Access to Art

Transport to Art Exhibitions

Tate to Tate Sponsored Walk

Access to Art (A2A) run a door to door service, taking people with disabilities and frail older people to art exhibitions in galleries and museums in central London.

A2A runs visits every month to galleries and museums. Their minibus collects members from their home and is met at the gallery by A2A volunteers. The volunteers provide one-to-one help to by handling a wheelchair or lending a supportive arm for three hours, before the minibus takes the members home.

This project was set up because of the realisation that while museums and galleries were becoming accessible for wheelchair users, there was no service in London to provide transport there or provide help at the gallery. Housebound and disabled people were not able to visit and enjoy London's treasures. The service is now in great demand.

The volunteers share an interest in art and a love of meeting new people. They provide people with the opportunity and the confidence to enjoy a day out. A2A offers training sessions for its volunteers, such as courses in guiding and describing art for the visually impaired, or refresher courses in wheelchair handling.

The biggest challenge is getting members and volunteers at the gallery at the right time and place 12 times a month. This was overcome through A2A's combination of database, operations manager and volunteer organisers and many hours of planning, confirming places and times and checking everyone will be there.

A2A's biggest achievement has been its AGM. The organisation got 40 disabled people to the National Gallery in 5 minibuses, had one parking space and 30 volunteers to help. A2A has started a fresh "meet you there" service, in which members who are able to travel on their own can meet a volunteer at a museum or gallery in London; this service has been funded by the City Bridge Trust for 3 years. A2A has recently taken trips to the Royal Academy of Arts, the National Gallery, and the British Museum, and has had fundraisers presenting quiz nights or classical music!

Quotes

“I'm not a social person. I don't go out to clubs and things like that so I don't meet many people. With Access to Art I meet new people, and we have been on the same wavelength. It's been a godsend. One time at the Tate, I had a gentleman volunteer, and we found we had both travelled and knew the same places. We had the most fantastic time.”

“Although I have only been volunteering since January, it feels far longer because I have enjoyed it so much and feel so much a part of it. I have been so lucky with the people I have met, who not only had wide experience but also had led such incredibly interesting lives. In every case I have felt that I was a valued friend.” — A2A volunteer

Contact details

Jane Turner
info@access2art.org.uk
020 8761 4898
Access2Art.org.uk