BEGINNING: A National Conversation

Whether you’re an artist identifying as having a developmental disability, a caregiver/support worker, an arts programming professional, an arts administrator/leader, or have a general interest in learning about ways we can advance the arts/culture sector to better support and showcase artists living with developmental disabilities, this conversation is one that will change our cultural landscape for good.

The focus of this event is to invite artists living with developmental disabilities, the broader disability sector, as well as the local arts and culture sectors to come together to reimagine a world that shines a bigger light on the creativity of artists living with developmental disabilities.

This national conversation will be:

• An opportunity for artists living with a developmental disability to share their stories, listen to fellow artists with disabilities, and interact with delegates from the disability sector and the mainstream arts/culture sector – with the goal of helping to envision an arts/culture world that will provide equitable opportunities for artists with developmental disabilities.
• An opportunity for caregivers and the disability sector to also do the same and see what roles they can play to support artists living with disabilities.
• An opportunity for disability- and mainstream arts professionals to gain new perspectives, hearing from firsthand accounts of artists living with disabilities and from our speakers and panelists.
• An opportunity for arts funders, administrators, and leaders from the arts/culture sector to hear these perspectives and identify ways they can explore to support artists living with disabilities.