CONSULTANCY

I work in partnership with Consultant, Trainer and BSL/English Interpreter Sarah Gatford, offering consultancy to organisations who want to become more accessible to D/deaf people. Together we founded Arts Access for All, one of the legacies from The East Meets West Symposium’ curated by Little Earthquake Theatre Company. At the Symposium, it was discovered that arts organisations in the Midlands often feel under resourced and lacking in knowledge when it comes to making their work or venues more accessible to D/deaf audiences.

Arts Access for All aims to:

• Help organisations develop D/deaf audiences and encourage them to be involved as audience members and practitioners.

• Enable arts organisations to support each other, share information, resources, ideas, advice, opportunities and signpost to events and training that are helpful when working with the D/deaf community and reaching D/deaf audiences.

• Provide resources, training and consultation to help make venues and artistic work more accessible to D/deaf audiences.

Our services include:

• Signposting to BSL/English Interpreters and D/deaf professionals in the region.

• D/deaf Awareness Training led by D/deaf trainers.

• Training in how to make your work or venue more accessible.

• Accessibility Audits to help make your venue more accessible.

• Basic sign language and D/deaf awareness training for front of house staff led by a D/deaf trainer.

• An accessibility factsheet.

• Provision of volunteers who can sign to act as ‘welcomers’ for D/deaf patrons at your events.

• Information about accessible performances in the region.