Inclusive Arts and Culture: Embracing Diversity in Creativity

1. Chapter13 Inclusive Arts and Culture chapter 13 Inclusive Arts and Culture Author name here for Edited books Kathlyn M. Steedly

2. Art is amazing because it comes magically from your own thoughts and imagination. Through my art I have learned that the storms outside in the world are like my personal storms and you can get through them. • –Lisie, Inside Out Artist

3. Crisis in Culture • Inclusive arts and culture can happen in all aspects of life. • Recreation settings of all kinds • Churches and hospitals • On the street corner and in the home • Socioeconomic constraints limit participation. • Inclusive arts and culture require a broader involvement across all stakeholders.

4. Inclusion: Beyond the Law • Cultural inclusion • Recognizes and affirms presence of all • Diversity is the golden thread of a diverse society • Philosophical inclusion • An ethical concept • All people have the right to participate in society • A framework in which laws develop and function • Real inclusion involves legal, cultural, and philosophical action

5. Universal Design • The design of products and environments to be usable by all people • Eliminates the need for adaptation • Eliminates the need for specialized designs • All people function better in their environment when barriers are removed

6. Universal Design and the Arts • Goes beyond compliance • Examples: • Spaces are accessible to all • Listening devices facilitate the experience • Large-print programs • People with disabilities both create and consume art • Disabilities are examined through art

7. Cultural Economy • In 2009, 2.98 million people worked in the 612,095 art businesses in the United States. • Over 2 million people identified artist as their primary occupation in the U.S. Census. • Arts create $166 billion in economic activity. • This spending supported 5.7 million jobs. (continued)

8. Cultural Economy (continued) • One in five Americans report some level of disability. • Those over 65 will increase from 37 million to 71 million people by 2030. • Disability increases with age: • Market forces will dictate that programming for arts and culture reflects a society where accessibility determines involvement • Current participation levels cannot be sustained without systematic attention to inclusion • See figure 13.1

9. Figure 13.1 Figure 13.1 Economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the United States in 2005.

10. Cultural Competence • Term is tied to efforts in the health profession to appropriately treat a diverse group of people • Used in business and industry to refer to diversity initiatives in the workplace • In education, refers to policy to overcome inequities in the system • Also is applied in teaching and curriculum

11. Cultural Competence and the Arts • Arts programs provide a venue for exploring cultures and abilities. • They allow conversation between and among people of difference. • They draw on unique texture and nuance of culture, in all its manifestations. • Inform and remind communities about the multicultural reality of society.

12. Common Practices

13. American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation • Theater performances interpreted in ASL • Interpreter stands to the side • Often, only a few ASL shows per season

14. Shadow Interpretation • Interpreters shadow actors on stage, translating dialogue of their character • Allows audience members to see and understand the entire play as it happens • Fully integrates aesthetic goals as well

15. Audio Description • Live or taped narration of an arts experience • A description of actions, gestures, scene changes, or other visual information • Titles, names, other text are also described • Can be used in various settings: • Museums and galleries • Dance performances • Television

16. Assistive Technology • Any device increasing access and participation in society • Can be disability specific or universal • Examples: • Telecommunication devices • Speech recognition software • Computer adaptations • Examples in art: • Mouth sticks • Adjustable or motorized easels or drawing tables

17. Inclusive Art Forms in Arts, Music, and Dance • Deaf West Theatre • First residential sign language theater west of the Mississippi river (Los Angeles) • Artists and technicians are deaf • Three main stage shows per season, extensive outreach • Axis Dance Company • Started in 1987 as an inclusive movement class for women who use wheelchairs • Create and perform contemporary dance by dancers with and without disabilities • See figure 13.2

18. Figure 13.2 Figure 13.2 AXIS Dance in Action.

19. Example: Club Wild • An Australian community arts organization that runs disability-friendly dance parties and training and creative workshops • Media: • Song writing, music performance, drumming • Dance, hip-hop, rapping, DJing, MCing, multimedia • Serves artistic, social, vocational purpose

20. Examples From the Visual Arts • VSA Arts and Volkswagen Group America • Cash awards program for artists • Green Light was the 2008 award theme (see figures 13.3 and 13.4) • Sprout • Provides travel opportunities to 1800 people a year • Travel experiences, music and film festivals, camps • Inside Out Productions, L.A. Goal • Provides creative jobs for adults with developmental disabilities • Drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking, sewing

21. Figure 13.3 Figure 13.3 Rustle won the grand prize in the VSA arts Project Greenlight competition. This piece is a still picture taken from a video in which the sculptural capacity of fabric to illustrate environmental boundaries and movement is explored. The artist, Sara Meuhlbaeur, received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

22. Figure 13.4 Figure 13.4 Healing won the Award of Excellence in the VSA arts Project Greenlight competition. This piece is a still picture from a video in which the artist’s mother reflects over the act of preparing bandages. Healing, both physically and emotionally, is the theme explored in this piece. The artist, Michelle Herman, earned her BFA in fine art and art history from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

23. Keys to Success • Sound programmatic practice • Integrate context and resources • Provide meaningful experiences • Capitalize on diversity • Focus on access

24. Summary • Consider legal, cultural, and philosophical aspects of inclusion. • Universal design, cultural competency, and cultural economy are key considerations. • Programming should be guided by the increasingly diverse nature of society.