ABS | Teach | Handbook
| Disability Awareness Training
Why Create Access to the Arts?
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Why create access to the arts for people who are blind or have other disabilities?
We’ll examine the question from five perspectives:
- Artists’ perspective
- Personal perspective
- Legal perspective
- Economic perspective
- Institutional perspective
Artists’ Perspective:
Vincent Van Gogh had Glaucoma…
See a Visual Essay of five paintings by well-known artists who had visual impairments.
After you click on a painting, roll over the painting with your mouse to see a graphic overlay showing how the visual impairment may have affected the artist’s work.
Chuck Close’s paintings are in museums around the world
Chuck Close was already a famous and successful artist when he became a wheelchair user.
“I'm very learning-disabled, and I think it drove me to what I'm doing…In fact, my learning disabilities controlled a lot of things. I don't recognize faces, so I'm sure it's what drove me to portraits in the first place.
Personal Perspective:
Gatekeepers vs. Gate-openers
Dr. Betty Davidson, Exhibition Planner, Museum of Science, Boston, MA
“Probably because I grew up with a disability, yearning to do the simple things that every kid does, I am keenly aware of the gatekeepers of this world. They are everywhere, telling people what they can’t do – what isn’t for them. As adults we can learn to get around them, but children are defenseless…and children with disabilities are surrounded by more gatekeepers than most.
“An inaccessible exhibit is a locked gate. Believe me – it is hurtful and frustrating. I don’t want our profession to be among the gatekeepers. We have the power – and the responsibility – to be gate-openers."
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Georgina Kleege, author and U.C. Berkeley English Professor, offers thoughts on blindness for museums to consider in a keynote speech at the Art Beyond Sight conference in October, 2005. |
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Carole Gothelf, AHRC-NYC, & Carl Jacobson, National Federation of the Blind, explain why accessibility to art is crucial for both blind and sighted people. They spoke at an Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month Press Conference in October, 2004. |
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Dr. Betsy Zaborowski, former Executive Director, National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, tells a story of visiting a museum with her colleagues. |
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Myra Brodsky, retired New York court clerk on her experiences as a museum visitor. |
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Sheila Leigland, member of the Montana Association for the Blind, describes what she would like from a museum visit. |
Legal Perspective
Creating access is a legal responsibility, mandated by federal statutes as well as state and local laws, including:
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
- Telecommunications Act of 1996
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1994
- State and Local Accessibility Laws:
The ADA states that if state laws afford greater protections to people with disabilities, then those laws take precedence.
That’s the letter of the law. But the spirit of the law is that everyone must have equal opportunity to participate fully in the cultural life provided by arts institutions. |
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Matt Sapolin, New York City Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, describes the Pros and Cons of Minimum Codes in Creating Accessible Facilities. |
What is equal opportunity to participate?
Based on the equal rights of people with and without disabilities, and considering that the needs of all individuals are equally important, participation in the museum and cultural environment should be:
- As independent and discreet as possible, and
- As complete as you can offer.
In the best of all possible worlds, accessibility should be transparent, not “special,” and part of the museum’s overall, universal design.
For more information and assistance with ADA issues, contact your regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers. http://www.adata.org/
Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) provide public awareness, technical assistance, training, materials, and referrals on the ADA. Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education, the ten Centers are located throughout the country. To reach the Center in your region, call toll-free at V/TTY 800-949-4232. Copies of ADA publications are available at no or reasonable cost.
Economic Perspective
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- Almost 1-in-5 Americans, or 49.7 million people, age 5 and over, experience a disability.
- 42 percent of all seniors experience disability. This market segment holds $220 billion in discretionary spending power.
(According to the US 2000 Census)
Museums and other cultural institutions cannot afford to lose, or exclude by omission, this large a group from their audience, staffing or funding base. People with disabilities should be a significant part of your marketing and audience-building efforts.
Institutional Perspective
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Accessibility is not just for your general public of museum visitors!
Your museum should be accessible for:
…your employees
…your board of directors
…your funders
…your artists
…museum service providers
…anyone who comes through the doors.
Advice from Museums
Listen to the perspectives of museum Directors, Curators, Educators, and Visitor Services personnel from museums across the country.
Directors
Kathy Kelsey Foley, Director of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, on Accessibility as a Museum-Wide Initiative |
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Alice Woodson Smith, Board Member, Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, on the Role of Board Members and Trustees in Accessibility |
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Curators
Bob Durdon, Curator of Art, Paris Gibson Square Art Museum in Great Falls, Montana, on the Challenge of Presenting Contemporary Art to All. |
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Andy McGivern, Curator of Art, Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, on How a Smaller Museum Can Accommodate Every Visitor. |
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Educators
Mariann Smith, Curator of Education, Albright-Know Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, with Advice on How to Start an Accessibility Program. |
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Helena Vidal, Director of Education and Public Programs at El Museo del Barrio in New York City, on Why Access is Important For a Smaller Museum. |
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Lisa Gross, Curator of Education, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, Montana, on the Challenges and Assets of a Small Museum. |
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Erin Narloch, Curator of Education, Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, on How Woodson Made Disability Awareness Training a Community-wide Initiative. |
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Visitor Services & Human Resources
Ellie McKinney, Asst. Director of Visitor Services, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, on Staff Training for Disabilities. |
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Ellie McKinney, Asst. Director of Visitor Services at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, on Employing a Staff Member in a Wheelchair. |
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Sheila McGuire, Director of Museum Guide Programs, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, describes the MIA Access Program and its Educational Philosophy and Tour Strategies. |
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These perspectives on accessibility – Artistic, Personal, Legal, Economic, and Institutional – reflect the fundamental change that has occurred in how we think about disability as a universally human and contextual experience.
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