Our arts partnership has signed on as Ambassadors in support of the Celebration and its activities.   We hope to be working closely with the planning committees to ensure that this is the inclusive event we would all wish it to be.  I strongly encourage YOU to get involved in any way that works for you – visit www.thenextfifty.org  and add your ideas, find out the latest news, and think about signing up to volunteer when the time comes!  Stay tuned to this site as well – we’ll post more information as it is released, and also share our own plans for an event to join in the Celebration!  Wahoo!

Both Creative Activities and VSA Washington have gone through long transitions, and we are excited to now be moving successfully ahead with expanded and new programming.  ArtSpring! 2010 saw double attendance numbers for both the daytime and evening programming over last year!  If we are to continue being successful, now is the time for you to invest in our work.

New, community-based, inclusive music and dance classes are being offered this summer and fall, and a 10-week performing arts workshop series begins next February.  This fall will also see the roll-out of a new set of teacher-training modules, designed to support classroom teachers to “successfully create inclusive classrooms”.   And another Call for Art for the next No Boundaries Exhibit will be going out soon!

The Boards of Creative Activities and VSA Washington have dedicated every resource at their command.  After a successful audit of this first partnership year and given the exciting success of our revitalized programming, we feel confident and eager in now turning to the community and asking for your financial support.  You have the opportunity to invest in the wonderful work being done in our Artist Studio, in our teacher trainings, in K-12 classrooms, and in the lives of artists with disabilities across the State.

In addition to providing needed funds to staff and stock the Studio, train and hire teaching artists, and curate art exhibits, your show of support at this time sends a powerful signal to the public and private foundations we also approach for funding.  They look to our level of individual donor support to help gauge the importance and impact we make to the community.

When you receive our donor appeal (either  by mail or email), please consider the difference you can help us make in the lives of youth and adults with disabilities.  Your generous donation goes directly to work in our programming – and comes with our heartfelt thanks!

Don’t want to wait?  Use the Donate Now button over on the left side of this page!

In truth – and perhaps to its good – it grew up organically.  I don’t think you can force an inclusive community, I think it has to be grown.  Although I hadn’t ever thought about it in quite this way, a theatre community makes a great incubator.  It started out serving youth – just trying to keep kids off the streets and positively occupied, eventually inviting in new communities – seniors, and then forming a partnership with a community of their neighbors who live with disabilities.  Now, you find there a loving, inviting, inclusive community, where everyone is given a place and chance to thrive.  

It was a double pleasure to visit with James.  For a number of reasons, it has been quite a while since I have had the chance to walk around a working stage.  The techs were hanging lights and sound for their next production; it brought back such wonderful memories of my days working in the theatre.  In addition to loving the technical side, I was also reminded of the feeling of family that inevitably forms around those that work together to produce art.  You hear it in voices; you see it in the way they interact with each other in that easy way of family; you feel it in the ways you are welcomed and nurtured for who you are – even when you are different from others.  As a matter of fact, you are celebrated for those differences, for your own uniqueness.  

Afterwards, as I walked to my car, I realized I wanted to come back, wanted to be there, wanted to be a part of the work being done there.  And I wanted to tell all of you about the gem hidden over in Bellevue. I doubt they will be as hidden for long; word is starting to spread – especially as their supporting Bellevue Youth Theatre Foundation is raising funds to help build an accessible, green performing arts space.  (Check out our home page for information on their upcoming fundraiser.)  

As a program of Bellevue City, its programming is free for Bellevue residents; others are charged a fee (some scholarships are available).  They no longer provide classes, but they offer summer Day Camps, as well as produce an impressive season of shows in several Bellevue venues throughout the year.  Young and old of all abilities alike have found a home here; and Bellevue residents have a lot to be proud of in their little gem of a theatre. 

I hope we’ll be partnering with them in the future – they’ve been invited to perform at this year’s ArtSpring! – and we’ll look for other ways to spread the great work they do.  Bellevue Youth Theatre is one more way the arts are – piece by piece – helping building a more inclusive community. 

Come on – come be a part of it! 

For more information on the Bellevue Youth Theatre, check out their website at: http://bellevuewa.gov/bellevue_youth_theatre.htm

For me, the most frustrating have been those challenges over which we had no control; it turned out that every single event we organized this year suffered from some kind of (mostly natural) disaster.  The first date for the Community Meeting was canceled due to the snow of December ’08; the first re-scheduled date was again postponed by an ice storm; ArtSpring!09 happened just as the swine flu appeared and schools were closing left and right; the Including Samuel Film Preview saw a security guard locking the venue’s doors in the 20 minutes before the event; and the recent No Boundaries Opening Reception had to be postponed when the Seattle Center House (and surrounding neighborhood) lost power.  I mean, really now.

So, we can not help but believe that 2010 is going to be better!  Our organizations are stronger, we have more support, bigger goals, and more clients.  We are planning some exciting events and adding some new opportunities and resources.  Every day we get more and more inquiries about our programming and calls from other organizations wanting to explore new partnership opportunities.  I hope you will join with us – and stay tuned for another exciting – and challenging – year!

When the situation was more successfully resolved, we also submitted a letter of congratulations to the Center and sumitted another letter to the Times:

To the Editor,
We are pleased to see that Seattle Center has more successfully resolved issues surrounding the removal of 13 handicapped parking spaces, part of the plans for creating a memorial garden for Peter Donnelly.   It is refreshing to hear a government official admit an issue could have been handled better, and see them step up and work to address concerns in a timely manner.  Adding 19 disabled street parking spaces near the Intiman and Seattle Repertory Theatres, even if only reserved for that purpose on evenings and weekends, does begin to address the immediate theatre patron concerns, and shows a welcome attitude of care and concern for the needs of people with disabilities.  Bravo to Center Director Robert Nellams and his Staff!

