Resources and publications
The following list of resources and publications complement Arts For All : Ngā toi mō te katoa, published in 2014 by Arts Access Aotearoa with support from Creative New Zealand and Wellington City Council. This guide provides practical and long-term ways to increase access to the arts, market your events to the disabled community and build new audiences.
The resources and publications are listed alphabetically.
New Zealand Sign Language video about Arts For All
Arts For All is a 92-page book filled with practical information, examples and ideas about how to make the arts more accessible to Deaf people, disabled people, and people with lived experience of mental ill-health. Watch the NZSL video about Arts For All
Making the most of Facebook
Making the most of Facebook: a guide for community arts organisations is a practical tool for non-profit organisations starting to use Facebook – or already on Facebook but wanting to build an audience. It offers straightforward and practical tips on what to post on your Facebook page, it gives ideas for content, links to helpful online tools, and answer the question that’s on every page administrator’s mind: “How to build my audience?”.
Download Making the most of Facebook [Word]
Arts For All survey: how accessible are New Zealand’s arts organisations and venues?
In 2011, Creative New Zealand provided one-off grants totalling $30,000 to 11 organisations for projects that would improve their accessibility. Arts Access Aotearoa administered the grants and monitored the projects.
At the same time, Creative New Zealand commissioned Arts Access Aotearoa to conduct an online survey and site visits to find out how accessible New Zealand’s key arts organisations and venues were. An online survey was completed by 41 arts organisations and Arts Access Aotearoa held in-depth interviews with 16 organisations around the country.
Action For Access: a practical resource for arts organisations
Published by the Arts Council England in 2004, this is a resource pack for arts organisations wishing to make their activities more accessible to disabled people.
Download Action For Access [PDF]
Be. the Voice: media accessibility pack
Published by Be. Accessible in 2011, this guide aims to improve how the media frame and tell stories about accessibility and disability. It also features 17 inspiring leadership stories.
Building Act 2004
The Building Act 2004 is the legislation that governs the building industry in New Zealand. Under the Act, access to facilities must be provided without exception in all new public buildings and, where reasonably practical, in any alterations to existing public buildings. Its specifications include width of doorways, height and shape of handrails, space to manoeuvre in bathrooms, gradient of ramps and provision of accessible car parking.
Read more or download a copy of the Building Act 2004
Design for Accessibility: a cultural administrator’s handbook
This handbook is published by the National Endowment for the Arts in the United States and was updated in 2011. It provides guidelines for cultural administrators developing accessible and inclusive programming for everyone, including disabled and older people. It also details how to make access an important part of your planning, mission, programmes, outreach, meetings, budget and staffing.
Download Design for Accessibility
Equal Spaces: best practice guidance for arts providers on disability issues
Published by the Arts Council of Wales in 2008, this guide offers ways that arts organisations and arts providers can increase access to the arts . It was developed in response to the barriers and challenges that disabled Welsh people face.
Download Equal Spaces
Expanding the Arts: deaf and disability arts, access and equality strategy
This guide, published by the Canada Council for the Arts in June 2012, focuses on equity, diversity and inclusive polices that expand arts access for Deaf and disabled Canadians.
Download Expanding the Arts
Getting There: a practical resource for arts venues in Scotland to increase the inclusion of disabled people
Created by the Scottish Arts Council (now Creative Scotland) in 2005, this resource for Scotland-based arts organisations addresses aspects of inclusive practice and includes case studies from around Scotland.
Download the Getting There PDF
Human Rights Act 1993
This document details New Zealand’s Human Rights Act 1993 and its provisions. The Act is administered by the Ministry of Justice and protects disabled people from discrimination, including equitable access to public spaces, goods and services, and other areas.
Read the Human Rights Act 1993
Make your communications more accessible
Produced by the Office of Disability Issues and Ministry of Social Development in 2011, this resource provides practical advice for writers, communicators, designers and production houses on how to make information and communications reach a wide audience while being accessible to disabled people.
Read the guide online and download it
Making Theatre Accessible: a guide to audio description in the performing arts
This step-by-step guide, published by the Bay State Council of the Blind in the United States in 2008, details how to design and implement an audio description programme for theatre organisations. The guidelines can also apply to other performing arts organisations such as community arts groups, performing arts centres, and dance or opera companies. Arts Access Aotearoa has a limited number of copies available for loan. You can also download a copy at the Perkins School for the Blind’s website. To access the document, scroll to the bottom of the page and see under “More Information".
New Plymouth District Council Disability Strategy
This is a good example of a local council's disability strategy, developed by the New Plymouth District Council in 2009. It looks at what the council can do to reduce disability and ensure its services are inclusive of and accessible to everyone in the district.
Download a summary of this strategy
New Zealand Disability Strategy
This strategy was developed in 2000 in partnership with disabled people and their representative organisations. Its vision is of a society that highly values the lives of disabled people and continually enhances their full participation. It provides a framework to guide government organisations making policy and developing services that affect disabled people. You can download the strategy in a range of formats, including easy-to-read, pictorial, audio, braille and New Zealand Sign Language. There are also links to the Government’s annual progress reports on implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy.
Download the New Zealand Disability Strategy in a range of formats
New Zealand Government Web Toolkit
This website details the Government’s Web Accessibility Standard 1.0 and Web Usability Standard 1.1, both effective as of 1 July 2013. This information is helpful to content and communications people, developers, project managers and others who oversee website content. The links below include an overview of each standard as well as a link on how to administer the standards.
Read the Web Accessibility Standard 1.0
Read the Web Usability Standard 1.1
New Zealand Sign Language online
This online NZSL dictionary is administered by Deaf Aotearoa. Users can search for NZSL vocabulary by English/te reo Māori words or through the visual features of the signs themselves. Each word entry includes a te reo Māori translation, making the dictionary accessible in three languages. A free NZSL dictionary app compatible with the iPhone and iPad dictionary is also available.
Access the NZSL online dictionary
Download the NZSL dictionary app here (version 2.1)
Shift in Perspective: the arts and disability resource pack
Published by Arts and Disability Ireland in 2010, this guide covers strategies for making arts venues more accessible to artists and audience with disabilities. The practical application of these strategies can benefit artists and all who work in professional and community-based venues, galleries, theatres and related arts organisations.
Download Shift in Perspective
Smithsonian guidelines for accessible exhibition design
This guidebook created by the Smithsonian Accessibility Program emphasises that museums must do more than acknowledge their audiences’ diversity. To this end, museums must provide multiple levels of information, act on issues of cultural and gender equity, and incorporate different learning styles in their teaching. This guide to developing accessible design is very useful for exhibition designers, curators, registrars, conservators, collections managers, designers, editors, developers, educators and other exhibition team members.
Download the Smithsonian guidelines for accessible exhibition design
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
United Nations Enable's website is home to the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The website includes public information about topics related to disability, human rights and the United Nations' work for disabled people. Article 30 of the CPRD (Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport) is particularly relevant. New Zealand has ratified this Convention and reports to the UN on progress.
View Article 30 of the CRPD
Welcoming people with a learning disability to your venue
This report, published by UK charity MENCAP, looks at barriers for people with a learning disability going to the theatre, concerts and other arts events. It also offers solutions. Barriers such as lack of money, not feeling welcomed and transport can be overcome by providing concessions and good information, and following the policies and the procedures of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Download this report
