Our achievements to date

During the period 2018–20, the Gallery implemented our first Access Action Plan. Over these years, we delivered several initiatives and made positive progress in many areas across our organisation. Our staff also increased their understanding of accessibility and learnt much along the way.

We were proud to be one of the first organisations in Canberra to engage an external Disability Advisory Group to inform our work. Learning from their lived experience and expertise has shaped our achievements and goals in this area.

We have aimed to be inclusive in our delivery of programs, visitor experience and the navigation of our physical spaces and facilities.

The three case studies following are highlighted as recent achievements.

Case Study 1

Inclusive Family Programming - Story Time

‘I am overwhelmed. To not only see children who are d/Deaf interacting with everyone, but to see youngsters with their adults – sharing stories and dancing together. I brought my granddaughters with me and this has been such a special day with them.’
Participant feedback

The Gallery works to embed inclusion across all our public programming. The popular and well-established Story Time holiday program aligns with our values of being accessible to all.

This gentle program is delivered every school holiday for carers, family and friendship groups with young children. Participants listen to a story connected to the collection, temporary exhibitions or themes around identity and respond with creative making activity. Story Time promotes crossgenerational learning and provides a safe and welcoming space to be imaginative.

During the holiday period of Summer 2021–22, the children’s book Dancing with Memories by Sally Yule and illustrated by Cheryl Orsini was chosen for its delightful depiction of Lucy, a grandmother living well with dementia. This program was delivered onsite and streamed live online for national audiences. It was Auslan-interpreted and captioned and hugely enjoyed by diverse intergenerational family audiences including hard of hearing and d/Deaf children.

Participants were invited to listen to the story read by Sally Yule, create a movement sequence guided by wellbeing dance artist Phillip Piggin, and led in art making activities with Cheryl Orsini.

Feedback from grandparents who had brought their grandchildren along revealed the importance of these programs in highlighting the issues and connections needed to support the wellbeing of our ageing population.

Case Study 2

Collaborations and Training - Audio Description Project

‘I had been listening to your audio descriptions on your website but when I realised you were doing tours with the descriptions I was curious and excited to come here in person. I felt very welcome.’
Participant feedback

Audio description is the accessibility of visual media for people who are blind or have low vision, and a powerful tool to remove barriers to access.

The Audio Description Project at the Gallery began in 2019 with the aim of increasing inclusivity for visitors who are blind or have low vision. The Access and Learning section underwent immersive training in how to write audio description with Access2Arts, a disability-led arts development agency and peak body for arts and disability in South Australia. This collaboration continues with further staff training and the ongoing creation of descriptions written and recorded by trained Gallery staff that are edited by Access2Arts.

This training enabled the in-house creation of audio descriptions of art works in the collection and temporary exhibitions – in 2023 we have over 100 scripts available. It also enabled the Gallery to embed audio description into programming and service delivery with described access information on the website, transcripts and recordings available on the website and on a mobile app, and delivered in tours onsite and online.

Our audio description skills inform our school programs for low vision students and group drawing activities. Feedback from online tours to both low vision and sighted participants indicated that the descriptions offered alternative perspective for sighted users, offering a positive opportunity for a slow and close-looking experience to improve their wellbeing. Gallery staff presented alongside Access2Arts at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association 2021 conference to champion the value of audio description and consultative best practice training.

Case Study 3

Movement and Making Workshops - Art for Hard of Hearing and d/Deaf Students

‘It was great to see the kids so focused, creative and enjoying a social gathering with others who are d/Deaf.’
Teacher of the Deaf

The Gallery’s movement and art making workshops specifically designed for hard of hearing and d/Deaf students and their Teachers of the Deaf provide geographically scattered children from the region with the opportunity to socialise, create and explore together.

The program’s objectives are to provide access to the Gallery’s collection, engage children in an interactive experience stimulated by portraiture, explore and encourage expressiveness through art making and performance as an extension of self, and promote social confidence and interaction with others.

Piloted in 2012, this program was originally funded by the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society, Canberra to develop an arts-based project that aimed to enhance community relations and develop responses to art making in young people. Experienced visual and performance artists were engaged to collaborate with Gallery staff in developing the content and to facilitate the workshops. In 2019 the Gallery partnered with Balinese puppet artists from The Super Funky Artists, focused on connecting students with diverse cultures and themes of sustainability with recycled materials being used to create and activate puppets.

This program won a Museums & Galleries National Award, First Place in the Public Programs category in 2013 and contributed to the development of a network between the ACT Education Directorate, Teachers of the Deaf and the Gallery to ensure the sustainability in the delivery of this project.

Other highlights

Relaxed Mornings for people with sensory sensitivities occur seasonally. People can visit the Gallery before regular opening hours to view exhibitions and take part in creative activity, at a time that best suits their needs.

The Gallery celebrates International Day of People with Disability in December annually delivering audio description tours and Auslan-interpreted programs. For this event we have collaborated with performers with disability to deliver dance and music programs, including ZEST dancers, On Display dancers, Liz Lea, The Deaf Butterflies Group – DeafACT, Subsdance and Chameleon Collective.

The Gallery has partnered with the BOLD festival as a host venue. This annual five-day festival celebrates intercultural, inclusive and intergenerational dance. Dance programs at the Gallery celebrate the work of older and still-practicing artists to explore healthy ageing, the health impacts of creativity and the cross-generational exchange of ideas.

In collaboration with Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS™ New York), the Gallery presents critical thinking and visual literacy programs for students, adults and people living with dementia.

The development of the In their own words audio guide app began in 2018 in collaboration with the National Library of Australia and the Gallery’s Digital Partner Stripy Sock, supported by the Sidney Myer Fund. It is an audio guide with a difference to enrich the experience of visitors, where users can hear subjects’ and artists’ own voices, harnessed from the Hazel de Berg audio archives, and supports visitors with low vision or who are blind to connect with the portraits.

The Gallery delivers workshops and programs for artists working in supported studios and people with acquired brain injury and has featured the work of artists from supported studios in Portrait magazine.

The Gallery’s 2023 major contemporary art exhibition Portrait23: Identity includes the commissioning of artists with disability, and the delivery of online public programs and resources.

The Gallery is continually increasing the capability of our staff, having provided various training opportunities for all staff including Dementia Awareness Training, Disability Awareness and Accessible Exhibition Design training through Accessible Arts, and participation in the SBS Inclusion program, specifically the Disability module.

The Gallery has implemented large print label guides for temporary exhibitions and developed an app, Liberate the labels, to enhance visitors’ experience accessing wall label information in a format best suited to their individual needs.