SPACE

IN THE ARTS

Sustainable, Political, and Accessible Communities in Edmonton (SPACE)

Shamira da Silva Alex Lucyk Brittany Pitruniak Natalie Shykoluk AGAD 201 Campaign Assignment Part 2

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The mainsprings of cultural participation are many. Attendance at art events can take different forms and their intensity may vary. But one thing is certain: all participation must be encouraged, facilitated, supported, and valued socially. This involvesadaptation to the needs, affinities, circumstances, and rhythms of each person (Brault, 2010:75).

Executive Summary
Sustainable, Political, and Accessible Communities in Edmonton (SPACE) envisions a city whose buildings and organizations embrace the principles of Universal Design and are therefore accessible to all Edmontonians. Since 2009, it has been our mission to increase awareness around the issue of physical accessibility, advocate for the use of Universal Design principles in new construction and renovation of Edmontons buildings, and provide support for organizations in their efforts to become more physically accessible. In order to achieve our mission, we have outlined the following goals which will guide our awareness and advocacy efforts: 1. Change mindsets in Edmonton about the feasibility of being physically accessibility; 2. Close the gap between venues and organizations which are accessible and those that are not; and, 3. Teach organizations how to assess the accessibility of their organizations using a universal, user-friendly accessibility checklist. Because every sector faces its own challenges specific to its activities, SPACE has recently decided to form separate working groups that address the needs of various sectors. Weve realized through consultation with stakeholders and focus groups within our organization that the arts and cultural sector in Edmonton faces its own unique challenges, especially in terms of the physical accessibility of performance and exhibition venues. Sometimes it helps when everybody speaks the same language when addressing an issue. Therefore, we formed the SPACE in the Arts working group to campaign specifically within the arts and cultural sector and municipal government. Our campaign will raise awareness of and advocate for physically accessible spaces within this sector and we believe that an inclusive, physically accessible arts and cultural scene in Edmonton can become a reality. It is our hope that through our research, awareness and advocacy efforts, and our ability to offer support and advice, SPACE in the Arts become a valuable resource in the Edmonton arts and cultural community.

Vision
SPACE in the Arts envisions an Edmonton whose arts and cultural venues embrace the principle of Universal Design, and are therefore physically accessible to everyone.

Mission
SPACE in the Arts will create awareness among arts and cultural organizations in Edmonton about the advantages of owning and renting physically accessible venues, as well as support organizations in their efforts to become more physically accessible. We will also advocate for the application of Universal Design when renovating and constructing arts and cultural venues.

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Background & Context

Disability Theory and the Environment

The inherent inclusivity of arts and culture, and their essentialness to how we understand ourselves and the world around it is best expressed by Brault when he states Culture constitutes an essential dimension of our humanity in its individual and social expression. It is the key to three fundamental apprenticeships: learning to know, learning to be, and learning to live together (2010:59). This means that arts and culture are fundamental to everyone in society, not just those who are able to physically access a museum, see an opera, or hear a theatre performance. Many organizations and members of the public view making spaces accessible as an inconvenience, or something that has to be addressed after a building is rented or when approached before a performance by a person with a disability. This unfortunately makes the issue an afterthought rather than something that permeates the activities and operations of an organization. In fact, World Health Organization (WHO) defines disability as an impairment, activity limitation or participation restriction that is the result of the interaction between contextual factors (personal and environmental) and health conditions (quoted in the HRSDCs 2011 Federal Disability Report). It is no wonder that the publics understanding of disability affects how they react to people with disabilities and why disabilities are seen as impairments rather than just another aspect of human diversity.

As an event producer with limited resources and finances anything that legislates us to be more compliant costs money to implement. Events Edmonton

Accessibility is defined by the Alberta Safety Codes Council as the ability or ease that a person with a physical or sensory disability, or with limited language skills, may approach, enter and use buildings, facilities and services, as well as receive or send communication or information (2008:93). When we use the term accessibility, it implies that a space or service was designed for people without disabilities, but now has to be made accessible for a different group. This way of thinking is also known as the social construction or model of disability; for certain norms to be maintained, it is the individual with a disability who needs to be modified (Terzi, 2004). In turn, this doesnt place the onus for change on societal norms that emphasize the otherness of people with disabilities. The social model of disability is, however, an enormous step forward from the medical model of disability where disability is a defect that needs to be cured (Siebers, 2001). There has been a shift away from the social model of disability paradigm to an inclusive model that views inclusion as a fundamental moral and social issue (Terzi, 2004). Many disability researchers now believe that social constructionism is an inadequate way of understanding the challenges faced by people with disabilities in society. In fact, Terzi suggests that disability is the result of social arrangements that, by placing and acting as

People dont often notice these barriers because excluded bodies usually cannot enter these spaces to demonstrate their inaccessibility. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy and one that has very real consequences for the bodies and communities that are excluded, as well as for those of us who fail to address these systemic exclusions (Peers & Eales, 2012:41).

