Accessible Arts Center
The Problem
The Solution
Goals and Objectives
A Dream Realized
The Future

The Problem

AAI receives frequent calls from art teachers and curriculum directors across the state requesting material, curricular adaptations and training for integrating students with disabilities into existing art programs.  Sometimes there are immediate, viable answers.  Too often, time or funds limit our research and opportunity to collaborate for inventive solutions unique for each child or program. Agencies such as Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, Jackson County Family Courts, Hope House, Kaw Valley Center, Boys and Girls Clubs, Johnson County Mental Health, Social Work p.r.n., Campfire, and the Kansas School for the Deaf have all requested training and information about adaptations in the arts.

Back to top

The Solution

As a response to these needs, AAI is designing a center for art demonstration and training on the campus of the Kansas State School for the Blind (KSSB). This Universally Designed Arts Center, a barrier-free and safe environment, will function as a collaborative arts laboratory and as a studio space where students experiment freely with appropriate equipment adaptations and professional artistic assistance.  Students will be able to access their artistic gifts to improve the quality of their daily lives as they, and we, learn how to realize the rewards of creating and experiencing the arts. 

The arts foster lifelong educational skills and help people with disabilities contribute to the social, cultural and economic life of their communities. This Arts Center will be a valuable resource for children with disabilities and their families. It will also be a place where students, professional artists, and educators can collaborate to create new curricula and accessible arts programming.  KSSB will provide the permanent physical space (the historic carriage house).  The Arts Center project will include the structural renovation of the carriage house and the purchase of adaptation equipment (computer stations w/assistive technology, wheelchair adaptations, adjustable tables, etc.), educational materials, and supplies.

Back to top

Proposed Goals & Objectives

To provide Kansas and the Kansas City metropolitan area with a universally designed arts facility that is a model of physical accessibility and a laboratory where professionals can explore and create curricula in collaboration with students with disabilities.

To promote personal growth and educational opportunities through the arts that result in positive self-esteem for students with disabilities and those who serve them.

To provide training for educators, related services personnel and parents in arts methods for meeting the educational needs of students with disabilities.

To present positive role models to students with disabilities through direct arts services provided by artists/educators with disabilities.

To increase public awareness about the importance of arts experiences in the lives of students with disabilities through gallery shows, presentations and other public events.

Home | Who We Are | What We Do | Calendar | Cultural Access | Arts Center | Resources | eMail Us

Accessible Arts Text Website is Bobby Approved!