Cultural Policies That Facilitate the Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the Arts: Findings from a Qualitative Multi-National Study

Arts and culture are central to the political struggles of people with disabilities and have the potential to transform how societies relate to disability and to realize the human rights model of disability enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Yet, low levels of participation in arts by people with disabilities are reported in many countries. We also lack research to support policy making that promotes positive measures. This article presents some of the findings from a large qualitative study across 28 European countries addressing factors perceived as facilitative of cultural participation by people representing organizations of people with disabilities. Identifying these factors is a step in supporting the deployment of policies aiming to end the exclusion of people with disabilities from the cultural sphere both as audiences and artists and to realize the human rights model of disability. In particular, findings point to the need to change the knowledge base and ethos of cultural bodies and to reform, amongst other issues, funding mechanisms, governance structures, and consultation processes. We argue that making disability inclusion more intrinsic to cultural policy has the potential to enhance diversity and ultimately to foster the participation of people with disabilities in society more broadly.