Saturday · Workshops
Building Access from the Start
Lauren Hayes and Judith Jones
- When
- 2:00–5:00pm · 3 hrs
- Ages
- Adult (14+)
- Where
- Ridgway Hall
- Ridgway School, 120 Mornington Road, Brooklyn, Wellington 6021
- Wheelchair accessible, and the only venue with wheelchair accessible toilets. A short walk further up Mornington Road from the Bowling Club.
How to engage blind and low vision audiences. Find out how you can develop shows that are more accessible for blind and low vision audiences, and learn how to describe the key visual elements of one of your own puppets. This workshop builds your understanding of blind and low vision experience, and offers practical skills to create more accessible performances. We’ll discuss how you can effectively engage with this audience from booking tickets to making everyone comfortable when they arrive. Bring along a puppet, and learn how to audio describe its visual characteristics. Audio description is central to connecting with this audience. We’ll provide resources so you can keep developing your skills following the workshop.
About the artist
This workshop is led by a blind arts consultant and a sighted audio describer. Lauren and Judith are excited to share their skills and experience with the world of puppetry. As a blind consultant, Lauren brings first hand knowledge, along with technical and practical expertise in the arts and digital sectors. She’s recently worked to build more accessibility into the NZ Festival of the Arts. Lauren is a co-director of Wellington’s DAT Fest, an accessible platform for disabled artists and audiences. Judith has audio described all sorts of performances, and is a huge advocate for how this skill can support more meaningful experiences for blind and low vision audiences. She trains audio describers in the gallery and museums sector, including how to effectively incorporate touch into a guided tour.
Creative team
- Lauren Hayes (she/her), Arts Accessibility Consultant
- Judith Jones (she/her), Audio Describer