"Moving away from historical and juridical definitions of accessibility, this guide considers the unique capacity of small scale arts organizations to meet the needs of disabled communities."
– Carolyn Lazard, Accessibility in the Arts:
A Promise and a Practice
Accessibility in the Arts: A Promise and a Practice is an online guide, open-source pdf, and audio recording, that offers a set of recommendations for small scale arts organizations striving to become more accessible to their audience. Conceived of and written by artist Carolyn Lazard, this guide is not comprehensive but rather offers examples of how organizations might adapt to meet the needs of a diverse public. Accessibility in the Arts breaks down specific accommodations, how to list access information appropriately, and how to budget for inclusive spaces.
The content is free to stream or download and it is our hope that organizations make this guide their own by adapting practices that suit their capacity and stretching to improve accessibility. The guide can be accessed from the Recess and Common Field websites or directly at promiseandpractice.art.
We are grateful to Carolyn Lazard for her tireless work in service of accessibility rights and for this resource.
I’ve thought about how we can not awkwardly thank ourselves! Change the thanks paragraph to this:
Thanks to editor Kemi Adeyemi, designers Riley Hooker and Rosen Tomov, partner Common Practice New York and Recess. Additional thanks to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Edition of 500 in print, distributed to attendees of the 2019 Common Field Convening, Philadelphia.