Connecting innovators worldwide
Zero Project Inclusive Arts
Transformative power of Arts and Culture
#ZeroBarriers in the Arts
To make this vision a reality, we advocate for the creation of job profiles, a legal framework, and dedicated resources to fully integrate people with disabilities into the Arts and Culture sector.
#ZeroBarriers in the Arts
To make this vision a reality, we advocate for the creation of job profiles, a legal framework, and dedicated resources to fully integrate people with disabilities into the Arts and Culture sector.
Explore the initiative's activities:
Subscribe to the newsletter!
In the quarterly Inclusive Arts newsletter, Isabella Essl, Head of Inclusive Arts, shares updates and highlights from the initiative and its community. Sign up by sending an email:
Innovative solutions and a growing community
The Zero Project Inclusive Arts initiative is involved in a range of activities to remove barriers for persons with disabilities across all forms of expression.
Click on the cards to learn more:
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Zero Project Call for Nominations 2026
#ZeroCall26: Accessibility
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Innovative solutions from around the world
Arts Awardees
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From tactile boards to a Museum guide
Arts innovations
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Performances and dedicated sessions
Zero Project Conference
Subscribe to the newsletter!
In the quarterly Inclusive Arts newsletter, Isabella Essl, Head of Inclusive Arts, shares updates and highlights from the initiative and its community. Sign up by sending an email:
Zero Project Inclusive Arts Community
Join the Community!
Contact for enquiries:
Isabella Essl, Head of Inclusive Arts
Sharing ideas and solutions for inclusive arts
Based on the insights gathered from the Zero Project Inclusive Arts Community, the core focus areas for its activities are:
- building a network and collaborations to amplify the visibility of inclusive arts in society;
- promoting intersectional socially engaged work by creatives and professionals across various sectors worldwide;
- advocating for the intersection of arts and sustainability;
- sharing web/digital accessibility advancements in the arts;
- prioritizing inclusion and the elimination of various human barriers;
- highlighting the importance of the arts in society and its economic value;
- recognizing the far-reaching impact of inclusive arts on society.
Join the Community!
Contact for enquiries:
Isabella Essl, Head of Inclusive Arts
Zero Project Awards 2026: Nominate your solutions!
#ZeroCall26 opens on May 19, 2025
The Zero Project Call for Nominations opens on Monday, May 19, 2025, and closes on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (23:59 CET).
Accessibility for and in the Arts
Every year, the Zero Project invites changemakers from around the world—regardless of sector, organization size, or country—to nominate innovative solutions for the Zero Project Awards. The Zero Project Call for Nominations 2026 (#ZeroCall26) is focused on the topics of Accessibility, ICT, and Crisis Response. Solutions are evaluated based on their innovation, impact, and scalability, all with the goal of advancing the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Awardees don’t just receive recognition—they become part of the global Zero Project Network, present at the Zero Project Conference at the United Nations Office at Vienna, join the Zero Project Inclusive Arts Community, and receive other opportunities to advance their solutions.
Nominate Inclusive Arts solutions!
As part of the Accessibility topic, Inclusive art allows for experiences that everyone can enjoy— persons with and without disabilities. The Zero Project is seeking solutions that make it easier for people to access arts. Examples include accessible museums, tactile 'touch' art tours, easy language guides, and programmes/solutions in a variety of fields from music to photography to dance to theater and the visual arts.
Nominations may relate to:
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Physical accessibility
The Zero Project is seeking innovative solutions that advance physical accessibility in museums, cultural and performing spaces, for example through universal design, step-free access, accessible restrooms, quiet areas, and barrier-free pathways.
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Information and communication
Innovative solutions that enhance information and communication accessibility in museums, cultural and performing spaces, for example through audio descriptions, tactile models, sign language, captioning, easy-to-read text, and translations.
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Interactive and inclusive experiences
Nominations of interactive and inclusive experiences in museums and cultural spaces may cover, for example, hands-on exhibits, sensory-friendly tours, digital accessibility, and trained staff support.
