National Endowment for the Arts Releases New Book to Provide Guidance on Accessibility

July 30, 2003

		Contact: Ann Puderbaugh 202-682-5570

Washington, D.C. - The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced today it is releasing a new book, Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook, to provide cultural administrators with guidance on how to produce fully accessible and inclusive programming. The publication was produced in partnership with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the MetLife Foundation.

Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook is designed to help administrators not only comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, but to assist them in making access an integral part of their organization's planning, mission, programs, outreach, meetings, budget, and staffing. It addresses several key points:

• Cultural programs must be fully accessible and inclusive to every individual, including citizens with disabilities and older adults.

• Cultural service organizations need to set an example for their constituents by making their facilities, meetings, Web sites, print materials, and activities fully accessible and inclusive to everyone.

• The assurance of equal opportunity for all people to participate in the humanities and the arts should be a fundamental starting point.

"The Arts Endowment holds as its guiding principle that the vast richness of America's culture should be made available to all," said National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia. "This handbook is not only designed to help arts organizations comply with the law, but to create inclusive environments for the arts that are usable by everyone, including people of all ages and individuals with disabilities."

"This book reflects one of the goals shared by state arts agencies and the arts endowment-greater opportunities for the many people with disabilities and older adults who are potential participants in the arts as creators, volunteers, staff, board members, educators, students and audiences. Arts administrators who agree that the arts enable every one of us to live more joyful, meaningful lives will find Design for Accessibility a uniquely valuable 'how-to' guide full of ideas, information and practical resources," said Jonathan Katz, NASAA Chief Executive Officer.

"We're concerned about increasing access to the arts for all people," stated Sibyl Jacobson, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "We're happy to continue our sponsorship of the Design for Accessibility project. The first publication made a significant impact on cultural institutions across the country. We commend the project partners for their commitment to access and inclusion and are proud to be part of this latest collaborative effort."

This new publication is an update of the Arts Endowment's The Arts and 504 handbook, published in 1992, and includes additional information from Design for Accessibility: An Arts Administrator's Guide, produced by the NEA and NASAA in 1994.

Hardback copies of the book can be ordered through the NASAA Web site at www.nasaa-arts.org/publications/design_access.shtml. In addition, the publication can be downloaded as a PDF at no charge from the NEA Web site.

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