The aim of Elephant In The Room (EiTR) is to work in partnership with the Art, Culture and Music organisations.
To raise awareness the Disabled (Hidden and Visible), Deaf, Neurodiverse, Chronic Illness and Mental Health communities in the UK.
EiTR has also been working on providing advice on how to improve access by utilising whatever facilities are available so costs are kept low.
We run Disability, Equality and Communication Workshops. We have delivered workshops at Schools, Colleges, Museums, Galleries and Theatres.
Our latest addition to our services is an extension of our BSL Performance Interpreter Referral offering. Details are here.
Since 2016, we have worked with a number of organisations as shown below.
Hull Jazz Festival
Absolutely Cultured
IETM International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts
London Barbican // Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Hull City of Culture 2017
Hull New Theatre
Hull Truck
Hull City Hall
Hull City Council
Middle Child Theatre
Welly Club
Hull Box Office
Heritage Learning
St Marys Academy
Bishop Burton College
Broom Productions // BBC Worldwide
Performance Interpreting
Hull Fringe
Hull and East Yorkshire NHS
Humberside Police
Artlink Hull
Back To Ours
HERD Theatre
She Productions
East Riding Theatre
Doncaster CAST Theatre
Hull Culture and Leisure Ltd
ARCADE Arts Ltd on behalf of COAST
Scarborough Museums
and more.
EiTR has featured on BBC Radio Humberside, BBC No Filter, BBC Look North, BBC News, Vidas Reales (Argentina), Hull Daily Mail, NBC News (US), BBC News, Hull is This and the Soundsphere magazine.
However, so much more is needed to be done to break the perceived stigma around Deafness, Disabilities, Neurodiversity, Mental Health and Chronic Illnesses.
EiTR would love to see venues, festivals and organisations to start including Deaf/Disabled/Neurodiverse/Chronically Ill people. We are music lovers, theatre lovers, dancers, cultured, arty, sexy and intelligent.
Businesses, you may ask “Why should I include the Disabled/Deaf /Neurodiversity/Chronic Illness communities?”
The answer is simple: In the UK, it is thought that some seven million people of working age have a Disability, which all adds up to an awful lot of spending power. This is known as the “Purple Pound” and is reckoned to be worth around £249bn to the economy.
(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-39040760/the-power-of-the-purple-pound-explained)
Focus
Elephant In The Room mainly focuses on improving the level of inclusion in the Arts sector which includes theatres, festivals, art galleries and cinemas.
BSL Performance Interpreters
We provide a service where we source British Sign Language (BSL) Performance Interpreters. The service is tailored around the client’s requirements.
Fees varies depending on what is required.
Consultancy
We provide a consultancy service which focuses on access, marketing and we produce a report showing areas to improve upon.
Charges for this service varies depending on what is required.
Talks
We deliver thought provoking talks about Disability, Communication and Equality.
We use real life environments to show how a situation can disable anyone and how the Social Model of Disability can apply to everyone.
Disability Awareness Workshops
EiTR provide training focusing on the following:
- Disability Awareness.
- De-stigmatising Disabilities.
- What is BSL and visual communication?
- and more thought-provoking content.
Community
Much of what we do is about taking a bespoke approach which involves the Deaf/Disabled/Neurodiversity/Chronic Illness communities to ensure they have a voice so we can work together with venues/organisations to create a change where access is not an afterthought. We also provide a voice for venues and organisations too.
Deaf Awareness
EiTR provide training focusing on the following:
- Taster Session to BSL.
- Things to be aware of.
- How to communicate.
- Dispelling myths and stigmas.
- Stories.
- Where to learn BSL?
Enquiries
If you have questions or need more information, please do contact Elephant In The Room via our Contact page.