Arts organisations and venues will become more accessible this year, thanks to 11 grants provided by Creative New Zealand for projects ranging from sign language interpretations and audio described performances to music workshops and concerts for disabled children and young adults, and improved physical access.

Totalling $30,000, the one-off grants are being administered by Arts Access Aotearoa through its Arts For All Programme, a partnership programme with Creative New Zealand. The aim of this programme is to work with representatives from the disability sector to support arts organisations, venues and producers to improve their access.

Stephen Wainwright, Chief Executive, Creative New Zealand said the one-off grants signal the organisation’s commitment to supporting improved access to arts events for all New Zealanders. They complement the publication Arts for All: opening doors to disabled people and the annual Big ‘A’ Creative New Zealand Arts for All Award.

“It’s great to see the range of projects and the organisations’ enthusiasm to build new audiences by making performances, facilities and information more accessible to disabled people,” he said. “I look forward to seeing the long-term impact of this investment and of Arts Access Aotearoa’s Arts for All Programme.”

Richard Benge, Executive Director, Arts Access Aotearoa said the one-off grants build on the work being done through the Arts For All Programme. They have also prompted valuable discussions with the organisations.

“I am very pleased to see the level of commitment and creative ideas coming from the arts community to improve access for everyone wanting to engage in the arts,” he said.

The 11 grant recipients will also contribute their own funding to their projects.

The following is a complete list of grants:

• $3000 to Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki to increase access to its programmes, provide disability awareness training for staff, and provide a series of signed talks about works in its collection in 2012
• $3000 to the Auckland Theatre Company to install ramps in its premises and make its website more accessible to people with a visual impairment
• $3000 to Capital E National Theatre for Children to provide signed performances of three different works in its 2012 programme
• $3000 to Chamber Music New Zealand to present a workshop and concert in the Wellington Town Hall for disabled children and young adults so they can experience live music up close, and interact with musicians and their instruments
• $3000 to Fortune Theatre, Dunedin to establish best practice methodologies for audio-described performances and present six audio-described performances in 2012
• $3000 to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra to increase the number of its performances to students in special needs schools in Auckland
• $1150 to Pablos Art Studios, Wellington to provide staff training for its tutors, enhancing their engagement with those studio’s artists who have visual, hearing or communication impairments
• $3000 to Q Theatre, Auckland to develop an accessibility policy and action plan, promote its access to a wide audience, and provide disability awareness training for staff, board and management
• $3000 to Silo Theatre, Auckland to provide signed performances of Tribes by Nina Raine, an award-winning work about the politics of communication for hearing, hearing impaired and Deaf people
•  $1850 to Studio2, Dunedin to display artwork by disabled artists to professional standards in its exhibition space
• $3000 to the Theatre Royal Charitable Trust, Christchurch to contribute to the installation of an accessible lift, catering for disabled patrons, to the upper levels of the Isaac Theatre Royal.

For more information, please contact:

IonaMcNaughton, Communications Manager, Arts Access Aotearoa

(T: 04-802 4356 / 021 799 059 E: iona.mcnaughton@artsaccess.org.nz)