In response to many festival and event organisers planning their programmes to be delivered as a hybrid of both live and digital events, this webinar session explored the opportunities and challenges that a hybrid model presents for supporting Deaf or disabled audiences and artists to connect through digital platforms.

This webinar is part of a wider strategic project delivered by Without Walls to support outdoor artists and festivals to embed accessibility in their events and raise awareness of work created by culturally diverse and Deaf and disabled artists.

Watch the recording of the webinar and find resources below

Presentations

• Without Walls Access Advisor Alex Covell (Access Producer at FESTIVAL.ORG) introduced some case studies of recent projects and provided key tips for using digital tools to increase access and where to look for further support.
• Jacob Adams, Head of Research and Campaigns at Attitude is Everything gave an insight into the Seven Principles, The Charter of Best Practice and the new Online Live Music Event Access Guide. Attitude is Everything works in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to improve Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music and has extensive experience of supporting outdoor festivals and events.
• Philippa Cross, General Manager at Talking Birds Theatre Company, and Freelance Musician/Creative artist Mahendra Patel talked about the Difference Engine. The Difference Engine is Talking Birds’ discrete tool, developed to make performances and events accessible to Deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind or partially sighted audience members by delivering captioning and audio description direct to their own mobile devices. Talking Birds is interested in how we shift responsibility for access from being a marketing/front of house activity, to something which is embedded in the creative process. Mahendra talked about his current plans to use the difference engine in his work and his experiences as an operator of The Difference Engine for performances.