Free Webinar: Accessibility Kickstarter

Creating a truly inclusive project can feel overwhelming, especially for independent creatives balancing tight budgets and strict production schedules. Many want to champion accessibility in their work—whether in screen, theatre, music, or events—but simply don’t know where to begin or fear making a misstep. 

The secret to meaningful inclusion isn’t having unlimited resources; it is learning to build access in from the very first page rather than attempting to retrofit your project down the line.

In our next free webinar, we’ll be talking to Stephanie Dower from Dower Productions about how to start planning for accessibility no matter what your creative practice or business size. We’ll take a look at the role of Accessibility Coordinators, dive into what an Accessibility Action Plan is, and discover what resources are available for you to work with right now. 

Join us for a chat that will help demystify the planning process and equip you with practical strategies to shift the needle on inclusion, even with limited funding, so you can start building your confidence in the accessibility space.

What we’ll be discussing:

• How low-budget (or no budget) projects can shift the needle on accessibility.
• How and when to start accessibility planning as creatives in our projects.
• What a Disability or Accessibility Action Plan is.
• How to manage your planning timelines.
• What the role of an access coordinator is.

As always, registration is completely FREE. 

What’s Included?
A 60 minute webinar with our creative industries expert (which you can access later if you want) plus lifetime access to additional resources.

Who’s it for?
Creative and arts practitioners, freelancers, start-ups, small arts organisations, and arts entrepreneurs from beginners to established (international sign-ups welcome!).

Your Host

Monica Davidson (Creative Plus Business): Monica Davidson is an award-winning expert on the creative industries, who began her professional life as a freelance journalist, performer, and filmmaker. Monica has a Masters degree in Screen Arts and Business from AFTRS, and was appointed as Australia’s first Creative Industries Business Advisor in 2013. In 2016 Monica founded the social enterprise Creative Plus Business, an organisation dedicated to educating creatives about small business skills, financial literacy and marketing.

Special Guest: Stephanie Dower

Stephanie Dower is a Queensland-based Screen Producer, Writer, Access Coordinator, and founder of Dower Productions, supported through Screen Queensland’s Business Enterprise Fund. As one of only nine Access Coordinators trained through Screen Australia and UK-based Casarotto Ramsay & Associates (formerly Bridge06), Steph has become a leading voice in disability inclusion across the Australian screen industry. Her work spans major productions including the feature film Spit, Amazon MGM Studios’ The Bluff, and the ABC children’s series Dance with Tom. She has also served as Access Coordinator for Screen Forever for three consecutive years. 

Alongside her access work, Stephanie continues to build a dynamic creative slate. She directed episodes of the Screen Australia-supported online series Path to Paris, which has amassed more than 250,000 views and took her to the 2024 Summer Paralympics for filming. Previously, she produced the AACTA Awards-nominated short film And The Ocean Agreed alongside Luisa Martiri and Writer/Director Tanya Modini, as well as Sunshine, a collaboration between Bus Stop Films and Taste Creative funded through Screen Queensland’s RIDE Shorts initiative.

About Dower Productions

Founded by producer and access coordinator Stephanie Dower, Dower Productions is an Australian company working to create a more diverse and inclusive creative industries through two methods: access coordination and screen production. 

They are one of Australia’s few dedicated access coordination specialists. They work on-site and remotely with productions, festivals and arts organisations across the country, in screen, events, theatre, music and advertising. They remove barriers, guide teams through best-practice inclusion, and build environments where D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people can do their best work. 

Whether a team is starting from scratch or refining what they already do, they meet them where they are. 

Dower Productions also produce original documentary and drama that reflects contemporary Australia as it really is. Their work is made to entertain audiences and to change who appears on screen and who works behind the camera. Each side of the business compliments the other. Because they make screen work themselves, they understand production from the inside and know where access belongs at every stage, from script development and pre-production through to the shoot, post, marketing and release. That is why they build access in from the first page, not the final week

What is CREATIVE PLUS BUSINESS?
We’re a social enterprise dedicated to educating creative people and arts organisations about business skills. We help by sharing practical knowledge in a fun and irreverent way, and everything we do is designed to help creatives to feel more confident and comfortable about the entrepreneurial aspects of their creative practice.

Accessibility: if you have any queries or access requirements, please email hello@creativeplusbusiness.com

This webinar will be provided via Crowdcast. Click the link below to reserve your place.

New to CROWDCAST? Check out our handy ‘How to register and use Crowdcast’ Guide here.