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barriers, work to restrict the activities of people with impairments. Disability, ultimately, is socially caused' (2004:149). It is more common now to view all people on a spectrum as part of the whole and not as segregated subgroups of a whole. This notion lends itself to the application of the principles of Universal Design, or that buildings and spaces are created to meet the needs of the widest spectrum of users possible, which includes people with and without disabilities. (Meyer & Rose, 2000). Meyers and Rose go on to express in universally designed environments, adaptability is subtle and integrated into the design[increasing] usability for everyone (2001:39). Universal 1 Design address seven principles related to the physical accessibility of spaces : equitable use, flexibility in use, low physical effort, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, and size and space for approach and use.

Physical Accessibility in Edmonton: Issues and Trends

Edmonton has a long history of advocacy around disability and physical accessibility, as well as a number of policy and advisory documents that address the inclusiveness of public spaces and services. Policy C538 (adopted December 17, 2008) articulates the City of Edmontons position on inclusivity and celebration of diversity. It states The City of Edmonton will encourage institutions, organizations, community groups and individuals in Edmonton to adopt inclusive approaches to diversity[and identify the] removal of barriers to participation, and barriers to service access, within the City (2012:2). Buildings and public spaces in Edmonton are also subject to the Alberta Building Code, which has its own requirements regarding physical accessibility.

Connecting with othersacross cultures, age groups, geography and communities of interest is seen as essential for creating a vibrant, connected, engaged and welcoming city. City Vision & Strategic Plan, City of Edmonton

The Advisory Board on Services for Persons with Disabilities (ABSPD) is a resource group which advises the public and reports directly to City Council on issues affecting people with disabilities. In 2008, the ABSPD hosted the Achieving Accessible & Inclusive Communities conference to consider the Measuring Up in BC initiative created by The Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC). They thought this initiative could help address and improve the physical accessibility of spaces in Edmonton. The main goals of SPARC BC were 1) to assess the degree of active participation in all aspects of community life by people with disabilities, and 2) what could be done to improve active participation. From consultation with the advisory groups in BC associated with the initiative, ABSPD and the City of Edmonton created the Measuring Up Edmonton resource guide which contains tools to help organizations become more physically accessible. The Measuring Up toolkit can help organizations assess the physically accessibility of their space(s). Unfortunately, this resource was not widely circulated to all sectors in Edmonton who could benefit from its wealth of information and checklist. This is in part why SPACE in the Arts has created a working group to address the specific needs of the arts and cultural community in Edmonton.

Design at North Carolina State University.

1 These principles are stated in the Alberta Safety Codes Councils 2008 Design Guide and were developed by The Center for Universal

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Edmontons Aging Population

Another factor that contributes to the need for greater awareness of physical accessibility within Edmontons arts and culture sector is the national issue of Canadas aging population. In Alberta alone, it is projected that approximately one in five Albertans will be a senior citizen by 2031, when the last member of the baby boomers reaches age 65 (Government of Alberta, 2012). It is common knowledge that this generation, on average, has a higher rate of disposable income and it stands to reason that, upon retirement, they will also have a greater amount of time to volunteer, patronize, and participate in arts and cultural programming. However, this increase in age-related leisure time may be accompanied by an increase in age-related health issues. Edmontons arts and culture sector needs to take this into account if it would like to retain this desirable demographic as stakeholders. This is especially true considering that Statistics Canada projects that more than one-quarter of Canadas populations will be over the age of 65 by 2036; within that population, roughly 43% will have disabilities, the majority of which being mobility and agility-related issues. This means that within the next 24 years, it is expected that between 4.6 million and 5.1 million seniors with disabilities will be living in Canada (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, 2011). The arts and culture sector in Edmonton, along with society as a whole, must plan strategically to include people with mobility issues now so as to avoid excluding a large portion of the population in the future as that population ages. By creating age-friendly arts and cultural venues with barrier-free access, isolation and social exclusion, which can lead to loneliness and poor health, can be mitigated in this significant portion of the population. In fact, research has shown that arts and culture accessibility holds an important role in the creation of environments which support active aging (Miller, 2008). Arts and culture are excellent avenues for seniors to feel socially connected to their communities. This is due to the fact that this sector provides essential identity-affirming opportunities for everyone as [w]e seek ourselves in works of art, to find artistic expressions for our daily or larger problems [while] we also seek new pathways to beauty, pleasure, and happiness (Brault, 2010:62). Without these opportunities, ones ability to experience the world and remain connected to ones community is greatly limited.

