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| 25th Year Anniversary of the American's with Disability Act Festival. Chinatown, NYC. 2015 |
“Accessibility is trendy”
A blind artist tells me this as we co-create a page in a collective sketchbook to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA). The legislation, passed in 1990, was arguably one of the most comprehensive pieces of civil rights law to have ever been drafted in this nation. Still, today, we see the impact of the ADA, and the constant challenges to continue to improve access for people with disabilities. As we look around the busy Chinatown streets, lined with booths representing many of the cultural institutions of NYC, it is certainly clear that accessibility is a priority.
“Accessibility is never fully achieved”
The commemoration of the 25th year anniversary of ADA was much more than parades and festivals. Throughout the summer countless organizations, such as the Museum Access Consortium (MAC) met to discuss current issues, perspectives, and various triumphs occurring throughout the city in the field of accessibility. At one such workshop, we discussed how access is a fluid concept – always changing. Access can never be fully achieved, because people are diverse. Issues of accessibility cannot be solved in a one-size fits all approach. Instead, accessibility must be a core value, a mission of organizations, a constant pursuit of improvement.
Accessibility Thesis Project
After giving much thought to how I can apply all of my passions and experiences to a thesis, I have determined that I am going to be working on how institutions can make accessibility work in the framework of the resources they have. I want to look at the current dialogues within a local institution surrounding access and improve staff sensitization to diverse visitors.
"Museum Access Resources", The Museum of Modern Art:
http://www.moma.org/learn/disabilities/resources#
A blind artist tells me this as we co-create a page in a collective sketchbook to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA). The legislation, passed in 1990, was arguably one of the most comprehensive pieces of civil rights law to have ever been drafted in this nation. Still, today, we see the impact of the ADA, and the constant challenges to continue to improve access for people with disabilities. As we look around the busy Chinatown streets, lined with booths representing many of the cultural institutions of NYC, it is certainly clear that accessibility is a priority.
“Accessibility is never fully achieved”
The commemoration of the 25th year anniversary of ADA was much more than parades and festivals. Throughout the summer countless organizations, such as the Museum Access Consortium (MAC) met to discuss current issues, perspectives, and various triumphs occurring throughout the city in the field of accessibility. At one such workshop, we discussed how access is a fluid concept – always changing. Access can never be fully achieved, because people are diverse. Issues of accessibility cannot be solved in a one-size fits all approach. Instead, accessibility must be a core value, a mission of organizations, a constant pursuit of improvement.
Accessibility Thesis Project
After giving much thought to how I can apply all of my passions and experiences to a thesis, I have determined that I am going to be working on how institutions can make accessibility work in the framework of the resources they have. I want to look at the current dialogues within a local institution surrounding access and improve staff sensitization to diverse visitors.
"Museum Access Resources", The Museum of Modern Art:
http://www.moma.org/learn/disabilities/resources#
Your post is really well put together -- easy to read and it looks good! I think your topic is great, too. Accessibility is definitely an important issue.
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