Maine arts panel lauded for programs Efforts recognized at NYC ceremony

NEW YORK – It was a big-city moment for a rural state Saturday when the Maine Arts Commission received national commendation for outstanding arts accessibility programs and initiatives.

Alden Wilson, the commission’s executive director, accepted the 2006 National Accessibility Leadership Award from Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Jonathan Katz, chief executive officer of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, the joint sponsors of the $30,000 grant.

The ceremony took place in New York City before some 2,000 participants at the national conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, considered the largest annual gathering of performing artists and arts administrators in the world.

Maine’s commission is a national model, Gioia said, because it:

. Established an advisory committee on which more than half the members are people with disabilities.

. Held statewide open forums on arts accessibility.

. Created an annual governor’s award for arts accessibility.

. Funds access improvements to buildings.

. Develops a fully accessible Web site.

Maine is the first state with a population of fewer than 5 million to receive the award.

Gioia acknowledged the organization’s national reputation as a leader among arts agencies.

He cited the 2004 Innovation Award, given by NASAA to the commission for organizing a statewide conference on the creative economy, as an additional indication of Maine’s dedication to the value of arts in community life, business and education.

“Maine has an extremely strong state arts group and superb networks of arts groups,” Gioia said. “They’ve constantly demonstrated their ability. The state should feel very proud of how well its cultural groups are functioning.”

According to the 2000 U.S. census, some 20 million families have a member with a disability. In Maine, roughly 18 percent of residents identify themselves as having a disability, and more than half of the 65-and-older population has some form of disability.

Wilson put the state numbers slightly higher, and said as much as a third of Maine’s population has a disability or is “temporarily disabled.”

The arts should be equally and easily accessible to all those people, he said, whether they are in a wheelchair, blind or with less obvious needs when it comes to participation.

“To have this national commendation is wonderful,” said Wilson, who attended the ceremony after spending a week in Washington, D.C., where he goes each winter to meet with program administrators at the NEA.

“The credit goes to a good staff and to the public that participates in all of our programs. We realize that we have not only an arts mission in Maine, but we can provide a really important asset, too.”

Wilson credited Bryan W. Knicely, the agency’s former assistant director and accessibility coordinator, with building the foundation for the award.

Knicely is now president of the Greater Columbus Arts Council in Ohio. In 2004, when the Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor won the Governor’s Award for Arts Accessibility, Knicely said: “We want everyone to be able to enjoy the arts. … We want to make it so there aren’t any barriers. We don’t want anyone to be turned away.”

Good will is not the only determinant here. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for people with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities and transportation. All of these are relevant to the arts.

For arts administrators, accessibility also can mean providing services to a significant population of ticket buyers.

“There’s a shared commitment among the National Endowment for the Arts, all the state arts agencies and arts presenters to broaden, deepen and diversify participation in the arts,” said Katz, of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. “In order to diversify, you have to have accessibility. Maine is so outstanding that everybody in the country is honoring it today.”

Katz also said that Maine has a stellar reputation among arts agencies. “What it has been particularly creative in doing,” he added, “is drawing upon its cultural assets to build community life statewide.”

In addition to the grant money, which will be used to continue developing accessibility in the arts, the leadership award may provide muscle for Wilson as he lobbies for arts accessibility in coming state bond issues.

“Our core mission is to support and expand support for arts initiatives in the state for artists, organizations and the freedom of artistic expression,” said Wilson, who has directed the agency since 1974. “This type of award develops community pride. I would like the citizens of Maine to think about their arts commission as a significant player that makes Maine a desirable place to live and visit.”

The Maine Arts Commission was established through legislation in 1965 as a state agency devoted to stimulating and encouraging public interest in the cultural heritage of the state. The National Accessibility Leadership Award, given annually since 2001, recognizes a state or regional arts agency that significantly advances access work. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Arizona have been previous recipients.