News December 2020

Dearest Friends,

We hope you are staying safe and finding joy and connection during this challenging year. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to radically adapt as an organization. We have made some hard decisions, like closing our gallery and canceling in-person art workshops. But the pandemic also gave us the opportunity to get creative and figure out how we can best serve artists, the disability community, and our cultural sector under these circumstances.

• We are thrilled to be continuing our Breaking Barriers partnership with the Utah Division of Arts and Museums and the Dumke Jr. Foundation—a 12-hour training program on disability and accessibility for the cultural sector. Currently in the middle of our second cohort, we have provided training for 16 cultural organizations, with a third cohort starting in Spring 2021.
• Additionally, we are launching a new workshop series on disability and accessibility topics such as The Intersection of Race and Disability, Building Accessible Websites, and Accessible Digital Programming.
• We currently have four Partners artists working with mentors on a year-long partnership, and we are accepting applications for next year's artists. We are also continuing our annual tradition of the 300 Plates Fundraiser and (online) Exhibition, and have artist applications opening today. Links for both are below.
• Finally, we are thrilled to announce an Artist Relief Fund for artists with disabilities and BIPOC artists that you can read more about below.

On behalf of the Art Access staff: myself, Assistant Director Kerry Carlson, and Finance Director Erin Call, please know that we are thinking about you, sending you all our love, and looking forward to when we can all gather together again.

Shandra Benito

The Artist Relief Fund is now closed. Thanks to funders and donors, we were able to help over 50 artists with disabilities and BIPOC (black/indigenous/person of color) artists.