Time to Act: preliminary findings

Date: April 27, 2021 - April 27, 2021
Location: UK

Time to Act: How lack of knowledge in the cultural sector creates barriers for disabled artists and audiences

An international closed-group webinar for European policymakers, funders, directors, staff at Ministries of Culture, and cultural professionals.

On 27 April, the British Council and On the Move presented the initial findings of a major new study spanning 40 countries into the barriers that disabled people experience when accessing the arts.

A recording of the event is available below:

Core research findings were presented in the following areas:

  • The depth of knowledge around the creative work and practices of professional disabled artists
  • How to make cultural programmes accessible to disabled artists.
  • How to make cultural programmes accessible to disabled audiences.

The report was authored by On the Move, the cultural mobility information network, and commissioned by the British Council and Europe Beyond Access.

As we move through 2021, more research and follow-up case studies will be conducted to produce even greater levels of detail in these areas, as well as a series of public-facing events to share the findings.

In this 60 minute webinar the key findings of this initial research were shared by On The Move, with reactions and personal reflections from artists and arts managers from across Europe:

– Mindy Drapsa – Artistic Director: Riksteatern Crea (SWE)

– Tanja Erhart – Dance Artist and curator (AUT/UK)

– Anna Consolati – General Manager: Oriente Occidente Dance Festival (IT)

– Lisette Reuter – Creative Producer: Unlabel / Project Director: ImPArt (DE)

The webinar was live captioned in English, with captions translated upon request.

The webinar was supported by British Sign Language and International Sign.

The study is part of the large-scale Arts and Disability project, Europe Beyond Access.

Co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission, this initiative aims to support disabled artists to break the glass ceilings of the contemporary theatre and dance sectors.

The core partners of the project are British Council (operating for this project in the UK and Poland), Onassis Stegi (Greece), Holland Dance Festival (The Netherlands), Kampnagel (Germany), Per.Art (Serbia), Skånes Dansteater (Sweden), and Oriente Occidente (Italy).

Dissemination associates are IETM, ONDA (France), EUCREA (Germany), Acesso Cultura (Portugal), Instytut Teatralny im. Zbigniewa Raszewskiego / Theatre Institut (Poland), and ISPA.