Performing on stage is Creatif Kate’s bread and butter, and she used to be able to stand up and perform multiple times a week. 

But chronic pain has taken a lot of that away from her. 

Kate’s personal experience with ADHD, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that makes your body's connective tissue weaker than usual, are part of what motivated her to co-direct DAT Fest, a Wellington festival showcasing disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent artists.

The term d/Deaf is used to include people who are hard of hearing and people for whom New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) is their first language.  

At the opening gala of DAT Fest, Kate performed poetry while sitting on the stage floor. 

A NZSL interpreter (left) and Creatif Kate performing poetry sitting down on stage, with her walking cane next to her (right). Image: Natasha Halliday Photography.

It was the only way she could comfortably position her body in order to perform.  

She says most places don’t allow for that style of performance but it's one of many accommodations DAT Fest makes.

One in four New Zealanders identifies as disabled.

Prior to 2010, Tim Bray Theatre Company was the only arts organisation in New Zealand offering accessible performances.

But in 2023, there were 319 accessible performances listed by Arts Access Aotearoa.

Re: News spoke to organisers from different festivals to understand what they’re doing to improve accessibility at their events. 

Different ways DAT Fest is making itself accessible 

Kate says DAT Fest was founded in 2022 after Disability Pride Week was cancelled and people noticed there were fewer performance opportunities for disabled people.

Some of the ways DAT Fest makes itself accessible are: 

• All performances are ‘relaxed’ so performers and audiences can sit or move in whatever way makes them comfortable 
• A wheelchair van to transport people
• A transport fund to help with the cost of public transport 
• Designated quiet rooms for people to escape to 
• Wellbeing wing people who keep an eye on everyone and wear bright vests and bells 
• A box of fidget toys for neurodiverse people 

DAT Fest was held at Te Auaha, which Kate says is fully accessible for wheelchair users with ramps and disabled toilets. 

Level four of the building was kept as a communal space with beanbags, board games, tea and coffee which people could use at any time they needed. 

Tickets started at $5 and went up in five-dollar increments up to $40 to acknowledge that some disabled people are on a benefit and the cost of attending shows can be a barrier to entry for them. 

Nicola Owen, Audio Described Aotearoa, audio describes the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production of Swan Lake at the St James Theatre, Wellington. Image: supplied/ Arts Access Aotearoa.

Kate says she budgeted a lot of the festival’s funding money for NZSL interpreters and audio describers.

Audio describers verbally describe the visual elements of a performance to people who are visually impaired and all of the performances in DAT Fest were described. 

For every performance that is signed, interpreters are required to attend rehearsals and practice with the script beforehand. Two are needed per performance so that they can swap when one gets tired, Kate says.  

“It shouldn't have to be us begging for accessibility, it should be built in because we're a quarter of the population.”

Disability accommodations at one of the country’s biggest music festivals

Rhythm and Vines (R&V) is one of New Zealand’s biggest music festivals, held annually across three days in Gisborne every December. 

Viewing platform at One NZ Vines Stage at Rhythm and Vines. Image: supplied. 

Next month, 26,000 are estimated to attend and an R&V spokesperson says the festival is proud of its accessibility efforts. 

These include: 

• An on-site accessibility coordinator 
• Accessible toilets at each toilet block location
• Signs that show distances to key areas, locations of accessible facilities and routes
• Accessible showers in all campgrounds
• Disabled parking spaces close to the festival entrance
• Colourblind palette being used for signage and wristbands
• Viewing platforms at the Rhythm stage and the Vines stage
• Trained staff members roaming the grounds to offer assistance and guide people to support areas 

R&V says the sunflower initiative is also available at the festival, where people with invisible disabilities can wear sunflower lanyards to signal they have a disability and may need help. 

Gisborne band Sit Down in Front performing at Garden Stage at Rhythm and Vines. Image: supplied.

R&V says it has yearly meetings with Australian disability inclusion consultancy Get Skilled Access “to ensure we are staying as close to the forefront of accessibility initiatives across Australia and NZ”. 

