First Access: Designing Calm

Standard performance spaces are often loud, bright, and crowded, which can overstimulate audiences who are sensitive to high-sensory environments.

Design the main event for everyone

Designing Calm embeds calm into the main event itself through relaxed performances where you can come and go as needed, where lights are dimmed, sounds are softened, and weighted and sensory items are available to assist with regulation. It also means creating open, comfortable spaces where Mob can relax with no expectations or pressure, where they can participate on their own terms.

Build the basics if you can't go all the way

If your event doesn't have a sensory space, there are still steps you can take. Sensory packs are a practical start. Viewing platforms are another provision that goes beyond physical access and that can consider audiences' emotional well-being and safety.

Understand the ecosystem of access

A lot of people are involved in making an event feel safe for Mob with sensory needs. As an event organiser, it's on you to make sure everyone is properly briefed: producers, venue managers, artists, front of house staff. This means more than a last-minute email. It means building access into your planning from the start, so every person in that chain knows their role before the doors open.

Don't other the accessible spaces

What's exciting about sensory design is that it doesn't have to compromise the aesthetic universe of an event. It can extend the event world in a way where the spaces and the people aren't othered. These spaces can be aesthetically entwined with the experience, designed to support disabled Mob while weaving artistry into functionality and ensuring accessibility and inclusivity do not exist at the expense of creativity and energy.