Round Two: Art and accessibility without assumptions

Session 7 of the 2018 Webinar Series.

A recording of this presentation is available here.

In mainstream culture, there are communities and identity groups who are overlooked, devalued, and passively dismissed. As we move towards a more inclusive and equitable culture, it is critical that we evaluate our understanding of how to be more welcoming, inclusive, and equitable. Last year we talked about the history of accessibility in the United States, types of accessibility, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This year we brought back Anne Mulgrave, manager of Grants and Accessibility, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, and Leah Krauss, senior program officer for Dance and Special Projects, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and Krauss’ special guest, Alice Sheppard, choreographer and dancer who is disabled. They will provide an overview of welcoming people with disabilities and funding disability arts projects, and they will discuss Sheppard’s piece DESCENT which she says “obliterates assumptions of what dance, beauty, and disability can be…”

Accessibility Resources

General Arts Accessibility:

• https://www.pittsburghartscouncil.org/programs/equity/accessibility
• https://www.dance.nyc/equity/disability/disability-initiative
• http://disabilityarts.nyc
• http://inclusioninthearts.org
• https://artbeyondsight.wordpress.com
• Self-Assessment form for Arts Organizations The place for arts managers to begin an organizational accessibility audit.

Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator’s Handbook

• The NEA handbook on accessibility Soon to be replaced by an interactive website
• The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts/Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability A series of free online resources covering many accessibility topics in an arts and culture setting.

Accessible On-Line Ticketing

• Kennedy Center Tip Sheet
• Webinars on accessible online ticketing
• Wheelchair Seating Hold and Release Policies

Exhibit Specific:

• Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design
• Programmatic Accessibility Guidelines for National Park Service Interpretive Media
• A Picture is Worth 300 Words

Electronic Accessibility:

• WebAIM An understandable source for online accessibility, WebAIM conducted original research on how people with disabilities use technology as well as a curated list of valuable resources.
• The Wave accessible website evaluation tool will check any website for accessibility issues, identify them and provide instructions on how to correct them
• Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT)

Effective Communication:

• Effective Interaction: Communicating With and About People with Disabilities in the Workplace (U.S. Department of Labor)

General ADA Guidance:

National ADA Center

• Facts Sheets on everything ADA related
• FAQ’s
• Handbooks and Guides

The Mid-Atlantic ADA Center

• Mid-Atlantic ADA Center Resources Including archived webinars on all sorts of ADA issues put together by the folks whose job it is to teach people how to comply with the ADA
• Webinar: Understanding the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Signage

Physical Access Checklists

US Access Board

• Guidance on complying with current ADA including animations and recreation facilities
• Animations illustrating physical accessibility standard for most common issues

US Department of Justice:

• Useful guidance on how to implement the ADA includes basic info and tips for more difficult issues

• DOJs most useful guidance for arts organizations

  • FAQs About Service Animals and the ADA
  • Revised ADA Requirements: Effective Communication
  • Revised ADA Requirements: Other Power Driven Mobility Devices

Accessible Events and Meetings:

• Interactive online guide to accessible meetings, workshops, conferences and other events

Leah Krauss joined the Mertz Gilmore Foundation in 2009 and is currently the senior program officer for Dance and Special Projects. The Dance Program provides operating support for contemporary dance presenters located throughout the five boroughs and makes discrete investments to advance the dance field by improving conditions for individual artists. In addition, Krauss is an advisory board member for Dance/NYC and was co-chair of New York Grantmakers in the Arts during 2016 and 2017. Prior to Mertz Gilmore, Krauss was senior program officer at the New York Community Trust, where for 12 years her areas of responsibility included arts and culture, arts-in-education, and historic preservation. Additional experience in the arts includes five years at the Arts and Business Council where she recruited, trained, and placed business executives as pro-bono management consultants with nonprofit arts organizations.

Anne Mulgrave joined the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council as Manager of Grants and Accessibility in November of 2012. Prior to joining the GPAC staff, Mulgrave was the program officer at FISA Foundation where she managed the foundation's regional initiative to increase accessibility to the arts for people with disabilities. A longtime advocate for people with disabilities, Mulgrave brings her strong ties to the disability community acting as a bridge connecting people with disabilities to the arts. Mulgrave earned a BA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and both a JD and Master of Public Policy and Management from the University of Pittsburgh. Her knowledge of grantmaking, legal training, and experience living happily with dyslexia and ADD provide a diverse set of skills that are uniquely suited to the programs Mulgrave manages.