RAISE The Standard, May 2024, v.10 n.5 | |
|
Art is universal. It is a very accessible language. Through art, individuals can express themselves, share their stories, and connect with others. It can be enjoyed and created by anyone, including individuals with disabilities.
It can also be a career.
The arts and culture field offers a rewarding and viable career path for artists and arts workers. The arts contribute more than $700 billion to the U.S. economy and count almost 5 million workers. It is a growing field and one that enables people with and without disabilities to express themselves creatively and engage in work they are passionate about.
In this issue of RAISE The Standard, we will explore careers in the arts.
| |
|
In this webinar, we hear from three successful artists. They describe how they navigated their careers as artists working with a disability. The conversation covers their experiences as young people exploring their career options, as adults navigating the arts world, and as successful artists working in the field today. Tune in as host Lawrence Carter-Long, Director of Communications at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) talks with artists Gordon Sasaki and Gaelynn Lea; and professional singer and musician Lachi.
Watch the webinar on Youtube.
| |
Do you want to hear from other artists with disabilities who have established careers? Click here for more. | |
|
Preparing for a Career in the Arts:
What Schools Can Do?
Do you know students with disabilities who are dreaming of a career in the arts? Just how can a career in the arts start for youth with disabilities? Stop dreaming and start planning. Check out this webinar exploring how arts educators and educational institutions can enhance disability inclusion in their schools or education centers and empower students with disabilities to pursue careers in the arts. Click here to access the webinar.
| |
|
Art Careers from A–Z
We love this plucky list full of career ideas for creatives, from animator to web designer and everything in between. While is it designed with kids in mind, teens and adults will find it a useful resource to get the career and creative juices flowing. Click here to access the article.
| |
|
Careers in the Arts Toolkit
Careers in the Arts Toolkit, produced by the National Endowment for the Arts, is a new online resource that promotes equity, access, and inclusion for people with disabilities seeking careers in the arts. Click here to access the full toolkit.
Here are some of the Toolkit's sections to check out:
| |
Resources for Artists, Cultural Workers, and Youth with Disabilities features tips on pursuing careers in the arts, best practices for obtaining the supports people with disabilities need to succeed on the job, and background on types of arts careers. Click here to read more.
Resources for Arts Employers explains the benefits of disability inclusion in the arts, ways for arts leaders to ensure their institution is disability inclusive, and how to take proactive steps to hire, present, cast, and advance people with disabilities in arts workplaces. Click here to read more.
Resources for Arts Educators explores how arts educators can prepare students with disabilities for careers in the arts, and best practices for fostering disability inclusion within their educational institutions. Click here to read more.
Resources for Arts Grantmakers helps them understand their role in practicing equitable philanthropy that is inclusive of people with disabilities. Click here to read more.
| |
|
Making Money in the Arts
Working in the arts can be a rewarding and fulfilling career, but it is a hobby until it can help pay the bills. In this webinar, artists with disabilities can learn how to maintain benefits and health insurance while working, what resources are available to help them transition to work or return to work, and how to save money for the future, from a panel of artists and experts. Click here to access the webinar.
| |
|
Expression Through Art
Increasingly, memoirs, paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, videos, and live performances are allowing disabled artists to share their perspectives on life. Over time, these works have begun to chip away at ableist beliefs and help turn the cultural tides. We love this in-depth article in Art in America written by Emily Watlington, a critic, curator, and assistant editor at Art in America. She writes on topics including art, design, disability justice, and feminism. Click here to access the article.
| |
|
In this issue of RAISE The Standard, we focus on PACER’s Project Launch (Region C-1) which serves an 8-state region (Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Illinois, and Michigan). Click here to learn more.
| |
|
While they offer many resources, we recommend this 19-minute video highlighting employment tools to support executive function. Click here.
| |
|
National Arts and Disability Center (NADC) promotes the inclusion of audiences and artists with disabilities in all facets of the arts community.
Learn more: https://www.semel.ucla.edu/nadc
New Horizons Un-Limited has a rich array of resources for artists with disabilities and those interested in the arts.
Learn more:
https://www.new-horizons.org/aacorg.html
REELAbilities is the nation’s premier organization dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities through film, aiming to create a more just, inclusive, and accessible society.
Learn more: https://reelabilities.org
ArtConnect Magazine, a UK based publication, has a curated list of initiatives for artists with disabilities that includes organizations, magazines, and online spaces that create opportunities and offer resources for artists with disabilities. They are all devoted to highlighting talented artists on their platforms, in exhibitions, and in editorial content.
Read more: https://www.magazine.artconnect.com/resources/initiatives-for-disabled-artists-you-should-know
The Cultural Access Network Project is a program of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and New Jersey Theatre Alliance. It provides services and programs to assist theatres in making their programs and facilities accessible to people with disabilities.
Learn more: https://njtheatrealliance.org/cultural-access-network/
| |
|
The RAISE Youth Advocates for Change (YAFC) have produced podcasts on topics important to them as youth with disabilities, to amplify the youth voice and support parent centers as they continue to engage with youth and their families.
View Episode 1, The Power of Personal Stories, on Youtube.
| |
Collaboration • Empowerment • Capacity-building | |
RAISE The Standard enewsletter identifies and shares resources that the Rehabilitation Services Administration Parent Training and Information Centers (RSA-PTI) can use and share with families. | |
The RAISE Technical Assistance Center is working to advance the accessibility of its digital resources, including its websites, enewsletters and various digital documents. | |
RAISE, the National Resources for Access, Independence, Self-Advocacy and Employment is a user-centered technical assistance center that understands the needs and assets of the RSA-PTIs, coordinates efforts with the Technical Assistance provided by PTI centers and involves RSA-PTIs as key advisors and partners in all product and service development and delivery. | |  |
|
The RAISE Center is a project of the SPAN Parent Advocacy Network and is funded by the US Department of Education's Rehabilitation Service Administration. The contents of this resource were developed under a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Education (H235G200007)). However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education and should not assume endorsement by the federal government.
| | | | |
