Arts Learning Community for Universal Access group photo of 2019/2020 participants

Arts Learning Community for Universal Access

Raleigh Arts


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About the Program Apply to the Learning Community Members Group Projects

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

A visually impaired woman feeling a statue while wearing gloves at NCMA

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 

Members

* Founding Members of the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access
Accessibility Asset Organization
Betsy Ludwig* Arts Access
Kari Martin Hollinger, Carly Jones, Meg Revelle* and Stephen Wall* Arts Together
Brett Morris and Megan Sullivan* Artspace
Amanda Bittner and Cameron Laws Artsplosure
Nathalie Ray Burning Coal Theatre Company
Sarah Preston Cary Arts Center
Jaclyn Bowie, Krista Nance, and Gab Smith* CAM Raleigh
Veronica Aguilar and Cecilia Saloni El Pueblo
Ella Fang International Focus
Janine Eash, Jordan Pearce, Ashley Peay-Bettini, and Shenette Swann Marbles Kids Museum
Ai-Ling Chang, Kathleen Collier, and Emily Catherine Mealor North Carolina Arts Council
Felicia Ingram and Melissa Roth North Carolina Museum of Art
Liani Yirka North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Rebecca Edmonds North Carolina Opera
Liza Green NC State LIVE
Dan Ellison and Hilary Leggette NC State University Gregg Museum
Mia Self and Emilie Wood NC State University Theatre
Ashley Blankenship, Meredith Laing, and Jason Spencer North Carolina Symphony
William Henry, Donna Mullins, and Katrina Tarson North Carolina Theatre
S.A. Corrin* Raleigh Arts
Jamie Katz Court* and Courtney Wheeler PineCone
Fidel Benton, Meredyth Pederson Cooper, and Alicia Grey Raleigh Little Theatre
Julia Meder* Sertoma Arts Center
Ragen Carlile* United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County
Brandon Cordrey* Visual Art Exchange
Cathy Gouge Wake Forest Renaissance Centre
Johannah Maynard Edwards Women's Theatre Festival 

2022-2023 Members

In its seventh year, 20 arts and cultural organization representatives were given the opportunity to join the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access.

Accessibility Asset Organization
Danny Peña and Oami Powers Artspace
Hannah Liebel and Lucy Tobias Artsplosure
Brittany Washington and Matt Hester City of Raleigh - Duke Energy Center
Kathryn Neuhart City of Raleigh - Historic Resources & Museums
Andre Avila ComMotion - Community in Motion
Veronica Aguilar El Pueblo
Janine Eash and Shenette Swann Marbles Kids Museum
Ai-Ling Chang and Kathleen Collier North Carolina Arts Council
Molly Hull North Carolina Museum of Art
Rebecca Edmonds North Carolina Opera
Liza Green NC State LIVE
Emilie Wood NC State University Theatre
Sarah Clements North Carolina Symphony
Alease Timbers and program coordinator Raleigh Little Theatre

Group Projects

As part of the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access program, members identify projects that increase accessibility to accomplish during the year and share what they have learned through a group presentation or project for the arts community at large. View member projects below.

aerial shot of the Raleigh Convention Center at twilight

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

Post-it notes stuck on brown paper as part of a brainstorming session

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)

Related Projects

  All projects