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Deadline: August 21, 2026
Program Summary:
The Access Playbook is a Disability-led cohort program for arts organizations and presenters that want to build stronger relationships with Deaf artists and artists with disabilities and make accessibility a more meaningful part of their programming and organizational practice.
The Access Playbook is intentionally designed as an introductory program.
This program is for:
- People working in presenting or producing roles who help inform decisions about what work gets programmed, presented or put on stage. Yes that includes art galleries!
- Organizations that are early in their access journey, rebuilding after change, or seeking a clearer starting point.
- Organizations that want to strengthen how they collaborate with Deaf artists and artists with disabilities.
This program is NOT for you if:
- You’re looking for compliance-based accessibility training.
- You’re in another industry like film, tv or media – the program is really about live performing arts or presenting arts. It does not specifically go into any screen-based access.
- You’re really busy. You do need to make time to review the chapters, attend the cohort sessions, and develop your Access Action Plan so if your schedule is already completely overloaded, this may not be the right cohort for you. Consider joining a future cohort when your schedule is more open!
- You’re an artists, performers, creators looking for opportunities to present work. If you are an artist with tour-ready work, please reach out to Lindsay at lindsay@creativeconnector.art to be included in our Tour-Ready Catalogue!
How It Works:
The program runs over 12 weeks (with three weeks of independent work) and blends short, self-paced learning with live, facilitated cohort sessions. You’ll connect with peers, reflect together, and apply what you’re learning to your own context.
Self-paced learning
You’ll move through a series of short online modules at your own pace. Each module includes short videos, plain-language tools, and experiments designed to help you apply learning directly to your work.
Live cohort sessions
You’ll join a small peer cohort for four live sessions focused on discussion, shared problem-solving, and learning from one another. These sessions are facilitated by Disability-led practitioners and are designed to be supportive, and non-judgemental.
Real-world application
Rather than assignments or homework, the program centres on experimenting in real situations — trying things out, reflecting on what works, and adjusting as you go.
Eligible Applicants:
Programmers, producers, and presenters at festivals, venues, and artist‑run spaces who want practical tools to embed access.