Accessibility is not passive or automatic. It requires active champions of inclusivity. It requires breaking out of usual administrative forms and changing how things are usually done. And once a difference is made, it needs careful tending and ongoing commitment.
Too often, accessibility in cultural organizations is threatened by the departure of just one staff member. Building institutional memory, transferring knowledge to those who are best positioned to protect it, documenting the narratives and lessons gleaned along the way – all of this makes accessibility an action-oriented process.
Accessibility is future-proofing: anticipating likely challenges and developing a range of options for meeting them. Accessibility is proliferating possibilities.
As you embark on this exciting journey to implementing an accessibility practice to your organization’s venues, shows, and/or events, it is important to know that mistakes will happen. The best apology is one that leads with the intention to do better. Accessibility is ever-evolving so there is always room to improve and learn!