The Exhibitions Group is delighted to announce that 10 Access Grants have been awarded as part of its pilot grant scheme to improve accessibility to exhibitions across the UK for disabled people.
The successful organisations are:
- 16 Collective
- Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust
- Grundy Art Gallery
- Nottingham Contemporary
- Primary
- Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
- Rugby Art Gallery and Museum
- The Art House
- V&A Dundee
- Wakefield Museum and Castles
The pilot scheme awarded grants of £1,500–£4,000 to support practical, meaningful work that advances access to exhibitions. The programme aligns with The Exhibitions Group’s mission “to empower everyone in exhibitions to create relevant, sustainable, diverse and accessible exhibitions.”
Despite progress in some areas, significant barriers remain. Research shows that 7 out of 10 disabled people struggle to find clear accessibility information about cultural events and that 38% of disabled people report missing cultural events altogether due to ‘accessibility uncertainty’.
The funded projects reflect the social model of disability and support a wide range of access-focused activity, including co-creation with disabled people, accessible interpretation, physical adjustments, accessible programming, and staff and volunteer training.
The grant award selection panel was: Karen Harris, Accessibility Consultant at Let’s Go; Reyahn King, culture consultant, Executive Director of The Exhibitions Group and a Trustee of Culture Perth & Kinross; and Esther Fox, Head of the Accentuate Programme, who said:
“I was delighted to be asked to sit on The Exhibitions Group Access Grants selection panel. This is an important funding stream that will enable museums, galleries and heritage organisations to realise some meaningful and insightful access interventions as part of their exhibition strategies.
Access should not be an add on, and it was impressive and encouraging to see so many applicants think deeply about consulting with disabled people as well as putting deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people at the centre of their proposals, their exhibitions and organisational learning.”
Selected funded projects include:
Nottingham Contemporary - Exhibition: Augustas Serapinas / Chico da Silva
Nottingham Contemporary will deepen and embed access for blind and visually impaired visitors by developing an in-house team trained to script and deliver high-quality audio description. Working with local consultants with lived experience, the project will create comprehensive recorded audio descriptions for every exhibition, alongside audio-described talks and tours, on-request sighted guiding, and audio description across the programme, establishing a long-term, equitable access offer.
Rugby Art Gallery and Museum – Exhibition: Unveiled: The Rugby Collection
This project will embed accessible interpretation into the exhibition through directional audio speakers and British Sign Language interpretation for public talks. By removing reliance on printed text and QR codes, the project enables disabled visitors to engage independently and with dignity, delivering practical and lasting improvements to exhibition access following two years of access planning.
Grundy Art Gallery – Exhibition: Monet x The Magic Club
Responding to visitor and participant feedback, Grundy Art Gallery will expand the range of ways audiences can engage with and participate in its work. The grant will support the development of new access tools alongside the creation of legacy skills within the team, ensuring long-term benefits for future exhibitions and programmes.
Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust – Exhibition: The Quiet Zone
Clifton Suspension Bridge Museum will work with neurodiverse young people and their families and carers to co-create a ‘Quiet Zone’ within its free exhibition. Designed as a sensory regulation and respite space, the Quiet Zone will support neurodiverse visitors to explore their interests in a welcoming, accessible environment, shaped directly by the young people the project aims to support.
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration – Exhibition: TBA
Opening in May with a distinctive exhibition programme exploring how illustration shapes our world, Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will use the grant to develop LGBTQIA+ inclusive British Sign Language interpretation for one of its opening exhibitions. Working with a Deaf LGBTQIA+ BSL interpreter, the project will create specialist signs for evolving queer terminology, ensuring accurate, culturally sensitive translation and meaningful access for D/deaf LGBTQIA+ visitors.
The Art House – Exhibition: The 2025 Gilbert Bayes Awardees Exhibition
The Art House will use the Access to Exhibitions Grant to strengthen access, responding to the needs of disabled, neurodivergent and d/Deaf audiences. The 2025 Gilbert Bayes Awardees Exhibition project will deliver enhanced interpretation, tactile and sensory resources, and improved wayfinding, alongside targeted staff training. Together, these measures will support a more welcoming, navigable and meaningful exhibition experience for a wider range of visitors.
Dana Andrew, Professional Development Manager at The Exhibitions Group, said:
“We are excited to support this group of organisations and look forward to developing case studies from the funded projects to inspire others across the wider exhibitions sector.”
Full details of all ten awarded projects will be shared over the coming weeks.
SUPPORTED USING PUBLIC FUNDING BY ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND
Additional Information
Contact Rachel Auty at marketing@theexhibitionsgroup.org.uk
Sources and further reading
- Access Culture Survey confirms key barriers to disabled people’s participation [March 2025] – https://allin.online/blog/access-culture-survey-confirms-key-barriers-to-disabled-peoples-participation/
- The problem isn’t disability – it’s inaccessibility [April 2025] – https://weareunlimited.org.uk/the-problem-isnt-disability-its-inaccessibility
- Digital Access to Arts and Culture Report [June 2022] – https://digiaccessarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Digital-Access-Report.pdf
