“That’s one of the great freedoms of integrating your access is that it’s there from the start. You don’t have to feel like it’s this clinical thing which is going to take away from all the art you’ve put into the work. It can be a part of the art, it can add to the art, it can be something that is beneficial for people who don’t even think of themselves as needing access requirements.”
Join Festival.org Access Producer Kat Gill, freelance Audio Describer Jane Ensell and Punchdrunk Associate Creative Producer Colin Nightingale in conversation with Immersive and Interactive Scholar Joe Bucknall as they explore ways to ensure accessibility for immersive experiences. Drawing on their own work and experiences, speakers discuss respective successes and challenges in producing accessible spaces for all, evaluating a number of practical approaches.
The panel explore changing attitudes towards accessibility concerns and accommodation as it becomes a central focus of immersive productions. Jane describes the extensive insights generated by disabled-led companies producing immersive experiences, and Colin emphasises the value of access stewards in producing an experience that pre-empts and responds to accessibility needs. Kat explores the limitations of digital solutions to accessibility needs and suggests alternative routes. The panel responds to questions from the floor on training resources, autistic-friendly audiences, and what they would have done differently.
This talk was recorded at the Immersive Experience Network’s Live Immersive Design Symposium in October 2023, and is supported by Arts Council England and our industry partners Illusion Design & Construct, Mance Communications, White Light, Unlocked Vision, Clockwork Dog, d&b audiotechnik, Scene2, Little Lion Entertainment, Entourage, and Vista Insurance.
