ACA presents an Equitable Capacities Workshop: Strengthening Universal Access for Arts & Culture Workers

How can artist residencies and arts organizations create more inclusive and fair spaces by centering universal access*? How can we more intentionally place LGBTQ2IA+ artists, BIPOC artists, parent artists, caretaker artists, and d/Deaf and disabled artists at the center of what we do?

In this two-day workshop, you will learn how to identify and overcome barriers to accessibility in various forms.

*Artist Communities Alliance defines Universal Access as the conditions for easy access that would allow any individual (even those with reduced mobility, communicative ability, or understanding) to access and enjoy a place, product, or service and to do so freely and independently.

You’ll learn directly from artists and practitioners, how to:

• Assess and analyze current program barriers to universal access.
• Implement strategies to advance universal access within artist residencies and arts organizations.
• Develop sustainable HR practices and policies to create accommodations for people who identify as parents, caregivers, and/or people with disabilities.
• Use proactive approaches to lead to safer and more supportive artist residency experiences.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

DAY ONE | Wednesday, May 15 | 1pm - 4pm EDT / 10am - 1pm PDT

Compassion Training with Parent Artist Advocacy League for Performing Arts + Media (PAAL)

In a time of navigating remote work, crises, schooling, and caregiving around the clock, leadership can excel with compassion training, using PAAL’s framework of "the combination of empathy and education that leads to collaborative solutions." PAAL will engage with attendees on the realities of what their employees and artists with caregiver responsibilities face. The session identifies a unique value system, strategy, and actionable steps for supporting employees and artists to improve work relationship, communication, and support through a process that is sustainable and inclusive.

HR Policies + Accommodations - Presentation with Diane L Parker

Diane L. Parker, as a proven leader in Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy and Human Resource Management, will share practical policies and strategies to create accommodations in an effort to advance universal access within arts and cultural spaces.

DAY TWO | Thursday, May 16 | 1pm - 4pm EDT / 10am - 1pm PDT

Spotlight Artist Presentation

Creating Accessible Artist Residency Programs Panel with Faythe Levine, Wes Holloway and Stephanie Rogers

This intimate conversation will explore the intricacies of creating, managing, and evaluating programs for artists with universal access at the center. In this session, participants will learn, directly from artists and practitioners, how to assess their program and address barriers to accessibility.

Breakout Sessions + Group Discussion

Attendees will join breakout rooms for focused discussion about the challenges, needs, and strategies for working towards sustainable universal access at every level.

ABOUT THE FACULTY

Diane L. Parker Diane L. Parker is a proven leader in global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy and Human Resource Management. In 2022, she was appointed to a newly created position as Vice President and Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the financial services industry and reports directly to the CEO of the organization. Previously, Diane served for more than 20 years in senior leadership roles in the media industry responsible for talent acquisition and global DEI at the Associated Press and Meredith Corporation. Diane received her master’s degree in human resource management and a B.A. in mass communication from Lindenwood University. In addition, she completed the DEI certification program at Cornell University and is a proud alumnus of the Stella Adler/Billie Holiday Theatre Black Arts Institute.

Diane is a member of Chief, the only private membership network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders and the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). With a strong passion for the arts, she co-founded the New Jersey Creative Arts Collaborative (NJCAC), is a board member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and Co- Vice President of the American Theatre Group (ATG). Diane is also a member of Actors Equity Association and the acting company of the New Jersey Play Lab.

Rachel Junqueira Spencer Hewitt is the founder of Parent Artist Advocacy League for the Performing Arts (PAAL), a national organization that serves as a resource hub, community, and solutions generator for parents in the arts and the institutions who support them. She is an equity actor with an MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama where she received the Pierre-André Salim Award for artistry, professionalism, collaborative energy, commitment to community, and promise for raising the standard of practice in the field. Rachel Rachel’s professional acting repertoire includes Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, international theatre, feature films, and more.

Tamanya M. M. Garza is a Mexican-American parent-artist, marketing professional and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access consultant based in Philadelphia. An accomplished theatre director, producer and educator, Tamanya is committed to the belief that representation at every level and a deep understanding of anti-racist and anti-bias practices paired with concrete steps toward change are the only ways to create theatre that exists to tell all stories without damaging the storytellers. Currently Tamanya serves as the Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) Executive Director of Community & Justice Initiatives as well as the Chief Representative for Philadelphia. Her work with PAAL to create an equitable and inclusive space for parents and caregivers has been featured alongside other changemakers in HowlRound and American Theatre magazine and the Art Meet Offspring podcast.

Wes Holloway has had a dedication and enthusiasm for the arts extending as far back as he can recall. In 2003, after one year of undergraduate work at The University of Texas-Austin, he broke his C5-C6 vertebrae in a diving accident, suffered a spinal cord injury, and thus became paralyzed from the chest down. He later returned to complete both his BA and BFA in Studio Art. Holloway completed his MFA in Social Practice (with an emphasis on Public Policy) at The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University. Wes has exhibited across Texas, in Houston, Austin, and Dallas; Gallery 1969 in New York City; Fiendish Plots in Lincoln, Nebraska; The Smithsonian’s Ripley Center in Washington DC; Art Basel in Miami, Florida; and Manchester, United Kingdom

Faythe Levine has been in service to the arts for over twenty years, advocating for creative output to build connections between community, personal independence, and empowerment. She is currently the Hauser & Wirth Institute Archivist for Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY. Levine is also assisting with designing and facilitating a three-year pilot for the Mary L. Nohl Alumni Award fellowship program funded by Ruth Arts. Her personal practice revolves around reimagining archives and collections through a queer feminist lens. Her new book, As Ever, focusing on the intertwined professional and personal lives of Charlotte Partridge (1882-1975) and Miriam Frink (1892-1978), will be published by OK Stamp Press in Fall 2024.

Stephanie Rogers is the Executive and Artistic Director of Anderson Center at Tower View, a rare, rural oasis that celebrates the imagination and supports the development of new arts and ideas through residencies, studios, and public engagement.

Learn more about ACA's Equitable Capacity Workshops

ABOUT ARTIST COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE: Artist Communities Alliance (ACA) is the international service organization for artist residency programs and artist-centered organizations. ACA's mission is to advocate for and support artist residency programs as a means of advancing the endeavors of all artists. Founded in 1991, ACA currently has more than 250 members in 50 U.S. states and 20 countries and works on behalf of 1,500 residency programs worldwide. Since 2004, ACA has provided more than $4 million in direct grant funding to artists and artist residency centers. www.artistcommunities.org