HANDBOOK ARTS & DISABILITY The Arts Council / An The Arts Council of Chomhairle Ealaíon Northern Ireland 2 CONTENTS Introduction...................................................................3 Language and Definitions ............................................5 Access .............................................................................9 Disability Equality Training ......................................18 Transport.....................................................................21 Disability Organisations.............................................26 Arts and Disability Organisations.............................33 Arts and Health...........................................................37 Resource Arts Organisations .....................................38 Arts Centres, Theatres, Venues and Galleries .........42 Local Government Arts Officers ...............................51 Artists and Arts Workers ..........................................59 Arts Training...............................................................60 Funding........................................................................68 Selected Reading List..................................................84 Appendices...................................................................98 Response Form..........................................................106 3 INTRODUCTION The Arts and Disability Handbook has been produced in recognition of the particular need for improved information and communication about arts and disability issues throughout Ireland. The Handbook has been designed to be of practical use to the widest range of people, including anyone with an interest in arts and disability, people with disabilities, disability organisations, arts organisations, artists, arts workers and the general public. The Handbook is intended to inform, stimulate and improve communication about arts and disability issues, and to promote increased levels and quality of practice in this area. The Arts and Disability Handbook provides information about: • Disability issues - terminology, definitions, access issues • Arts organisations - resource organisations, arts and disability organisations, arts centres, theatres, venues and galleries • Disability organisations - the main representative organisations • Resources - local government, funding and training bodies Plus a Selected Reading List. The Handbook was compiled by a team of researchers working in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The publication includes information about arts and disability throughout Ireland. Lists are compiled in alphabetical order for convenience. We hope that the information is accurate and up to date. Every effort has been made to ensure the details of the various entries made in this publication are correct. The content and classification is based on the latest information available at the time of going to press. If there are errors, or if we have omitted any key bodies which ought to be included, we would welcome further information so that we can correct future editions. A detachable response form is included on page 106 for this purpose. 4 A word about telephone numbers. Arts and Disability Handbook In detailing telephone and fax numbers in The Arts and Disability Handbook of the this resource pack, we have included local Arts Council of Northern Ireland and The area codes and telephone numbers only i.e. Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon1999 01 618 0244. Individuals and organisations are welcome For calls made from the Republic of Ireland to photocopy all or part of this document at to Northern Ireland the access code 08 their own discretion. should precede the area code and number i.e. 08 01232 385200. ISBN 0 906627 83 4 For calls made from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland the access code 00 353 If you require copies of this directory in should precede the area code and number large print, audiotape, Braille or on (omit the first zero in the area code) i.e. 00 computer disk, please contact the 353 (0)1 618 0244. Development Unit, The Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon, in the Republic of Note: A new telephone numbering system is Ireland (01 618 0244), or the Strategic being introduced in Northern Ireland. The Development Department, Arts Council of Northern Ireland code will change to 028 Northern Ireland (01232 385200). and local five and six digit numbers will all become eight digits long. The new and old code numbers will run in parallel from 1st Acknowledgments June 1999. New numbers only will be used Researchers: from 17 September 2000. For further Liz Lennon, Project Co-ordinator information contact the BT Helpline - Avril Crawford, Researcher, Northern freefone 0800 7310202 or consult the Ireland Arts and Disability Forum website - www.numberchange.bt.com Sharon Rollston, Researcher, Northern Ireland Arts and Disability Forum The production of this Handbook has been Steve Daunt, Researcher co-ordinated for the Arts Councils by Lisa Lys Hegarty, Researcher Moran and Francis Murphy. Advisors: Maureen Gilbert Jackie O’Keeffe 5 LANGUAGE AND DEFINITIONS • What is Disability ........................................ 6 • Understanding Disability Issues................. 6 • The Medical Model...................................... 6 • The Social Model ......................................... 6 • Terminology ................................................. 7 • Different Approaches: Understanding Arts and Disability and Disability Arts…… 8 6 What is Disability? The Medical Model There are two important terms to The medical model is informed by the understand: individual perspective of a person’s physical • Impairment: a functional limitation such or medical condition or impairment. Under as difficulty in walking or seeing this model, all people with disabilities and all impairments are different, and it is hard • Disability: the resulting loss of to generalise or to imagine ways of opportunity to participate on equal terms improving the situation of disabled people as with people who do not have impairments a group. The medical model tends to due to physical and attitudinal barriers in individualise disability issues and generally the community. does not question how society treats its The Commission on the Status of People disabled citizens. Disability itself is seen to with Disabilities considers people with be the problem and the approach is taken disabilities to be that disability can be ‘solved’ by medical or “children and adults who experience any rehabilitative action. restriction in their capacity to participate in economic, social or cultural life on The Social Model account of a physical, sensory, learning, By contrast, the social model of disability mental health or emotional impairment” holds that it is society which disables people and the Arts and Disability Forum in with impairments by the way in which it is Northern Ireland holds that organised and by the conventions and priorities it displays. For example, many “a disabled person is someone who has a buildings are inaccessible to people with condition caused by a physical, mental or impaired mobility, but this results from sensory impairment, which results in loss specific conventions and traditions in or limitation of opportunities to take part building design and is not a consequence of in the community on an equal level with mobility impairment per se. The social others, due to social or physical barriers”. model emphasises that barriers to the full participation of people with disabilities are Understanding Disability Issues located in the way society is organised, and it challenges society to address and There are several ways of looking at and dismantle these barriers. understanding disability issues. The two main models or ways of doing this are Most people with disabilities understand known as the medical model and the social disability through the social model and this model. is the approach taken by most disability groups throughout Ireland. In their programmes to improve access to the arts and to artistic expression for disabled people, both Arts Councils are subscribing clearly to the social model. Some people 7 with disabilities, particularly older people disabilities” the importance lies in the fact and some with recently acquired that the word “people” comes first and impairments, may identify more closely with disability only afterwards. Those who use the medical model, and the Arts Councils “disabled people” point out that it is in line intend for all people with disabilities, with the social model (people are disabled regardless of perspective, to find their own by society) and use analogies from other place in the arts. minority groups (for example, the accepted term is “black people” not “people who are black”). Terminology “People with Disabilities” or “Disabled In practice, “people with disabilities” is the People”? accepted term in general use in the Republic of Ireland, although both terms are used in Northern Ireland and the Republic of The question of disability terminology is the Ireland. They will be used interchangeably subject of much debate among the disability in this Handbook. community. For those who use “people with Some other terms in common usage can cause offence. The following are some examples: Terms no longer in use: ..................................Preferred terms: wheelchair-bound............................................person who uses a wheelchair or wheelchair user cripple, spastic, victim, sufferer, retard etc ..person