Accessibility/ADA Compliance/Section 504

For questions on accessibility, or requests for accomodations, please contact Amy Schmidt at (701) 328-7594; or email amschmid@nd.gov.

VSA’s Emerging Artists Program – 2013 Call for Art: The Kennedy Center and VSA are excited to announce that entries are now being accepted for the 2013 Emerging Artists Program! This is a national juried exhibition of emerging artists, ages 16-25, with disabilities. Sponsored by Volkswagen Group of America, In/finite Earth aims to showcase artwork that illuminates innovative viewpoints at the intersection of environmentalism, creativity, and disability. This call for art asks artists to engage in the physical, emotional, and creative ties we share across our planet, and present their artistic perspectives regarding the natural world, sustainability, and our collective future. Fifteen artists will be selected for an exhibition in Fall 2013 in Washington, DC and will share $60,000 in cash awards. Deadline: June 9, 2013 at midnight. To learn more visit http://bit.ly/Xf0RrW.

Regional

• VSA arts of North Dakota strives to create and maintain a community where people with disabilities can learn through, participate in, and have access to the arts. Recognizing that every individual has a creative voice that needs to be both expressed and heard, VSA arts of North Dakota provides, promotes, and furthers arts centered activities in inclusive settings so people with and without disabilities can experience the arts together.
• North Dakota Department of Commerce. Division of Community Services. Community block grants may be available to help make facilities ADA compliant. Call 701-328-5300  or e-mail the Department of Commerce for more information.
• North Dakota Department of Human Services. Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. There are eight regional offices with access to information and other resources:
  Bismarck: (701) 328-8800 or (888) 862-7342
  Devils Lake: (701) 665-2235 or (888) 607-8610
  Dickinson: (701) 227-7600 or (888) 227-7525
  Fargo: (701) 298-4459 or (888) 342-4900
  Grand Forks: (701) 795-3100 or (800) 755-2745
  Jamestown: (701) 253-6388 or (800) 639-6292
  Minot: (701) 857-8643 or (888) 470-6968
  Williston: (701) 774-4662 or (800) 231-7724
• Rocky Mountain Technical Assistance. Provides information on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and accessible education-based information technology to Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
• Accessibility in Online Teaching: www.accredited-online-college-degrees.com/teaching.htm.

National

• Accessibility Publications from the National Endowment for the Arts. Several guides and informational publications including the new Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook.
• Access Board (United States Architectural and Transportation Barrier Compliance Board). An independent federal agency that developed the ADA Accessibility Guidelines and the minimum guidelines and requirements on which the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards are based. Free publications on the minimum guidelines for design, construction, and alteration to buildings and vehicles to make them accessible to people with disabilities.
• Adaptive Environments. Promotes accessibility as well as universal design through education programs, technical assistance, training, consulting, publications, and design advocacy.
• Arts and Aging Toolkit. Studies show participatory art education programs for older adults improve participant's physical and emotional health. The National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts latest publication, Creativity Matters: The Arts and Aging Toolkit, describes best practices and demonstrates exemplary models for such programs.
• Institute for Human Centered Design/Universal Design. www.humancentereddesign.org/index.php?option=Content&Itemid=294
• Audio Description Associates. Provide assistance in the development of an audio described (AD) tour and the training of docents in AD techniques.
• National Arts and Disability Center. NADC's mission is to promote the full inclusion of audiences and artists with disabilities into all facets of the arts community.
• National Disability Arts Forum. Established in 1990 to foster equality of opportunity for disabled people in all aspects of the arts.
• National Endowment for the Arts Office for AccessAbility. Information on activities, services, and partnerships.
• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Reference to interpreters and interpreter services as well as an online searchable index of certified interpreters.
• U.S. Department of Justice ADA Home Page. Information and technical assistance on the ADA.
• U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy Job Accommodation Network. Free consulting service that provides information about job accommodations, the ADA, and the employability of people with disabilities.
• Visual Arts Centers for Persons with Disabilities. Lists art centers that provide artists with disabilities the opportunity to learn how to produce art through training by professional artists. Typically, the visual art centers are designed to provide the artist with art studio space to create their work, an opportunity to exhibit their work, and a gallery to sell their work. Some visual art centers offer mainstream or inclusive art experiences, others offer specialized programs for individuals with disabilities.
• VSA arts. As an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, VSA arts is an international organization that creates learning opportunities through the arts for people with disabilities.

National Summit on Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities
VSA arts co-presented the second National Summit on Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities at the Kennedy Center the summer of 2009. The summit featured career panels, presentations of new research, working groups, and Millennium Stage Performances from artists with disabilities. As a rare and important networking opportunity for artists and arts administrators across the country, the summit brought together professionals from the arts, education, government, and disability fields to evaluate progress concerning arts education and career opportunities and develop a strategic plan. The National Endowment for the Arts, the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Social Security Administration joined VSA arts to organize the summit. Materials from the summit are available at http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/2009NEASummit/papers.html.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
October marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which focuses on promoting employment opportunities for people with disabilities. In observance of the month, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation calling on "all Americans to celebrate the contributions of individuals with disabilities to our workplaces and communities, and to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities to create a better, more inclusive America." Increasing employment opportunities and career development is one of VSA arts' guiding principles. Please take a moment to view the Campaign for Disability Employment’s “I Can” public service announcement (PSA). It features seven real people – not actors – with hidden and obvious disabilities, demonstrating what they “can do” on the job when given the opportunity. Campaign “I can” PSA: www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org/blog/index.php/video.