“In regards to accessibility for the deaf community, the team have been in talk with NZSL interpreters to conduct in-stage interpretations, however the logistics and delivery of this is still being discussed.” 

The spokesperson says R&V has an online portal where people can make specific accessibility requests. An example they gave was a request from 2015, where a wheelchair-user was brought to the top of the ‘I love you bro’ hill to watch the show.  

What Homegrown is doing for accessibility 

Jim Beam Homegrown is an annual music festival held in Wellington that showcases New Zealand music. 

This year, 22,500 people attended and next year the festival is split into two days with a total of 30,500 people expected to attend. 

Managing director Andrew Tuck says “we want people from all ages and backgrounds to attend.  We cater for a large age group variance with 20% of our audience over the age of 40”. 

When asked what efforts Homegrown makes towards accessibility, he says “we have made the festival fully accessible since its inception in 2008” and specified “clear signage, lots of security and staff highly visible to help anyone that requires assistance”. 

Tuck thinks Homegrown is doing enough for accessibility “although we will continue to make it better as people bring things to our attention”. 

The festival works with people who make accessibility requests, like needing to bring a caregiver along, he says. 

“Our highlight is having a guy in a wheelchair wanting to crowd surf. We worked in with him, security and his favourite band and made his dream come true. It was epic.”

Re: News also reached out to Laneway festival but they did not respond to our request for comment.  

Venues Association says venues strives to be accessible 

Sally Anne-Coates is the general manager of the Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand which represents venues across the country. 

She says venues strive to be as accessible as possible, an example of that being how popular relaxed performances have become. 

“Venues are also striving to make their back of house spaces navigable for artists with accessibility needs as well.”

Gareth Tiopira-Waaka, right, presents the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s Whānau Concert with NZSL interpreter Byron Bibbons at Soundings Theatre, Te Papa. Image: Lauren Occhiena/ Arts Access Aotearoa.

The biggest challenge when it comes to accessibility are the physical access issues faced by venues that are in historic buildings which “simply weren’t built with wheelchairs in mind”, Sally says. 

Sally says if an event promoter is using a ‘venue for hire’ it’s the promoter’s job to find NZSL interpreters or audio describers if they chose to have them. 

But in presenting venues or events that are joint ventures, these aids are increasingly being included as part of the event, she says.  

“Of course, there’s an additional cost involved and very often they have to apply for additional funding to do this. 

“Unfortunately, both sign language interpreters and audio describers are limited in numbers and generally based in the major centres.”

Arts Access Aotearoa wants anyone to be able to attend any event 

Arts Access Aotearoa lead accessibility advisor Stace Robertson wants to see more d/Deaf and disabled artists in leadership positions and for accessibility to become business as usual.  

Audio Described Aotearoa audio describes Te Matatini 2023 for students from Homai Campus School in Auckland. Image: Jinki Cambronero/ Arts Access Aotearoa.

“The gold standard is that Deaf and disabled people would be able to attend any live event that took their interest and know it would be accessible to them – from the information about the event and ticket purchasing through to the trip home at the end of the event,” he says.

Stace says there’s still a way to go before that gold standard is hit, with barriers like cost and a lack of infrastructure getting in the way, but that more and more companies are making accessibility progress.  

Instead of waiting until everything is perfect, Stace wants event organisers to provide clear information about a show’s accessibility or lack of it and give contact information so it's easy for people to ask questions. 

He also wants accessible events to be promoted to the wider public, not just to disabled and d/Deaf communities. 

“Don’t segregate us. Make a start towards being accessible, and maintain and build on what you’re doing.”

Correction November 27 2024: The image of Nicola Owen was wrongly captioned and has been corrected.

Correction November 28 2024: We initially wrote that there were no accessible arts events recorded in New Zealand prior to 2010 but this is incorrect. Prior to 2010, Tim Bray Theatre Company in Auckland was the only arts organisation or venue in New Zealand offering accessible performances.

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