Adelaide Festival Centre
Access for all
Introduction
I went through many festivals sitting with my head turned
to 45 degrees in order to see the stage — that’s after you’d
negotiated your way in — and what really peeved me off was that
for this awful seat that you had to get up and down to let people through,
you paid the highest price in the whole place. Now people using wheelchairs
have improved sightlines and cheaper prices, and they are treated as valuable
customers rather than awkward inconveniences.
Richard Llewellyn, disability advocate
When it was completed in 1977, the Adelaide Festival Centre (‘the
Centre’) was the first cultural centre in Australia.
Its combination of theatre, gallery, restaurant and outdoor spaces was
an exciting, forward-thinking initiative for the arts. But if you were
a wheelchair user, like Richard Llewellyn, it was less than straightforward
to participate in what the new centre offered. And if you weren’t
one of the initiated, the front door wasn’t exactly obvious.
In 2002, $23 million was allocated for capital works to upgrade the
centre, $2 million of which was earmarked to address these access problems.
When the new-look Centre opened in October 2003, it included much-improved
access for everyone. Underlying this achievement was a revolution in dealing
with disability access issues, as well as persistence and commitment on
the part of everyone involved.
Richard Llewellyn, long-time Adelaide Festival Centre patron and advocate
for people with a disability and their rights to access, died in May 2004.
He played a leading role in recreating the Centre as an accessible venue
and was particularly instrumental in the achievement of early initiatives.
Together with his partner, Becky Llewellyn, he also facilitated Disability
Awareness Training for all staff, and both were employed by the architects
of the 2002 building works to provide expert access advice. The Llewellyns
were also members of the Centre’s Patrons Reference Group. Richard’s
professional input and personal commitment were critical to the access
development process and what it has achieved.
Creating an accessible venue — principles and practices
The Disability Action Plan
Following the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992,
the Centre developed and implemented a Disability Action Plan. The first
stage of the plan involved wide-ranging consultation with disability groups
and the general public. Twenty-one of the 113 strategies identified during
the consultation had been put in place by 1999. The 2002 capital works
program addressed a further 63 strategies.
Access changes at the AFC
- Development is a great improvement, love the openness of the
plaza — so much more impressive than before.
- Great to see people with disabilities catered for.
Comments on the AFC open day, 2003
Specific changes made by the AFC to improve access include:
- additional lifts and ramps
- unisex toilets in three different locations
- improved lighting
- more accessible parking spaces that can be pre-booked, and more drop-off
points in both the car park and at main entrances
- wheelchair-accessible spaces in the Dunstan Playhouse, both levels
of the Space Theatre and Her Majesty’s Theatre, plus an entire
row in the Festival Theatre
- hearing augmentation loops in large areas of each theatre venue
- audio description at selected performances for people with visual
impairments; familiarisation sessions to explore the set and meet the
actors on stage also provided by the State Theatre Company prior to
selected performances
- guide dogs welcomed at all AFC performances
- ‘companion tickets’ for people who are accompanied by
a companion, and arrangements for companions to be seated next to people
using wheelchairs
- daily access reports based on information collected at ticket booking
points, informing front-of-house staff of special requirements or mobility
restrictions prior to each performance
- the formation of, and regular consultation with, the Patrons Reference
Group
- Disability Awareness Training for all staff
- venue-hirers made aware of their responsibilities under the Disability
Discrimination Act; all contracts include equity requirements regarding
seating and pricing of tickets
- regular events like the Cabaret Festival featuring performers with
disabilities
- wheelchairs available for loan
- signage in braille provided at an appropriate height for people using
wheelchairs
- a teletypewriter phone in the foyer for people with hearing impairments.
Further information about access to the Centre is available from the
AFC.
The fact that the Centre integrated the Disability Action Plan into its
strategic plans for works, from the management to programming level, is
a particularly important factor in its successful implementation over
the long term.
The Centre’s approach to access is based on three main principles:
- universal access
- staff training and development
- working with the community.
Universal access
Universal access is a concept that addresses access for people with a
disability as part of the principle of ‘access for all’. In
design terms, it aims to create products, shape environments and manage
services so that they can be used effectively by everyone. Ramps, for
instance, are not concealed, unattractive extras for the sole use of those
with a mobility impairment. General features like entrances are inviting
to a diverse range of people. Information is made available in multiple
formats. Services are managed to cater for specific as well as broad needs
and must be capable of flexibility.
