Forma is pleased to present Choose Your Access Settings, an online conversation between artist Sophie Hoyle and Arjun Harrison-Mann, of Studio Hyte, on accessibility in digital projects and web design.

This event is the first in a series of activations to launch Psychic Refuge, a cross-disciplinary digital resource which consolidates the period of research and development undertaken by Sophie Hoyle as part of their collaboration with Unlimited and Forma in the 2019/20 round of Partnership grants.

Using Psychic Refuge as a case study, and drawing from ongoing research grounding the project, Hoyle and Harrison-Mann will discuss the collaborative process of creating online spaces where inclusive design can facilitate and highlight a commitment to access and adaptation to different needs and areas of focus.

Psychic Refuge is a digital resource which gathers contemporary understandings and applications of trauma studies and psychology, PTSD and treatments in the context of Palestinian occupation. It pairs new writing and digital content by the artist with contributions from related organisations and experts, plus direction to relevant external resources. Text will be available to read in both English and Arabic. The website was designed and developed by Studio Hyte to prioritise accessibility, including integrating options for specialised functions. All attendees will be sent a link to explore the website ahead of the in-conversation

Sophie Hoyle is an artist and writer whose practice explores an intersectional approach to post-colonial, queer, feminist, critical psychiatry and disability issues. Their work looks at the relation of the personal to (and as) political, individual and collective anxieties, and how alliances can be formed where different kinds of inequality and marginalisation intersect. They relate personal experiences of being queer, non-binary and part of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) diaspora to wider forms of structural violence. From lived experience of psychiatric conditions and trauma, or PTSD, they began to explore the history of biomedical technologies rooted in state and military surveillance and control. @semhoyle

Studio Hyte is a design studio, working between graphic design, interaction and emergent communication. Our work includes branding, print, website, installation and exhibition design. Specialising in forward thinking, multifaceted visual identities within education and the arts. Whether through commissioned or self-directed work, we aim to create meaningful, accessible and thought provoking work.

Clients include: Furtherfield Gallery, Goethe-Institut, Royal College of Art, British Council, Serpentine Galleries, The Bartlett UCL, Automated Architecture, Forma, UBERMORGEN, Art Jameel, LADA (Live Art Development Agency), The Hologram, Arts Council England. @studiohyte

Accessibility: The conversation will have BSL interpretation and captioned recordings published after the event. Please contact rc@forma.org.uk for further information.

Supporters: Psychic Refuge programme supported by Unlimited, celebrating the work of disabled artists, with funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Further announcements coming soon.