Making the Arts Accessible to All
Recipients of public funding are required to make reasonable efforts for projects, programs, and events to be accessible to the public. Applicants should consider physical and programmatic accessibility as an integral part of the planning and budgeting processes. Accessibility involves both the location (the facility) and the content (the activity or product). Thinking about accessibility issues in the early design and planning stages of a project (e.g., accessible websites, sign language interpreters, recordings of printed materials, audio descriptions describers, or large-print labeling) is key to ensuring that persons with disabilities will be a ble to participate.
Helpful Resources
Organizations Ready to Help
- Governor's Council for People with Disabilities
- The Great Lakes ADA Center
- Indiana ADA
- ArtMix (formerly VSA Indiana)
- Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
- National Center for Accessibility
- Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium
- Indiana Disability Rights
Guides for Planning
- ADA Planning Guide for Temporary Events
- ADA Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal
- Accessibility Planning and Resource Guide for Cultural Administrators
- General Accessibility Resources (via New Mexico Arts)
- NEA Cultural Administrator’s Guide to Accessibility
- People First language guide
- General Resources and a ADA help hotline
- Universal Design for Learning Guidelines
- Universal Symbols for Access
Looking for a list of ASL interpreters? Click here.
Research
IAC strives to be accessible to all and serve as a model to the state. We also strive to move our field forward in this work through programs, policies, capacity building, and technical assistance. To help us in this work, we developed the Accessibility in the Arts Advisory Committee (AAAC). Meet the committee.
Need to talk to someone about accessibility? Contact the IAC Accessibility Manager at accessibility@iac.in.gov.