A rider is a document that states the requirements of an artist for a show or event. Celebrity riders are well known, if not for their practical uses, at least for the infamy of some alleged requests – such as puppies, or blue M&Ms.
Talking about accessibility at work can be difficult, and most of the time you also have to educate the people around you about what you need.
What if you could put your access needs on a rider?
An access rider is a document that outlines your disability access needs to let people you work with know how to ensure you have equal access to work.
Artists Lizzy Rose, Leah Clements, and Alice Hattrick came up with the idea of an access document during a residency at Wysing Arts Centre. Johanna Hedva says “access documents are used by rock stars and divas all the time—they’re simply called riders and no one bats an eye. This is because they are helpful for everyone involved: the person can say what they need in order to do their thing, and the venue/institution knows exactly how to provide support for them to do their thing.”
Online panel discussion
Chaired by Jo Thomas, this is an online panel discussion for both musicians and venues to learn more about access riders, including how to put one together, and best practice examples.
The panelists:
Rich Legate – Attitude is Everything
Fielding Hope – Café Otto
Isabella Tulloch Gallego – Unlimited
