Access is everything
The California Arts Council views accessibility as an asset for arts and culture
The arts are a powerful tool for positive change. But they mean nothing without access.
The California Arts Council was present at the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Conference in Denver this August, as part of our efforts to standardize accessibility within our work. With our new community-centered strategic framework on the horizon next year, the timing was right to learn up-to-date information, share best practices and resources, and connect with the field to help us serve the people of California.
Accessibility is an increased area of focus for the arts and culture field in recent years, and attendance at the conference reflected that heightened interest. Arts Program Specialist and Accessibility Coordinator Jason Jong, representing the CAC for the second time, accompanied by Director of Public Affairs Caitlin Fitzwater, noted the growth in participation.
“There’s a strong desire from the field to be informed and engaged, and for good reason,” Jason said. “Disabilities are a matter of civil and human rights.”
Beyond simple attendance, Jason served as co-lead for one the conference’s affinity group sessions. In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and LEAD staff, state arts agencies and regional arts organizations were assembled to identify common challenges and assets and exchange knowledge and resources.
“Seeing the presence of other state arts agencies and regional arts organizations at a conference historically intended for cultural and presenting organizations is mutually beneficial,” Jason said. “We hold each other accountable for the work. By taking action or not taking action, we’re setting an example for the field,” said Jason.
At the California Arts Council, taking action means acknowledging where we are with our own practices, policies and guidelines. It’s been a meaningful and illuminating process for us.
“We want to establish a practice of normalizing people first disability language in our communications, and of centering individuals with disabilities in the overall conversation of equity that informs and touches every aspect of what we do, from planning to execution,” Caitlin said.
And, similar to our agency’s efforts to address racial inequities within public service, there’s work to be done.
A new California Arts Council website will launch sometime next year, developed with accessibility as a priority beyond legal compliance. We’re being proactive in incorporating requests for accommodations in the planning stages of workshops and events. Many of our documents and promotional materials are being designed with larger fonts for readability and also made available in Spanish as standard practice. Written translation and over-the-phone interpretation assistance is available to the public upon request in nine languages, as well as relay services for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, have difficulty speaking, or who are deaf blind. We’re taking alt text and video captioning into account when posting to social media.
Changes to how we’re working extend to our funding opportunities as well. Our investment in our Arts and Accessibility grant program, administered in partnership with the National Arts and Disability Center, will increase by more than 200 percent for 2020, boosting financial support for artists with disabilities and enhancing arts experiences for audiences with disabilities. (Applications for the program open early next year.)
Grant applications for all of our programs now ask for each applicant organization to identify an accessibility point person, so that we can better engage with each grantee on matters of access. Applications also include an added evaluation criteria: Beginning this cycle, grant review panelists will consider a proposal’s equity and accessibility merits when ranking applications and making funding recommendations to the Council body.
We’re moving in the right direction, but the potential for a bigger, more innovative culture shift is still ahead of us. It’s crucial we keep going, to consider our work from every angle, and understand accessibility for what it truly is — an asset.
“It’s an adding on, an opening up. Ignoring accessibility is overlooking a tremendous creative resource, and a huge loss for the arts and culture community in California,” said Jason.
“The future is accessible, and representation matters in all ways, from all of our communities. As a government agency, we have a responsibility to offer full participation for everyone and to set the right priorities in order to that make it possible,” said Caitlin.
The NEA Office of Accessibility provides support to make the arts accessible for people with disabilities, older adults, veterans, and people living in institutions. Visit https://arts.gov/accessibility/accessibility-resources/nea-office-accessibility for more information.
