Q & A: Arts For All insights
The Q & A interviews on this page cover a range of topics, providing insights into making your venues, performing arts and literary events, galleries and museums more accessible. If there's a topic you would like to see covered on this page, contact Stace Robertson, Access, Inclusion and Participation Advisor, Arts Access Aotearoa (T: 04 802 4349 E: afa@artsaccess.org.nz).
Download a copy of Arts For All:
Arts For All (pdf 37.9 MB)
Arts For All accessible (Word 568 KB)
Making publications more accessible
How do you make written documents and publications accessible to blind and low vision arts patrons and gallery visitors? Hamish Petersen, former Writing and Publications Co-ordinator at The Physics Room in Christchurch, talks about what was involved in producing an audio book of its new publication, Correspondence.
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Q & A: Making publications more accessible (pdf 338KB)
Q & A: Making publications more accessible (Word 427KB)
Developing an accessibility policy
Why is it important for your organisation to have an accessibility policy? Pascale Parenteau, Education, Community and Accessibility Manager, Royal New Zealand Ballet, talks to Arts Access Aotearoa about what was involved in developing an accessibility policy for the national ballet company.
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Q & A: Developing an accessibility policy (pdf 203KB)
Q & A: Developing an accessibility policy (Word 692KB)
Audio Described Aotearoa
Putting blind people in the picture is what Auckland audio describer Nicola Owen does for a living. She talks to Arts Access Aotearoa about touch tours and audio description of arts and cultural events, and what happened when New Zealand went into lockdown in March 2020 because of COVID-19.
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Q & A: Audio Described Aotearoa
Q & A: Audio Described Aotearoa
Home-grown audio description in Aotearoa
Audio description continues to develop and spread through the arts sector here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Still, writes audio describer Judith Jones: "I’m often asked 'What is audio description?' In this piece, written in March 2022, I have brought together a selection of local recorded audio descriptions, which you can access for free online, from anywhere." Read more
Audio description: a 2020 personal sampler
Audio describer Judith Jones shares a list of audio descriptions she has been listening to recently. Read more
Gallery opens doors to its art for students
Hastings City Art Gallery offers free education programmes for students of all levels and learning abilities. Its Gallery Educator, Kelsey Hankins, talks to Arts Access Aotearoa about the processes and challenges of developing a programme for students at Kōwhai Specialist School in Hastings.
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Q & A: Hastings City Art Gallery [pdf 240KB]
Q&A: Hastings City Art Gallery [Word 769KB]
Integrating audio description into a dance performance
What does integrated audio description mean and what’s involved? Judith Jones, audio describer and member of WIDance (Wellington Integrated Dance) discusses this new concept and what was involved in audio describing The Art of Observation.
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Integrating audio description into a dance performance
Integrating audio description into a dance performance
Making sense of sensory tours
Judith Jones is a trained audio describer and Visitor Services Tour Host at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. She talks to Arts Access Aotearoa about the 2015 pilot tour of selected works in Ngā Toi │Arts Te Papa and how the GLAM sector (galleries, libraries, archives, museums) can provide more meaningful experiences for people who are blind or have low vision.
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Q & A: Making sense of sensory tours
Q & A: Making sense of sensory tours
Gallery’s Insightful Tours for blind visitors
Lynda Cullen, Visitor Programmes Officer, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, talks to Arts Access Aotearoa about the gallery’s commitment to accessibility and its Insightful Tours
for blind and vision impaired visitors.
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Q & A: Gallery's Insightful Tours for blind visitors
Q & A: Gallery's Insightful Tours for blind visitors
Sensory relaxed performances at Tim Bray Theatre Company
What are relaxed/sensory relaxed performances and what are the benefits to a theatre company in providing them? Tim Bray, Artistic Director, and Katie Querin, Company Stage Manager, of Auckland’s Tim Bray Theatre Company talk to Arts Access Aotearoa about the challenges and opportunities to connect with young audiences.
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Q & A: Sensory relaxed performances at Tim Bray Theatre Company (pdf 502KB)
Q & A: Sensory relaxed performances at Tim Bray Theatre Company (Word 979 KB)
Sign interpreting theatre
What are some key differences between sign interpreting a meeting and theatre? What are some of the challenges of interpreting theatre? And what should venues or companies consider before booking a sign interpreted performance? New Zealand Sign Language interpreter Leo Goldie-Anderson talks to Arts Access Aotearoa about the multiple skills required to sign interpret theatre.
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Q & A: Sign interpreting theatre
Q & A: Sign interpreting theatre
Exhibiting accessibility and inclusion
The exhibition Tirohia Mai, Look at Us Now marked 120 years of women’s suffrage in New Zealand and opened in the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington in June 2013. Robyn Hunt joined a group of women advisors to bring the perspective of disabled women to the exhibition, and to help ensure its accessibility. Robyn, who is partially sighted and a leading communications accessibility consultant, writes about the process and challenges in ensuring an accessible exhibition.
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Q & A: Exhibiting accessibility and inclusion
Q & A: Exhibiting accessibility and inclusion
Stace Robertson: Stace is Lead Accessibility Advisor, Arts Access Aotearoa (T: 04802 4349 E: afa@artsaccess.org.nz). Stace works Monday to Thursday. More about Stace
Katie Querin: Katie is the Arts For All Activator, Arts Access Aotearoa (T: 04 802 4193 Extension: 709 E: afa@artsaccess.org.nz). More about Katie.
