New Access Scheme Announced

Creative and cultural organisations visiting the All In website can express their interest so they can be kept informed of exciting developments planned for 2024 for disabled audience members.

The website features a support directory for organisations to find accessibility consultants, freelancers, and organisations from around the UK. The website will be updated regularly to help the sector improve their accessibility for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people.

All In’s development by a disabled-led team builds on the work and success of Hynt – Wales’s access scheme for theatres and arts centres.

The UK-wide scheme wants to remove even more barriers for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people taking part in creative activities and cultural experiences. It will look at making it easier to book tickets by improving the way access requirements are shared, provide training and learning support to help venues meet sector-backed accessibility standards and attract new audiences to the UK’s creative and cultural events.

The announcement about All In follows closely on from a compelling impact report from Hynt. The report, funded by Arts Council England and published yesterday, shows a decade of increased accessibility for cultural events in Wales and makes a strong case for developing a UK wide scheme.

It found:

• More than three quarters of card holders (76%) felt being part of Hynt improved their access to culture.
• More than two-thirds of Hynt card holders (68%) felt it improved their physical access to events.
• Almost three quarters (72%) wanted to use their Hynt card outside of Wales.
• By increasing access to the wealth of creativity around the UK, All In will take the vital next step to achieving greater fairness across the creative and cultural sector.

Visit the website: All In

Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England; Roisín McDonough, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Northern Ireland; Dafydd Rhys, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Wales; and Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotland said:

“We’re working with D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people and organisations of all sizes to make sure that this new scheme welcomes everyone. By doing that, All In will benefit individual audience members as well as creative and cultural organisations of all sizes across the UK.”

Louise Miles-Payne, Director, Creu Cymru (Hynt management) said:

“We are really pleased to see the new All In Website go live today. The success of Hynt in Wales has seen increased access to the arts and more theatres putting the needs of D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people at the forefront of their operations. All In will make it easier for audiences to travel and experience the creativity and culture the UK has to offer.”

Andrew Miller MBE, UK Arts Access Champion for All In said:

“Back in 2014 I witnessed the success of Hynt first hand as director of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama venues, making the lives of our disabled audiences and our box office staff so much easier. Now I want All In to fundamentally improve the experience of D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people attending arts and cultural events across the UK through barrier removal, making it easier to book tickets and to offer consistency. Because buying a ticket shouldn’t be a performance!”

Sam Tatlow MBE, Creative Diversity Partner at ITV said:

“As Chair of the Access Scheme Advisory Group of D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent audience members who have been informing and guiding this exciting project for 18 months, I am delighted to support this brand and website launch. We want All In to remove barriers to culture and to offer a much-needed voice for disabled audiences to ensure everyone is welcome. Our group will continue to offer independent challenge and support to the project team through the development. We are very much All In!”

Jamie Hale, Artistic Director, CRIPtic Arts said:

“As a disabled person, the challenges of booking appropriate tickets have often meant I’ve missed events entirely. I’ve been delighted to support the disabled-led development of All In, a scheme with the potential to transform accessibility across the arts. Development is ongoing, but it’s exciting to see All In start to take shape and launch its website. As a disabled-led scheme, it’s built on community knowledge of community needs, and has the potential to transform disabled people’s access to the arts.”