CCB implements accessibility plan with investment of 2.9 million

A association Access Culture today criticized the lack of response of the CCB in Lisbon to accessibility problems for artists with disabilities, after more than a decade of contacts with the institution and several warnings.

In a reaction statement sent to Lusa, the foundation argued that “the goal of making its spaces, programming and working conditions of artists, collaborators and audiences progressively more inclusive continues”.

” This is a permanent commitment that requires investment, planning, continuity and dialogue. The Board of Directors recognises that barriers still need to be removed and will continue to work sustainably to ensure better conditions of access, participation and enjoyment”, can be read in the text.

In particular, the foundation said it was “implementation of an Accessibility Plan which provides for structural intervention throughout the campus, including the replacement of lifts — already underway —, the installation of new lifting platforms, the extension of the adaptation of dressing rooms and sanitary facilities, the improvement of access, signage and accessible communication, in an investment of more than EUR 2.9 million”.

“The application for external funding is aimed at speeding up and extending a set of structural interventions with a high financial dimension. In parallel, the CCB continues the implementation of the Plan, using its own resources to implement priority measures, while the remaining actions will be phased out, in accordance with the technical and financial conditions necessary for its execution”, highlighted the administration, recalling that it has already been installed “an exclusive lift at the Artists’ Door of the Show Centre”.

The same text highlights that investments from the Recovery and Resilience Plan had as their exclusive destination “energy efficiency measures, according to the rules of the program itself, and cannot be applied in accessibility interventions”.

“The Board of Directors recognizes and values the contribution of specialized entities, artists — in particular artists with disabilities, whose experience is fundamental to identify barriers and improve the answers of the institution — and all people who contribute to a more accessible and inclusive culture,” added the foundation.

Today, Access Culture has said that it has maintained contacts with different CCB administrations since 2015 to promote improvements in the accessibility conditions of cultural equipment, but considers that progress has been “insufficient”.

In question are “repeated complaints, since 2018, of artists with disabilities in relation to the conditions of access and work in the CCB”, says in the statement signed by the management of the association.

According to Access Culture, a diagnosis of accessibility made by the entity in 2015 “resulted in many improvements” in the spaces open to the public, although they remained for carrying out interventions related to behind the scenes, areas of artists’ work and programming.