Skip Navigation

Free conference to focus on ADA and the arts

5/3/02

The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History’s West Virginia Commission on the Arts, the Ohio River Border Initiative (ORBI) and the Ohio Arts Council are planning a free conference, “Access for All,” which will focus on planning arts programs in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The conference will be held Friday, May 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center on the campus of Marshall University.

The conference will help community arts volunteers, individual artists and arts organizations better understand the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 on their programs and facilities. The morning session will focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act and exactly what compliance with the Act means to arts groups. The afternoon session will cover Ohio’s and West Virginia’s accessibility goals, as well as strategies for complying with each state’s requirements. The conference will emphasize practical strategies and tools for making programs more accessible to people with disabilities. Presenters will include Phyllis Hairston, 504/ADA and Building Diverse Audiences Coordinator of the Ohio Arts Council, and Martha Collins, 504/ADA Coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.

There is no conference registration fee. The cost for lunch is $10. Funds to help cover the cost of traveling to the conference are available for working artists and those who work with volunteer arts organizations. For more information about the conference or travel expense reimbursement, call (304) 655-8255.

- 30 -