Unlimited Access in Arts and Culture: Panel discussion and Workshop

In the context of the Unlimited Festival organized in 2012 under the aegis of the Cultural Olympiad in London on the initiative of the British Council (UK), four organizations pooled their resources to implement an ambitious program aimed at nurturing best practices in the commissioning, creation and promotion of performing arts productions involving people with disabilities. It was a logical step for the Onassis Stegi to join this network, given that it is engaged in similar activities in its own educational program.

As part of the Unlimited Access program, the Onassis Stegi has staged a series of three contemporary dance workshops for participants included people both with and without disabilities, and is planning a festival for February 2015. In addition, it has organized a day dedicated to issues relating to access to cultural venues and sites for people with disabilities.

There will be two distinct parts to the day:

A panel discussion on access issues

The speakers from Greece and abroad will focus on both problems relating to physical access and on the institutional changes required to permit and encourage the participation of people with disabilities in cultural activities.

Upper Stage | 17:00-21:00 | Entrance to the event is free and on a strictly first come, first served basis.
The distribution of entrance tickets begins one (1) hour before each event
Language: English and Greek | Simultaneous translation into Greek and in sign language is provided.

A training workshop focused on helping culture, arts and marketing professionals improve their communication with communities of people with disabilities

The workshop will be run in collaboration with Flip!, a Scottish organization dedicated to disability equality in the arts.
The workshop will be interactive and will seek to create conditions which encourage the participants to reflect on the practices and policies of cultural organizations. The session will begin by posing the following questions: Who do we consider the label ‘people with disabilities’ to include? Who are we talking about? What are the different ways of viewing disability, and what are their practical consequences?

The workshop will then focus on group development in specific spheres: Marketing strategies aimed at people with disabilities, Ways of involving artists across the arts, Communicating with the friends and families of people with disabilities, Communicating with art critics, People with disabilities as a market segment, The general public and disability.

Flip! collaborates with cultural organizations in Scotland, helping them to make equality, access and participation core pillars of their practice. It has collaborated with key local institutions including the National Theatre of Scotland, the Edinburg International Festival, BBC Scotland, Engage Scotland, and the Scottish Book Trust. Scotland now has one of Europe’s most progressive legal frameworks in relation to disability. Cultural organizations assign particular importance to accessibility issues on the structural level, but also when drawing up programs and communication strategies.

Participants will be given a ‘tool-kit’ of ideas and practices which will be of use to them in their work.
11:00-16:00 (with intermission) | Language: English | Cost: 20 €