Notes from the Access Field

In early August, I had the pleasure to attend two back-to-back VSA and Kennedy Center conferences in steamy, downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The first conference, Intersections, concerned itself with topics focused on arts and special education, and was attended by educators and teaching artists from across the country. And we could not have asked for a better place to reflect on what Jenna Gabriel, conference organizer, asked us to consider; “the ways in which equitable access to high-quality arts learning for students with disabilities is indeed an issue of civil rights.” As I moved from session to session, and engaged in conversations with my colleagues, I was reminded time and again of how the smallest accommodation can still have a significant impact.

Spoken-word poet and advocate LeDerick Horne, set the tone for the two-day convening by sharing the story of his educational journey, and the teachers who recognized his gift and supported him along the way. Then, Sloan McLain and I were able to introduce over 45 interested administrators and teaching artists to the creative tenets that underscore and comprise the teaching strategies employed by Austin Independent School District and developed by MINDPOP.

It was a lively two days, and there is much more that can be said about the enriching conversations that were sparked, but I just advise you to mark your calendars to attend one of the several Intersection gatherings that are scheduled for 2018 and 2019. Find out the latest information about VSA's Intersections: Arts and Special Education Conference on the Kennedy Center's website.

Silva Laukkanen, Sloan McLain and I, smiling, celebrate the completion of the CLI workshops.

Then, it was onward to the LEAD Conference (Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability). Did I say that the conferences were held at the Atlanta Marquis Hotel, an architectural wonder all of its own? We were scattered across 46 floors, with a dizzying bank of elevators to get us to our respective rooms. I was tucked back in a corner on the 21st floor (which turned out to be a blessing when the Insight Global annual sales conference attendees arrived on Friday night)!

Elevators and floors viewed from the open mezzanine of the Atlanta Marquis Hotel

This conference brings together accessibility managers from the performing arts and museums from across the US and around the world to talk about, advocate for, and just make access happen! Our Call to Action was delivered by Mickey Rowe, the first autistic actor to play Christopher Boone in the Tony Award-winning play, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” From there, we were off and rolling and there were sessions for everyone, whether a novice or a seasoned pro. I was especially interested in the conversations addressing disability artistry as a catalyst for community engagement, and the influence of scents and memory to enhance the experience of museumgoers. I am still savoring the Access Equals Aesthetic conversation with dance pioneer Alice Sheppard about making dance more accessible to audience members who are blind through enhanced audio description experiences. Again, there is too much to report, so plan to come to Denver in 2019 and add your name to the thousands of accessibility assets working tirelessly to ensure all people can participate in, learn through, and enjoy the arts.

Access = Aesthetic is comprised of five elements: Limited Access to Verbal Description for Dance; Limits of Verbal Description; Access is Art; Art is Accessible; and, Access Creates Community.

At times, there was just too much and my brain wanted a timeout. But the opening reception at the Botanical Garden and Closing Award ceremony at the Aquarium helped soothe my troubled brow.

A whale shark and stingray swim in circles in small tanks that encircle the reception room at the Georgia Aquarium.

All in all, it was time well spent. And then, when I arrived back in Austin, I attended our Lion and Pirate Open Mic to hear Mel Finefrock read her poetry and I was reminded again why I do this work. Why we do this work. Why the world will never tire of us doing this work.

Mel Finefrock sits and reads her poetry in front of the wooden wall at Malvern Books.

Celebrating Arts & Disability in Asia Pacific

I recently had the pleasure to attend the 2018 Arts & Disability International Conference and True Colours Festival in Singapore. The event, presented by UNESCO and the Nippon Foundation, was organized by VSA Singapore in partnership with the National Arts Council Singapore. It was quite a celebration of Asian Pacific artists with disabilities and featured artists from Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, India, China, and Micronesia, as well as Canada, Scotland, New Zealand, and Australia.

One of the takeaways for me was this definition of creativity: Creativity is taking something that exists and turning it into something that doesn’t. If you think about an artist like Picasso, he took the techniques used for painting realism and created a new form, cubism. One of the groups that fits that description is the Digital Orchestra of Drake Music Scotland. They play music using such apps and equipment as ThunbJam, SoundBeam, Brainfingers, and Wowee. I was amazed by the vast capabilities of these digital resources and know that the argument “Is this orchestral music?” will soon be as active as the “Is a photograph art?” conversation of several years ago. You can hear one of their compositions, a tribute to a band member who has passed away, in the video below:

Here I am trying out one of the Sound Beam instruments during the Drake Music Scotland presentation.

Another takeaway was given to me by Alirio Zavarce of No Strings Attached, Australia: Be open to all possibilities, inside in and outside out. Be true to the art form, but flexible in your approach and methodology. You have one job. Make it look good. And look good indeed did their world premiere of “I Forgot to Remember to Forget,” a multimedia journey through memory and memory loss. There was also a very touching work in progress presented by Very Special Theatrics Singapore and No Strings Attached, “My Home is Not a Shell.” This piece was developed in response to the invasion of their tropical island city by numerous glass and metal high-rise buildings of commerce and finance. Conceived and developed over a 23-hour rehearsal process, the story was well-developed and very touching. I could relate to their sorrow as I also mourn the loss of my native Austin to the facades of progress and finance.

My traveling companion Jeannine and I with Alirio on the first day of the conference

A final takeaway was shared by Adrian Anantawan, a violinist I have had the opportunity to perform with through Inclusive by Design with VSA Massachusetts: The greatest accommodation is acceptance. This was evidenced every day in every way at the True Colours Festival Village, Concert and Conference. There was so much more food for my senses than I can mention here including Epic Arts Cambodia, Kate Hood of Raspberry Ripple, and Slow Label Japan. I am lingering in my memories, refreshing at the well of creativity. Thank you Singapore for showing me and the world your True Colours.

One of my real pleasures was getting to know Sokny Onn and the Epic Arts Cambodia dance troupe.

Sight. Sound. Soul.

Hello friends, Celia here. I am in Boston getting ready for our Inclusion by Design performance at the Americans for the Arts Convention. In Austin, this performance is better known as Sight. Sound. Soul. In 2007, I had the pleasure to join my friend Charlie Washburn of VSA Massachusetts in Idaho to participate as an audio describer in my first fully inclusive concert that featured New Orleans based musician Henry Butler. It was a blast. And I was hooked. Since then, we have done concerts in Boston at the WGBH studios and as part of the annual LEAD conference, in Albuquerque at the Southwest Conference on Disability, and in Austin at the late, great La Zona Rosa and the Palm Door. This performance will be live streamed, a new feature for our merry band of inclusive by design performers, at https://www.youtube.com/user/americansforthearts/

These concerts feature musicians, painters, ASL interpreters, open captioning, and audio description. The audio description is written as the performance is happening and delivered at agreed upon times during the live performance. At some performances, audio description is also delivered via the traditional method, although it is still offered without a preview as there is no opportunity to preview a one-time performance. It is nerve-wracking because as a describer I have to write as I see and I don't have any time to review or edit. What occurs is more spoken word description that gives a sense of the environment of a live performance, which I hope brings the patron who is blind or visually impaired more completely into the experience.

This time, in Boston again, Henry, Nancy, and I will be together after several years, hoping to stir up the magic of the arts for a brand new audience of folks. I am not sure what we will create, but I can assure you that people will be talking about it for days and weeks to come.

Nancy poses beside a colorful mural of Henry Butler.

If I don't see you in Boston, maybe you will bring us to a theater near you to create the magic of inclusive performing arts in your community!