Sense & Accessibility: marketing effectively to Deaf and disabled audiences

Being accessible isn’t just about providing a ramp. Arts organisations are increasingly responding to people’s sensory needs, enabling visitors who are visually or hearing impaired to enjoy what’s on offer.

So once you’ve produced your brochure in Braille, arranged a BSL interpreter and rewritten your copy into Plain English, what next?

This seminar looks at opening out your organisation’s work to a wider audience by making it more accessible, and making sure that your message is getting out there.

As well as sound legal, moral and business reasons for being accessible, good sensory and intellectual access makes financial sense. In 2008/09, 52.7% of those with a limiting disability/illness attended at least one arts event. There is a strong business case for improving your provision for Deaf and disabled audiences and increasing your visitor numbers. And becoming more accessible offers benefits to a great range of people.

What will you learn?

• Top tips to market your accessible work to Deaf & disabled people
• Ideas for raising your profile among Deaf & disabled communities
• The importance of building trust and listening to feedback
• Why Deaf and disabled audience might not be engaging with your organisation
• How audio description works, and how you could use it to increase access 
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• The theory and practice of improving intellectual access to the benefit of all your visitors
• A definition of the 5 areas of disability and the social model of disability and why your marketing should reflect these

Who is the event suitable for?

• Performing arts, visual arts, culture and heritage organisations
• Anyone who needs more understanding of how to use audio description in visual and performing arts settings
• Anyone interested in Intellectual Access and the benefits of presenting information in multiple formats
• Anyone who wants to improve their marketing to Deaf & disabled people, and build attendance for their assisted events

Contributors:

• Mickey Fellowes, Director of Accessible Event Promotions a company established to promote accessible arts, cultural, community and leisure events in the North West and London. Mickey will be focusing upon the needs and preferences of disabled audiences and how to meet them.
• Catherine Bradley, Deputy Head of Evidence and Engagement on learning points from All About Audiences’ two-year project In Touch which aimed to improve communication with Deaf and disabled audiences.
• Anne Hornsby of Minds Eye on audio description.
• Marketing & audience development freelancer, Marge Ainsley will be giving a BSL taster session, showing the basics of fingerspelling and the BSL alphabet.
• Laura Wood from Bradford Alhambra Theatre & Studios will be talking about effectively marketing to Deaf & disabled audiences.

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NB: When booking, please note that to be eligible for a refund (or to transfer your free place to another Subscriber Event) you must cancel your place before 12.00pm on Monday 20 September.