Art-Reach

Mark your calendars -- the next Disability Equity Forum Discussion is coming up on Thursday, November 21 from 10:30am to 12:30pm EST! ASL Interpreters and Zoom auto-captions provided. Do you enjoy participating in arts and culture? Are you a person with a disability or a person who provides care for a person with a disability? Join us on Zoom for an opportunity to share your feedback! The Disability Equity Forum Discussion series is part of Project 76, addressing access through planning, leadership and a collective agreement that advances equitable services and programs for people with disabilities. We believe that the future of accessibility in cultural participation should be informed by people who are d/Deaf or have disabilities, and those who provide direct support for individuals who are d/Deaf or have disabilities. Registration is required for this event -- click here to register: https://lnkd.in/eb2CqjMF. Participants will receive a Zoom link in the confirmation email after completing registration. Can't make it? Art-Reach will be hosting forum discussions quarterly, so please join us for the next one in February 2025. Feel welcome to contact Art-Reach with questions at consulting@art-reach.org. Image Description - At top, dark blue text on a white background providing promotional information for the November Disability Equity Forum Discussion. At bottom, a photo of a group of people in conversation together. A person with their back to the camera holds a microphone up to another person seated in a power wheelchair, who is mid-speech.

Art-Reach staff members Alex Boyle, Dani Rose, Nae Vallejo, and service dog Roady are hitting the road to present at the Visitor Experience Conference next week! #VEX24 They're bringing three sessions to VEX this year: 'Let's Raise the Woof: Welcoming Service Animals,' 'We Are The (Access) Champions! Best Practices for Customer Service and Accessibility,' and 'Strategic Accessibility Planning.' Wishing them safe travels to Richmond, VA this weekend! (Photos by Ashley Smith at Wide Eyed Studios) Image Description Image 1 - A photo of Dani Rose and Nae Vallejo strolling through a grassy corner under a tree blooming light purple flowers at Longwood Gardens. They smile at each other and look down at service dog Roady, who walks between them. Image 2 - A photo of Alex Boyle and Dani Rose posing casually next to a row of pillars on the grounds of Longwood Gardens. They lean in toward one another, smiling at the camera.

Join our friends at Art-Reach for their #VEX24 session "Let's Raise the Woof! (Welcoming Service Animals)." Welcoming Service Animals into your cultural site upholds the rights of people with disabilities who require Service Animals for public access, services, and alerts. Learn directly from a Service Animal Handler practical customer service tools for crafting and upholding appropriate Service Animal policy as well as staff training methods. This session is included with your pay-what-you-wish admission for the Monday sessions and keynote. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eZgPStjp #ServiceAnimals #Accessibility #VisitorExperience #Conference

Don't miss your chance to register for the 2024-2025 Art-Reach Cohort! Wondering what you'll learn over the course of this virtual professional development series? Here's a quote from previous Cohort presenter Scott Artley, Accessibility Consultant & Accessibility Program Director at the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council in Minneapolis: "Part of the reason that I wanted to focus on these soft skills is because when you start Googling how to do access, really (which is like, I'm sure how so many of you started this work)...so often the training looks like a series of checklists. And I really wanted to sort of take a step back and think about what it takes from a personal and interpersonal perspective to do this work. I think soft skills are sometimes -- that phrase is kind of used as a put down in some ways. But those soft skills are really how we make stuff happen." We're so excited to have Scott back to lead Soft Skills for Access & Network Weaving this year! The 2024-2025 Art-Reach Cohort begins September 10 - learn more and register at www.art-reach.org/cohort.  Image Description Image 1: White text on a dark blue background that reads "Art-Reach Cohort Highlight, Scott Artley." Image 2: White text on a dark blue background that reads "Part of the reason that I wanted to focus on these soft skills is because when you start Googling how to do access, really (which is like, I'm sure how so many of you started this work)...so often the training looks like a series of checklists." Image 3: White text on a dark blue background that reads: "And I really wanted to sort of take a step back and think about what it takes from a personal and interpersonal perspective to do this work." Image 4: White text on a dark blue background that reads: "I think soft skills are sometimes -- that phrase is kind of used as a put down in some ways. But those soft skills are really how we make stuff happen."

