Arts & Disability | "Time to act" report

Research / Surveys All Europe Countries All CCS and Cross-sectoral Spotlight COVID 19

How lack of knowledge in the cultural sector creates barriers for disabled artists and audiences?


December 08, 2021

Time to Act is a research report authored by On the Move, and commissioned by the British Council in the context of Europe Beyond Access.

Spanning 42 countries, Time To Act provides the first transnational evidence that lack of knowledge in the mainstream cultural sector is a key barrier preventing disabled artists and arts professionals participating equally in European culture.

The report covers questions such as: 

  • How many European programmers are actively seeking work by disabled artists?
  • What are the barriers stopping mainstream cultural institutions becoming more accessible?
  • Who do Europe’s cultural managers think should be providing guidance and support to help them make their programmes more accessible to disabled arts professionals?

The study is part of the large-scale Arts and Disability project, Europe Beyond Access. Co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, this initiative aims to support disabled artists to break the glass ceilings of the contemporary theatre and dance sectors.

The core partners of the project are British Council (operating for this project in the UK and Poland), Onassis Stegi (Greece), Holland Dance Festival (The Netherlands), Kampnagel (Germany), Per.Art (Serbia), Skånes Dansteater (Sweden), and Oriente Occidente (Italy).

Read the publication here