What a busy Deaf Awareness Week we’ve had! From 5th-11th May, we’ve been highlighting the importance of text-based access in arts and culture, as we approach our 25th year of making performances accessible to deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people across the UK.
The highlight of our week was Thursday’s Deaf Awareness Training session at Towner Eastbourne. The free session was fully booked within days, bringing together participants from venues across the South East to learn practical ways of making their spaces more inclusive.
As a result, those who attended told us, “We are planning to pilot a live captioned tour at two of our museums,” and “I can’t wait to put these ideas into practice.”
The day included a live-subtitled gallery tour, where participants experienced first-hand how subtitles on handheld devices can enhance the visitor experience. Seeing people engage with art while following every word of the guide’s commentary perfectly captured why we do what we do.
If you missed our events during the week, don’t worry! We’ve got a free webinar coming up on Thursday 15th May in partnership with Digital Culture Network. Our Head of Systems and Services, Oliver Webster, will be sharing practical advice on making your online events and resources accessible to deaf audiences. Register today.
As this year’s Deaf Awareness Week comes to a close, we want to thank everyone who’s been part of making the arts more accessible. To the venues who’ve embraced captioning, the audiences who’ve shared their experiences, and to all our supporters who’ve made it possible, thank you.
To keep up to date with what we’re doing here at Stagetext, sign up to our venues or audience newsletter.