I am also very happy to report that this is not quite the end of the issue.  At today’s Seattle Center Resident Directors’ Meeting, we received a report from the Center on the resolution AND heard a clear message that they found this to be a good lesson learned.  They have committed to doing further work to improve access to the Campus for people with disabilites, even bringing in some additional expertise in ADA and arts access issues for consultation and assistance.  I took the opportunity to remind Campus organizations and Center Staff that CA/VSAAW is here to help and is fully committed to being a partner with all arts orgainizations who want to improve access for their patrons.

This was, indeed, a learning opportunity for us all; Seattle Center took responsibility, stepped up to resolve the issue quickly, and recognized there are issues still to be addressed and improvments that can be made.  I saw yet another example of why it is SO important that CA/VSAAW remain a strong, relevent, and active organization – when people with disablilites aren’t at the “planning table”, our needs are not always adequately addressed.  And we had an opportunity to remind arts organizations here on Campus that we are availble to help them with their efforts.

Although assurance of equal access in our commnuity has some distance to go, I am more confident than before that there is a fundamental recognition of the importance and responsibility to address access needs.  I believe that Seattle Center and its arts organizations can be leaders in this area and I pledge to keep CA/VSAAW at the forefront of that effort.

Let me know what you think.

However, I also believe that many things about the decision to remove the 13 accessible parking spaces to make way for a memorial garden for arts patron Peter Donnelly, reveal a fundamental lack of commitment to equal access on the planning level.  It is simply not enough to work to find alternative spaces; there must be a fundamental commitment to make accessibility a PRIORITY, not an accommodation.

Seattle Center Director, Robert Nellams, has acknowledged that there could have been better communication around these changes and has pledged to working with the disability community to resolve concerns.  I have sent letters to both he and City Council member Tom Rasmussen (who chairs the Council committee overseeing the Center), offering my assistance in their efforts and I hope they will take me up on that offer.  I’ll let you know.

As I wrote in a recent Letter to the Editor, Seattle Times, :

The best way to memorialize Peter Donnelly is to remain dedicated to providing equal access to the arts at Seattle Center.  The very idea that it would be OK to relocate handicapped parking spaces further away from the venues they serve, calls into question the Seattle Center’s commitment to accessibility.

Patrons of the Seattle Rep, Opera, Intiman, and Seattle Center in general, have already expressed strong objections to the options being proposed.  The upcoming years of construction on Mercer also cannot be ignored – would that proposed drop-off area even continue to be available?  What of the path between the garage and the center grounds?  Construction will surely bring changing -and inaccessible – pedestrian routes.  As already scarce parking becomes non-existent, maintaining dedicated handicapped parking spaces should be the Center’s overriding priority.

Surely there is a rational argument to be made that accessibility for citizens is a higher use for precious space than landscaping, however well-intentioned the memorial garden.  I do not presume to speak for the man who epitomized an individual’s commitment to bring the arts to all in our community, but I cannot believe Peter Donnelly would approve.

Of course it did hit here – and pretty fast with numbers quickly reaching 25+.  Several schools had been closed immediately upon suspected exposures, and confirmation from the CDC would be days away.  Public health experts on the national level were advocating a “social isolation” strategy – keep people away from each other to limit exposures and transmission.  People didn’t seem to be panicking, but there wasn’t a lot of public discussion of the best overall prevention strategies (beyond hand-washing and staying home when ill.)

In the midst of this, we were planing to bring hundreds of children with disabilities, from more than 20 different schools, into a public place to share arts materials.  As I considered the wisdom of this, I couldn’t decide if I was being overly cautious or responsibly prudent.  Just one exposure could potentially cause widespread illness in a possibly medically-vulnerable population (not to mention all the families and school populations.)  But being overly cautious would deprive an already under-served community of valuable arts opportunities.  How do you explain to a child they can’t come make art because they “could possibly” get sick?

I talked to as many experts as I could: public health, school officials, even a Seattle Center disaster coordinator.  No one would tell me what they thought I should do, although they answered my many questions with patience and an appreciation for the decision to be made.   I kept wanting to hear that there were some kind of strategic options being discussed somewhere – if this had turned out to be a more serious health threat, it would be nice to know that public health and governmental officials had discussed and agreed on widespread mitigation methods (such as social isolation strategies.)  It didn’t really seem that was happening here; although as it turns out, our Seattle/King County area has been recognized nationally as being the most prepared for a public health emergency.  In the position I found myself around this situation, I could not easily find appropriate officials to properly advise me; had this been a more serious situation, that might have had serious consequences.

However, in the end, it was pretty clear we should proceed with the event.  We provided hand sanitizer in visible locations and sent out an email to teachers with reminders about proper hand-washing, not bringing students who were ill, etc.  Staff kept a look-out for anyone exhibiting signs of illness and attendees were advised that anyone with symptoms would be sent home.  (No one attending presented any signs of illness.)  Several parents chose not to send their children because of heightened susceptibility, and one school that had been closed did not attend.  Overall, however, attendance over the 2 days was up from last year and more individual schools sent students.  As far as we know, there were no exposures attributed to attendance at the event and, apart from staff exhaustion <smile>, there were no negative health consequences for anyone.

As they say, timing is everything; next year’s event is scheduled for May 4th and 5th.  Please – nobody sneeze that weekend!