Following the success of the audio-described Tactile Tour program in 2010, Sculpture by the Sea are partnering with Accessible Arts to offer people with vision impairment and people with intellectual disability the opportunity to engage with art in a hands-on guided experience.
Accessible Arts hosted the Festivals Forum in July 2011, to review access for people with disability at festival events throughout NSW. Representatives from fifteen festivals large and small, and supporting arts organisations, gathered at the Utzon Room at Sydney Opera House to attend the three hour forum.
As part of an agreement to support festivals to develop accessibility, Accessible Arts has provided training to Sculpture by the Sea staff for the third consecutive year. Twelve staff from all sections of the organisation attended three hours of Disability Awareness and Access training to further embed accessibility practices throughout their organisation.
Festivals are increasing in popularity and continue to give expression and exposure to innovative creative arts and culture, which in turn adds greater vibrancy to communities who share in these occasions. Accessible Arts will present a forum in July, to bring festival producers together to discuss the unique challenges they face when improving access to festival events.
Nastasia Campanella is a Sydney based freelance print, radio and online journalist who also happens to be blind. She recently attended one of the audio described tactile tours presented by Sculpture by the Sea in partnership with Accessible Arts and reported on the experience.News
Lord Mayor Community Access Days throughout 17th Biennale of Sydney
Thanks to the Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP and the City of Sydney, a number of guided tours will be audio described and Auslan interpreted at the 17th Biennale of Sydney, to enable people with sensory disabilities access to Australia’s largest contemporary visual arts event.
Based on the curatorial theme THE BEAUTY OF DISTANCE: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age, the Biennale will be on display at Sydney’s leading cultural institutions, contemporary art spaces and heritage sites between 12 May and 1 August 2010.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said “The City of Sydney is again delighted to sponsor the 17th Biennale of Sydney, Australia’s pre-eminent showcase for local and international contemporary art. In 2010, I will once again be pleased to host the Lord Mayor Community Access Days, to help open the Biennale to all people."
An audio described tour for people who have low vision or who are blind will take place at the Museum of Contemporary Art on 29 May from 11 am to 12 noon, followed by an Auslan tour from 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm for people who are Deaf or hearing impaired.
For further information about the tours, including bookings and accessibility email access@biennaleofsydney.com.au.
Access tours are also planned for Cockatoo Island on 20 June and at the Royal Botanic Gardens on 11 July 2010.
Access initiatives at the Biennale of Sydney continue to promote inclusion, create new audiences and increase opportunities for people with disability to experience innovative and challenging contemporary art from Australia and around the world. Every two years, the Biennale of Sydney is presented free of charge to the public over a twelve-week period. Over the past 37 years, the critically acclaimed and popular large-scale exhibitions have showcased more than 1355 artists from over 82 countries.
Lord Mayor Community Access Days are presented by the Biennale of Sydney and the City of Sydney, with assistance from Accessible Arts.