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Arts Access Aotearoa was established as a charitable trust in 1995 with funding from Creative New Zealand. It was created primarily to meet a key objective of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Act 1994: that is, to support "the availability of projects of merit to communities or sections of the population that would otherwise not have access to them". Penny Eames founded Arts Access Aotearoa and was its first Executive Director. She remained in this role from 1995 until 2004. Mel Smith CNZM was the founding Chair and when his term expired, he became the patron. In 2010, actor and director Miranda Harcourt OMNZ also became a patron. Arts Access Aotearoa’s main areas of focus are supporting disabled people to create and participate art of all kinds, and facilitating arts-based rehabilitative projects and programmes in prisons. It receives core funding from Creative New Zealand and has a major contract with the Department of Corrections. It also has support and sponsorship from the local government, philanthropic trusts and businesses around New Zealand.

Arts Access Awards
Every year, it presents the Arts Access Awards in Parliament. Formerly called the Big ‘A’ Awards, they were introduced in 2007 to recognise the contribution of individuals and organisations in providing access to the arts. There are currently seven awards, including two Arts in Corrections awards and the Arts Access Artistic Achievement Award for artists with a disability or lived experience of mental ill-health.

Arts For All Network
The Arts For All initiative began in late 2010 with the release of Arts For All: Ngā toi mō te katoa, a practical guide about ways that arts organisations, museums and galleries can improve and encourage access. The Arts for All Network was established as an ongoing programme in 2011. Networks have been established in Wellington, Auckland, Canterbury, Otago and Taranaki and bring together representatives from the disability sector, arts and cultural organisations, and venues to share resources and ideas about building new audiences by improving access for disabled people. Since 2011, the programme has seen significant improvements in access: for example, audio described and sign interpreted performances are now a regular feature of many performing arts companies. The second edition of the Arts For All publication was released in April 2014.

Creative spaces
A recognised part of the social services in New Zealand, creative spaces provide a space, a sense of community, resources and support for people to produce art or participate in artistic activities such as theatre, dance, visual arts, creative writing and music. Many are exclusively used by people with disabilities or mental ill health, while others are open to a broader cross-section of the community youth, unemployed people and people in the criminal justice system. It is estimated that there are around 80 or more creative spaces throughout New Zealand. These include Vincents Art Workshop in Wellington, the first such space established in 1985, as well as Artsenta, which opened in Dunedin in 1986.

Arts in Corrections
Arts Access Aotearoa has a long-standing relationship with the Department of Corrections to facilitate and advise on arts projects and programmes in prisons throughout New Zealand. This has resulted in some exciting initiatives such as an exhibition of prison art in Parliament; a week-long theatre workshop and performance in Arohata Prison led by German theatre director Uta Plate; two quilting groups run by volunteer quilters; and a ballet workshop and performance led by the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

Executive Directors
Penny Eames, 1995 to 2005 Anne Sharley, Oct 2004 to 2005 (resigned due to illness) Bronwyn Bent (acting ED), 2005 to Sept 2006 Julie Donvin-Irons, 2006 to May 2008 Marianna Taylor, 2008 to November 2010 Jan Hinde (acting ED during Marianne's maternity leave), Oct 2009 to February 2010 Richard Benge, 2010 and ongoing

Board of trustee chairpersons
Mel Smith, 1995 to 2002 Chris Finlayson, 2002 to 2003 Susan Bagshaw, 2003 to 2006 Murray Short, 2006 to 2009 Susan D'Souza, 2009 to 2012 Richard Cunliffe, 2012 to 2015 Howard Fancy, 2015 and ongoing