What You Missed at the May Access Hour
If you didn’t make it, here’s what you missed…
Yesterday I hosted the latest “Access Hour,” time set aside to think out loud about disability access in arts, culture, and public life. Participants are encouraged by these gatherings to bring up a question, a problem you're stuck on, or just lean into the curiosity about what others are working on. Here’s a small collection of practical resources and a smattering of words that evoke the conversations that emerged:
Special Guest: Becca Cerra
Interdisciplinary artist Becca Cerra (beccacerra.com) told us about her pathway to accessibility work, harkening all the way back to childhood friend connections and experiences as a personal care attendant. She discussed taking on a disability identity personally, and adapting her performance work thanks to integrating her dance and blacksmithing disciplines. In her role at the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center last year, she returned to using observation and creativity to develop an Access Plan with Scott Artley Consulting that leaned into culture change.
Discussion
Here are the core notes and questions that surfaced from our subsequent conversation:
What do we actually mean when we say “accessible?”
Who holds the space. What that costs. Whether professionalism is the right word for it, or just the word we inherited. What can we as disabled folks hold for others?
When the people leading make it a priority, it trickles down. Naming a need becomes collaboration.
How do we say truths to each other more regularly about what we need, what we offer?
Time. Urgency. The misfit between them.
Most people are disabled. The world gets better when we accept that. The need that's already there, even if someone doesn’t identify as “disabled.” Regular reminders. Parking, ramp, access to the fridge. No need to say “disabled” in radically accessible environments.
What if the room already knew what we needed and prioritized it, normalized it? What if that was just — how it was?
Resources Shared
Becca Cerra's contract clause — Artist and educator Becca Cerra (beccacerra.com) opens every client contract with this:
"While Becca Cerra will discuss anticipated project timelines with clients, due to the uncertain nature of living and working with disabilities, and the complexities of creating one-of-a-kind custom pieces, she may need to adjust the timeline. Rest assured, she will always work to the best of her ability to complete the work as soon as possible while also prioritizing her own health and wellbeing. If you need your project completed by a specific date, please be sure to communicate this during your initial discussion. Thank you for your flexibility and understanding."
Access Thinking: A Digital Companion Resource — A framework for imagining accessibility barriers across five categories — Sensory Experience, Mobility, Communication, Knowledge, and Social Systems — with an introduction to access thinking as a practice, and a special recognition of disability arts organization Upstream Arts. Download the “Access Thinking” Digital Companion Resource (PDF).
Photo by Mel Nobec: Four light-skinned performers with varied leg limb differences stand against a solid black backdrop. They wear minimalist clothing in shades of terracotta, burgundy, clay, and tan. Each person incorporates an artistic prosthesis on one or both legs above or below a knee joint. These prostheses are intricate, hand-forged steel sculptures that wrap around their limbs like dark metallic vines in graceful, swirling ironwork.
Next Access Hour
July 16, 3–4 PM Central - Get an email reminder!
Access Hour is a virtual space for anyone working, volunteering, consuming, and/or curious about disability access in arts, culture, or anywhere belonging in public matters. Bring a question, a resource, a sticky problem, or just curiosity about what others are working on. Free! ScottArtley.com/Access-Hour