NELSON ARTS FESTIVAL CHAMPIONS ACCESSIBILITY
Nelson Arts Festival
20 – 30 October 2022
www.nelsonartsfestival.nz
This year the Nelson Arts Festival has made a strong commitment to providing an accessible festival for the Whakatū community, and a safe space for all. The 2022 programme, which runs from 20 – 30 October, features over 50 outstanding events.
In their mission to champion the arts and share unmissable arts experiences with Nelson, the festival is offering Pay What You Can ticketing, NZSL interpreted events, audio described events, complimentary companion tickets and more.
“I am vision impaired and I am really excited that the Nelson Arts Festival is offering events with an audio describer present this year. For example, there is an audio described tour of the Rita Angus exhibition at the Suter Art Gallery - to be able to go along the exhibition and have someone not only describe the art works to you but also provide context around the works is a fantastic opportunity for everyone who has been missing out on enjoying the visual arts because they cannot see.”
- Pic Picot, Founder of Pic’s Peanut Butter and Nelson Arts Festival Patron
On 29 Oct audiences will be able to join a Touch Tour of Fever: Return of the Ula ahead of the show, with the performance also being audio described, with narration transmitted to wireless receivers and headsets worn by the audience members. A guided exhibition tour with local Audio Describer Ange Pearson will also be hosted at The Suter Art Gallery on 25 Oct at the Rita Angus: New Zealand Modernist | He Ringatoi Hou o Aotearoaexhibition.
There will be two NZSL interpreted events, He Kōtuku Rereka Tahi: A Tribute to Keri Hulme on 23 Oct and The King of Taking on 26 Oct, both at Theatre Royal with a trained interpreter from Platform Interpreting New Zealand. The Festival’s programme also offers a range of highly visual as well as audio based events, to increase access to their events for the wider community. See the full list of events here.
The Festival hopes that by increasing accessibility, they can build a love of the arts in the hearts of Whakatū and beyond. For the first year the Festival also has an Access Coordinator to bring this programme to life and be responsive to the community's needs.
A key part of making the Festival available to all is to reduce the financial barrier of tickets with the introduction of a Pay What You Can (PWYC) model for every event in the 2022 programme. There will be a recommended ticket price, as well as a range of other prices for people for whom price is a barrier and those wanting to support others to engage with the festival. This will open the door a little wider, allowing more people to experience and support the arts, artists and to connect as a community. This is the first for a major arts festival in Aotearoa.
“I urge everyone to take advantage of this (Pay What You Can ticketing) - just to give yourself that experience, that opportunity of coming across something totally amazing that may well change your life. It’s an extraordinary opportunity.”
- Pic Picot, Founder of Pic’s Peanut Butter and Nelson Arts Festival Patron
Find out more about accessibility at the Nelson Arts Festival here: https://www.nelsonartsfestival.nz/information/
PWYC ticketing is made possible by funding from The Cultural Sector Innovation Fund, Manatū Taonga | Ministry of Culture and Heritage, as well as the support of our Karearea Partner, Nelson Building Society.
Check out videos here: Festival Trailer. Pic Picot on Pay What You Can. NZSL Interpreted events. Olivia Flanagan – Access Coordinator speaks to audio-describe shows and Festival Access Programme.