In late February 2022 I was delighted to learn that I had been successful in my Arts Council “Develop Your Creative Practice” (DYCP) application to develop my understanding, and advocacy, of “radical accessibility” within the cultural sector. The phrase “radical accessibility” stemmed from attending an online event presented by the wonderful Canadian artist Carmen Papalia. According to community organiser and educator Madison Mahdia Lynn-Greene, radical accessibility is ‘a dramatic revisioning of what "accessibility" really means in the vision of a movement towards justice where truly no one is left behind.’

In my application, I outlined my intention as follows:

“I will undertake research to deepen my understanding of & expertise in accessibility practices in relation to my work with artists & with audiences. Accessibility is, & should be, a far more expansive practice than large print guides, wheelchair ramps, captions and so on (although it is also all of these things). I will research how accessibility can be interrogated, problematised & enlarged, especially recent concepts of ‘radical accessibility’ & ‘access intimacy’. Rather than typically being a tag-on, last-minute addition, I want to explore how accessibility can be embedded at the outset of cultural projects, so that what is being produced has disabled & neurodivergent audiences in mind as a default. In essence, this research will help me to be a more competent advocate for disabled & neurodivergent artists & audiences.”

I stated that the benefit of this research would be threefold:

1: As a consultant producer working directly with artists, gaining a more nuanced understanding of accessibility will enable me to ensure that any projects I produce are conceived of, & budgeted, to take an “access first” approach, embedding these practices & budget lines from the outset.

2: As an access support worker/producer working directly with neurodivergent or disabled artists, this deeper understanding will make me a more effective advocate & producer with greater sensitivity to their needs, & will enable me to draft a set of care methodologies & principles by which I can hold myself & be held accountable.

3: As a freelance curator/producer working directly with organisations across a variety of sectors (cultural, scientific, higher education/research institutions), I will be able to learn from & bring best practice to those institutions, especially those where understanding of accessible/inclusive practice is often found wanting.

As I begin working on this project, I am setting the intention of documenting my research via this blog. My hope is that by doing so I can hold myself accountable for the aims of this project, use it as part of my evaluation, and also share my experiences with others for whom this might be relevant.