Disability Justice in the Arts

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET 

Cara Reedy and Heather Watkins, in a conversation moderated by Cheryl Cumings, talk about relevant history, the roots and principles of Disability Justice. They will explore key questions for both individuals working in cultural arts organizations as well as the organizations themselves to consider in order to incorporate Disability Justice into their mission.

Presenters: Cara Reedy is the Media Narrative Director at Disabled Journalists Association (a member organization of Storyline Partners). She is a journalist and producer who spent ten years of her career at CNN producing documentaries as well as writing for various verticals including Eatocracy and CNN Business. In 2019, she produced her most recent short doc for The Guardian entitled Dwarfism and Me, which was an exploration of the treatment of Dwarfs in American society.

Heather Watkins is a Boston-based disability rights advocate, author, blogger, mother, graduate of Emerson College, advisory board member of Open Door Arts, and board member of Disability Policy Consortium. Heather is also a founding member of Harriet Tubman Collective, composed of Black Deaf and Black Disabled activists, artists, and organizers.

Host: Cheryl Cumings is the current Workforce Development Manager at the Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind. Cheryl previously founded and led Our Space our Place, Inc., a Boston-based nonprofit which provided an after school and career exploration program for middle and high school students who are blind. Cheryl's advocacy has contributed to accessible electronic ballots and increased participation of people with disabilities in the political system in Massachusetts and audio description in theaters. 

Free for members, $10 for non-members. Recording of webinar. 

Closed captioning and ASL interpretation are both available for all webinars. For the most accessible viewing experience, we recommend watching the webinar on a desktop computer or laptop screen. For more information or to request other access services, please contact the Office of Accessibility and VSA at (202) 416-8727 (voice) or [email protected].