSW as a way of supporting cultural organisations to participate in the annual International Day of People With a Disability on 3 December, and has grown into an independent group chaired by staff from mainstream arts organisations with responsibility for access. www.aarts.net.au/projects/accessing-the-arts-group/
Case study: Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD), USA
The aim of the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) in the USA is to explore practical methods for implementing accessibility strategies, communicating information about arts and accessibility, and sharing resources and knowledge among professionals. In 2000, a group of 25 education managers, executive directors, development directors and house managers—all of whom were responsible for accessibility at their respective cultural venues— met at the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC to discuss institutional access issues. While the level of experience among participants ranged from 20 years in the job to a few years, everyone shared one common goal: ‘the desire to create accessible cultural arts program for people with disabilities’. That initial group has now grown into a national professional network and an annual conference. www.kennedy-center.org/accessibility/education/lead/
RECOMMENDATION 8—Peer-to-peer learning That peer-to-peer learning and support within the performing arts is the preferred way of discussing and supporting improvements in access. The first step is for performing arts organisations to nominate an access coordinator.
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SECTION 4: ADDITIONAL RESEARCH FINDINGS
4.1 International legislation
4.1.1 USA
In 2005, Arts Access Australia participated in the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) forum. LEAD is organised by the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ director of accessibility, Betty Siegel. In 2008, Accessible Arts NSW, Arts Access VIC and Arts Access Australia coordinated Betty Siegel’s visit to Australia where she spoke to arts administrators and artists in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Apart from sharing her wealth of experience, she also discussed how the US legislative context for arts and disability was a significant driver of access (www.aarts.net.au/projects/past-projects/betty-siegel-tour). In the US, the law states that if an arts organisation receives federal funding it must employ an access officer, commonly known as a ‘section 504 coordinator’. The name refers to the relevant section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. It is then the section 504 coordinator’s role to raise the profile of access issues within the organisation.
4.1.2 UK
In December 2006, the UK Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 was amended through the Disability Equality Duty to place a positive duty on all public bodies to promote disability equality. The intention is to bring about a shift in the legal framework from relying on individual people with disabilities complaining about discrimination, to a situation where the public sector becomes a proactive agent of change. The specific duties of the Arts Council England under the Disability Equality Duty include developing a disability equity scheme to set out its approach to achieving disability equality, both within the organisation and within the arts and creative sectors that they fund and support. RECOMMENDATION 9—Government disability legislation reform That the Commonwealth Government adapt USA and UK legislative provisions to amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and place a positive duty on service providers to be accessible.
4.2 Policy and funding
4.2.1 Federal arts
The Commonwealth Government does have an overall Disability Strategy though its 1999 midterm review led to an important change by removing the requirements for departments to produce annual Disability Action Plans and lodge them with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (Erebus International, Report of the Evaluation of the Commonwealth
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Disability Strategy, 2006). This has important implications for departments like Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts which is now responsible for the arts portfolio previously managed by the Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA). While DCITA did provide some information on access strategies in its annual report, it kept no statistics on disability participation in funding programs like Playing and Festivals Australia. Arts Access Australia’s understanding is that DCITA were in the process of upgrading their grants management system to be able to provide information on participation and attendance by people with disabilities. Interestingly, Regional Arts Australia, who administer Commonwealth money as the Regional Arts Fund, do not have a Disability Action Plan yet have produced a report on regional arts funding from 2004 to 2006 that identifies the involvement of people with a disability. While Regional Arts Australia is a non-government agency, their initiative is a first for federal arts funding and could serve as a guide for federal arts authorities. In 2008, Australia signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons (CRDP). The Convention recognises cultural rights and the need to collect data and statistics, in Articles 30 and 31 respectively. The timing of the Convention will support recent federal developments including the National Disability Strategy, the Australia Council 2008–10 Disability Action Plan, Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards and the Cultural Ministers Council national arts and disability strategy. RECOMMENDATION 10—Government disability action plans That, as part of the National Disability Strategy, Commonwealth Government departments be required to develop and report on Disability Action Plans that include public funding programs and services, and lodge them with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
4.2.2 State/Territory arts
The policy and funding of access for people with a disability by State and Territory governments was not investigated in great depth. All eight State and Territory arts funding authorities were invited to respond to the survey and one did. As with federal arts funding, data collection and reporting by State and Territory arts funders of arts attendance and participation by people with a disability lacks clarity. The requirement to develop a Disability Action Plan does exist in some States, reflecting State legislation. Looking at the AHRC register of Disability Action Plans, the three authorities who have submitted them are: • Arts Victoria (2009) • Arts South Australia (2003 with a more recent 2007 Arts and Disability Framework that hasn’t been submitted) • the Department of Culture and the Arts Western Australia (2007). Victoria The Arts Victoria Disability Action Plan 2009 – 2013 reflects Arts Victoria's commitment to ensuring that its policies, programs and services are accessible and responsive to the needs of people with disabilities.
