Make Room! Creative Conversation Workshops researching LGBTQIA+ accessibility in the Southwest

Make Room! was a six-month research project on LGBTQIA+ accessibility in the South West of England conducted by We Are The People and funded by the Wellcome Trust. 

We Are The People is a small research team of disabled activists and academics based in South West England.  

To find out more about this research project, visit the We Are The People webpage.

What did we want to do?

Through our research, we wanted to: 

  • Better understand the accessibility of LGBTQIA+ events in the Southwest of England, and how Disabled LGBTQIA+ people, and those who feel impacted by these themes, think this could be practically improved and creatively reimagined.  
  • Explore the significance of using arts-based methods and lived experience research to express and identify themes of LGBTQIA+ accessibility. 
  • Share this information with events organisers, venues, organisations and the wider community. 

How did we research this? 

  • An online and in print survey 
  • Hosting creative conversation workshops in Bath and Bristol, in partnership with local LGBTQIA+ and Disabled organisations and creative practitioners. 
  • Working groups.

Work produced in our creative conversation workshops

Hands holding home-made badges saying access is a right Abstract drawing of wheels and rainbows with the notion that freedom is heavy Drawing of a creature holding a banner saying they feel safe and included

Project outcomes

  • ‘Make Room!’ top tips for event organisers: These are our top tips for event organisers that want to improve accessibility for disabled LGBTQIA+ communities. They are available to download as an accessible pdf. 
  • Workshop reports: These reports focus on the Bath and Bristol creative workshops. The reports are about the preparation and outcomes of the workshop. They also share insights from the research project and consider next steps for future research projects led by and for Disabled people about LGBTQIA+ accessibility. You can download the reports as accessible pdfs in both long form and easy read format. 
  • Survey report: This report is about the small-scale survey we did to find out more about experiences of accessibility in LGBTQIA+ venues across the South West of England. You can download the report as an accessible pdf in both long form and easy read format. 
  • Research methods report: This report contains information about the project and research methods. You can download the report as an accessible pdf in both long form and easy read format. 
  • Lived experience report and top tips: This report is about the role of disabled people led research by researchers from non-academic backgrounds. The top tips highlight key considerations for lived experience research projects led by and for disabled people. 

We know that the formats we have made available will not be accessible for everyone. Please get in touch if you can recommend other formats that we could use for sharing the outcomes of this project.

What will we do with our findings? 

  • We have created a series of reports in both long form and easy read format sharing our insights and top tips on LGBTQIA+ accessibility. 
  • Share our findings through events with Bath Spa University, and other interested community networks.