Currently, in Australia, one in six people live with disability – 18% of the population. Disability can involve the physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, neurological, immunologic, processing, learning and energy capacities of a person. Disability can also include physical difference and the presence in the body of disease-causing organisms (e.g. HIV). A person’s disability may be permanent or temporary (likely to last for at least six months), visible or ‘invisible’, and capacities may vary from day to day.
For more information, see the Australian Human Rights Commission Know Your Rights: Disability Discrimination resource.
d/Deaf and Disabled artists experience considerable barriers in employment, funding and participation in arts organisations. There is a history of siloing d/Deaf and Disabled arts within therapeutic community art centres or sheltered workshops, where they have faced economic and copyright exploitation as well as marginalisation and professional exclusion.
d/Deaf and Disabled people are as diverse a group as the general population, with varying backgrounds and life experiences. They may face overlapping forms of discrimination and marginalisation, such as race, gender and/or socio-economic marginalisation. First Nations communities experience Disability at more than twice the rates in non-First Nations communities. Overlapping forms of discrimination contribute to the isolation of d/Deaf and Disabled people, and reduces their capacity to articulate access needs.
NAVA acknowledges that d/Deaf and Disabled people may have conflicting access, and advises that good practice should be based on giving d/Deaf and Disabled people agency (choice, information) in how navigating their participation in/engagement in the visual arts.
Key Issues
Principles of Access and Inclusion
The common principles for access and inclusion are:
Participation: People have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Participation should be active, free, and meaningful, with attention to issues of access such as information in forms and language that can be understood.
Accountability: Accessibility and inclusion standards, including progress toward goals, should be regularly monitored and evaluated. Appropriate methods for providing feedback and addressing complaints should be put in place.
Non-discrimination and equality: All forms of discrimination are to be eliminated and avoided. This includes recognising the increasing exclusion of those at the intersections of vulnerabilities and accounting for unconscious bias.
Empowerment: d/Deaf and Disabled people must be able to participate fully in the development of policies and practices which affect them. A simple guide is ‘nothing about us without us’.
Legality: Legal requirements recognise that inclusion and access are rights to which d/Deaf and Disabled people are entitled and that this is a shared responsibility.
Equity and justice: The fair treatment of all people with disability for equitable opportunities and outcomes through systems and processes that support and sustain social justice.
In practice this mean that:
artists and organisations have a responsibility to consult, consider and advise on accessibility
artists and organisations advocate for provision of access supports
artists and organisations plan and budget for access provisions
For more information, see the Australian Human Rights Commission's Human Rights Based Approaches resource.
Social Inclusion and Universal Access
Social inclusion can be defined as people having the resources, opportunities, and capabilities to:
learn (participate in education and training)
work (paid or voluntary)
engage (connect with people and participate in civic, cultural, and social activities)
have a voice (participate in decision-making)
Social inclusion requires universal access, which means that regardless of their abilities, people can approach, enter and make use of an area and facilities in a manner that retains their dignity and independence, without having to disclose their Disability. Universal design is a way of thinking about environments and facilities that meet the needs of all members of the community. Access and inclusion should be planned together in consultation with d/Deaf and Disabled people, communicated clearly, and monitored. People need both access to, and to be included in environments with consideration to design, place, and people.
Social inclusion and universal access and design have particular relevance for d/Deaf and Disabled people, but also benefit the broader community. At some time in their lives, everyone will experience their abilities change or be impacted; physically, mentally, socially, environmentally or situationally, which may impact their ability to interact equitably in environments.
Although working towards social inclusion and universal access is important, it will not automatically achieve access for everyone. Individuals will have different and sometimes complex and even conflicting access needs depending on their circumstances. Clear communication about the accessibility and experience of a creative work or exhibition space, gives d/Deaf and Disabled people more choice in how they engage with the work. Access and inclusion involves constant learning and work, actively encouraging feedback about access requirements and inclusion experiences, being prepared to listen, and being flexible in adapting to different situations.
For more information and definitions of universal access, universal design and social inclusion, see Tweed Shire Council's Access and Inclusion Plan.