Arts Learning Community for Universal Access

About the Program

Created in 2015, the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access is a collaborative program between the City of Raleigh Arts Commission and the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County that brings together like-minded arts and cultural administrators who want to improve how inclusive their organizations are of the Deaf community and people living with disabilities. The year-long program runs from July through June.

2023-2024 Program Components

Once accepted into the program, this year’s Learning Community members will:

• Attend the Learning Community’s kick-off meeting in early August
• On Monday, August 28, attend either the late-day Learning Community pre-conference meet-up or a LEAD® pre-conference session
• Attend the full LEAD® Conference in Boston from Tuesday, August 29, through Thursday, August 31
• Meet every month in facilitated sessions to share lessons learned, discuss issues and achievements in their accessibility work, and explore accessibility topics of mutual interest to the group (attendance at eight meetings required)
• Identify individual organizational goals/projects to accomplish during the year to increase accessibility for people with disabilities
• Share what they have learned through a group presentation or project for the arts community at large

Apply to the Learning Community

The 2023-2024 Learning Community application cycle has closed. The information, application form, and guidelines below are for reference only until the 2024-2025 application is posted in Spring 2024.

The City of Raleigh Arts Commission and the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County have partnered for an eighth year to offer a year-long arts learning community that uses a collaborative approach to advocating for and improving access to the arts for people with disabilities. Representatives of Raleigh and Wake County organizations are selected to participate in this program (maximum 2 representatives/organization) through an application process.

To participate in this program, applicants must be located within Wake County* and be a nonprofit exempt from federal and state income tax as either:

1. A charitable organization with 501(c)(3) designation by the Internal Revenue Service with established arts programming or
2. A unit of municipal government.

*Interested organizations outside Wake County should contact S.A. Corrin at sarah.corrin@raleighnc.gov to discuss their situation.

How to Apply

Eligible Learning Community applicants must:

1. Review the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access Guidelines 
2. Complete the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access Application Form 

Raleigh Convention Center Accessibility Overview Video

For their group project, a cohort of the 2021-2022 Learning Community created a “Welcome to Raleigh” video to enhance the Raleigh Convention Center’s accessibility information. This video provides an overview of the accessibility features at the Raleigh Convention Center, including drop-off areas, entrances, accessible restrooms, elevators and escalators, sensory kits, and rooms within the facility. The goal of the video was to provide visitors with a pre-visit view of the facility while answering many frequently asked questions. A different version of the video was recorded to provide more specific information to attendees of the LEAD® Conference in August 2022.

View the Raleigh Convention Center Accessibility Overview video

Learning Community Digital Scrapbook

Wanting to show that accessibility is within reach for any organization, the 2019-2020 Learning Community members created a Digital Scrapbook, capturing the processes and results of individual projects enacted at their organizations.

View the Digital Scrapbook (Word Document)