Accessible Arts To Offer Free Masterclass Focusing On Access & Inclusion For The Disabled Music Community

To accommodate for the expanding diversity of the Australian musical community, Accessible Arts have organised a disability-led Music Access and Inclusion Masterclass program to help bridge the gap between industry professionals living with disability and the music industry at large.

While the music world currently identifiable on mainstream stages and airwaves isn’t entirely reflective of the true diversity within Australia’s music community, Accessible Arts hopes to accomplish a broader sense of inclusion with the program. Venues, festivals and industry employers are continuously on the lookout for ways to better enhance access and inclusion in their respective lines of work. As such, the masterclass will operate to uplift and build on disability confidence.

Accessible Arts’ Dan Pash is the course facilitator for these programs, whose experiences as a ‘d’ deaf musician academic has led him to advocating for greater opportunities for musicians who identify as d/Deaf or disabled in audio spaces like podcasting, radio and more.

The expert training on offer will provide artists, employers, venues and festivals with a better understanding of and response to access requirements. Attendees will be able to explore practical solutions for existing inclusion and access barriers as well as invest in ways to increase representation of musicians with disability at festivals, gigs and on the radio.

The masterclass will be made up of two dedicated workshops for industry folk both with and without a disability. The first will focus on Music Practitioners with a disability or who are d/Deaf. In this workshop, attendees will learn from the best about navigating the music industry within their own access means. The course will teach attendees about their rights and responsibilities as well as how to effectively communicate access requirements. This will include:

• The social model of disability (including guidance on appropriate language and etiquette)

• When to disclose disability

• Identifying and implementing reasonable adjustments

• How to write and submit an access rider

• How to confidently and effectively communicate access requirements

• Getting started in the music industry, and

• Where and how to access support if needed

This workshop will be available on Tuesday April 8 from 1 PM to 2:30 PM at The Arts Exchange, 10 Hickson Road, The Rocks. An online session will also be available on Thursday April 10 at the same time. While the workshops are free to attend, bookings are essential, and can be made here and here.

The second workshop available is catered to the general industry and employers. The disability-led workshop is designed to help upskill employers, venues and festivals in order to better understand and respond to access requirements. Attendees will learn about the social model of disability, the language and etiquette in navigating disability, what access riders are and how to use them, how to foster an inclusive workplace and where and how to access further support.

The workshop will be available on Tuesday May 13 from 1 PM - 2:30 PM at The Arts Exchange, with an online session slated for Thursday May 15 at the same time. Bookings can be here and here. Closed captioning and Auslan interpreting are available upon request for these programs, which can be noted when making your booking.