Dear Friends,
As we come to the close of our 35th year I am in awe of the support you’ve shown to Art-Reach. Over the last year, we did not just survive, we found ways to celebrate, innovate, and validate our role in creating an equitable world.
Together with all of you, we celebrated our 35th anniversary in April – thirty-five years of making the arts accessible. We celebrated the people and places that keep pushing accessibility further. We even launched a new award, The Joyce Burd Young Leader Award named after our founder. Without your support, we would not have celebrations. There would be no awards. We would not have anniversaries. But luckily, you were there.
Throughout the year we worked with our partners to innovate. We embraced experimentation to bring new ideas to life. When the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society wanted to take their Flower Show outdoors, we helped make it accessible. When Opera Philadelphia wanted to remove the cost barrier to shows, Art-Reach’s ACCESS made it possible. When high school students wanted to visit museums in Philadelphia, they used the Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Family STAMP program at Art-Reach to do so for free. Without your support, accessibility would be further away. But luckily, you were there.
In September Art-Reach hosted its third Cultural Accessibility Conference. Over 240 people attended from 40 states and six countries. The response to our conference validated our role as a national and international leader in cultural accessibility. Without your support, the community of learning would end. But luckily, you were there.
Art-Reach has a bold agenda for the next few years, but we need your support to bring it to life. We will advance the cultural sector and prepare the next generation of accessibility leaders.
I hope you will consider supporting our work to create an equitable world. Your support today will determine where we finish the journey.
Sincerely,
John Orr
Executive Director
