Accessibility and Art
(Through the Lens of Visual Art Educational Spaces, such as Classrooms and Museums)
by Michelle Sharp
Accessibility to art doesn’t just mean offering more art programs at decreased prices in ADA compliant buildings. Accessibility is multi-faceted and must use a tailored approach to reach the greatest number of people, especially those who would benefit most. Putting tons of events on a calendar and having enough money can meet many needs (weird, right?), but will not get the most amount of art to the most amount of people without nuanced application.
Participation: Accessibility to art means not only having the opportunity to attend classes or talks, but also having access to the tools and materials to successfully participate. This may include tools like assistive listening devices or subtitles for presentations, multi-language materials or docents in exhibits, and facilitators or staff with specialized training (e.g. Dementia Friendly, Trauma Informed Practices, De-escalation, Anti-racism and Decolonization).
Time: Accessibility to art means allocating and prioritizing time for art engagement. This means that schools prioritize art class equally to other subjects, students are given appropriate amounts of class time, and institutions work to host programs when many people are available. Even if a student can’t complete a project in one class session, they should have enough time to experience the materials, ponder the concepts, and explore themselves through the act of creating something they enjoy.
Space: Accessibility to art means building spaces that foster creativity and engagement. On the surface, this means auditoriums, galleries, and classrooms. More deeply, this includes things that allow these spaces to be useful: automatic doors, elevators, drying racks, sinks, coat checks, variable seating, adjustable tables, etc. Even more deeply, creating space means creating safe environments that welcome people of all backgrounds. Creating safe and inclusive environments is often done through staff training and policy, though physical spaces can reflect these values through all gender restrooms, nursing or calm down rooms, and tactile graphics.
Tools: Accessibility to art means access to adaptability or specialty tools. Keeping adaptability tools in art classrooms creates a wider range of use for common things. For example, grips and attachable handles allow a wider range of motor skills to use brushes or open jars. Wheel-chair adaptable furniture allows a wider range of heights to work at tables. Active seating accommodates sensory seekers. Specialty tools such as table-top scissors, spill resistant paint cups, visual timers, and glue daubers more readily meet physical needs so that students can create work with confidence and joy.
Supported Staff: Accessibility to art means having access to informed and well-supported facilitators. Regardless of the role, staff who engage with art and visitors need tools in order to better serve others. These tools may be specialty trainings, as previously mentioned, or may be more suited to their specific work. For example, well-informed art educators may be able to flex curriculum to meet student needs, design projects that anyone can do and be successful at, or be creative problem-solvers regarding supplies and approaches. They may plan multi-media projects to engage multiple senses rather than focus on one that may be unintentionally exclusionary. Well-informed educators know that the ability to make choices creates accessibility and autonomy, regardless of an individual’s abilities. Well-supported art educators have employers or boards who recognize the true scope of the labor they do (research, build curriculum, make samples, create copy, provide customer service, educate, provide custodial services, gather customer feedback, etc) and compensate accordingly. As wonderful as it would be to hire and train as many art facilitators as programs that could be booked, many find it too difficult to compensate them fairly or support other aspects of accessibility for them (such as a classroom rather than teaching from a cart, enough time to plan and execute lessons, or adaptable tools).
Accessibility in art creates a greater population of critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and visually literate people. In order to create accessibility in our art education institutions, we must invest in people, time, and space to do so.
Michelle Sharp (b. 1992) is an artist currently working in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin. She works primarily in bookmaking media, photography, and writing. Michelle is inspired by the mundane, acts of sharing & discovery, literature, and structured systems.
