At its core, the arts have always been about people. Art allows people to form connections across differences and through similarities. It enables self-expression and helps people make sense of the world around them. At its best, art brings people together, helping us see life through different eyes.
Participating in the arts matters deeply, which is why accessibility matters too. The arts become richer when everyone can engage in them. Artists with disabilities bring unique experiences that often shape their creativity in amazing ways, offering new perspectives that resonate with diverse audiences,
Take Dorothea Lange who found that upon seeing her disability—her limp—people began to trust and open up to her. This trust led to portraits that captured the soul and struggle of the Great Depression like no other photographs.
Or Frida Kahlo, who upon rediscovering her love of painting after a bus accident left her with reduced mobility, created highly personal work, focused on raw and symbolic depictions of her life, that continues to connect with millions of people.
There’s also Stevie Wonder, whose blindness shaped both the way he imagined the world and his ability to connect what people say with how he felt. A once-in-a-generation musician, when presenting at the 2016 Grammys, he teased his fellow presenters for not being able to announce the winner because the card was written in braille. He then turned the moment into a powerful statement about inclusivity, saying simply, "We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability."
Stevie’s right, of course. When it comes to the arts, accessible spaces aren’t just about fairness—they’re about ensuring that everyone can fully participate in this fundamental part of being human. It’s about giving every single person the chance to hear each other’s stories and share their own.
With that in mind, here are three stunning theatres leading the way, proving that when we open the arts for everyone, we’re all better for it.
Harpa is one of Iceland’s most iconic buildings. Opened in 2011, Harpa’s striking glass façade—designed by artist Olafur Eliasson and inspired by Iceland’s basalt columns—reflects and refracts light in a way that echoes the movement of the northern lights.
Being inside Harpa feels like being in a place where nature and creativity meet. Light dances through open foyers, changing throughout the day and the seasons, creating an atmosphere that both embraces urban modernity and inspires visitors to connect with the extraordinary beauty of Iceland’s volcanic landscape.
In addition to winning numerous architectural awards, Harpa is one of Iceland’s most inclusive public buildings. Batteríið Architects, one of two firms who worked on the building’s design, are long-time champions of universal design—they even wrote Iceland’s first accessibility and universal design reference manual.
Harpa is easy to enter and navigate. There’s step-free access at ground level, wide automatic doors and accessible parking spaces in an underground car park connected directly to the building. Inside, the layout is open and barrier-free, with clear corridors and spacious foyers that support easy maneuverability for wheelchair users. Internal doors are only used where necessary, such as in concert halls and meeting rooms. Lifts connect every floor, and every performance hall has wheelchair spaces with good sightlights integrated into its seating plan.
Harpa’s open design also supports independent navigation for people with visual impairments. Wide walkways reduce the risk of obstacles and crowding. In the performance halls, strategically placed seats provide enough space for a guide dog to lie comfortably alongside its owner. The building’s signage is thoughtfully designed with high-contrast colours, large print, and clear pictograms, earning Harpa the “Wayshowing” design award in 2011.
Harpa’s lighting design also balances the dramatic natural light with controlled interior lighting. The geometric glass façade lets in plenty of daylight, but it’s tempered by a double skin that diffuses glare. The result is a visually striking space that is bright but not harsh, ideal for visitors with visual impairments or those with sensory sensitivities.
To make the experience more enjoyable for patrons who are hard of hearing, the performance halls are fitted with hearing loops and a tone mesh infrared system, sending sound directly from stage to personal devices. Visitors with hearing aids can easily tune into the signal, and people without T-coil-compatible devices can request headphones or pocket receivers.
Harpa is a national treasure—a landmark of contemporary building design that blends art with architecture and beauty with accessibility. It invites everyone to experience and enjoy a space that is itself a work of art—one that celebrates creativity and embodies Iceland’s pride in its unique landscape.
The Royal National Theatre, opened in 1976, is a landmark of London’s South Bank. Its Brutalist style—once memorably described by Prince Charles as resembling a "nuclear power station"—sharply divides opinion. Yet within 20 years of opening, it received a Grade II* listed status, meaning it's legally recognised as a building of exceptional architectural or historic significance and carefully protected.
Unfortunately, accessibility wasn’t a strong suit of its original design. Architect Denys Lasdun envisioned an “open and democratic” building, but the complex network of stairs and split-level foyers made for challenging terrain. As one director previously admitted, the initial layout was “hopeless” for visitors with mobility needs.
Responding to evolving attitudes and audience feedback, the theatre underwent a major retrofit from 2012 to 2015, with Architects Haworth Tompkins sensitively upgrading the building in consultation with heritage authorities. They levelled the exterior patchwork of slopes and steps into smooth, navigable plazas and installed lifts to all floors. All three theatres are now accessible, with integrated wheelchair seating.
