As part of our 'I want to be an artist mum!' digital workshops series, Emma Bentley Fox, our Workshops and Exhibitions Coordination will be running this introduction to Disability Access Documents (known also as Access Riders).

Never heard of them??

That's okay, lots of people haven't. A Disability Access Document, put simply, is a personal document that an individual has, that they share with employers, colleagues and collaborators, detailing their access needs and requirements. This can help employers/colleagues to better support Disabled or neurodiverse individuals, or individuals with long term health conditions.

The content of this workshop is aimed mostly at Disabled creatives, neurodiverse creatives, and creatives with long-term health conditions. Emma will take people through her own experiences writing and using her own Access Document, as well as through some of the following topics:

• What is an Access Document?
• Why is it helpful?
• Articulating my access needs
• Addressing some of the difficulties in writing an Access Document
• Writing my Access Document

We will also touch briefly on why it is important as an employer or non-disabled person to work with Access Documents, and how you might facilitate this.

Whilst this workshops will be focused on Access Documents from a Disabled viewpoint the content is this workshop is open to both Disabled and non-disabled people. You will also not be required to disclose this information, or talk about your own Disability experiences in order to take part, though discussion will be facilitated for those who want to.

Accessibility

This workshop, led by Emma (she/her), and facilitated by another APS staff member, will be conducted over Zoom and last 1 hour, followed by 30 minutes for Q&A. We are currently unable to offer the support of a BSL interpreter, but Emma will incorporate Audio Description into the workshop. If you require any extra support accessing the workshops, or have any questions please get in touch with us socials.aireplacestudios@gmail.com. You can also tell us about any access requirements you have via a form we will send out with your email confirmation. Whilst we are currently limited by funding constraints this is something that we are looking to develop and improve and we are always keen to hear how we can do better.

This workshops is not intended to be a fully comprehensive how-to-guide, more an introduction based on Emma's own personal experiences and research as someone with a long-term health condition, and as such is intended only as an introduction to the subject. Emma will also be available the week following the workshop in the APS Creative Café digital drop-in for more focused 1:1 support and discussion.

If you are a Disabled person who has missed out on a ticket but wanted to take part, please do get in touch as we will look to run more of these workshops if there is an audience for it.

This event is suitable for 18+ only.