Figures and feedback- what does accessibility mean for Festival makers?

Our favourite part of audience research is when someone scratches their chin. Even better when they go "huh".

Throw in an “interesting” and we're done for the day.

We love that moment 'cause it means we might be on to something. We might need to ask more questions. We might need to reassess everything. But ultimately, we’ve thought differently about something.

Our current research into audiences in Northern Ireland is giving us the richest data the sector has ever had on diverse audience groups, particularly their motives and needs. The answers to this post-visit survey have surprised us, they’ve worried us, they’ve buoyed us. Essentially, we’re doing a lot of chin scratching.

When we were asked to present some of our data to Belfast Festivals Forum in April we had to scratch some more- the complex motivations and needs we were seeing would look very different for an annual festival using multiple venues, box office systems and programmes.

So, we mapped out a story to help us. We started with:

Audiences are very engaged

44% of those we surveyed attend or participate in arts and culture experiences more than 6 times a year. This is true of disabled audiences (43%), those earning significantly less the median earnings for full time employees in Northern Ireland (41%) and even more so of LGBTQI+ audiences (a whooping 66!)

But

Festivals have a unique place in this

Most only happen once a year. Loyalty and engagement looks very different for them than the rest of the sector.

And

Different audience groups have different needs and motivations (and challenges)

Disabled and LGBTQI+ audiences are more likely to earn less, and be more affected by the cost of living. Both audience groups were vastly more likely to say they were going to arts and culture less often.

All this gets even better again when we consider that someone indicating on a survey that they identify as d/Deaf or Disabled or LGBTQI+ doesn’t actually tell us much at all about their needs.

So, one size doesn’t fit all

We shouldn’t assume that one person’s needs are the same as another’s. And we can’t cater to everyone.

Helpful. Right?

The response from the Forum was, actually.

What if we looked at it with a different lens? What if using other people’s venues gives festivals more control of their accessibility provisions, not less? Outburst Arts, for example, have stopped using inaccessible venues for their festival.

Vetting venues that way takes time and resources to do, though. So, the festivals discussed the opportunity there to open up the dialogue between venues and festivals. A template to share with venues which details the accessibility provisions they need/expect could work.

Because the Festivals Forum is truly collaborative, their immediate response was to work together, from sharing venue information to marketing.

A collective analogue marketing/tourism push for festivals was suggested, colourful posters for lots of seasonal events to make Belfast a festival destination. One that made people immediately excited about a city visibly packed with creative activity.

Festivals also enjoy being able to provide audiences with the information they need to engage fully. Audiences look forward to their work every year and pay attention when they speak. So, they can still get helpful information to anyone making the decision to attend. They do that by asking themselves the questions audiences ask. Is the length of the show available? Does that work with a bus timetable? Can someone with children or someone with diabetes bring food into the space? Even if festivals don’t have their own toilets, they can still make it very clear where the toilets are. And when the interval will be, so people know not just where but when.

The forum discussed how all this learning and trying makes the audience experience better for everyone, regardless of who they are.

That learning and trying counts for us, too. Feedback at the event made us reconsider the way we were proposing to ask if someone identifies with the LGBTQI+ community. Does wording the question like that actually tell us more about shared interests and culture than sexuality? What if someone doesn’t identify with the term LGBTQI+ itself?

Huh. Interesting.

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You can see the slides for Áine and Eve’s presentation to the festival here.