Rationale
Small to mid-sized arts and cultural organizations in Edmonton are often forced to get creative when it comes to renting spaces for their events. This is in part due to the dearth of venues dedicated to this group within the arts and cultural sector. Often, organizations must rent or purchase less than ideal spaces due to cost, location, and/or availability. When faced with these issues, it is not surprising when physical accessibility doesnt make it on the agenda or is not seen as a priority. To establish the extent to which the arts and cultural section in Edmonton has been affected by the issue of the physical accessibility, and determine their position on the issue, SPACE in the Arts created 2 and circulated a short electronic survey. The survey was sent to 50

StreetFest is the perfect example

of accessibility at EVERY LEVEL...physical, social, intellectual, economic, cultural...could we improve, SURE!! Edmonton International Street Performers Festival

2 A PDF of this survey can be found in the Appendix of this document.

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small to mid-sized arts and cultural organizations in Edmonton and also contained space for comments and ideas on the issue. Based on the responses of the 14 arts managers who completed the survey, we found that a number of organizations feel they face similar challenges when it comes to ensuring their venues are physically accessible. 57% (8 out of 14) incorporate physical accessibility into their mandate. 93% (13 out of 14) feel it is the responsibility of arts and cultural organizations to make their programming and/or events physically accessible. 93% (13 out of 14) feel the facilities they use for their programming and/or events are physically accessible. 50% (7 out of 14) feel that there is more their organization can do to increase the physical accessibility of their programming and/or events. 43% (6 out of 14) are aware that there is funding available to help make their organization more physically accessible.

What can we deduce from these results?

While 93% of respondents feel it is the responsibility of arts and cultural organizations to make their programming and/or events physically accessible, only 57% incorporate physical accessibility into their mandates. Even though 93% of respondents feel the facilities they use for their programming and/or events are physically accessible, 50% believe there is more their organization can do to increase the physical accessibility of their programming and/or events. Only 43% of respondents are aware that there is funding available to help make their organizations more physically accessible. The fact that 43% of respondents rent their facilities, but cannot make structural changes is one explanation why 50% of organizations feel there is not more their organization can do to increase the physical accessibility of their programming and/or events. I would love to make our facility more accessible but since it is owned by the provincial government I feel it is up to them. Harcourt House

As a small gallery and office located on the third floor of a building, our board does want to move both to a ground floor location so access to all would be possible. Government funding for our organization would have to be vastly increased for us to be able to do this. Visual Arts Alberta

3 The majority of these organizations were identified from the Edmonton Arts Councils membership list, while the remainder were determined by the SPACE in the Arts group.

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Voices from the Community

SPACE in the Arts also contacted people with and without disabilities regarding their experiences around physical accessibility of arts and cultural venues in Edmonton. We wanted to know whats working, whats not working, and what people think should be done to address the issues from people who have been there, as patrons with disabilities or as friends of those patrons. Danielle Peers (co-founder of SPACE, PhD Candidate at the University of Alberta, and Paralympic bronze medalist) has articulated that she has attended Take Back the Night and G8 protest marches on inaccessible routes and equity-based academic conferences that were organized without any physical, visual, or audio forethought. She and her friends have also experienced film festivals where wheelchair users have been deemed fire hazards and were not allowed into theatres. Her research has shown that audience members in theatres have complained to staff that captions during film screenings are distracting and often request that they be turned off. Amorena is Deaf and believes the responsibility lies with organizations to make their events and programming physically accessible. Organizations should have a function in place where people with disabilities can phone or email them in advance to request any type of services. She finds that organizations focus on wheelchair accessibility and often ignore the other people that need access like the Deaf and/or blind. In her opinion, there are accessibility challenges, especially for the Deaf. One example is the fact that only some movies at the theatre are captioned, while others arent, limiting choice. As for sign language interpreters being available, they are out there and ready, the only problem is that they are expensive and need to be paid for their services. Oftentimes, she finds that it falls on the Deaf person's shoulders to cover the expenses, which she feels is not fair. All people with disabilities should have equal access to the City's arts and cultural sector. When Amorena first moved to Edmonton, she went to the Art Gallery of Alberta and really enjoyed herself. The only thing she missed out on was being able to go on the guided tours because she didn't have an interpreter. It would have allowed her a better and more enjoyable gallery experience. When asked, she said she wasnt aware of how to find out about venue accessibility other than to go online to the organizations website as TTY access is not common.

