The Audio-Reader Network will partner with area arts organizations to host the second Arts Accessibility Forum, aiming to promote accessibility at regional arts and culture events.
The event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Jan. 28, at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive, with a virtual option available over Zoom.
The event is free for all to attend, but organizers request that everyone register in advance at this link.
Audio-Reader, which provides accessible audio versions of print material for individuals who are blind, visually impaired or print disabled, launched the forum last year.
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The forum features three meetings and two training sessions. The free workshops will include expert guest speakers, and the paid training sessions will equip arts professionals and volunteers with the skills to provide audio description services or other accessibility options.
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“Our main hope is to facilitate a conversation around accessibility in the arts and to get organizations and individuals thinking about how they can make their events, programs, or even artwork itself more accessible,” Martha Kehr, communications and listener outreach coordinator at Audio-Reader, said via email. “We would like to see representatives from all types of arts and cultural organizations come together to learn how to effectively implement accessibility at their locations, on their websites, and/or during their events.”
Wednesday’s meeting will focus on discussions of inclusive design, adaptive dance and equity in arts experiences, according to the forum’s website.
Nilou Vakil, associate professor of architecture at KU, will present on designing accessible spaces. Participants will have small group discussions before Joel Snyder, who will lead the forum’s audio description training sessions, answers questions about the upcoming training sessions.
“The importance of accessibility can often be ignored by people who do not need adaptations or accommodations in their daily lives,” Kehr said. “We encourage the public to gain more understanding on the subject so they can become better allies to the disability community.”
The forum is funded by a grant from the Kansas Arts Commission. The final meeting is set for Wednesday, June 3.
The audio description training sessions will take place Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13 and cost $200 per participant. Learn more at this link.
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Hannah Loub (she/her), reporting intern with The Lawrence Times since January 2026, is a journalism and global and international studies major at the University of Kansas. She is currently the lead digital producer for KUJH and worked as a beat reporter for the University Daily Kansan. Read her work for the Times here.
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