Unlimited will be delivering three strands of support for cultural organisations across West Yorkshire, thanks to support from West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Accessibility skills training: A series of face-to-face workshops in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield (with an optional online session) covering REAM – Roots, Events, Audiences, Marketing. The Audiences session looks at ensuring access for a wide range of disabled audiences, including audience development options

This session will also cover:

• What does ‘disability’ mean?
• Basic physical access
• Access and audience development for D/deaf and hearing impaired people
• for blind and visually impaired people
• for learning disabled people
• for other groups of disabled people (and the danger of thinking of disabled people in ‘groups’).
• How to include disabled people in different ways including as supporters, volunteers, and Mystery Shoppers.
  

The Eventbrite linked below is for Calderdale’s Audiences session: 2pm – 4pm on Thursday 30 May 2024 at The Princess Buildings in Halifax.

Each session will be interactive, arts specific and for a maximum of 25 people (maximum 2 from any one organisation). We’ll introduce you to key concepts and live case studies and resources plus the other elements of our programme of support. Each organisation will be encouraged to develop an action plan to help increase the accessibility of what they do and how they do it.

Guidance and Support: Arts organisations across West Yorkshire will also be able to direct advice and support about access. From March 2024 we will be piloting a drop in session once a month and bookable surgery slots where people can have one to one conversations and get their questions answered. From ‘how do I reach deaf audiences’, ‘what’s a viewing platform?’ and ‘how do I find disabled artists?’ there is no such thing as a stupid question. And if we don’t know the answer, we’ll find someone for you that does. As part of this provision, we have a small grants fund to match fund organisations trying out a new element of access for the first time. To find out more – email laura@weareunlimited.org.uk

Small capital grants fund: We will also be developing a small capital grants fund, to improve long term accessibility to cultural venues – maximum grant £10,000. Information to be released in March 2024. To find out more – email joverrent@weareunlimited.org.uk

We collect data about our artists and audiences and hold it in a secure database on CRM. If you don't want to receive marketing emails from us, please get in touch by emailing WYCAProg@weareunlimited.org.uk with NO MARKETING as the subject line. Further information how we use data can be found at: https://weareunlimited.org.uk/privacy-policy/

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