Arts and Disability Access Awards

University of Atypical for Arts and Disability have a fantastic opportunity as part of their Arts and Disability Access Awards scheme. This is a cutting edge programme of training and tailored support for arts, culture, and heritage organisations throughout the region who want to make their activities as accessible as possible. It is designed and led by disabled people who bring with them a wealth of experiential knowledge, and the freshest ideas about disability rights and accessibility.

Right now, we have limited spaces available on the programme at no cost for Belfast organisations, thanks to generous support from Belfast City Council. For organisations outside of Belfast we have some funded subsidies available to reduce the cost of the programme. Please contact us using the details below for more information.

The programme has three core elements:

1. Audit and Improvement Programme

Participant organisations collaborate with trained Access Advisors, who support you across several months to work towards manageable and impactful accessibility improvements. Access Advisors use their own lived disability experience as well as the training they have received to assess your organisation and support you to make an improvement plan.

Recent participants made changes including: improving access standards of websites and social media; staff training in British Sign Language; and changes to signage and stairs. Organisations who meet their goals within an agreed and realistic timeframe will be recommended for the Award, for their efforts and achievements. The aim is that this will become the recognised sign of quality in accessibility throughout the sector.

Previous participants found the process extremely helpful. They said that “we have better knowledge of embedding access into every step of what we do, not adding it on at the end of processes and planning”, and that “it’s made us so much more aware and put accessibility near the top of the agenda when considering decisions”.

The Audit and Improvement Programme runs throughout the year.

2. Making the Arts Accessible Training Course

This comprehensive, practical, and up-to-the-minute 8-week training programme covers a wide range of disability and accessibility themes. Units are designed and led by D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people, and include artists, practitioners, and service providers who are experts in their respective areas.

Units provide key context and history about disability rights, disability arts and culture, and the experiences of D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people in Northern Ireland and beyond. It clarifies central ideas about disability, accessibility, discrimination and the legal context, so participants learn to discuss these with confidence. It takes a broad view of accessibility, and covers physical access, information, language, digital media, and communication.

There has been very positive feedback from arts sector workers who have taken the course:

“It was so good to have proper time to learn and discuss…  I appreciated people with lived experience coming and sharing with us, that was one of the best things about the course”.

“Jonathan was a brilliant course coordinator and approached things in a balanced way, and created a comfortable environment where no question was a silly one”.

“All around it was excellent. As well as being informative and giving practical solutions it was also really interesting… It was also great to be learning in a group environment of similar professionals who could share ideas and thoughts with no pressure in a safe group”.

The Training Programme runs for 8 weeks on Wednesdays from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm, in the Ledger Studio, Royal Avenue, Belfast. The next run will be from 8 October until 26 November 2025.

3. Accessibility Information Video Production

D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people often place a premium on knowing what to expect when visiting somewhere for the first time. University of Atypical produce films for organisations that tour spaces, focusing in particular upon accessibility measures. They follow a visitor as they move through your space, and point out physical, information, communication, and sensory accessibility aspects as they go. The finished videos contain an audio track, captions, and British and Irish Sign Language interpretation.

If you are interested in any aspect of this programme, or would like to chat about it further, please get in touch.

●      Email jonathan@universityofatypical.org

●      Phone 02890 239450

The programme is made possible by generous support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Belfast City Council.