Paralympics 2012: 13 ways digital and disabled arts can work together
We round up all the best insights from our last live chat on disability arts, digital spaces and technology
Steph Fuller, senior manager ? regional planning,
Arts Council England
Access can enhance, not just support: Integrating access into artworks can add fantastic extra layers. Some years ago, during Architecture Week, I went to an exhibition of photography and writing that had an audio description provided by artist Rachel Gadsden ? it was so much more than simply a description of the work. We need more creative approaches like that.
Online is only a good thing: I think it's a good thing that an artist's work can stand on its own merits with the context being only what the artist chooses to provide for it. There are less barriers between them and the audience ? the focus is on the work not the person. There's also potential for the digital equivalent of word of mouth where interesting music or film shorts are circulated among online communities in a way that can reach different audiences who might not choose to seek the work out, but react positively to it when they encounter it.
Collaboration is key: With digital, the potential for artists to extend their practice through online collaboration and learning is immense, in particular to the disability arts. Links into the academic world and industry as well as tech communities are really enriching the possibilities for artists in terms of how they can work and what they can do.
Breaking through: We need a context where disabled artists are breaking through, and in the mainstream. The big issue, however, is that cultural programmers are not programming disabled artists other than in a 'disability arts' tick box context.
Sarah Dance, executive director of special projects, Screen South
Siloing can be dangerous: I agree that the use of digital in terms of developing audiences and breaking down barriers is really interesting ? but I do think there is a challenge in not then creating a whole other silo of work that is 'disability' labelled. Hopefully we can all work to ensure this doesn't happen and I think the technology is there to enable us to do this.
Digital gives disabled audiences and artists complete reach and access: The potential to enable audiences to see work they might not have access to, and the potential to enable artists to collaborate across the globe is really exciting. Some of the work that we've developed has happened because young people told us they wanted to work with other young people but couldn't get out to workshops ? create the right environments on the web and develop the appropriate technology and then you really can begin to see new work happening.
Make your website accessible as well: There are lots of relatively simple things that can be done, for example using certain colours through to enlarging font size, and not using PDF files (not compatible with screen readers). AbilityNet has lots of helpful advice, but the main thing to remember is that access has to be an integral part of the build in the same way that it has to be an integral part of the development of a piece of art ? otherwise there is a real danger it detracts from, rather than adds to the experience.
Alison Smith, director, Pesky People
Social media is integral to the disability arts: I wouldn't be doing Pesky People if it wasn't for Twitter ? social media is a fundamental need for artists to engage, raise money for projects, collaborate and so on. We already use a wide range of hashtags, for example #disabilityarts #digitalinclusion #a11y (shortened for accessibility used by web developers) #deaf #digtialdiscrimination #subtitlesnow and more.
Social platforms can educate as well: I'm working with Kreative Kidz in Telford to use social media tools to present their evaluation of the summer arts programme with young disabled people (up to 18). Rather than producing a report, they want everything delivered digitally, so that includes SlideShare video presentations, using Bookletter to produce 3D boxes of artwork and images and so on.
Ruth Gould, CEO, DaDaFest
Access needs compromise as well: It can be difficult to ensure complete access across everything, and this is mainly due to issues of cost and staff time ? essentially, budgets are smaller and there's less time to train staff. We aim to do as much as we can but there is sometimes an element of compromise. To have time to build everything into the artistic process is the ideal we strive for, but sometimes we do fail. Just being honest here.
Jo Garden, director, ADA inc
Artists need to think carefully about interpretation: Simon Mckeown is doing some amazing motion disabled work, and he's really thinking hard about what type of content will work best for a wide audience. He's not used some of the motion capture footage in his exhibition for his online versions of work because an audience might misinterpret it outside of a gallery context (consider it 'freak' as opposed to seeing the beauty in his movement). This idea of censoring for digital broadcast I find fascinating.
Laurence Hill, head of audiences and communications, Fabrica
We shouldn't bow to fear of negative reactions online: In regards to trolling and negativity, there isn't a one size fits all policy for disabled artists or indeed anyone engaging online. It's a process of testing and discovering what we're comfortable with in terms of exposure. What we shouldn't allow to happen is for people not to engage online at all because of fear of negativity.
Use digital for access and process: There's something else that digital offers artists and other creatives beyond wider and more democratic ways to show work, and that's to talk about process. I'm head of audiences and communications at Fabrica, a contemporary art gallery in Brighton, and people are fascinated by process. That's a fantastic way of engagement.
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