How Milan’s ‘Accessible Present’ event is driving a movement for diversity in the performing arts

The Purpose
To help innovate and promote diversity, the City of Milan was a supporter and partner in a three-day event led by artists with disabilities.

The Challenge
World class artists with disabilities are breaking down barriers in theatre and dance, but programming led by this demographic is still relatively rare in Europe.

Oriente Occidente has built the Italian Network of EBA, with 51 organizations signing a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at creating a network of allies.

The Solution
Presenti Accessibili | Accessible Present took place from 27-29 April 2022 in Milan, offering workshops, meetings and performances to raise awareness of accessibility in the performing arts for people with disabilities. The three-day event was organized by the cultural group Oriente Occidente, with the Ministry of Culture and Lombardy Region. As well as support from these two entities, the event was also sponsored by the European Union via Europe Beyond Access (EBA). EBA is the world’s largest project for arts and disability. Between 2018-2023, Oriente Occidente was its Italian partner, working alongside other European cultural groups, from the Onassis Cultural Center to the British Council. More recently, Oriente Occidente has built the Italian Network of EBA, with 51 organizations signing a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at creating a network of allies. This group is questioning the current state of the cultural sector, advocating for accessibility and representation and encouraging greater inclusion of, and leadership by, artists and cultural workers with disabilities. As such, the Accessible Present project is part of a larger movement to change attitudes.

The Impact
The organizers hope that work of this kind, which puts people with disabilities front and centre, will have a beneficial effect beyond the cultural sector. One in five Europeans have a disability of some kind, by promoting excellence in the performing arts, organizers hope it will also stimulate reflection and foster equality, challenging the perceptions of audiences and bringing more work opportunities to artists with disabilities. Accessible Present was the first time Milan hosted a festival centred on inclusion and diversity in the performing arts. However, it hopes that it will be the beginning of a cultural landscape where this programming becomes more common.

Source: World Cities Culture Report 2022

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