We want your visit to ISLAND Arts Centre to be as enjoyable as possible.
If you would like any help with your visit or to find out what assistance we offer to all customers,
please call 028 9244 7452
The council believes that the arts are essential for everybody regardless of experience and ability as they provide both mental and physical stimulation, and a useful opportunity to socialise, particularly for people living with a disability or in social isolation.
When engaging with patrons who are visually impaired at ISLAND Arts Centre exhibitions, a member of our Arts team always aims to make themselves available to act as guides and interpreters around its galleries - all visitors need do on arrival, is ask!
Also, ISLAND Arts Centre‘s exhibitions can feature video, light and sound installations and are therefore not confined to visuals alone.
Arts Service staff are World Host trained and the venue holds this award for customer service excellence for its work with visitors at all levels.
ISLAND Arts Centre can provide specialised outdoor guided art tours for visually impaired people of all ages and can organise specialised arts education programmes in creative writing, theatre, photography and pottery in its own Pottery Studio. Many blind and partially sighted people particularly enjoy photography as a pastime, often using specially adapted photographic equipment. The arts centre can also devise simple, yet ingenious ways of working with people to change their style and adapt their approach to making art after losing their sight. This for example, might involve developing new techniques or using different equipment or lighting. Most mainstream classes can however also be made accessible, if requested.
ISLAND Arts Centre has a dedicated children’s drop-in free Arts Zone, so people without sight can have an equally rich art experience in a unique and personal way at any time during the arts centre’s opening hours, normally Mon-Fri 9:30am-10pm and Sat 9:30-5pm.
The council also has ‘Recite Me’ on its dedicated islandartscentre.com website, which is a Cloud-based web accessibility solution that allows patrons to customise islandartscentre.com in a way that works best for them. Using Word by Word on ‘Recite Me’ also improves the connection between voice support and word identification in over 35 languages!
In all aspects of its regular Disability Compliance Audits the council’s Arts Service has worked with ‘Lisburn in Focus’ to ensure that it is meeting the needs, where possible of visually impaired patrons. We can also signpost visually impaired patrons to other support services such as the ‘Sightline Directory’ that includes some of the art areas below:
If you are unable to read print music, there are other ways to learn an instrument and new pieces. You can try braille music, Modified Stave Notation (MSN) or learning by ear.
RNIB’s Music Advisory Service can give information and advice on ways in which you can continue to play a musical instrument, or start learning one from scratch, if you have a sight problem.
Drama or dance is a great way of expressing oneself, meeting new friends and increasing self-confidence. There are a number of groups which specialise in staging classes and performances with blind and partially sighted cast members or performers with other disabilities.
Local societies sometimes run craft work sessions, from weaving and woodcarving, to glass painting and tactile ceramic tile making that can also be exhibited in the ISLAND Arts Centre’s Community Arts Galleries. Community Arts Walkway
This is a unique national charity that helps blind and partially sighted adults and children by offering a free library service. Pictures are tactile and accompanied by audio commentary. Membership is free and every item in this charity's library is loaned and posted for free.
Living Paintings Trust
This site contains links to disabled artists' sites. A number of these artists are blind or partially sighted.
Disability arts Online
This is a membership organisation that supports the work of disabled and non-disabled artists aspiring to develop their professional practice. It believes that this is only possible through equal access to work, training and accessible exhibitions.
The Art House
View a detailed floor plan of ISLAND Arts Centre
If you have any questions about your visit please call us on 028 9244 7452 or send us an email Hello ISLAND Arts Centre