Shared Table

Shared Table is a practice-based research project exploring how access is understood and experienced in the arts. It questions the assumption that access needs can be anticipated in advance and addressed through procedures alone. While access riders and institutional policies are essential, they cannot account for the trust, relationships and cultural dynamics that shape whether people feel able to express their needs and ask for support.

There is often a gap between the support available and what people feel able to ask for. Not everyone has the language, confidence or sense of permission to articulate their needs, and important needs can remain unspoken even when access provision is in place.

Through workshops centred on shared meals, the research explores psychological safety and mutual hospitality, and how relationships shape the ways people communicate needs and share responsibility for access. In 2026, Celina Loh began a research partnership with DASH to continue developing this work.