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Arts Victoria is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities are involved in its consultative processes and to maximising the opportunities for people with disabilities to be involved in the Arts industry - as Board members of organisations, as employees, participants or audience members. The DAP demonstrates Arts Victoria's role as an industry leader in the role of disability awareness in the Arts. As such, Arts Victoria encourages its clients, agencies, and funded organisations to develop Disability Awareness Training Programs and Disability Action Plans. Creative Capacity+ is the key policy document for Arts Victoria. A major strength of this policy is a commitment to inclusion, participation and the contribution art makes to creating strong and vibrant communities. Arts Victoria, the Office of Disability and Department of Human Services have established an interdepartmental Arts and Disability Access Network (ADAN) to develop a collaborative approach to the consideration of policy and practice issues affecting people with a disability. South Australia Arts SA completed an Arts and Disability Framework in late 2007. Arts SA requires that recipients of major organisations performance funding and industry development organisations have an up-to-date Disability Action Plan. In 2006, the South Australian Government established the Richard Llewellyn arts and disability trust fund. The trust is a partnership between Arts SA and the SA Department of Families and Communities that support arts and disability projects and initiatives in addition to the ongoing Arts SA funding programs. Western Australia In Western Australia the Department of Culture and the Arts is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities, their families and carers are able to access and participate in arts and cultural services. In June 2006 the Department was approached by the Disability Services Commission to form a partnership with the aim of enabling people with disabilities to access and experience positive connections to everyday community life through arts and cultural activities. As part of the new strategic plan, the Disability Services Commission has provided $550,000 over three years to the Department to deliver and administer Disability Arts Inclusion Initiatives. The Department is working with a selection of its portfolio organisations and funded arts organisations to create opportunities for people with disabilities to enhance participation in events, performances, workshops and services through the Disability Arts Inclusion Initiatives (DAII). The project development process includes self-assessment, professional development, networking; project planning and evaluation (see www.dca.wa.gov.au/programs/disability). RECOMMENDATION 11—Cross-government partnerships That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities seek partnerships with their equivalent disability, mental health and ageing authority to support arts and disability initiatives and programs.
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RECOMMENDATION 12—Capital expenditure That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding authorities identify existing programs or develop new programs to support capital expenditure and the purchase of access equipment.
4.2.3 Local arts
The policy and funding of access for people with a disability by local government was beyond the scope of this research project. Arts Access Australia recognises the significant role local government plays in support all aspects of arts and culture in local communities. A number of performing arts venues who responded to the survey indicated that they operated within their local government’s overall strategic plan. In general , local government appears to be ahead of the other tiers of government in developing and implementing access strategies. The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has produced several documents about accessible communities, accessible workplaces and a guide to the Disability Action Plans. See their website at www.alga.com.au/publications for a complete list. Within the overall area of arts and culture, Accessible Arts NSW have established the first award which recognises cultural activity accessible to people with a disability. All submissions to the Local Government and Shires NSW Cultural Awards are considered for the Accessible Arts Award. RECOMMENDATION 13—Local government That further research be undertaken to establish the level of local government provision of cultural services for people with disabilities, data collection and reporting. RECOMMENDATION 14—Local government access award That Arts Access Australia approaches the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to establish a national arts access award.
4.3 Sponsorship
This research project was able to identify three examples of access programs —at Canberra Theatre Centre, Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir St Theatre (NSW) —that had corporate sponsorship arrangements to support them. Given government interest in facilitating corporate arts sponsorship, access programs and services may represent a potential area deserving increased attention. Case study: Canberra Theatre Centre
Canberra Theatre Centre in the ACT is a performing arts venue. It provides a subscription series and provides work and entertainment to the people of Canberra and surrounding regions. Its accessible programs are provided for a wide range of age groups in the community, such as families, children and under-27s. Special information is also offered to social groups and schools, and the Centre works closely with the local community. The Centre is also recognised by other theatre venues, peak disability services and companies nationally for its access initiatives. It has been successful in attracting sponsorship for its access
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services, and clearly promotes its access services on the website—along with international access symbols. Specific performances are also outlined, with details of the type of access service that is available, and when it is offered. By providing these cultural facilities, the Centre provides an example of how an organisation can undertake programming that contributes to community building, working with cultural assets within the region and advancing community engagement. In 2006, the Centre’s subscription season attracted corporate sponsorship from The Home Loan Centre to provide access initiatives. These included six performances from the Subscription Season and two performances within the Treats Season specifically for families; and two productions from the Playtime Season for families with live captioning, audio description and priority seating. These allowed people who had not previously visited the Centre to enjoy its performances. As David Whitney, Canberra Theatre Centre manager in 2006, commented: ‘The potential to reach audiences who before have been inaccessible is a very exciting prospect. We want to get the word out to those who have not been able to attend the theatre before: Canberra Theatre Centre is accessible’. www.canberratheatre.org.au
RECOMMENDATION 15—Sponsorship That the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) identifies and promotes examples of best practice in access sponsorship.
4.4 Venue access
While access means more than just physical access to premises, the realities of getting into and around venues, being seated and performing remain important focal points for people with disabilities. Touring companies and arts organisations also commented that they do not have control over disability access and are dependent on the venue to provide services and facilities for patrons with disabilities. In response, it is worth repeating the advice of Graham Innes from AHRC that:
Under the [Disability Discrimination Act], it is unlawful to permit discrimination if there is a power to prevent it. Bodies that organise events, or provide funding for such events, have some power to decide where those events will be held. If they allow inaccessible venues to be used, then they may be liable for complaints under the DDA.
