The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.
The Arts Endowment’s Office of Accessibility is the advocacy-technical assistance arm of the Arts Endowment to make the arts accessible for people with disabilities, older adults, veterans, and people living in institutions. The Office works in a myriad of ways to accomplish its goals, such as:
--Providing technical assistance to individuals and organizations in the following areas: to open existing programs and make the arts fully accessible to people with disabilities, older adults, and people living in institutions; and to comply with the Endowment's Section 504 Regulations and the Americans with Disabilities Act;
--Initiating cooperative projects with other federal agencies and nonprofit groups to better educate professionals serving older and disabled people concerning access issues and the value and benefits of arts programming;
--Encouraging and assisting more support for addressing the needs of older and disabled Americans through the Endowment's divisions and through state and national groups concerned with the arts and with underserved populations;
--Assisting applicants and grantees with project development that involve the targeted groups; and
--Organizing/convening panels, seminars, and workshops for Endowment staff, its grantees, as well as other federal agencies.