At Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD®) we are able to share resources and knowledge, develop best practices and foster collaborative relationships to create communal success for cultural organizations. Often when we return to our hometowns, it can feel like the successes of fellow organizations are in direct conflict with our own. In the case of accessibility, knowledge networks around the country are proving this wrong. 

If you were in attendance at LEAD, you might have seen the session “Partners and Rivals: Championing Access Across a Community.” At first look, the panelists didn’t come across as rivals or even colleagues, but friends. All five panelists hailed from Pittsburgh and have been working together for inclusion and accessibility in the arts community. Organizations in Pittsburgh have banded together, becoming a national model for how different kinds of organizations can foster a community-wide collaboration that effectively bridges knowledge and experience gaps around accessibility, aiming to fully connect people with disabilities to the arts community.

Beginning at Bottom Center and moving clockwise: Justin Tognarine, Jenna Wilkin, Dennis Robinson, Anne Mulgrave, Vanessa Braun, Regina Russian, Steven Luciano. This photo was taken by Justin Tognarine at the Summit of Mount Evans, Colorado (14,130 ft.) after driving the highest paved road in the US on an excursion from the LEAD Conference this year.

In 2010, the FISA Foundation approached the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (GPAC) with the concept of an accessibility initiative. The two found that although all members realized increased accessibility was important, it was not a priority, but FISA was willing to invest to make it one. Anne Mulgrave, originally the program officer at FISA Foundation managing the regional initiative to increase accessibility to the arts, joined GPAC as Manager of Grants and Accessibility. 

“We never talked about compliance, it was always about welcoming people into the arts; we provided education; we were a connecting point between arts and the disability community; we talked to people about how to start,” shares Anne of the beginning of the network. “Alert people to what they can do about accessibility and alert them to what the barriers are, they often just can’t see the barriers.” 

At first, GPAC offered workshops surrounding accessibility topics; barrier featuring a peer (“you can do it, here’s how we did it”), a person with a disability (“why it’s important for the experience”), and an expert (“here’s the how”). What started with these workshops has expanded to include further professional development, resources, and, perhaps most importantly, an accessibility peer network, formed to share updates, triumphs and challenges. 

“Our peer group formed around a dining table in Boston at a LEAD Conference,” says Vanessa Braun, Assistant Director of Accessibility at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “We all came with a similar definition and a similar path that we wanted to take, which cemented us together.” The group has since grown to over 30 organizations that attend peer meetings three times a year. 

Both Anne and Vanessa see Pittsburgh as an ideal city to initiate this type of cultural collaboration. “We do all work together, we don’t compete. We’ve never worked that way, we’ve always worked in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood. Our goal is to serve all these people in different capacities. We will do this as best as we can. The only competition is who can be the most accessible,” affirms Anne.

“The arts community is really an ecosystem that’s built off of collaboration. It’s just something that’s become ingrained in the culture over time; this is who we are as a city,” Vanessa adds. 

Not only have the Pittsburgh organizations increased their capacity, services and programming for and with members of the community with disabilities, but together they are often able to offer more holistic experiences. Anne uses a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra sensory-friendly performance as an example of the culmination of collaboration. She paints a picture of the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum donating clay for an activity, meanwhile the dancers of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre create a movement experience in the upstairs foyer. “What are your strengths? It’s all hands on deck and we all share what we learn,” she comments. 

Knowledge networks are not without difficulties. Although Vanessa and Anne agree there are some difficulties to working with a variety of organizations, they sound more like learning opportunities. “Everyone has to do things at their own scale and pace, so that can be interesting,” Vanessa shares, comparing the larger Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to a powerful ocean liner and the smaller City Theatre to an agile speedboat. 

“What I see is that it takes time, but some things happen. People do it,” says Anne. “If you build it, they will come and do it.”