4.4.1 Access to arts premises
The rights of people with disabilities to access premises is recognised by State and Commonwealth legislation. In March 2010 the Australian Government launched the Disability Standards for Access to Premises, which for the first time set the minimum access requirements for people with a disability to publicly accessible buildings. The Standards cover features such as accessible lifts, stairs, ramps, toilets and corridors and include buildings such as office blocks, shops, hotels, motels, and common areas of new apartment buildings. The Standards will also provide greater certainty for business by providing for national consistency and reducing different regulatory arrangements. They will also provide the basis for improved arrangements for disability access in the Building Code of Australia.
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Currently for people with a disability, finding access information about venues that allows them to plan their attendance is an ongoing challenge. This research project identified several current and potential sources of access information for venues. In 1998, Arts Access VIC and VicHealth published The Vic Venue Guide. The guide provided details of access and facilities at over 75 Victorian entertainment, sporting and cultural facilities. The publication is out of print and information about access to Victorian cultural venues can be found through the EASE ticketing service run by Arts Access VIC. Initially created for the Perth International Arts Festival, the Western Australian Department of Culture and the Arts provides a list of accessible venues. See: www.dca.wa.gov.au/about/properties/disability_access The website Accessibility.com.au was established in May 1999 by two access consultants. They recognised a need for an Australian resource that provided comprehensive and ready access to information on accessible venues, facilities, services, transport, mobility aids and news. The site provides city guides which includes details of accessible cultural venues. See: http://www.accessibility.com.au/resourceview.php?category_id=bf0f1717a81cb18c1d0c1180417bce79 The Australian Performing Arts Centres Association (APACA) launched a venue resource centre on its website in 2005 (see www.apaca.com.au). The resource centre details the technical specifications of APACA member venues, providing ‘one-stop shop’ technical information about the equipment and facilities available at each venue for the information of other venues, production companies and hirers. The information collected includes seating plans and could be extended to include access information. There would still be an additional leap required to present the information in a useable format for members of the general public planning a visit. For audience members with a disability the most useful and reliable resource may be access information provided by each individual venue. Arts Access Australia recognises that access can have a cost to organisations and that change happens over time. Arts Access Australia supports improvements to access that do not cause detriment to existing audiences or venues. Case study: Arts Access UK
Arts Access UK has been established by the National Disability Arts Forum as a database of access information for the arts and cultural sector. The site relies on the voluntary provision of information from venues and notes that its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. http://artsaccessuk.org
RECOMMENDATION 16—Venue responsibility for access That individual performing arts venues take responsibility for providing audience access information. RECOMMENDATION 17—Funding body responsibility That Commonwealth, State and Territory arts funding bodies only support productions and tours taking place in venues that can demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to improve access.
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4.4.2 Access and heritage
The tension between heritage and access considerations does occur regularly in the performing arts sector. In response, Accessible Arts NSW and Arts Access Australia are working on a research project with the Arts Law Centre of Australia and the University of Technology Sydney Shopfront Program to: • identify inconsistencies between heritage and disability discrimination legislation and case law at both State and Commonwealth levels • identify case studies of best-practice accessible design incorporated into heritage buildings • provide a report that addresses both the legal and design issues which can be used as a tool for advocacy. An unpublished progress report, expected to be finalised by late 2010, has found that heritage status should be taken into account, but does not excuse a venue from a responsibility to implement access strategies. In 1999, the Australian Council of National Trusts and the Australian Heritage Commission produced a publication called Improving Access to Heritage Buildings: A Practical Guide to Meeting the Needs of People with Disabilities. It has a specific focus on heritage buildings and contains information and guidance applicable to performing arts venues. RECOMMENDATION 18—Access and heritage That recommendations from the final Accessible Arts NSW ‘Access and Heritage’ research project report be implemented.
4.5 Websites and ticketing
4.5.1 Websites
Although not covered in specific survey questions, access to websites and online ticketing services were identified as significant through the research. The Australian Human Rights Commission has released web guidelines specifically to avoid discrimination without compromising the richness of online communication. These guidelines do not appear to be well utilised by arts organisations. The research project did find a piece of arts research which we suggest is equally as relevant to the performing arts. A 2005 UK report Accessibility of Museum, Library and Archive Websites: The MLA Audit found that only 42% of sites surveyed met the most basic technical accessibility guidelines. Using a series of Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) checkpoints as a basis, the research nevertheless found that if web developers addressed just 6 out of 65 checkpoints, and 13 of the 189 problems encountered by users with a disability, they could solve 68% of the overall accessibility problems on their sites. These findings indicate that accessibility can be achieved through commitment, planning and training, and by making web accessibility a criterion for every web development tender brief.
