For 28 years, Arts Access, a nonprofit organization
based in Raleigh, NC, has been making the arts accessible to people
with disabilities. We advocate for arts accessibility throughout
the Triangle area of North Carolina; provide audio description for theatre
patrons who are blind or have low vision; refer arts administrators to
sign language interpreters; and provide accessibility training to arts
organizations and arts accessibility information to the public.
Web
This Site
Audio Described Performances
The following performances will be audio described for people who
are blind or have low vision. There is no charge beyond regular admission
for this service.
The
Seafarer by Burning Coal, February 7. "It is great fun and
also chilling, scary, and ultimately one of the most uplifting things I
ve ever worked on," says director Jerome Davis.
All My Sons by PlayMakers Repertory Company, February 9. "One
of the finest two hours of dramatic theater that you will experience,"
says the
CVNC review.
"Will amply reward audiences," says the
N&O review.
Arts Access, in
partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council, is offering arts
organizations across the state the opportunity to learn more about
accessibility for people with disabilities. Gather with others in
the field seeking information and resources for achieving accessibility
to share experiences and learn methods that will build a foundation to
support access and inclusion in the arts. In collaboration with
the United Arts Council of Catawba County and the United Arts Council of
Raleigh and Wake County, the Arts Accessibility and Inclusion workshops
are scheduled in Hickory on March 9th and 10th and in Raleigh
on March 16th and 17th. Join us for one or both of the
workshop dates in the location near you.
Arts Access NC is conducting a statewide survey of needs and excellence
related to arts for people with disabilities. In partnership with VSA
Arts and the NC Arts Council, Arts Access will develop a statewide arts and
disability network to promote opportunities for people with disabilities to
experience quality arts education, community cultural activities and nurture
individual artistic talent. Information from the survey will be used
to develop programming, educator training, and future grant opportunities.
VSA Arts (formerly Very Special Arts) partnered with North Carolina during
the 1980's and 1990's as an official affiliate but has been dormant since
that time. This assessment will determine the interest in reviving
that partnership. PLEASE HELP by taking one of the surveys above!
Thanks.
SPOTLIGHT
on Barbara Olson: I have lived in the Raleigh area for over 30 years and became interested in
Arts Access because of my background working with children with disabilities.
I was a career music teacher and therefore worked with all kinds of children.
Some of my most rewarding teaching moments were with non-verbal autistic
students! I found the Arts Access mission to be a natural blending of my
love of the arts with my commitment to people with disabilities, so three years
ago I began to devote some of my retirement time to its work. Music has
always been an integral part of my life and it still provides much retirement
relaxation. My educational background includes a BA in music education from Erskine
College and and a masters degree and post graduate work in Educational
Supervision and Leadership from NCSU. I am married with two adult children
and three wonderful grandchildren. My husband and I enjoy the
freedom of retirement and have occupied our time with home renovation
and travel.
Read more Arts Access Bio's!
New Described DVDs: The first two audio described DVDs of
2010 are now available:
Love Happens
(Jennifer Aniston) and
Zombieland
(Jesse Eisenberg). (Added Feb 5, '10)
A Record-Breaking TEN Audio Described DVDs Were Released in 2009:
District 9, Julie & Julia, Public Enemies, Funny People, Bruno, Disney-Pixar's
Up,The Ugly Truth, The Taking of
Pelham 123, Land of the Lost, and The Miracle Worker.
We'll see many more this year, since both
Sony and Universal Pictures have agreed to release audio description on
DVDs when it is also available on their movie releases. Note:
the presence of an AD track on the DVD is not generally specified on the
box, and the "Director's Cut" or "Unrated" versions typically do not include audio
description, and some rental DVDs don't contain description (notably
Up). You can view a synopsis and
order these DVDs
via the Audio Description Project's website.
Jan 11, '10
Described Video on Television
You can view a partial list of
most of the current television shows which carry audio description by
visiting WGBH Media Access Group's
DVS on TV web page. There you will find listings for CBS,
FOX, PBS, Nickelodeon, and Turner Classic Movies. However, the
transition from analog transmission of TV signals to digital on June
12, 2009, severely impacted your ability to receive video description.