We're thrilled to announce the launch of the Art-Reach podcast, 'Art is the tool!' Join Art-Reach staff members as we cover topics across arts and culture, disability, and accessibility. Special thanks to Carl Trunk, a musician at Center for Creative Works and Pop! Pop! Pop! Records for providing our theme music. Check out the first two episodes on our website and on Spotify! Image Description - very dark blue background with multi-shaded blue and purple rectangular prism floating at an angle. White text on top reads: "Art is the tool, Art-Reach."

After six incredible years, Art-Reach wishes 'Happy Trails' to Katie Samson. Katie brings vast knowledge and experience, passion, a dynamic sense of humor, and joy wherever she goes. She's a dedicated friend and unstoppable force, whether leading a training or adventuring outdoors for a birding session. Thank you Katie for helping to shape Art-Reach's mission -- we're so excited for what's to come as you continue to make the world more accessible for everyone! Photo by Ashley Smith @wideeyedstudios. Image Description - A photo of Katie Samson, a white woman with chin-length wavy blonde hair and freckles wearing a denim jacket and burgundy blouse. Katie is seated in her power wheelchair in front of blooming purple flower trees.

Registration is now open for the 2024-2025 Art-Reach Cohort! Check out this highlight reel featuring clips from last year's sessions covering topics like Soft Skills for Access, Disability Justice, ASL Interpretation, and the IDD Community. (Thank you to previous Art-Reach intern Avianna Miller for putting this together!) Want to learn more about the Cohort? Visit our website for the full schedule of this year's presenters, and register to join our year-long virtual professional development series: https://lnkd.in/esqip5xq Video Description - Clips of virtual presentations as part of the Art-Reach Cohort program, interspersed between promotional text on a dark blue background that reads "Art-Reach Cohort. Learn. Assess. Reflect. Art is a human right." 

This team member is a familiar face - meet Blue Park! Blue currently serves as our Education Coordinator, and we're so glad to have them back at Art-Reach. They previously worked with us as a Program Intern during the spring of 2022.  Image Description - Headshot of Blue Park, a young East Asian person with cropped black hair and brown eyes. Blue wears a burnt-orange textured collared shirt and dark blue knit cardigan, a small beaded necklace, and small stack of silver hoop earrings. 

Do you enjoy participating in cultural events and the arts? Are you a person with a disability or a person who provides care for a person with a disability? Join us on Zoom for an opportunity to share your feedback! Art-Reach is hosting our next Disability Equity Discussion Forum on August 29 from 10:30am - 12pm EST. We want to shape the future of accessible arts engagement! We believe that the future of accessibility in cultural participation should be informed by people who are d/Deaf or have disabilities, and those who provide direct support for individuals who are d/Deaf or have disabilities. ASL Interpreters and auto-captions provided. Please RSVP to let us know you're coming by clicking this link: https://lnkd.in/ecdy6KiA.  Can't make it on August 29? Art-Reach will be hosting quarterly Disability Equity Discussion Forums - consider joining us at the next session in November! Feel free to reach out with questions or concerns by emailing consulting@art-reach.org.  Image description - at top, white background with dark blue text promoting the upcoming Disability Equity Forum Discussion. At bottom, a photo featuring a group of people in discussion. A person with their back to the camera holds a microphone up to a person seated in a power wheelchair, who is mid-speech.

Registration is now open for the 2024-2025 Art-Reach Cohort! The Cohort is a year-long virtual professional development course focused on accessibility and the arts. During the program, participants learn about disability rights history, accessibility standards, inclusive programing practices, assistive technology, and implementing accessibility into organizational planning. Explore this year's program schedule and register at www.art-reach.org/cohort. Image Description - vibrant blue background with white text on top that reads "Dive deep into accessibility. Join the Art-Reach Cohort for a year of professional accessibility workshops," featuring the Art-Reach Cohort logo in the bottom left corner.