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Case study: Society of London Theatre
The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) aimed to improve the format and content of Disabled Audiences in the West End, its guide to the West End for theatre-goers with disabilities, which has been produced since 1992. By consulting with focus groups of people with disabilities, it aimed to create a program of audio-described and sign-language interpreted theatre nights, marketing them in such a way that they would attract new audiences. A website was also to be devised, using high standards of accessibility in web design, to disseminate access information and to promote the accessibility of West End theatre. SOLT commissioned research on standards for creating web accessibility, looking at the hierarchy of website design and presentation of information. The findings are presented as an appendix to the final project report. www.takingpartinthearts.com/content.php?content=1046
4.5.2 Ticketing
Access to online ticketing services was not a specific survey question, but it was identified as significant through the research. There are two aspects to access for ticketing websites: one is access to the site and ticketing purchasing facilities; the other is the provision of access information about venues by ticketing websites. From ticketing forums held as part of APACA conferences, it appears that major ticketing agencies see themselves as third-party users or shopfronts who rely on access information and services provided by venues. Ticketing software is increasingly powerful and integrated with customer relationship management (CRM) functions, enabling better tracking and targeting of patrons. Venues and producers need to ensure the ticketing service they use is both accessible and provides access information, while the ticketing service has responsibility to be accessible and provide access information about the producers and venues it is representing. Article 15 of the Live Performance Australia Code of Practice for Ticketing of Live Entertainment in Australia is specifically about access for people with a disability, but makes no mention of ticketing agencies: ‘Presenters and Venues should ensure that patrons with a disability are provided with access to performances in accordance with Federal and State legislation’. Frustration with the purchase of online cinema tickets is the subject of a specific campaign by Media Access Australia and is equally relevant to the performing arts. There is a significant difference between compliance with legislative requirements and excellence in customer service. Specific ticketing services for people with disabilities have been established to fill this gap. Case study: EASE Ticket Service, Victoria
The EASE ticket service, initially named Entertainment Access Service, was established by Arts Access in Victoria in 1987. At this time the major ticket agencies were becoming more automated and corporatised. Venue marketing rarely provides information about access or used alternate formats for information about programs, ticket prices and booking arrangements. These continuing problems will only be addressed when mainstream ticketing services take up the EASE model and when the presenters, producers and major ticket agencies take on their
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obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act. This has always been EASE’s long-term goal—to reach the point when there is no longer a need for a separate ‘ghettoised’ ticket service. http://artsaccess.com.au/ease-ticketing www.artsaccessaustralia.org/makingthejourney/ease_ticketing.html
Case study: Shape Tickets, UK
Shape Tickets offer a wide range of arts and entertainment events across London, often at reduced prices and with no booking fees. Their service includes: • a seasonal brochure and up-to-date online listings for all current productions and events throughout London, including assisted performances taking place for that season; this is available in a variety of accessible formats • a fully accessible online, telephone or postal booking service, and up-to-date information about each venue’s accessibility • regular ‘meet and greets’—Shape events where members can socialise with other members, volunteers and Shape staff • an advocacy network where other members offer advice and encouragement • helpful and attentive staff on hand to assist with bookings and queries. http://tickets.shapearts.org.uk
RECOMMENDATION 19—Ticketing code of practice That the Live Performance Australia Code of Practice for the Ticketing of Live Entertainment Events in Australia be amended to include accessible ticketing services. RECOMMENDATION 20—Peak body advocacy That performing arts peak bodies advocate and provide models for access, including ticketing services and customer relationship management software, to identify and promote services to patrons with a disability.
4.6 Resources
Note that the following resource list is limited to reports and services that can be found online.
4.6.1 Australia
Arts Access Australia www.artsaccessaustralia.org National Arts and Disability Strategy Produced by the Cultural Ministers Council this Strategy sets out a vision for improving access and participation in the artistic and cultural activities for people with disabilities. The Strategy provides a framework within which jurisdictions can assess and improve existing activities. It also identifies new priority projects that could be progressed as national initiatives or by individual jurisdictions. www.cmc.gov.au/working_groups/national_arts_and_disability_strategy
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Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards These Standards for the first time set the minimum access requirements for people with a disability to publicly accessible buildings. www.ag.gov.au/premisesstandards Disability Fact Pack This outlines a variety of issues for arts organisations regarding people with disabilities, including access, attitude, employment and discrimination. It also provides an overview of the Disability Discrimination Act. www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/disability_and_the_arts/reports_and_publications/disabilit y_fact_pack Access All Areas: Guidelines for Marketing the Arts to People with Disabilities This guide is intended to be practical, covering actions which are within reach of arts organisations, especially marketing officers and their departments. www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/disability_and_the_arts/reports_and_publications/access_ all_areas_guidelines_for_marketing_the_arts_to_people_with_disabilities Association of Consultants in Access, Australia Inc (ACA Australia) www.access.asn.au Making the Journey: Arts and Disability in Australia www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/disability_and_the_arts/reports_and_publications/making _the_journey_arts_and_disability_in_australia Way with Words: Guidelines for the Portrayal of People with Disabilities A Queensland Government publication. www.disability.qld.gov.au/community/communication/way-words/ Mindframe Stage and Screen Guidelines This website provides practical advice and information for people involved in the development of Australian film, television and theatre. It is designed to help inform truthful and authentic portrayals of mental illness and suicide. www.mindframe-media.info/site/index.cfm?display=86070 Disability Rights: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission A useful overview of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/ Web Access Guidelines: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/standards/www_3/www_3.html
