What is Locked World?

Locked World is a radically accessible digital arts space conceived by BOP Young Artists. The artworks all have accessibility creatively embedded into the work. This creatively embedded access is vital to artworks created by BOP.

The term ‘Locked World’ means different things to different people. To some, it may mean feeling excluded from the world, while to others it may mean advocating for their right to privacy from doctors, benefits assessors and passing strangers.

You can visit Locked World <here> to see previously commissioned works.

What is it about?

Locked World hosts and holds a collection of disabled-centred digital art.

It holds creative manifestations of individual neural / medical / physical / sensorial / societal experience which challenge perceptions of disability and neurodiversity.

Internal thoughts, perceptions and sensations are externalised: interpreted, mimicked, echoed, denied, stretched, masked and digitised.

Locked World was conceived by BOP Young Artists. We have created a space that we want to share work in, based on the following principles:

• A space where accessibility is central – not an afterthought,
• A space where disabled people are the ‘norm’,
• A space where we can go at our own pace,
• A safe space which challenges ableist racist heteronormative trans-exclusionary patriarchal and capitalist discourse,
• A space where we can share experiences with other disabled people (and non-disabled people, and people for whom those labels do not fit),
• A space where we can honour and amplify the voices of other disabled artists.

The above principles are underpinned by the following values:

• Equity
• Openness
• Respect
• Empathy

All of the work carried out as part of Locked World align with our principles and values.

The collection will begin with 3 newly commissioned artworks, and will expand throughout the 9 month cycle. There will be audience artworks which will grow with each month, as well as artworks created by BOP Young Artists.

“There are three things that stand out about BOP: their uncompromising approach to access and inclusion, their rigorous attention to target audience needs and wants, and their desire to learn. These attributes combine to mean that the company has embraced digital technology with determination that they will find ways to apply their unique perspective and drive to new environments”
Creative Scotland – Digital Pivot Report

Why digital access?

Since the pandemic, people have been unable to attend live in-person performances, and so the need to create art which is accessible through digital means has been huge. 

There seems to be a growing awareness that for some people, and particularly for some disabled people, being able to engage with art digitally is far more accessible than accessing it in person.

However, the internet can be very inaccessible for many disabled individuals. There is a huge amount of digital content which is: 

• Entirely visual, with no alternative text provided; 
• Audio based, with no transcripts, captions or sign language interpretation provided;
• Intellectually inaccessible (in other words – it’s not been written in plain english)
• Contains flashing imagery and is not prefixed with a trigger warning or alternative version

Thankfully, it is becoming increasingly commonplace for websites to provide options for changing the contrast, having text read aloud, automated captions, and adjusting text size.

But, there is something missing.

At BOP, we champion the process of Creatively Embedded Access (CEA), which means making sure that accessibility is developed throughout the creative process. This has seen our productions have super sassy audio description and characters who are sign language interpreters.

When we embed access tools creatively, we are communicating to disabled audiences that they are not an afterthought – their engagement with the work is not secondary to non-disabled audiences.

Across the Scottish theatre industry CEA is celebrated, and an increasing numbers of arts organisations are embracing embedding access creatively. But what about access to digital artworks?

With theatre having moved in digital direction since after the instigation of the national lockdowns, BOP have been asking “how do we make digital art which has accessibility creatively embedded?”

And that’s what Locked World aims to explore and showcase. 

How do I get involved?

Creative Response

In the Creative Response section of Locked World, the audience is welcomed to submit a creative response to the website. The artwork here will grow organically throughout the duration of Locked World as more audience responses are added. In this area, the audience (that’s you) will be presented with a question or an invitation to respond to in a creative way.

There is no requirement to respond, but if you wish to, you will be welcomed to submit a ‘creative response’ (this could be in written English, British Sign Language, it could be a video of a movement piece, or an audio recording – as long as it is in a digital format).

In order to make the submissions as accessible as possible, you will be asked to submit your piece in a secondary format. As an example – if you were to submit your creative contribution as an audio file, we request that you also submit a transcript of your work.

All submissions will be published (with the understanding that the principles and values stated above must be respected).

Note: You do not need to be ‘an artist’ to submit a creative contribution to these sections of Locked World.

Commissions

When we first publicly announced the development of Locked World in 2021, we ran an open call for commissions – seeking three Deaf, Disabled and/or Neurodivergent artists to create accessible, digital artwork as part of Locked World.

Now, in 2024, we have awarded a commission in partnership with the Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong (ADAHK) as part of British Council Hong Kong’s 2024 festival SPARK III: Healthy Futures in 18th-20th October 2024.

What is SPARK?

SPARK is a space for creativity, collaboration and visionary thinking. A British Council festival combining face-to-face and online elements, it offers a platform for cultural exchange between Hong Kong and the UK, celebrating connections and inclusion in our communities.

SPARK III: Healthy Futures Festival 2024 focuses on the theme of Health and Wellbeing for young adult audiences.

Find out more about SPARK III <here>.

How did we get here?

Locked World… Lockdown… We know, they sound very similar. But, we wanted to let you know that Locked World is not about lockdown or COVID-19.

The title ‘Locked World’ was actually chosen just one month before COVID-19 was officially termed a ‘pandemic’. It’s just a very unusual and very interesting coincidence!

Locked World was originally intended to be a live in-person performance, but because of COVID, it is not currently safe to perform to a live audience in an indoor venue. However, instead of seeing this as an obstacle, BOP Young Artists have made this into an opportunity. Now, Locked World is a large-scale digital project which is truly pushing the boundaries of digital accessibility in a multitude of ways.

Find out more about the process here: Making Locked World 

Blog

Making Locked World (1st installment)

The process of making Locked World – BOPs disabled-centred digital arts platform