Accessibility in the Arts

I found the Accomodations section of Carolyn Lazard's, Accessibility in the Arts: A Promise and a Practice, to be very interesting. One of the specific things that I found interesting is the Childcare section. Childcare is something that is very much needed overall in society, but often forgetten about or completely unaccessible. I have heard multiple stories over the last couple of years of parents who are unable to access affordable or suitable childcare.

One of my family friends recently had a baby, but instead of returning to work after maturnity leave was over, the mom was forced to quit her job, as financially, paying for childcare was more expensive than the income she was receiving. Similarly, my cousin who is 12 and was born missing part of a chromosome, was recently denied services at the childcare he has been attending since he was 1. This left my aunt and uncle in a situation where they had to find an in-home aid, which is not only expensive, but they had multiple experiences where the quality of care was lacking. While this does not directly relate to the arts, this really made me think about childcare accomodations and childcare accessibility in our society as a whole. 

Another section that I found interestesting was Touch Tours. In the arts, I think that this is something that is really lacking. Often signs in art museums or next to art will have braile, only providing a brief description of the art work like the plaque next to it usually does. This does not describe the visuals of the artwork in depth, nor does it allow the visitor to experience the piece or exhibit in full. I really liked the way that they talked about using relief versions of 2D work or replicas to allow for an experience that promotes touch. I think another way to make art and museums more accessible for vision-impaired and blind people is to introduce an auditory component, whether it be a detailed description of the painting or exhibit or a reading of the full plaque next to the art work.