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Red Bee Media (incorporating the Australian Caption Centre), NSW www.auscap.com.au The Captioning Studio, ACT www.thecaptioningstudio.com Media Access Australia Captioning advocacy group for the media and theatre. www.mediaaccess.org.au Audio description: Media Access Australia www.audiodescription.com.au Master Lifts www.masterlifts.com.au Independent Living Centres Australia Source of advice on commercially available assistive equipment. www.ilcaustralia.org/home/default.asp Technical Aid to the Disabled Source of advice and custom-made assistive equipment. www.tadnsw.org.au/About/tadaust.html Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association Find an interpreter and relevant policies. http://aslia.com.au/mambo/content/section/6/54/ Better Hearing Australia Adaptive hearing technology. www.betterhearing.org.au Deafness Forum of Australia Advice on best practice in captioning. www.deafnessforum.org.au Assistive Listening: Disability WA Links to signage guide and installation guide for listening technology. www.disability.wa.gov.au/aud/planningbetteraccess/buildingfacilities/assistive_listening_device s.html
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Vision Australia Blindness and low vision services, including advice and provision of audio description, and tactile tours (primarily in NSW, VIC, ACT). www.visionaustralia.org.au Companion Card A card system developed in Victoria, with other States following. Allows carers of people with disabilities to attend arts and cultural events free of charge. www.companioncard.gov.au Improving Access to Heritage Buildings: Australian Heritage Council www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ahc/publications/commission/books/access-heritagebuildings.html
4.6.2 International
Arts Council England (UK) Enter ‘disability’ as a search term to find relevant projects an d reports. www.artscouncil.org.uk Disability Access: A Good Practice Guide for the Arts (UK) Comprehensive guide to increasing participation in the arts by disabled people as artists, audience members, participants and employees. Includes checklists and an action plan template www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/disability-access-a-good-practice-guide-for-thearts/ New Audiences Archive: Taking Part in the Arts (UK) Arts Council England’s New Audiences archive features details of over 50 audience development projects in the UK, and a range of resources. Click on ‘New Audiences Archive’, then enter ‘disability’ as a search term. www.takingpartinthearts.com Action for Access: A Practical Resource for Arts Organisations (UK) Describes levels of engagement with access, ranging from no-cost strategies through to larger scale and long-term improvements. It is particularly good example of a practical resource. www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/action-for-access-a-practical-resource-for-artsorganisations/ Arts Access UK Access information for arts and cultural venues. www.artsaccessuk.org
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Kennedy Center Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability: Resources (USA) Includes information on how to obtain copies of the Center’s ‘t ip sheets’ on different aspects of access in the performing arts, plus other resources. www.kennedy-center.org/accessibility/education/lead/resources.html NEA Office for AccessAbility (USA) Resources on accessibility from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office for AccessAbility. www.nea.gov/resources/Accessibility/ Disability Access Symbols: Graphic Artists Guild (USA) The Graphic Artists Guild site provides information and image downloads. www.graphicartistsguild.org/resources/disability-access-symbols/ Beyond the Ramp: Accessibility as an Organizational Asset (USA) A report commissioned by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. www.apap365.org/KNOWLEDGE/knowledge_products/Documents/MetLife/Accessibility_Whi te_Paper.pdf Additional access and the arts resources from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters: www.apap365.org/knowledge/knowledge_products/pages/access.aspx Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator ’s Handbook (USA) www.nea.gov/resources/accessibility/pubs/DesignAccessibility/DesignAccess.pdf Theatre Development Fund: TDF Accessibility Programs (USA) Project based in New York which aims to increase access to theatre. www.tdf.org/tap
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SECTION 5: APPENDICES
Appendix A: Survey
ARTS ACCESS AUSTRALIA ACCESS & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE Arts Access Australia is the national peak body of State and Territory arts and disability organisations. Arts Access Australia is currently undertaking national research into access and audience development issues for people with disabilities and consulting with stakeholders and organisations involved in the arts in Australia. This stage of the project is funded by the Audience and Market Development Division of the Australia Council for the Arts. One in five Australians has a disability and this is projected to rise as the population ages. Cultural participation rates for people with disabilities are well below that for the general population. These trends make addressing issues of access and audience development a necessary opportunity for arts organisations to ensure their current and future sustainability. This research project will assist developing a national overview to: • identify arts organisations and programs of support in Australia for increasing access • identify real and perceived barriers to increasing access to cultural participation by people with disabilities • identify best practice and gaps to develop effective strategies for organisations to increase access • identify international models that can stimulate new approaches to access • improve coordination and identify existing resources that can have national application and exchange. For more information contact: Cheryle Yin-Lo Project Researcher PO Box 72 Hazelbrook NSW 2779 Mobile 0407 409 445
Email: [email protected]
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ARTS ACCESS AUSTRALIA ACCESS & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NATIONAL SURVEY FOR PERFORMING ARTS Arts Access Australia (formerly DADAA National Network) is the national peak body of State and Territory arts and disability organisations. Arts Access Australia is currently undertaking national research into access and audience development issues for people with disabilities. This national survey is aimed at stakeholders, venues and arts organisations in Australia. This stage of the project is funded by the Audience and Market Development Division of the Australia Council for the Arts. Please complete the following details. Organization name: ___________________________________________________________ Mailing address: _____________________________________________________________ Tel: ________________________________ Fax no: ________________________________ Contact person: _______________________ Email: ________________________________ Position: ____________________________________________________________________ Please tick the relevant box: Venue ? Arts company ? Other ? (Please specify) ____________________________
We would appreciate 20–30 minutes of your time to complete this survey. Please return the survey by Friday 29 September 2006.
