[Art_beyond_sight_theory_and_research] Art Education for the Blind telephone conference Today

[Lisa Yayla]

Hi,

Forwarding reminder about Art Beyond Sight's telephone conference today.

Regards,

Lisa

If you have any trouble viewing the newsletter, you can also access it online at
http://www.artbeyondsight.org/change/aw-emailalerts.shtml



THE EIGHTH ANNUAL ART BEYOND SIGHT AWARENESS MONTH
October 2010: Alert III

SAVE A DATE: Monday October 18

Dial In for our annual all day Telephone Conference Crash Course from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on Monday, October 18.
Elisabeth Axel, founder and President of Art Education for the Blind, will open the course at 9 a.m. Following, experts will discuss a variety of topics, from how to engage and maintain your museum audience while acknowledging its diversity to strategies that allow artists with disabilities to operate in the mainstream art world.

Callers-in pay normal long-distant phone charges, but NO additional fees.

The teleconference number is (712) 432-0220.
Our conference access code is 232-2009.


For a closer look at the schedule, see below.

9 - 10 a.m.: Reports from:
AAM Annual Meeting "Museums without Borders," Danielle St. Germain-Gordon, American Association of Museums
The 2nd World Conference on Arts Education "Arts For Society, Education for Creativity," Erin Narloch, Leigh Yawkee Woodson Art Museum. The Second World Conference explored the wide range of learning environments and opportunities in and out of institutional education settings, as well as advocated the importance of arts education to the international community.

10 - 11 a.m.: Understanding Museum Audiences: What Visitors with Disabilities Want
Are you second guessing your audience? This conversation focuses on what people with disabilities have told museum educators they want from a visit - what makes a trip to a museum worth the effort. The information shared comes from conversations held at focus groups, advisory board meetings, and programs for people with vision loss and other disabilities. As our panelists found, it's not always what you think.

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.: Science Museums and Inclusive Programming
Join museum representatives and an institution partner from the disabilities community as they discuss their work towards achieving best practices for accessibility. Examples from each institution and the lessons learned will be shared, including facility planning, and exhibition and program implementation.

12 - 1 p.m.:  Small Museums and Inclusive Programming
Staff from three museums will share their efforts to develop inclusive programs for community audiences.  They'll discuss the framework of school and community programs, their relevance for the institution,  training needed for staff and docents, and common challenges faced in sustaining and marketing the programs.

1 - 2 p.m.: Reimagining Family Programs in Museums
Discover how museums are reimagining the model of 'family programming' in order to better respond to changes in the post-modern family unit.  By expanding our definition of "family," and considering the changing needs of the people within these families, museums are better able to provide meaningful experiences for people at different life stages and with different abilities.  Several case studies will be presented. The panelists will discuss program development, outreach, format, and participant feedback.

2 - 3 p.m.: Art and Creativity to Engage Children with Various Disabilities
The word "engage" takes on a special meaning when used in conjunction with children with disabilities. For them engaging in art or other activities can be a difficult process.  For museum educators and art teachers considering how the child will engage is at the heart of planning and execution. This session will discuss the panelists' experiences and best practices in making art accessible and meaningful for children with disabilities.

3 - 4 p.m.: Reflections on Diversity: Disability in Film
The film industry has perpetuated stereotyped ideas about the abilities of people who are blind - vision loss either is compensated by a sixth sense or, on the other end of the spectrum, leaves people powerless. Well, times are changing. Going Blind and Do You Dream in Color (see News Reel below), two recent documentaries commenting on people's lives with visual impairment, foster understanding and break down some of the barriers.

4 - 5 p.m.: Out of the Ordinary: Artists With Disabilities Claiming a Place in the Mainstream Art World
Three internationally exhibiting photographers who are blind talk candidly about art and disability. What strategies allow artists with disabilities to operate in the mainstream art world? Is there a growing "art disability ghetto" of well-intended but marginal exhibitions? How can artists deeply explore personal and disability issues, while avoiding marginalizing labels? Blind artists bring a personally based perspective to these issues. As artist Pete Eckert states: "Being a blind photographer is a hook, but it's also a sinker."

For the full schedule and list of speakers, go to: http://www.artbeyondsight.org/change/aw-crashcourse.shtml

Callers-in pay normal long-distant phone charges, but NO additional fees.

The teleconference number is (712) 432-0220.
Our conference access code is 232-2009.





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News Reel

Do You Dream In Color?
Abigael Fuller, Director

Do You Dream In Color? began as a simple investigation into the dreams of blind and visually impaired individuals, but soon grew into a large project following seven inspiring blind teenagers with a mission to raise awareness about living with visual impairment. Director Abigail Fuller notes that, "The film gradually changed in scope and took on much larger issues than we originally had planned. This happened because we became immersed in the community and saw firsthand the issues that the blind community is actively fighting for: equal education, employment opportunities, and battling ever-looming low expectations."
In a society based largely on visual information, it is often difficult for a sighted person to understand that being blind does not mean living in the dark, and the goal of Do You Dream in Color?  is to bridge that gap of understanding. The film uses animation to depict the dreams of these seven blind teens, each of whom is paired with a different animator.  The goal of these artists is to create each teen's dreams in the most accurate and compelling way possible using visual effects. Fuller tells us, "Each artist was chosen based on several factors, including the teenagers' personalities, the content of their dreams, the different sensory experiences they describe,  their different interpretations of color, and the perceptions of their world in their waking lives."

The film features neuroscientists Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone and Dr. Lotfi Merabet, dream psychologists Dr. William Domhoff and Dr. Nancy Kerr and opthamologist Dr. Sam Masket, who help the audience understand how these animated dreams can be created and understood by sighted viewers. Fuller and her crew feel strongly that "including the science is a necessary part of the story. The experts featured in the film will definitely expose an audience to ideas they are not familiar with. Combining the heartwarming stories with the necessary factual information only helps to paint a more complete picture of the world we are trying to expose to the audience." The combination of animation, personal experience, and science is sure to be a winning combination.
For more information visit the website for Do You Dream in Color? at http://www.doyoudreamincolor.org, and be on the look-out for the film's release!
Written by Drew Smith

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Literature Corner

Makabayan: Sibika at Kultura Hekasi
Touchbook Text in the Philippines

Touch the Artist Vision, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, recently launched "Makabayan: Sibika at Kultura o Hekasi," a pioneering program in Philippine art that allows people who are blind to have a meaningful museum experience. Comprised of lessons for grades one through four, the three-volume book uses swell paper tactile material (see pictures below). Tactile images of the crucial concepts in basic education were developed and are accompanied by audio recording. Annette L.Esperaz, Julia R. Capulong, Evelyn B. Caja, and May Lyn L. Cruz co-authored the book. The project has been well-received and they hope to get the Makabayan book out to each and every school in the country.

For more information visit "Touchbooks" on Facebook.





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