Access and photography at Conference 2023

Accessibility at the conference centre

Conference 2023 will be held at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music (formerly the Sage Gateshead). The venue has detailed accessibility guidance on its website.
It also provides guidance on getting to the venue and some step-free access video guides, which you can view below:

Step-free access guides

From The Glasshouse's car park

From Gateshead Interchange

From Newcastle Central station

The Glasshouse has male and female designated toilet facilities on every level, and gender neutral toilets on the main concourse level. It also has a Changing Places toilet equipped with hoist, changing table and shower.
Unisex baby changing facilities are available on every level of the building.
Dogs are welcome in the public areas of the building. Assistance dogs only are permitted in the performance spaces.

Photographs of venue

Disabled parking is available immediately outside The Glasshouse and behind the building. This is in addition to the main car park, which has lift accessMuseums Association

Clockwise from top left: Tyne Bridge Entrance entrance; the main concourse area, where refreshments will be served, on the Ground Floor; carpeted areas with seating are available on upper floors; fixed seating on ground floorMuseums Association

The Northern Rock Foundation Hall, where workshop sessions will take place. Please note the seating will be roundtable during the conferenceMuseums Association

The Barber Room, where sessions will take place. Please note the seating will be roundtableMuseums Association

Sage 2, where streamed sessions will take placeMuseums Association

Sage 1, where streamed sessions will take place. Clockwise from left: step free access to seating; wide passageways; accessible balcony seatingMuseums Association

Hospitality Pod 4 is our dedicated quiet room that delegates can access at any point during the event. Please do not use this space for conversations with others or phone calls. Electronic equipment should either have the volume turned off or be used with headphones to ensure you don’t disturb others.Museums Association

Social event access information

We will hold three in-person social events.
The opening reception on Monday 6 November is at Laing Art Gallery. Access information is available on its website. Please also see photos below.
The main party on Tuesday 7 November takes place at the Great North Museum: Hancock. Access information is available on its website. You can also watch a subtitled YouTube video tour of the site or download a visual story of the museum as a pdf.
The closing party takes place on Wednesday 8 November at the Discovery Museum. Access information is available on its website. Please see photos of the entrance below.

The street entrance to the Discovery MuseumMuseums Association

Left: the step-free walkway on the ground floor of the museum. Right: View of the ground floor from the balcony

Accessible toilets at the Discovery Museum

The approach and entrance to the Laing Art GalleryMuseums Association

Travel

The Glasshouse has its own car park with lift access situated directly behind the building. It has a number of priority spaces for blue badge holders near the entrances to The Glasshouse as well as in the car park.
Most delegates will travel via Newcastle Central Station. Accessibility information is available on the National Rail website. Please note that accessible taxis may not be available from the station.

Local taxi firms

LA Taxis provides wheelchair and disabled access ramps (0191 287 7777)

Gateshead Central Taxis has wheelchair accessible vehicles and provides ramps (0191 469 9999)

Dean Taxis offers wheelchair-accessible taxis (0191 4444444)

Blueline Taxis provides wheelchair accessible vehicles and trained drivers (0191 2626666)

The Museums Association is not responsible for the accuracy of the above information. Please check with individual taxi companies before you book.

Accommodation

Hotels are now available to book via our booking partner.
Reviews of hotels on Euan’s Guide, an award winning disability access website, may also be useful for reference.

The following hotels have provided accessibility statements:

Leonardo’s Hotel Newcastle Quayside (holding eight accessible rooms that can be allocated on request) – part 1, part 2 and part 3

Staybridge Suites (six accessible rooms)

Innside by Melia (10 accessible rooms)

Hilton Newcastle Gateshead (12 accessible rooms)

Malmaison (five accessible rooms)

Ramada Encore by Wyndham (10 accessible rooms)

The Museums Association is not responsible for the accuracy of the above

Further access information

Below is a non-exhaustive list of what we will offer for online and in-person delegates. If you need to contact us about any of the following, please email events@museumsassociation.org.

Regular breaks and gaps between sessions.
Streamed sessions will be captioned.
We can reserve accessible seating for delegates who require it. For Sage One, Row W is our dedicated wheelchair accessible area for delegates who will remain in their wheelchairs. There is also accessible seating in Box areas for those who wish to transfer to a seat or have assistants that require seats.
Seats in Sage One are 46cm wide, and have fixed arm rests.
Seats in Sage Two are 52cm wide. All seats have fixed arm rests, apart from the ones on level one of the central area.
There are lots of seating options across the front of house areas, from single chairs to booth style benches
We welcome assistance dogs at our events – please let us know in advance so we can ensure they are fully accommodated.
We will provide a dedicated quiet room (Hospitality Pod 4) that delegates can access at any point during the event. Please do not use this space for conversations with others or phone calls. If you use electronic equipment, please ensure the volume is turned off or use headphones with the volume turned down to ensure you don’t disturb others.
Please let us know if you require further accommodations, or someone to attend the event with you to provide support (for example, British Sign Language or audio description).
Speakers are briefed to ensure that slides follow good accessibility guidance, based on advice from VocalEyes.
We will provide detailed joining instructions to delegates so they know what to expect from the event and the digital platform.
If for any reason you need to leave a session, or take a break from the conference centre, please feel assured that it is fine to do so. There is no need to let staff or speakers know, but if you do want to talk to someone about this then MA staff will be available to help.
If you would like a member of staff to bring you food (as opposed to potentially queuing to collect) then please let us know.
Glasshouse front-of-house staff will will wear navy blue uniform with turquoise blue lanyards. Glasshouse administrative staff do not wear a uniform but will have purple lanyards. MA staff will have “Museums Association Staff” on their badges. Volunteers will have red t shirts with “MA” in white letters.
There will be paid cafe facilities open throughout the event serving hot and cold drinks and light snacks. These accept cash and card payments.
There is a free cloakroom available where delegates can leave bags and coats.

Please note that our Code of Conduct applies to all MA events, which was created to ensure our spaces are safe, welcoming and inclusive.

Filming and photography

Filming and photography will take place throughout the conference venue (The Glasshouse, formerly Sage Gateshead) on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 November 2023.

The films and photographs will be used by the Museums Association for the purpose of promoting its activities and may be published on the Museums Association’s website, in print publications and social media channels.

If you do not wish to appear in the films or photographs, please make yourself known to the camera operators.

Thank you for your cooperation.