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DISABILITY ACCESS & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NATIONAL SURVEY FOR PERFORMING ARTS 1. Have you heard of Arts Access Australia before? (formerly DADAA National Network) Please circle Yes No 2. Do you have any people who identify as having a disability on your Board/management committee? Please circle Yes No If so, how many?______ 3. Do you have any staff or volunteers who identify as a person with specific needs or a disability? Please circle Yes No If so, how many?______ 4. Do you have a strategic plan? Please circle Yes No 4a. If yes, is access and disability a strategic objective incorporated in your plan? Please circle Yes No 5. Does your organisation have a disability policy and Action Plan? Please circle Yes No 5a. Are you willing to provide copies? Yes No
6. Have you or your staff ever undertaken any disability awareness training? Yes No If yes, please give details: ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. Do you promote or present any artists in performances which have a disability focus? Yes No If yes, please give details: ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 8. Are you currently attracting disability audiences to your venue or performances? Yes No If yes, please give details: ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 9. Do you undertake any monitoring regarding attendance of people with disabilities to your venue or performances? Yes No If yes, explain what type of monitoring method you undertake: ________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
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10. Do you offer any special services/facilities for people with a disability? Please circle Yes No If yes, please specify: _________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 10a. If so, do you use the international access symbols on your promotional material? Please circle Yes No 11. Do you have a marketing plan? 11a. Are disability groups one of your target groups? Yes Yes No No
12. Have you presented any performance, event or public program with a specific disability focus? Yes No If yes, please give details: ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 13. Do you promote or present any performances or event specifically to disability groups? Yes No Please give details: ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 14. Are you interested in finding out more about strategies for audience development and improving access for people with a disability? Please circle Yes No If you would like to know more about available resources please contact: Email: ed@ artsaccessaustralia.org 15. Do you have any information and/or resources available within your organization for developing audiences for people with a disability? (e.g. audits, publications, reports, training, promotional material, education kits, skills and dedicated staff) Please circle Yes No If yes, please list or, if possible, please attach copies with the completed questionnaire. 16. Have you or your organisation used the services of a disability arts organisation, e.g. Accessible Arts, for training, program, marketing or other advice? Please circle Yes No If so, please give details: _______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Please attach any additional pages if necessary.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TO COMPLETE THIS SURVEY. Please return your completed survey by Friday 29 September 2006 to: Cheryle Yin-Lo Arts Access Australia Disability Access & Audience Development Project PO Box 72 Hazelbrook NSW 2779 Email: [email protected] Mobile: 0407 409 445
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Appendix B: Respondents
Table B1: List of respondents, location, type of organisation and membership of peak bodies
Venue (V), Producer (P), Both (B), Touring (T) or Other (O)
Organisation
Location
Regional (R) or Metro (M)
Member of AMPAG?
Member of APACA?
ACT Canberra Theatre Centre Hidden Corners Theatre Tuggeranong Community Arts Centre Total NEW SOUTH WALES Albury Convention Centre Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Australian Chamber Orchestra Bangarra Dance Theatre Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre Christine Dunstan Productions Company B Belvoir Coffs Harbour City Council (Jetty Theatre) City Recital Hall, Angel Place Civic Precinct (Civic Theatre, City Hall and Playhouse), Newcastle Glen Street Theatre Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre Legs on the Wall Manning Entertainment Centre Musica Viva NORPA (inc. Lismore City Hall) Opera Australia Performing Lines Riverside Theatres Song Company Sutherland Entertainment Centre Sydney Dance Company Sydney Festival Sydney Opera House Sydney Symphony Orchestra Sydney Theatre Company Albury Sydney Sydney Sydney Bathurst Berry Sydney Coffs Harbour Sydney Newcastle Frenchs Forest Penrith Sydney Taree Sydney Lismore Strawberry Hills Sydney Parramatta Sydney Sutherland Sydney Sydney Sydney Sydney Sydney R M M M R R M R M R M M M R M R M M M M M M M M M M V P P P V T B V V V (3) V V V V B B P T V P V P O B P B ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?* (2) ?? ?? ?? ?* ?? ?? ?? Canberra Watson Tuggeranong 3 M M M V P V ?? ?**
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Wagga City Council (Civic Theatre) Willoughby Civic Centre Willoughby Symphony Zenith Theatre and Convention Centre Total NORTHERN TERRITORY Araluen Centre Browns Mart Community Arts Corrugated Iron Youth Arts InCite Youth Arts Tracks Inc Total QUEENSLAND Brisbane Powerhouse Burdekin Theatre Cairns Civic Theatre Caloundra Cultural Centre City Hall Empire Theatres Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Art Gladstone Entertainment Centre Gold Coast Arts Centre Logan Entertainment Centre Mackay Entertainment Centre Maroochy Shire Council (Nambour Civic Centre) Queensland Ballet Queensland Conservatorium Opera Queensland Queensland Arts Council Queensland Theatre Company Redland Shire Council Rockhampton Venues & Events Roundhouse Theatre/ La Boite Theatre Co The Queensland Orchestra The Junction, Noosa Shire Council Total SOUTH AUSTRALIA Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Barossa Arts and Convention Centre
Wagga Wagga Willoughby Chatswood Chatswood 32
R M M M
V V P V
??