Visit
The
Audio Description Project for more information.
Support Arts Access by Using GoodSearch and GoodShop
GoodSearch is an Internet search engine powered by Yahoo.
Unlike other search engines (such as Google or AOL), GoodSearch
returns 50% of advertising dollars to charities selected by its users.
GoodShop is a referral service to major online retailers like
Lands End and offers us an even greater benefit. You can help support Arts Access financially at no cost to yourself
by simply using GoodSearch for your Internet searches and clicking
through our GoodShop link to make online purchases. You can
click the logos at the left (or at the bottom of the left navigation
column) or use the search box at the top of this page anytime to make a search, but we urge you to
read about how to implement GoodSearch
first. You can make it your default search engine and help us
out everyday. Thank you!
(Dec '09) Install the
GoodSearch/GoodShop toolbar for Internet
Explorer and Firebox, now customized for Arts Access!
IN
MEMORIAM
Margaret Pfanstiehl, Founder of Audio Description
Dr Margaret Pfanstielh, who, along with her late husband Cody, "invented"
audio description in 1981, died on September 27th, 2009. She was the founder
of the Metropolitan Washington Ear, one of the very first radio reading
services. In 1990, Margaret received an Emmy for her leadership in the
field of accessible television for viewers who are blind or have low vision.
In August of 2009 she received the Excellence in Accessibility Leadership
Award at the LEAD Conference at the Kennedy Center for her lifetime
commitment and enduring advocacy on behalf of audio description and other
forms of information access for the visually impaired community. (Read
more, free login required.)
AUDIO DESCRIBED AND CAPTIONED MOVIES
AVAILABLE IN THE TRIANGLE! Three Triangle
area movie theaters are offering accessibility for patrons with vision or
hearing impairments for first-run movies such as Frost/Nixon and
Australia. The White Oak Stadium 14 in Garner (919-676-3456) and Beaver
Creek Stadium 12 in Apex (919-362-7342) are offering audio description
and closed captioning on one screen and assistive listening devices
(ALDs) on all screens. Also, the Regal Stadium 14 at North Hills
in Raleigh (919-786-4494) has installed a system for audio description
and open captioning (plus they offer ALDs). Kudos to these
three theaters, the first in the Triangle serving both blind and deaf users!
NOTE: Over 500 first-run films have been captioned!
(See our Movie Theater Accessibility page for
more information.)
Books and DVDs related to the arts and disabilities.
We have compiled a large list of books which address the intersection of
Arts and Disabilities, plus we'll point you to several DVDs with
audio description. We have books for adults, parents, teachers, and
children. Have a look now -- they make great GIFTS for the right person.
Click the cover image to the left to learn more about this particular randomly
selected book, or click the Books and DVDs hotlink above or the Books
link in the left column to see the complete list.
We hope that you or someone you know will benefit from the free services
provided by Arts Access this year. TELL A FRIEND !
Arts Access Performing Arts Associates
Arts Access works with the following Triangle area arts organizations.
Clicking on their logos will take you to their web sites.
Site Accessibility: This website conforms to government
Section 508 and W3C WCAG Priority 1 standards for web accessibility. See our
Browser Accessibility page for ways to improve readability
of this and other web sites if you have low vision. This website displays
best at 1024x768 screen resolution using a modern browser with JavaScript enabled.
Comments, suggestions, and corrections for these web pages
are encouraged; please contact the
.
SPOTLIGHT
on Barbara Olson: I have lived in the Raleigh area for over 30 years and became interested in
Arts Access because of my background working with children with disabilities.
I was a career music teacher and therefore worked with all kinds of children.
Some of my most rewarding teaching moments were with non-verbal autistic
students! I found the Arts Access mission to be a natural blending of my
love of the arts with my commitment to people with disabilities, so three years
ago I began to devote some of my retirement time to its work. Music has
always been an integral part of my life and it still provides much retirement
relaxation. My educational background includes a BA in music education from Erskine
College and and a masters degree and post graduate work in Educational
Supervision and Leadership from NCSU. I am married with two adult children
and three wonderful grandchildren. My husband and I enjoy the
freedom of retirement and have occupied our time with home renovation
and travel.
Jan 11, '10
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