Many people with disabilities confront barriers in their ability to create, access and fully participate in artistic experiences. Such hurdles not only limit their artistic expression but also perpetuate exclusion—highlighting the need for accessible and inclusive initiatives so that everyone can experience the transformative power of the arts. Recognizing the significant challenges faced by individuals…
Recognizing the importance of creative expression by artists of all abilities as essential to community life, the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) offers the Artists with Disabilities Access Grant Program (ADAP). The program is designed to remove obstacles that may hinder artists with disabilities from fully participating in and contributing to Ohio’s diverse arts scene. The…
Multiple state arts agencies (SAAs) are offering virtual arts exhibitions to increase visibility for artists and expand public access to their works. While some SAAs have conducted virtual exhibitions in the past, this approach took on new significance during the COVID-19 pandemic, when physical access to exhibition venues was restricted. SAAs are finding virtual exhibitions…
Many state arts agencies across the nation are assessing their grant programs and practices to identify ways to make funding more equitable and improve access to arts resources. The work undertaken by the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs (DCA) in this area is a recent example. In January 2020, DCA appointed a Grant-making Task Force…
Several state arts agencies across the country have conducted surveys to study the impact of COVID-19 on arts organizations and artists, however the Audience Outlook survey led by the Maine Arts Commission is notable because of its unique emphasis on audience needs and perceptions. The Maine Arts Commission recently released results of the survey, which…
The Oklahoma Arts Council recently issued a call for proposals to commission online fine arts teaching modules. Oklahoma teaching artists with demonstrated education experience were recently invited to develop creative curricula that can be used by Oklahoma students, parents and teachers for distance learning as well as in the classroom. The resulting materials will be…
The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP) is engaging families across the archipelago of Puerto Rico through Cultura Virtual, an online initiative that shares locally sourced creative content. It draws inspiration from the highly successful Cultura Rodante program, which was developed as an emergency program in response to Hurricanes Irma and María in September 2017, then…
The Arkansas Arts Council recently launched a new grant initiative to increase access to the arts for Arkansas’s military veterans. Among more than 21 million veterans who live in the United States, about 237,000 live in Arkansas, and the majority of them have served in Vietnam and Gulf wars, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau…
The New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Office for the Aging recently partnered to launch a new Creative Aging Initiative. The program takes an innovative, evidence based approach to healthy aging, underscoring New York as the first state in the nation recognized by AARP as part of its Age-Friendly…
The Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) has partnered with the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, the Georgia Department of Education, Wellspring Living and Street Grace to use theatre arts as an educational vehicle for prevention of the sexual exploitation of minors. The partners have joined forces to offer a $10,000 contract for the creation of…