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Staff training and awareness
Solutions that promote education and awareness in museums, cultural and performing spaces, for example through staff training on disability inclusion, collaboration with disability communities, inclusive programs, and accessible curation.
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Artists with disabilities
Innovative solutions that support artists with disabilities, for example through accessible materials and facilities, training on accessible practices, inclusive technologies, easy language applications, and professional recognition.
Unsure if your nomination qualifies?
Intersectionality and Inclusive Nomination Principles
The Zero Project seeks intersectional solutions that address diverse needs, focusing on women with disabilities and incorporating inputs from various races, religions, sexual orientations, refugees, persons with severe disabilities, albinos, and those with rare diseases. The aim is to foster inclusive innovations that promote equality and representation for all.
If in doubt, do not hesitate to nominate or get in touch to ask your questions:
Discover Arts Awardees
Here are just some Zero Project Awardees focused on Inclusive Arts
Launched in 2024, the Zero Project Inclusive Arts initiative enhances efforts to find and share innovative solutions that advance inclusion and accessibility in the arts.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina
Balkan Museum Access Group
BMAG is a peer-learning group of individuals that work in museums of five countries in the Balkan…
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Colombia
INCIRadio La Radio Incluyente
La Radio Incluyente is a radio station in Colombia with programmes targeted towards the blind and…
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France
Parcours et dispositifs multisensoriels inclusifs
By combining digital and multisensory elements, Tactile Studio, a design agency from France, designs…
Inclusive Arts Innovations
Replicable solutions that remove barriers
The Zero Project's mission is to find and share solutions that remove barriers for persons with disabilities. The Inclusive Arts initiative builds on this mission by connecting artists and innovators around the world to replicate innovations that remove barriers in the Arts.
Discover innovations:
Accessible Street Art
Museum Guide
Accessible street art: "Inclusion"
Street Art Belgrade at #ZeroCon23
At the Zero Project Conference 2023, Street Art Belgrade created an accessible artwork titled “Inclusion”. This inspired replication in the US and Austria.
The "Inclusion" mural, unveiled during #ZeroCon23 at the United Nations Office at Vienna, showcases the transformative power of street art. Created by Serbian artist Jana Danilović, this mural embodies the universal truth that love and touch transcend barriers, depicted through two women embracing—one seated in a wheelchair. Their sweaters, adorned with blue polka dots on a coral background, symbolize unity amid diversity. Turquoise hues backdrop the scene, with sparrows soaring freely, evoking a sense of boundless possibility.
Pioneering tactile models
This landmark project, made possible by Street Art Belgrade, pioneers inclusive street art practices globally. "Art in Passing," initiated in 2021, aims to make street art accessible to visually impaired individuals through 3D printed tactile models. These models, enriching the art experience with texture and perspective, underscore the belief that street art should be enjoyed by all.
From Belgrade to Vienna and Des Moines
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Iowa, USA
3D mural models by Jill Wells
Inspired by Street Art Belgrade, Jill Well began to create 3D mural models, with a first one installed at King Elementary School in Des Moines.
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Vienna, Austria
Tactile models of three artworks
In the public square Karl-Farkas-Park in Vienna's 7th district, three tactile models of the local street art were installed.
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Vienna, Austria
United Nations Office Mural
A tactile model of the landmark art project at the Vienna International Centre, where the Zero Project Conference is hosted every year.
Accessible Street Art in Vienna: Audio Guide
Learn about the artworks at Karl-Farkas-Park in Vienna and the tactile models:
A guide to accessible museums
“Museums Guide inklusiv”
The “Museums Guide inklusiv” offers an overview of everything museums in Austria have to offer in terms of accessibility and inclusion; a first of its kinds anywhere in the world.
Making art and culture accessible and tangible for everyone is a key objective for museums on the path to an inclusive society. The majority of Austrian museums are not only barrier-free, but also offer a wide range of inclusive ways of presenting information and communicating art. However, these offers are often not widely known, as a comprehensive overview of what Austria's museums do and offer in this area has been missing.
The Museums Guide was made possible through a cooperation with ICOM Austria and the Essl Foundation.