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Making the arts accessible to people with disabilities

The Who, Why and How Cultural Organizations should be Looking at the Disability Market
By Betty Siegel. Director of Accessibility, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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Too often cultural organizations jump into accessibility without understanding the community and individuals for whom they are providing access. This two-page handout provides an introduction to who the disability community is, why you would want to focus on them as a potential patron or visitor and how you might think about access as a positive customer service issue instead of as an onerous compliance issues.

Providing Customer Service for your Visitors and Patrons with Disabilities
By Betty Siegel. Director of Accessibility, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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There isn’t much information on providing customer service specifically for visitors and patrons in cultural venues, but this one-page handout provides links to the best existing resources that can be easily adapted to cultural venues.

Arts Access Made Easy: Successful Strategies from the Award of Excellence in Arts Access
A publication of VSA Arts
www.vsarts.org/documents/resources/general/arts_access_made_easy.pdf
This free, comprehensive publication addresses numerous key topics, including "Five things you can do that don’t cost additional money," how to market to the disability community, and basic guidelines for speaking to or talking about people with disabilities.

Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook
Available in PDF format at http://www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/pubs/DesignAccessibility.html
Or in hard copy from http://www.nasaa-arts.org/publications/design_access.shtml
This resource is designed to help you not only comply with Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, but to assist you in making access an integral part of your organization's planning, mission, programs, outreach, meetings, budget and staffing. Chapters are dedicated to both programmatic and architectural accessibility and include practical tips as well as numerous clear illustrations.

Three Pieces of Federal Legislation with Significant Impact on Cultural Organizations
excerpted from "Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrators Handbook"
Full book is available for purchase or download at: www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/pubs/DesignAccessibility.html
or read handout:
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This handout briefly references the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, "Rehabilitation Act" of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What does it mean to be "ADA Compliant"?
By Joan Stein, Accessibility Development Associates, Inc.
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June 26, 2010 is the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, there are still many myths and misconceptions about what the legislation requires, who is affected, and what responsibilities organizations have in compliance. This one-page handout was designed for funders of arts and culture organizations to assist grantees in complying with Title III of the ADA and welcoming people with disabilities.

Changing the Way Funders Approach Disability
By Kim Hutchinson, President and CEO, Disability Funders Network
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or visit www.disabilityfunders.org
Helpful information from Disability Funders Network about how any funder can and should include the needs of people with disabilities without changing funding priorities and without launching a special "disability initiative."

NEA Office for AccessAbility
arts.endow.gov/resources/accessibility/office.html
The National Endowment for the Arts Office for AccessAbility is the advocacy-technical assistance arm of the Arts Endowment to make the arts accessible to people with disabilities, older adults, veterans, and people living in institutions.