Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium

Mission

The Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium connects arts and cultural organizations with information and resources to improve accessibility for people of all abilities.

Description

The Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium (SCAC) envisions a world where people of all abilities are an integral part of Seattle’s arts and culture arena. Our core values are advocacy, convening, and educating about accessibility.

 One in four Americans currently has a disability and that number is increasing as the population ages. Access to art is a vital part of the human experience and has immeasurable positive public health implications while simultaneously addressing equity and inclusion issues. Our purpose is to help the arts and culture sector integrate inclusive design and accessibility planning at the forefront rather than as an afterthought. We offer workshops, networking opportunities and a website with accessibility resources.

Through our programming, we spark conversation and give voice to people with disabilities and advocates who are striving to make the arts in Seattle and King County more inclusive and accessible. The arts and culture workers who attend our workshops then bring these learnings back to their organizations and start effecting change. 

SCAC has completed 3.5 years of presenting workshops that explore a range of topics including intersectionality, the ADA and racial and disability justice, accessibility 101, and internal accessibility practices to name a few. Workshops have included: a panel of people with disabilities sharing their experiences accessing the arts, an overview of accessibility and accommodations for various disabilities, and developing an access plan within an arts organization. Our moderators are experienced facilitators with a background in the arts, equity or accessibility. Our panelists range from community members, artists, cultural administrators, and people with disabilities. Each year we look at our evaluation results, listen to community input, and brainstorm with the steering committee to come up with yearly themes. Our workshops are intentionally developed with these themes in mind and we also track the challenges and opportunities the arts sector is experiencing.

SCAC is an excellent role model for demonstrating what an accessible event should entail. Our marketing practices are accessible and we communicate regularly that workshops are accessible. Our events are free and we have ASL interpreters and captioning as well as tools in place to help those with invisible disabilities. 

COVID has had devastating impacts on the arts sector, while simultaneously laying bare its systemic inequities. Arts organizations now have a unique opportunity to reimagine their structures and programming from top to bottom with accessibility in mind - from retaining and expanding virtual programming to renovating performance spaces to rethinking leadership models. Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium is here as a resource and facilitator to bring together the key players for critical conversations and provide the tools arts workers need to transform their organizations. We provide a critical service to our area that no one else is doing.

Our GiveBIG goal is $1500 which covers workshops, including panelist stipends, captioning, ASL interpreters, and administration costs. Please consider giving BIG to SCAC today.