Arts | Access | Community Event at the Very Accessible OSU Urban Arts Space

On Tuesday, April 28, 2009 a very special event was held at the OSU Urban Arts Space entitled Arts | Access | Community. We striving towards becoming an arts space that is very accessible, welcoming, and inclusive to all people. Committed to the goal of seamless access, the OSU Urban Arts Space has collaborated with Columbus arts and disability communities to make the space, the exhibitions and the programming accessible to all, so it only made sense this event be held at our gallery.

We have used the National Endowment for the Art’s accessibility model in order to ensure that our current show “Begged, Borrowed and Stolen,” as well as shows in the future will fit the standards and needs of all human beings. Because of this we can be assured that everyone will walk through our doors with equal opportunities to enjoy the show and be accommodated. For example, we have lowered our artist title and material plaques on the wall for guests in wheelchairs and other mobility disabilities; we provide large font text for all material on the show for those with visual disabilities, for statistics show that 7.7 million people in the world currently have trouble seeing the words and letters in ordinary newsprint; there is a ramp to assist patrons from the upper to the lower galleries; and we can provide an ipod for checkout for visitors who would like to listen to the artists statements as well as audio recordings of the titles and materials of each piece for those with hearing and visual disabilities.

We have also started to provide visual description and touch tours of the work for those with or without visual impairments. During these tours the visitors can hear descriptions of certain works colors, composition, linear perspectives, size, shape, texture, and form. Touch tours also allow visitors to interact with the work by providing pieces of the displayed artwork available for them to touch and feel while they hear the descriptions. For “Begged Borrowed, and Stolen” a touch cart is located at the front of the gallery with an array of objects ranging from a wax molding by Molly Jo Burke to a windmill pedal by Jessica Brandl to a portion of styrafoam sculpture by Willard Tucker. Every staff member is trained on how to give these tours, and they are available to the public at any time. If you are interested in receiving this type of tour feel free to ask any worker and they will be able to assist you.

Not only does our space fit the requirements of the American Disability Act as being an accessible space, but we also serve as a welcoming space to the Columbus community of people with disabilities. One way we do this is by hosting events such as Art | Access | Community, that L. Scott Lissner, The Ohio State University ADA Coordinator, and Eva Ball, the OSU Urban Arts Space Accessibility Coordinator collaborated on to create.

Art | Access | Community was a hit with over 70 guests. The event consisted of a variety of tours given of “Begged, Borrowed, and Stolen,” such as a visual description and touch tour given by UAS student assistant Chris Burton. Guests thrived with the experience of hearing information about the materials, dimensions, display, location, textures, and colors of MFA artists work, as well as being able to put their hand on objects from the touch chart. It was great to see visually impaired and blind guests at the OSU Urban Arts Space experience the artwork in this way.

The event also featured a speech on museum access by world-renowned disabilities studies scholar Georgina Kleege. Georgina Kleege, raised by two artists, and legally blind since youth, grew up providing herself her own access to galleries by speaking to her friends and family about the work in front of her. But, she strongly believes that access in the arts should be provided for everyone, not just something you can provide for yourself, and her life work has been to ensure this. She finds access in the arts to be a political issue and has given talks on the subject at numerous institutions such as the Tate Modern in London, England. When discussing true inclusion of all people into the art world Georgina stated “When you include previously secluded groups into your group, the culture changes.” Therefore, in order to make art galleries and art spaces truly accessible, the institution must be willing to accept a change in the art culture of the institution. To be a truly accessible arts space you can’t just provide certain special services to those with disabilities, but they must be provided with equal treatment in every way.

She closed the talk by discussing what she believes to be the most important reason behind having art institutions: education, not just for the public, but for the artist’s themselves. The gallery serves not just as a place for the artist to display their work, but also as a learning environment for the artists: a place for them to ponder and question and make new discoveries about their work and the arts in general, all while receiving feedback from other viewers (hearing what they have to say, and witnessing how they react.) One way our Space has served to educate the artists is by allowing them to experience visual description tours of their work. During a work meeting during installation of the show, MFA Artist Derek Reese got to hear an Urban Arts Space student assistant give a visual description of his sculptures. Derek told us that he found it very interesting to hear his work described by someone else in the fashion that they could not see it for him/herself and this could have provided him with new information about his own work. Georgina states, “Blind people live in this world too. We too live among the sited,” therefore these people should experience the arts just like others. Georgina believes that when given the proper resources, the blind should not just be viewers of art, but the artist themselves. Because we, at the OSU Urban Arts Space, are an accessible space, we could turn Georgina’s thought into a reality.

Joanna Emily Reed, OSU Urban Arts Space Student Assistant