??
Alice Springs Darwin Nightcliff Alice Springs Darwin 5
R M M R M
B B P P P
??
New Farm Ayr Cairns Caloundra Brisbane Toowoomba Fortitude Valley Gladstone Surfers Paradise Logan Central Mackay Nambour Brisbane South Bank Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane Cleveland Rockhampton Brisbane Brisbane Noosa Heads 22
M R R R M R M R M M R R M M M M M M R M M R
V V V V V V V V V V V V P V P T P V V B P V ?? ?? ?? ??
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
?? ?? ?? ??
Adelaide Adelaide Tanunda
M M R
V P V ?*
?? ??
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Country Arts SA (Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre in Mt Gambier, Chaffey Theatre in Renmark, Northern Festival Centre in Port Pirie, Middleback Theatre in Whyalla) Golden Grove Arts Centre Marion Cultural Centre Parallelo State Theatre Co SA Windmill Performing Arts Total TASMANIA Arts Tasmania Live Tasmania Tasmania Symphony Orchestra Ten Days on the Island Theatre Royal Total VICTORIA The Australian Ballet Back to Back Theatre Circus Oz Clocktower Centre Colac Otway Performing Arts Centre Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre Drum Theatre Esso BHP Biliton Entertainment Centre Frankston Arts Centre Geelong Performing Arts Centre Hamilton Performing Arts Centre Her Majesty’s Theatre Karralyka Kingston Arts Centre La Trobe Performing Arts Centre Malthouse Theatre Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Arts Festival Melbourne Theatre Company Monash University Arts Centres National Theatre Paramount Theatre Portland Arts Centre Regional Arts VIC Tarra Festival
Port Adelaide
R
V (4) T (1)
?* (5)
Modbury Oaklands Park Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide 13
M M M M M
V V P P P ??
?? ??
Hobart Hobart Hobart Hobart 5
M M M M M
O O P O V ?? ??
Southbank Geelong Port Melbourne Vito Matarelli Colac Preston Dandenong Sale Frankston Geelong Hamilton Ballarat Ringwood Moorabbin Morwell Southbank Southbank Melbourne Southbank Melbourne St Kilda Echuca Portland Port Melbourne Yarram
M M M M R R M R M R R R M M R M M M M M M R R M R
P P P V V V V V V V V V V V V V P O P V V V V V O
?? ?? ??
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
?? ??
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The Capital, Bendigo Wangaratta Arts Centre Warrnambool Entertainment Centre West Gippsland Arts Centre Women’s Circus Whitehorse Centre Wyndham Cultural Centre Total WESTERN AUSTRALIA Albany Town Hall Theatre Black Swan Theatre Co Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre Carnarvon Civic Centre Country Arts WA Don Russell Performing Arts Centre Goldfields Arts Centre Mandurah Performing Arts Centre Matt Dann Cultural Centre Ogden Int’l Facilities Corporation (His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth Concert Hall, Playhouse Theatre, Subiaco Theatre Centre) Performing Arts Centre Society Queens Park Theatre West Australian Opera West Australia Ballet West Australian Symphony Orchestra Yirra Yaakin Aboriginal Corp Total FINAL TOTAL
Bendigo Wangaratta Warrnambool Warragul Footscray Nunawading Werribee 32
R R R R M M M
V V V V P V V
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
Albany Crawley Bunbury Carnarvon Perth Gosnells Kalgoorlie Mandurah Port Hedland
R M R R M M R R R
V P V V V V V V V ??
??
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?* (1)
Perth
M
V (4)
Perth Geraldton Perth Perth Perth Perth 19 131
M R M M M M
V V P P P B ?? ?? ?? ??
47 of 131 (35%) are located outside capital cities and surrounds
81 Venues 31 Producers 9 Both 4 Touring 6 Other (festival, peak org, funding body) = 131 total
25 of 28 (90%) possible, including * two written responses, no survey
77 (inc. 40 regional) of 112 (70%) possible, including * multiple responses ** written response, no survey
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Appendix C: Survey results—data summary*
Table C1: Overall survey results—all respondents
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 109 (81%) 8 (6%) 39 (29%) 109 (81%) 63 (47%) 56 (42%) 32 (24%) 73 (54%) 62 (46%) 118 (88%) 41 (31%) 115 (86%) 36 (27%) 106 (79%) 44 (33%) 51 (38%) 47 (35%) 111 (83%) 29 (22%) 46 (34%) NO 21 (16%) 115 (86%) 89 (66%) 20 (15%) 40 (30%) 71 (53%) 13 (10%) 54 (40%) 63 (47%) 10 (7%) 86 (64%) 14 (10%) 90 (67%) 21 (16%) 74 (55%) 76 (57%) 81 (60%) 16 (12%) 99 (74%) 83 (62%) Blank or not applicable 4 (3%) 11 (8%) 6 (4%) 5 (4%) 31 (23%) 7 (5%) 89 (66%) 7 (5%) 9 (7%) 6 (4%) 7 (5%) 5 (4%) 8 (6%) 7 (5%) 16 (12%) 7 (5%) 6 (4%) 7 (5%) 6 (4%) 5 (4%) Total 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134 134
*
Three organisations (Malthouse Theatre, Musica Viva and the Sydney Theatre Company) are members of both AMPAG and APACA. These organisations have been double counted in the tables in this section, making a total number of 134 survey responses. Due to rounding, some percentages don’t always equal 100.