It’s not just about wheelchairs — it’s about people
with prams, people on their own, people whose first language is not English
... making sure everybody feels safe and welcome.
Kate Brennan, AFC CEO
As a principal entertainment venue for Adelaide used by major promoters,
the Centre actively works to ensure that its venue-hirers consider accessibility.
Adelaide Festival Centre hiring contacts draw the attention of hirers
to issues of equity in seating and ticket pricing. Hirers are also made
aware of their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act.
Adelaide Festival Centre programs
The Centre’s own program includes the very successful Adelaide Cabaret
Festival, which highlights fun and easygoing participation. Confident
that it can cater for people with any type of disability or other requirement,
the Festival has brought new, younger and diverse audiences to the Centre.
Another Adelaide Festival Centre program initiative is the Overture
Program, which works with not-for-profit organisations to support the
attendance of minority ethnic groups, refugees and low-income earners,
as well as people with disabilities. Free and low-cost programming includes
cheaper tickets to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and events for disadvantaged
schools.
Staff training and development
Staff training and development was central to getting everyone on board
in the first stages of implementing the Centre’s Disability Action
Plan, and continues to be integral to the Centre’s accessibility.
For me it is great to know that the work I do benefits people in
the community who might not have previously had the opportunity to experience
the arts. I get a lot of satisfaction from knowing that everyone has access
to the arts activities that most people just take for granted.
Juanita Beck, front-of-house supervisor
For Richard Llewellyn, it was the leadership, support and commitment
of AFC staff that made the Centre’s access achievements possible.
An important aspect of such strong staff involvement was the provision
of Disability Awareness Training for all staff, including technicians
and managers. As a result, the responsibility for access is distributed
across all areas — no specific person is carrying it for the organisation
and individual staff members have the confidence to manage and respond
positively to a variety of situations.
It takes quite a long time for some people with disabilities to
gain the courage to try something new. I feel safe in the knowledge that
if I persuade someone to visit the Festival Centre ... they will be treated
with dignity and respect and their needs [will be] largely met by friendly,
knowledgeable staff.
Pam quick, community mental health worker
Working with the community
The Patrons Reference Group meets four times a year and plays an important
role in working with the community. It consists of people from disability
sectors and carers. The Group’s focus is how the inclusion of people
with disabilities is progressing in all aspects of the Centre’s
operations. Presentation of information in an accessible way is central
to working with the community. As a result of suggestions by the Patrons
Reference Group, several brochures marketing the Centre’s access
features have been developed for all BASS ticketing outlets. These use
international access symbols rather than a corporate style, and focus
on welcoming people to discover what the Centre has to offer.
Feedback on access issues is collected from both the Patrons Reference
Group and from the Centre’s customer service feedback system. The
Centre encourages patrons to communicate both their good and bad experiences.
Staff are trained in valuing negative feedback and complaints, which in
turn provides a basis for improving the quality of each patron’s
experience. Customer service ratings continue to improve, with satisfaction
ratings at around 9 out of 10.
Conclusion
The Adelaide Festival Centre’s success in redeveloping its venue
for all forms of access highlights the importance of support from senior
management, a strong relationship with the disability community and the
involvement of all staff. Comments from people who participated in the
process also indicate that having supporters within the organisation is
critical to the success of community advocacy. Wider government support
for access, including funding for addressing access issues, is indispensable.
Changing an existing venue to improve access involves changes to buildings
as well as to policy. For a large venue, putting access policy into practice
also includes dealing with and educating the organisations who hire and
use the venues. Ensuring that access needs are met also requires the active
support of people with a disability — by identifying their specific
requirements when booking tickets, offering suggestions for improvement
and by letting staff know when things are, or are not, working well.
The Adelaide Festival Centre is monitoring the impact of its access
strategies. To date, statistics show that the number of patrons who identify
as having a disability is increasing and they are attending a wide range
of events. The Centre, with the support of the Patrons Reference Group,
is currently exploring further ideas for creating a more welcoming and
manageable environment for people with disabilities and others who have
felt disenfranchised from the arts.
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