How far do we go in our effort to make spaces inclusive to all? What does it mean to remove barriers in order to ensure we don’t create environments that separate and isolate us from one another? Let’s talk to (new) parents for example; what are the spaces they get to roam in a way that feels accessible and welcoming? What happened to their presence in the third spaces they once used to occupy so freely: theatres, galleries, concert halls, clubs,…? 

The Afternoon Accessibility School aims to create spaces where parents and non-parents can join each other, breaking at least one of the barriers that often tends to separate the two. The School is part of Studio ALTA’s mission to make its programming available to different groups and to work toward a more connected world, it also blends in with Marika Smreková’s long-term research on the position of parents as spectators in culture. 

The three-day programme yearns for spaces where encounters and the act of experiencing art together can be shared between a broad audience, including those who are often excluded by their new reality as new parents. We join each other to challenge institutions and infrastructures that make up our reality by asking whom these places are intended for. Who can use these spaces? Who is missing from these spaces because of the obstacles that have been put up? 

PROGRAMME

Saturday, 07.10.2023, from 15:00-16:30

Workshop Signals – Resilience Training is organised to strengthen our communication skills. How to read signs that are sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden. To us, learning how to listen is one of the main ways of understanding across different life realities. The workshop is accompanied by: Hana Chmelíková, Seiko Hihara, Kateřina Kuchtová, Martina Malinová, Jitka Ribárová, Barbora Trnková

Sunday, 08.10 2023, from 10:00 – 18:00
Location: Kafkárna/ Center for Art and Ecology

Visit to the Gardening Ecofemisms symposium. Studio ALTA provides free childcare at Kafkárna during the day.

What is the relationship between the oppression of women and other marginalized groups and the oppression of nature? What are the possibilities of joint fight against invisible/normalized violence? What would a society built on the principles of empathy, inclusiveness, caring, belonging with non-human beings look like? And what forms does art take that deals with these themes? How can art be a language of new connection, sharing, as well as defiance?

Monday, 09.10.2023, from 12:00 – 19:00

Joint lunch followed by a relaxing nap. An afternoon discussion block in which we introduce several accessibility practices. An early evening series of performance-lectures highlighting the barriers we build between parents and non-parents.

Parent-friendly Culture (discussion from 15:30-17:00)

We invite workers from various institutions to an informal discussion. Marika Smreková shares practices of what a Parent-friendly Culture can look like and talk about the pitfalls that implementing structural changes can cause. However, we also want to listen to the needs and wishes of the audience, artists and freelance cultural workers. What do they require from institutions and what kind of care and support would they need to participate in cultural productions? We invited representatives of organisations: National Theatre, Letní letná, Heinrich-Boll Stiftung and other Prague and non-Prague cultural centers.

The Kind of World Worth Dreaming About  (performance-lectures from 17:30-19:00)

We believe that imagination can pave the way to a better and fairer future. Where we encounter various barriers, through art we can open hidden doors and undermine fences and gradually overcome them. A series of several performative lectures will offer perhaps unexpected insights into how our society is structured. Our wish is to point out the often invisible barriers that are seen only by those who are directly affected. Formats on the border between performance and lecture will open up a space for empathy and offer strategies to face different levels of oppression and misunderstanding.

Lectures and performances by: Marika Smreková, Darina Alster & The Daughters and others.

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Free childcare throughout the Afternoon Accessibility School programme.
Tickets for an individual programme are available as Pay What You Can, from CZK 0-300.

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What if I cannot attend?

If you sense a barrier that prevents you from joining this programme, you can let the Studio ALTA know about this and they’ll look into how they can make this programme as accessible to you as possible. If you can’t join the programme due to other commitments, you can stay in touch through their Whatsapp Group, where they’ll inform you about the project’s next steps. More information about accessing this group can be found here.