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Chad was the long-time caregiver and friend of a person with a disability who used a wheelchair. He and his friend often went to concerts and events in Edmonton and experienced both the positive and negative impacts of physical accessibility. Chad feels that it is the responsibility of the federal and provincial governments to provide the funding necessary to ensure all arts, cultural, and sports venues are accessible for people with disabilities. This would include upkeep and inspection responsibilities. In his opinion, a venues physical accessibility can be judged on whether a persons attendant can attend the event or activity free of charge or at a subsidized rate. This is necessary because there are people with disabilities who require attendants and their ability to access arts and cultural events can be dependent on whether there is adequate space for their attendant. It would be the same if a person who is Deaf needed a sign language interpreter. Chad was not aware of how or where he could access resources regarding arts and cultural venue accessibility in Edmonton. One of his major concerns is bathroom accessibility and design in venues. Chads experience aiding his friend in accessing washroom facilities was quite negative and they both felt that there are so many different disabilities that need to be accommodated with respect to washroom use that it seems impossible to create a universal washroom that fits all. On the positive side, Chad and his friend found that staff working events were always welcoming and willing to lend a hand.

Conclusion
SPACE in the Arts believes the physical accessibility of arts and cultural venues is a fundamental moral issue that relates to how people feel connected to one another and to their community. Our campaign will concentrate on bringing awareness to this issue to the forefront of the minds of those working in Edmontons arts and cultural sector. We feel that by providing educational information and facilitating dialogue on the subject, opinions about the need for, and rationale behind the physical accessibility of arts and cultural venues will begin to change among arts professionals. By providing the tools necessary to assess venue accessibility, it is hoped that organizations can begin to explore the ways they can incorporate principles of Universal Design into their current venues, when thinking about renovations, and when choosing new venue spaces to purchase or rent. SPACE in the Arts agrees with Simon Braults assertion that The arts and culture hold promises of other visions. They renew the invitation to remain open to experience the world. (2010:66) However, we also believe that too many individuals in Edmonton today are needlessly denied these invitations by the very sector that provides them. This in turn creates social and economic obstacles for both sides that we feel could be remedied through changing the ways in which people think about disability.

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Literature Cited

Advisory Board on Services for Persons with Disabilities. (2008). ABSPD 2008 annual report. Edmonton, AB: City of Edmonton. Brault, S. (2010). No culture, no future. (J. Kaplansky, Trans.). Toronto, ON: Cormorant Books. City of Edmonton. (2012). City vision & strategic plan. Retrieved from http://www.edmonton.ca/ city_government/city-vision-and-strategic-plan.aspx City of Edmonton (2012). Diversity and inclusion (Policy No. C538). Retrieved from http://www.edmonton.ca/ city_government/documents/C538.pdf#xml=http://search1.edmonton.ca/texis/ThunderstoneSearchServic /pdfhi.txt?query=policy+C538&pr=www.edmonton.ca&prox=page&rorder=750&rprox=250&rdfreq=0&rwfre q=0&rlead=750&rdepth=0&sufs=0&order=r&cq=&id=5061a3ab57 City of Edmonton. (2011). Measuring up Edmonton: resource guide. Edmonton, AB: City of Edmonton. Government of Alberta. (2010). Aging population policy framework. Retrieved from 2012 http://www.seniors. alberta.ca/Seniors/AgingPopulation/docs/AgingPopulationFramework.pdf Government of Canada. (2006). International best practices in universal design: a global review. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Human Rights Commission. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. (2011). Federal disability report: seniors with disabilities in Canada. Gatineau, QC: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Meyer, A. & Rose, D. H. (2000). Universal Design for individual differences. Educational Leadership 58(3), 39-43. Miller, G. R. (2008). Inclusive design must be integrated with drive for sustainability. The Ontario Planning Journal 23(3), 6-7. Peers, D. & Eales, L. (2012). "Stand up for exclusion?: Queer pride, ableism and inequality." In M. Smith & F. Jaffer, (Eds.). Beyond the queer alphabet: conversations on gender, sexuality, and intersectionality (pp. 39-41). Retrieved from http://www.fedcan.ca/en/blog/teaching-equity-matters Safety Codes Council. (2008). Barrier-free design guide: design for independence and dignity for everyone, 4th ed. Edmonton, AB: Government of Alberta. Siebers, T. (2001). Disability in theory: from social constructionism to the new realism of the body. American Literary History 13(4), 737-754. Statistics Canada. (2012). Population aging. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-215-x/2012000/part partie2-eng.htm) Terzi, L. (2004). The social model of disability: a philosophical critique. Journal of Applied Philosophy 21(2),141 157.