Realwheels Theatre Publishes Report on Accessibility of Vancouver Theatre Venues

In 2016, Realwheels Theatre partnered with Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture and the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC) to conduct a Needs Assessment of Accessible Performance Spaces in the City of Vancouver. The final report was recently published. 

The project was carried out to address the limited number of theatre venues in Vancouver that are truly and fully accessible for artists/performers, theatre technicians, and patrons with disabilities. The goals of the study were to identify what is working well and where gaps still exist with regards to accessibility, and to develop an accessibility audit checklist which outlines key considerations that theatre owners and operators should consider when assessing their current level of accessibility, making plans for renovations to an existing facility and/or designing a new performance space. A multi-disability audit team then undertook a thorough audit of one theatre venue using the checklist.

The full report is available on the Realwheels website. Their Cultural Infrastructure Project is ongoing, and the long-term goal is to increase accessibility at theatre venues for artists, technical staff, and patrons with disabilities.