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2008-2009 ADA Cultural Inclusion Grant Recipients


A total of 18 proposals were reviewed by the panel. 11 out of the 18 proposals were funded.


Central Square Theater
Drawing on knowledge gained from the production of Alliger Productions' Access Performance of Coming Up for Air at Central Square Theater in August, Central Square Theater will produce an Inclusive by Design theater production during its Grand Opening Season. This Inclusive by Design Theater Production will hopefully serve as a model for other performing arts organizations and lay the foundation for future Access Programming at the new Central Square Theater.

Community Access to the Arts
The goal of this collaborative project between CATA and area public school systems is to provide teenagers and young adults with disabilities with the skills, motivation, and support necessary to access artistic and cultural resources in their communities, including CATA workshops, while they are still in school and facilitating the process of continuing on with these cultural activities and experiences after exiting from the public school system.

Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf
The project for which our organization seeks funding is the Documentary Filmmaking Project. This is a valuable component of the second annual Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf's Deaf Youth Outdoor Leadership Program (DYOLP) youth retreat. This retreat is a leadership-training program catered to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in Massachusetts currently in high school. In the end of September forty Deaf and Hard of Hearing students will convene at a rustic cabin on campgrounds in New Hampshire to participate in a variety of leadership-training workshops, one of which is the Documentary Filmmaking Project. This project intends to serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing students who are eager to explore the field of filmmaking and are interested in developing their critical thinking and leadership skills. These students will be from one of the four schools for the Deaf in the state, one of which is a residential school, or from the numerous schools that have a mainstreaming program. In these mainstreaming programs, these students may be the only Deaf or Hard of Hearing student in the school, or one of a small handful.

Fitchburg State College
This season's engagement with artists with disabilities is an exhibition in our art gallery titled: Shooting Blind: Photographs by the Visually Impaired . These unique photographs are made by Seeing with Photography, a collective of photographers, with varying degrees of visual abilities, that have been active in New York for over seven years. At present, we have an inquiry to the collective asking for an artist talk. If they are unable to come, we will ask FSC photography faculty to explain the unique and particular technique involved in the creation of the work.

Audio Journal
Audio Journal will bundle two projects together, both concerning access for legally blind individuals to significant cultural events in Worcester. First, we will provide access to the Worcester Art Museum's annual "Flora in Winter" exhibit, using audio description, tactile and sensory elements, Braille, large print, and guided tours. Second, we will provide access to First Night Worcester 2009, converting their printed program to audio CDs, cassettes, and downloadable MP3 files on line.

First Night Worcester
Entering its 9th consecutive year, the Deaf Youth Program remains the only one of its kind in our area that engages and welcomes the creative participation of professional Deaf artists/educators and Deaf youth from Worcester and surrounding communities and also attracts deaf and hard of hearing audiences from across the region for an event that is highly accessible and enjoyable for all. This year's plans are geared toward integrating our theme of "magic" into all aspects of the event including the Deaf Youth Program residency. Hosted at College of the Holy Cross during the week of Christmas vacation, an intensive series of workshops will develop skills used for a culminating performance as part of the First Night festivities on December 31, 2008. Although the program is primarily geared toward deaf and hard of hearing youth ages 8-18, plans for this year also include offering limited registration to deaf seniors for a more multi-generational experience with opportunity to also further expand audience demographics.

Coolidge Corner Theater
Coolidge Corner Theater aims to increase cultural participation in the performing and film arts by and for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community. Funds will be used to bring speakers, performers, filmmakers who have disabilities and are inspiring their community. Our entertainment program would expand to include four Sunday events.

UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center
The UMass Fine Arts Center's Center Series (FAC) will host Sweet Honey in the Rock in performance on Saturday, November 1, 2008 as part of a campus and community wide project entitled "Let Your Voice be Heard: Building a Community of Conscience through Story and Song." A key member of Sweet Honey in the Rock is sign language interpreter Shirley Childress Saxton. As the child of deaf parents, American Sign Language is her first language. Ms. Saxton received her undergraduate degree in Deaf Education from UMass Amherst. She is considered to be the leading expert on performance interpreting of music and poetry. UMass Disability Services is excited to work with the Center Series on coordinating a workshop with Ms. Saxton specifically designed for area sign language interpreters on the art of interpreting performance. Disability Services will identify and hire local deaf or hard-of-hearing artists in order to include their perspectives and expertise on music interpretation as part of this workshop. We hope that this workshop will grow an interest in sign language interpretation for performance in our region so that we may be able to offer more opportunities for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. This workshop will be open to all area sign language interpreters and members of ASL clubs. Continuing Education Units will also be made available for registered interpreters who complete this workshop. Ms. Saxton will also lead a one-day workshop on Friday, October 31st specifically geared toward the deaf community and deaf students on campus.

Access to Theatre
Access to Theatre (ATT), an inclusive theater arts program, was created by, with, and for young people with and without disabilities. It provides fully accessible participatory theater arts experiences, enabling youth, ages 13-24 to develop creative expression, self-esteem, friendship, leadership and independent living skills. Youth in the Boston area work together with professional artists to meet group and individual goals while creating original theater productions. ATT offers a Summer Institute, an after-school program, and leadership opportunities. We believe that ATT is a model of Universal Design and gives participants, artists, community and audience members unique opportunities to learn and begin to change the way programs are implemented. ATT would present an inclusive participatory workshop, host a discussion, and present a performance at the VSAM Inclusive by Design Education Conference in April 2009.

Wakefield Community Access TV
WCAT and the Arc of East Middlesex will develop a collaborative project that will allow individuals with developmental disabilities to express their creative talents and abilities with the use of video and digital media. In a pilot project the two agencies are now attempting to define a core group of individuals from people who are participating in the Creative Expressions Track of the Arc of East Middlesex's Life Choices Program. This group will receive full training in the use of video camera and editing equipment. At the end of the first full year of the program it is expected that participants will be able to write, direct, act and produce programs ranging in length from one minute public service announcements to full length half-hour information and/or entertainment programs. During the pilot program we have already worked with two groups of individuals with disabilities including blindness, partial hearing loss, cognitive and physical disabilities.

Spontaneous Celebrations
Families Creating Together is an eight-week intergenerational Expressive Arts Program designed to include all children ages 3-12 years old, their siblings and caregivers in a wheelchair accessible setting. This program adapts the curriculum to include all learning styles through storytelling, creative drama and visual arts. All workshops are taught in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. A multicultural multilingual experienced team of visual and performing teaching artists leads the program, three that are living with disabilities.