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Table C2: AMPAG members—metropolitan
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 19 (76%) 0 6 {1,1,1,6, ?,?} (24%) 23 (92%) 7 (28%) 4 (16%) 3 (12%) 7 (28%) 5 (20%) 22 (88%) 9 (36%) 22 (88%) 4 (16%) 22 (88%) 4 (16%) 7 (28%) 11 (44%) 21 (84%) 6 (24%) 10 (40%) NO 4 (16%) 23 (92%) 17 (68%) 0 14 (56%) 19 (76%) 1 (4%) 15 (60%) 17 (68%) 1 (4%) 14 (56%) 1 (4%) 18 (72%) 0 18 (72%) 15 (60%) 11 (44%) 0 16 (64%) 12 (48%) Blank or not applicable 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 4 (16%) 2 (8%) 21 (84%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 4 (16%) 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 2 organisations provided responses without completing the survey; other survey forms were incomplete Total 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
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Table C3: APACA members, Venues, Both, Touring—metropolitan
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 42 (84%) 0 11 {1,1,2,14,1,3,3,1,?,?,?} (22%) 38 (76%) 22 (44%) 28 (56%) 12 (24% 29 (58%) 26 (52%) 40 (80%) 12 (24%) 40 (80%) 13 (26%) 39 (78%) 14 (38%) 22 (44%) 14 (28%) 41 (82%) 7 (14%) 19 (38%) NO 6 (12%) 44 (88%) 36 (72%) 9 (18%) 15 (30%) 20 (40%) 10 (20%) 17 (34%) 19 (38%) 7 (14%) 35 (70%) 8 (16%) 33 (66%) 9 (18%) 31 (62%) 24 (48%) 33 (66%) 7 (14%) 40 (80%) 29 (58%) Blank or not applicable 2 (4%) 6 (12%) 3 (6%) 3 (6%) 13 (26%) 2 (4%) 28 (56%) 4 (8%) 5 (10%) 3 (6%) 3 (6%) 2 (4%) 4 (8%) 2 (4%) 5 (10%) 4 (8%) 3 (6%) 2 (4%) 3 (6%) 2 (4%) Total 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50
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Table C4: APACA members, Venues, Both, Touring—regional
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 34 (79%) 4 {1,1,1,1} (9%) 16 {2,2,1,1,1,3,1,3,1,2,2,1,1,1,2,?} (37%) 35 (81%) 26 (61%) 18 (42%) 13 (30%) 29 (67%) 19 (44%) 42 (98%) 16 (37%) 41 (95%) 17 (40%) 31 (72%) 20 (46%) 16 (37%) 19 (37%) 35 (81%) 12 (28%) 11 (26%) NO 9 (21%) 36 (84%) 26 (61%) 8 (19%) 7 (16%) 22 (51%) 2 (5%) 14 (33%) 23 (54%) 1 (2%) 26 (61%) 2 (5%) 26 (61%) 10 (23%) 17 (40%) 27 (63%) 24 (56%) 7 (16%) 31 (72%) 32 (74%) Blank or not applicable 0 3 (7%) 1 (2%) 0 10 (23%) 3 (7%) 28 (65%) 0 1 (2%) 0 1 (2%) 0 0 2 (5%) 6 (14%) 0 0 1 (2%) 0 0 Total 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43
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Table C5: Other organisations, non-AMPAG producers
Responses to specific questions 1. Heard of AAA? 2. Board/management 3. Staff/volunteers 4. Strategic plan 4a. Disability incorporated 5. Disability policy/action plan 5a. Willing to provide copy or copy provided 6. Training 7. Presentation/promotion of artists with disability focus 8. Current disability audiences 9. Monitoring 10. Special services 10a. Access symbols 11. Marketing plan 11a. Disability as a target group 12. Presenter 13. Present/promote 14. Interested in more strategies 15. Information/resources 16. Accessed disability and arts services YES 14 (88%) 4 (1,1,?,1) (25%) 6 {6,?,2,5,2,3} (38%) 13 (81%) 8 (50%) 6 (38%) 4 (25%) 8 (50%) 12 (75%) 14 (88%) 4 (25%) 12 (75%) 2 (13%) 14 (88%) 6 (38%) 6 (38%) 3 (19%) 14 (88%) 4 (25%) 6 (38%) NO 2 (12%) 12 (75%) 10 (62%) 3 (19%) 4 (25%) 10 (62%) 0 8 (50%) 4 (25%) 1 (6%) 11 (69%) 3 (19%) 13 (87%) 2 (12%) 8 (50%) 10 (62%) 13 (87%) 2 (12%) 12 (75%) 10 (62%) Blank or not applicable 0 0 0 0 4 (25%) 0 12 (75%) 0 0 1 (6%) 1 (6%) 1 (6%) 1 (6%) 0 2 (12%) 0 0 0 0 0 Total 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
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