Andrew Miller’s job is to advocate and support the development of All In, the UK’s arts access scheme for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people. All In is being established to enable everyone to be enriched by cultural experiences, from museums to music concerts.
Andrew is a governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a trustee of BAFTA, and was formerly the Creative Director of Trinity College at the University of Oxford. Between 2018-2023 he was the founding chair of the BFI’s Disability Screen Advisory Group, set up to increase representation of disabled people in film. In 2020, Andrew co-founded the UK Disability Arts Alliance (#WeShallNotBeRemoved) to support disabled artists and cultural organisations through the Covid-19 pandemic.
His contribution to the arts and broadcasting has been recognised by the National Diversity Awards, The Shaw Trust Disability Power 100, The Stage 100, The Stage Awards and by the late Queen, in her 2021 New Year Honours list when Andrew was awarded an MBE for services to disabled people.
Diversity Network spoke to Andrew about the fact that people with disabilities are the world’s largest minority, yet usually aren’t included in cultural events. (Source)
Q: Almost 90 per cent of venues and festivals don’t offer an accessible booking process and more than 80 per cent don’t have an accessible website. Why do you think this is and what can be done about it?
A: “That’s a shocking statistic but my lifetime’s experience of patchy access in the creative industries means I don’t doubt it’s authenticity. The good news is that things are changing and since the pandemic, increasingly swiftly. The Seven Inclusive Principles from #WeShallNotBeRemoved helped ensure there was recognition, in the UK at least, that the cultural recovery from Covid had to be fully inclusive of disabled people. And consequently, we are seeing venues around the country boosting their access provision as they increasingly recognise the value of the purple pound and All In is here to help with that.”
Q: Can you share some examples of organisations making a difference?
A: “I’d highlight two London venues that have opened since the pandemic which offer a vision of a more accessible future. Firstly, the Abba Arena in Stratford, East London, offers on-site blue badge car parking, specialist access support for customers, relaxed performances and provides wheelchair users with the best seats in the house for the amazing digital concert experience of Abba Voyage.
“Soho Place is the first fully accessible theatre in the West End that offers disabled audiences not only a trust-based access scheme, but a range of seating options as well as a performance space purpose-designed to be accessible for disabled artists. The inclusive casting policy of site owners Nimax Theatres has seen D/deaf actress Rose Ayling Ellis star in Shakespeare’s As You Like It and the first West End disability themed musical, The Little Big Things.
“I find it encouraging that both these developments exist in the fully commercial sector. Whilst there’s been long standing good practice in the subsidised sector in places like the RSC and National Theatre, it’s great to see that positive ethos spreading. I think everyone now understands that good access enriches culture for everyone.”
Q: You began your career in broadcasting in the 1980s and were one of the first disabled presenters on British television, as well as working as a producer and director. You are the first wheelchair user to run a major UK arts venue at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff. From your own experience, what are some of the workplace barriers for directors, producers, screenwriters and actors with disabilities?
“Ultimately the barriers for disabled creatives are the same as those facing all disabled people: attitudes and access. When I began my television career at Channel 4, there was virtually no positive representation of disability anywhere and little value placed on disabled people’s creativity. Together with many other disabled creatives of my generation, I set out on a path to democratise culture to a point where our participation in it would no longer be something remarkable.
“Whilst that has been a complex and often difficult journey, we have come a long way since. Just look at this year’s Olivier Awards for London theatre. Not one, but two visibly disabled, wheelchair-using artists from two different shows ascended the ramp to collect their Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in April. Amy Trigg won Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for The Little Big Things and Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini won Outstanding Achievement in a Affiliate Theatre for her play Sleepova at the Bush Theatre.
“Such recognition goes way beyond any inclusive box-ticking exercise and would have been beyond my wildest dreams of inclusion back in the 1980s. Today’s artists are taking it to the next level by making disabled performers and disabled stories central to our national culture.”
Q: The Equality Act in the UK means that all public venues have to offer accessible services. What would you say to those who believe this is enough to include people with disabilities?
A: “The Equality Act came into being in 2010 having replaced the Disability Discrimination Act which became law in 1995. Across all that time progress for disabled people in the creative industries as artists, audiences and employees has been incremental but if I’m honest, painfully slow. The Equality Act does not banish poor access as it is notoriously difficult for disabled people to bring actions against service providers and there are loads of legal loopholes such as what exactly constitutes ‘reasonable adjustments’. So no, we cannot rely on the Act to ensure inclusion. We need influential allies.
“Arts Council England is a very good example. It’s been listening to disabled artists since the 1990s and has steadily put funding programmes in place to develop disabled-led artistry and it has committed to the progressive social model of disability. Quite right too, but the Arts Council has gone further by developing inclusive cultural policy to ensure disabled artists compete on a level playing field with everyone else.
“This approach found its boldest expression in the current 10-year strategy, Let’s Create, which has seen substantial additional funding going to disabled-led arts companies like Graeae and Unlimited as well as inclusive projects such as All In, developed in partnership with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, and Creative Scotland.
“Internationally this package of support contributes significantly to the UK being regarded as a global leader in inclusion, and in the excellence and quality of our disability-led arts.”
Q: What is your hope for the future of people with disabilities for both the opportunity to have a career in the arts, as well as to enjoy them?
A: “My work is all about ensuring disabled people don’t have to face the same career limiting discrimination as previous generations.
“Whilst much remains to be fixed – especially buildings – and funding is not yet fully representative, the progress we’re witnessing right now convinces me there has never been a better time to be disabled and involved in the UK’s creative industries, whether that is as an artist, employee or as an audience member.
“Those attitudinal and access barriers are falling all around us. The introduction of access coordinators on film and TV productions better support the participation of disabled artists. We’re increasingly seeing disabled talent celebrated at major award ceremonies like the Oliviers and Baftas.
“And I believe All In will raise the bar even further by introducing the UK’s first accessibility standards for creativity and culture, and open up cultural experiences for many D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people who perhaps had believed it wasn’t for them.
“Exciting times.”
