Access The Arts This Spring
by Artreach
Spring has sprung in the city of brotherly love, and it’s time for us to get outside and enjoy the artistic and cultural offerings of the Philadelphia area. That’s where ARTREACH, Inc. can help people with disabilities enjoy themselves. The non profit company is offering a publication called Access the Arts, etc. . . A Guide for People with Disabilities . The company’s founder and Executive Director is Joyce Burd. She explains why she pursued the guide. "We did it so that people with physical disabilities and those who are blind and deaf will have greater opportunities to experience the joy of the arts."
The guide contains information on the physical and programmatic accessibility of cultural institutions for blind and deaf individuals and those with physical disabilities. More than 75 venues are featured. It provides readers with the information necessary to make educated choices about which cultural venues can accommodate special needs. Information is included about transportation, wheelchair accessibility, ticket acquisition, phone and TTY numbers, seating and special accommodations. Producing/presenting organizations without a permanent home are listed as well, along with community resources.
"For people with disabilities, ‘accessibility’ depends upon many factors," said Joyce Burd. "They not only need to know if entrances are accessible, but if there are large-print programs or TTY devices or accessible rest rooms, and so on. This guide is a comprehensive resource for the entire community and is available in audio cassette format as well as in print."
Access the Arts, etc.A Guide for People with Disabilities has been facilitated through ARTREACH’s collaboration with Temple University’s Department of Occupational Therapy College of Allied Health Professionals and Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Occupational Therapy College of Health Professions. Trained students from Temple’s and Jefferson’s Departments of Occupational Therapy, and individuals with disabilities from the Philadelphia area, have conducted site access surveys of cultural venues. Site surveys included a complete review of the building structure and the venue’s programmatic offerings. Surveys considered things like large-print materials, interpreted programs, Braille signage, and other issues. More than 75 arts venues, including the Prince Music Theater, Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the People’s Light and Theatre Company, are included in the guide.
The format for the guide is based on that established by VSA arts, Massachusetts, which published Access Expressed. It’s a cultural resource directory for the state of Massachusetts.
ARTREACH, Inc. is the non-profit human service and arts organization that creates greater accessibility to the arts for Delaware Valley’s disadvantaged, disabled and elderly-in-need. Founded in 1986 by Joyce Burd, ARTREACH relies exclusively on membership, grants, individual donations, volunteers and other fundraising activities to finance its services to special audiences. Since its inception, ARTREACH has made available more than 148,000 donated and discounted performing and visual arts tickets to over 7,500 performances and museum events. The estimated dollar value of the tickets obtained by ARTREACH is $2 million.
Corporations, foundations and individuals interested in donating funds or other resources to support distribution of Access the Arts, etc. A Guide for People with Disabilities, should contact ARTREACH’s Executive Director Joyce Burd at (215) 951-0316. To order copies of the guide ($5/copy or $3 for orders of 10 or more), call ARTREACH. You can also e-mail at artreach@libertynet.org or visit the website at www.art-reach.org for more information. | |