The renovations had to include these upgrades without compromising the historic design, so many accessibility features are invisibly blended into the structure. For instance, hearing loops were installed under the auditoriums’ carpets to preserve the building’s historic fabric. The result is a venue that retains its iconic 1970s character but now welcomes all visitors.
In addition to these brick-and-mortar improvements, the National Theatre has most notably become a pioneer in accessibility technology. The Smart Caption Glasses system, its flagship innovation, launched in 2018. These lightweight augmented-reality glasses display live captions of dialogue and sound effects directly onto the lenses, and they’re synchronised to real time with over 95% accuracy. Previously, the seating for deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members depended on the location of fixed caption displays at the side of the stage. Now, they can sit anywhere and follow performances seamlessly. Hailed as a "transformative” innovation, the system received the Inclusive Design Award at the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards in 2019 and is now being adopted by theatres worldwide.
In addition to these glasses, the National Theatre still provides captioned performances and BSL-interpreted shows, and it has made backstage tours more accessible with an easy-to-use wireless listening device. It also regularly offers audio-described performances, often paired with tactile stage touch tours beforehand for patrons who are blind or have low-vision, and it has relaxed performances with adjusted lighting and sound to cater to neurodivergent guests, supported by backstage autism-friendly tours.
The National Theatre demonstrates how even iconic heritage buildings can embrace accessibility without compromising their cultural significance. By carefully updating its landmark architecture, the theatre has made the space welcoming for everyone, showing that historic preservation and inclusive design can coexist. And with innovations like Smart Caption Glasses, the National Theatre is pushing the boundaries of traditional accessibility, redefining what arts inclusion can look like when artistic centres embrace technology.
Opened in 1971, the Kennedy Center serves as America’s national cultural center. Hosting over two million visitors and 2,000 performances each year. It’s home to the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera. From its inception, making the arts accessible to all audiences has been a part of the Center’s core mission.
Accessibility is integrated into all parts of the Kennedy Center’s 17-acre campus, a stunning urban oasis with airy, calm spaces. Outside, visitors can wander wide footpaths, enjoying landscaped gardens and bubbling fountains, or spend time on expansive terraces overlooking the Potomac River, which offer an escape from city life, even as the Parkway traffic flows quietly underneath.
The Center’s practical accessibility features include step-free entrances at all entry points, elevators connecting every level, integrated wheelchair seating and courtesy wheelchairs for visitor use. It also offers a free, wheelchair-accessible shuttle bus from the nearby Metro station directly to its main entrance. Behind the scenes, accessibility extends to performers too—rehearsal spaces, backstage corridors, and dressing rooms feature widened doorways, barrier-free pathways, and lowered dressing-room counters and mirrors.
The Center also ensures visitors with diverse needs can fully enjoy performances. Braille and large-print programmes, audio-described shows, assistive listening devices, American Sign Language interpretation, open captioning, and sensory-friendly performances accommodating visitors with sensory sensitivities are regular features of its programming.
The Kennedy Center has continually updated its spaces to meet the highest standards of inclusion. In 2019, it began a $250 million addition of new performance pavilions and public areas adjacent to the main building. It's an incredible public space built with inclusive design and universal accessibility in mind. In 2022, the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) honoured the Kennedy Center with its Barrier-Free America Award. PVA praised the Kennedy Center for exemplifying “what accessibility and inclusion is supposed to look like,” highlighting that virtually every aspect of the facility had been made accessible.
However, the Center’s inclusion efforts go far beyond its built environment. Its Office of Accessibility and VSA (Very Special Arts) spearheads national initiatives to make the arts more accessible for people with disabilities. VSA provides artistic opportunities for people of all ages with disabilities by ensuring that they can learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. The Kennedy Center offers career development programs for artists and arts managers with disabilities, including internships specifically designed to give young people hands-on experience working in arts organizations.
The Accessibility Office also develops resources and partnerships nationwide. Each year, it hosts the annual Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability conference, where cultural institutions come together to share best practices in arts accessibility.
The Center’s built environment, combined with its programming and community outreach, demonstrate the powerful outcomes that come from having a commitment to making sure that everyone has access to the arts.
Harpa, the National Theatre and the Kennedy Center each show what's possible when the arts truly welcome everyone. Through universal design, innovative technology, inclusive programming and ongoing staff training in disability awareness, these theatres are setting a new standard for accessibility and inclusion.
What makes them special isn’t just their stunning architecture or groundbreaking solutions—it’s their commitment to ensuring audiences and artists of all abilities can share their voices, talents and creativity. Quite simply, their efforts help ensure that the beauty of the arts remains open for everyone.