Chair of Deafness Forum Australia, Rae Walker is fitted for a haptic vest by Founder of The Newmarket Collective: Kylie Davies while Channel 7 camera operator captures it.

From Sydney Dance Company, Sydney Opera House and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, cultural organisations are coming together to explore new ways of ensuring Deaf and hard of hearing audiences can experience the arts. While The Newmarket Collective‘s haptic technology sparked the conversation, the real story is the growing commitment to building a more inclusive cultural landscape.

What happens when some of Australia’s leading cultural organisations come together with one shared goal?

A Shared Commitment to Accessibility

In July, representatives from Sydney Dance Company, Accessible Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney Opera House, and other organisations gathered to experience The Newmarket Collective’s haptic technology. Yet while the technology brought everyone into the room, it was the conversations that followed that proved the most valuable.

Convened by Sydney Opera House Senior Manager, Social Impact Programs and Operations, Janelle Ryan, the Cultural Institutions meetup brought together professionals working across live performance, museums, accessibility and audience engagement to explore how innovation can create richer experiences for Deaf and hard of hearing audiences.

Accessible Performance in Action

The gathering was made possible thanks to Sydney Dance Company’s accessible performances of season showstopper: ENGINE, where haptic vests, generously supported by The JACE Foundation and delivered through a partnership between The Newmarket Collective and Deafness Forum Australia, gave audiences another way to experience the production.

“At Sydney Dance Company, we are always looking at ways to connect more people with our work. We are excited to partner with The Newmarket Collective to explore how haptic technology can create new ways of experiencing contemporary dance.”

— Michael Sieders, Associate Producer, Sydney Dance Company

While the performances themselves were a milestone, Sieders said bringing organisations together to exchange ideas became one of the most rewarding parts of the collaboration.

“The Cultural Institutions gathering was a gathering of incredible people and the ideas that were flowing made my head spin. So many possibilities and so many wonderful connections were made. It was a deeply valuable experience for us.”

That collaborative energy was evident throughout the afternoon.

As participants experienced the technology firsthand, discussions quickly moved beyond the mechanics of the equipment to something much broader. Museums spoke with performing arts organisations, accessibility specialists exchanged ideas with producers, and conversations centred not on a single project, but on what the future of accessible arts could look like across Australia.

Creating Access Through Creativity

For Accessible Arts, the workshop reinforced an important principle: considering access as part of the creative process from the very beginning.

Artist Development Manager Amy Claire Mills said experiencing the technology firsthand opened new possibilities for conversations with artists developing future work.

“We’re always looking at what’s possible rather than limiting the conversation around access. When artists begin thinking about accessibility during the creative process, rather than afterwards, it opens up entirely new opportunities.”

Having experienced the technology, Amy believes workshops like this encourage artists and cultural organisations to think beyond traditional approaches to accessibility and imagine what can be achieved through collaboration.

“You start putting all the puzzle pieces together, working collaboratively, and suddenly the whole arts sector becomes more accessible.”

For Accessible Arts, the value of the afternoon extended beyond experiencing new technology. It was an opportunity to explore how artists, venues and cultural organisations can continue building accessibility into the next generation of creative work.

Building More Independent Experiences

The workshop also highlighted how emerging technology can complement existing accessibility supports rather than replace them.

Deaf Connect Auslan interpreter Marnie van Vliet believes the technology offers Deaf audiences another way to experience rhythm and musicality while allowing interpreters to continue focusing on language access.

“As an interpreter, I prepare extensively for performances and incorporate rhythm and musicality into my interpreting. But if Deaf audience members can experience those musical elements themselves through haptic technology, that’s one less thing they need to rely on us for.”

For van Vliet, the technology represents another pathway for audiences to engage with live performance while preserving the important role interpreters continue to play.

Learning From One Another

For the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, the workshop reinforced the value of collaboration across the cultural sector.

Sophie Hoo, Access Coordinator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, said lived experience and community consultation remain central to the organisation’s approach to accessibility.

“Lived experience and community consultation sits at the heart of our Access programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I know that the Access team at Sydney Opera House and other organisations such as Accessible Arts place the same value on lived experience expertise as we do at the MCA.

They also put the same thought and care into developing programs for d/Deaf and hard of hearing, neurodiverse and disabled communities, so gaining insights into groundbreaking technologies such as haptic vests, and learning from each other about our different approaches to making arts programming more accessible, is both vital and exciting.”

Her reflections echo what many participants took away from the afternoon: accessibility is strengthened when organisations are willing to share knowledge, challenge assumptions and learn from one another.

For The Newmarket Collective Director Kylie Davies, that growing spirit of collaboration represents one of the most exciting outcomes of the project.

“We’ve been incredibly encouraged by the response from Australia’s arts sector. Seeing organisations come together, share ideas and imagine what’s possible has shown us this is about much more than a single performance. It’s about creating more opportunities for people to experience the arts together.”

While each organisation approaches accessibility through a different lens, the Cultural Institutions gathering revealed a shared ambition: ensuring more Australians can meaningfully engage with arts and culture.

If there was one message to emerge from the afternoon, it was that accessibility no longer belongs to a single organisation. It belongs to a growing community of cultural leaders committed to listening, collaborating and designing experiences where more Australians can connect with art, culture and creativity.

For the one in five Australians living with hearing loss, that collective commitment may prove to be the most significant innovation of all.

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