Kentucky Center to Host Cultural Accessibility Summit

The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, a national leader in arts and accessibility, will honor the silver anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by hosting Louisville's first Cultural Accessibility Summit on March 26. Signed into law 25 years ago last summer, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was and remains groundbreaking legislation that protects the civil rights of individuals with disabilities.

On Saturday, March 26, 2016, Louisville's cultural partners will gather to celebrate arts access and strategize ways to make Louisville even more accessible to arts patrons of all abilities. Discussion topics will include practical tips for arts inclusion as well as strategies for local, regional, and national advocacy for arts access. Talleri A. McRae, an access, inclusion and education consultant, initially conceived the idea for an access event in Louisville. After McRae attended similar ADA celebrations in Chicago, IL and Miami, FL in the fall of 2015, she wanted to highlight the arts access in the town where she lives and works.

Access Services in the arts world refers to an extra level of accommodations that makes live arts performances accessible to all patrons, including those who are blind or have low vision; patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing; patrons with mobility disabilities; patrons with Autism Spectrum Disorders; and patrons who have developmental and intellectual disabilities. The tools utilized include Open Captioning, Audio Description, Sign Language Interpretation, Accessible Seating, and Sensory Modifications and other tools.

The Kentucky Center's commitment to Access Services has won local, regional and national praise and recognition, and was awarded the 2012 American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project Achievement in Audio Description Award - Performing Arts and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2007 Excellence in Access Leadership Award.

"Louisville is one of the most arts-friendly and accessible cities in the country," McRae points out. "We have a lot to celebrate, and a lot of reasons to keep striving towards arts experiences that welcome people with disabilities."

"The Kentucky Center serves as a resource to arts organizations throughout the state," said Toby Roberts, Manager of Access Services. "Our access services can and should be available not just to our patrons but to patrons and artists across Kentucky."

In addition to local access providers, the summit will feature a presentation by Betty Siegel, Director of VSA and Accessibility at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, who brings a national and international perspective. "Nineteen percent of the current US population has a disability, and by 2030, there will be more people over 60 than under the age of 30," Siegel observes. "Cultural institutions that make access a seamless part of arts experiences will most definitely serve more and more patrons as time goes on."

Louisville's first Cultural Accessibility Summit will be held at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, March 26 from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm. Reservations are required. For event information and registration, go to www.kentuckycenter.org/all-shows/cultural-accessibility-summit. All accessibility services provided by the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts are available for this event. Please note your request for an accommodation when you register.

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