In 2022/23, the Steering Committee of the Museum, Arts, & Culture Access Consortium (MAC) set out to create the organization’s first strategic plan focused on clarifying mission and goals, developing consistent programming offerings, deepening MAC’s understanding of and commitment to anti-racist, anti-ableist, and anti-oppressive organizational practices, developing an organizational leadership structure and engaging diverse stakeholders. 

The resulting plan outlines a three-year trajectory of organizational and programmatic development focused on improving MAC’s sustainability, visibility and community connections. Critical elements of the plan include investing in capacity through a shared leadership structure, building out a consistent programming platform to serve MAC core constituent groups (cultural organizations, disabled audiences and the disabled workforce in the arts), and engaging in more proactive branding and positioning of MAC and its work. 

Philosophy & Approach

We take a joyful approach to our work, uplifting and celebrating disabled people within our culture and community. Because we are a pro-disability organization and because disability intersects with all other identities, we aspire to align with the values and intentions of all justice movements and people who uplift access, equity, and inclusion. We will work toward collective liberation, sustainability, the disruption of entrenched power structures.

We lean into our identity as a consortium of disabled advocates and arts & culture professionals. We are a group of disabled and non-disabled people working together to address issues of disability access in museums, arts and culture. We focus on providing information, tools, resources and community support to arts and culture organizations and the practitioners who work with them and within them. MAC’s success is measured primarily through the accessible cultural programming, disability awareness and competency in cultural organizations, employment opportunities, and positive employment experiences for disabled artists and cultural workers that our members deliver through our support. In this way our work indirectly, and intentionally, supports the disabled community beyond our members and partners, including disabled audiences, artists and cultural workers.

We recognize that we cannot create change alone.  We remain aware of and connected to the work of others around disability equity in arts and culture and we seek to find opportunities to amplify impact through partnerships and collaborations. We are committed to coalition building within the arts and culture sector and the disability community.  

MAC aspires to align our work with the principles and values of Disability Justice. We believe in the importance of leadership by those most impacted and we commit to continue to build and support racially and gender diverse disability leadership within our consortium. We prioritize sustainability. We take a long-term perspective and consider our individual and collective capacity, believing it is better to focus on what we can do well and maintain than to extend beyond our resources. We recognize wholeness and support cross-disability solidarity and intersectionality in our work. We seek to desegregate our approach to disability, to understand the totality of the lives and experiences of the disabled people in our community, and to consider the needs of the whole person in our programs, services and operations.  

CURRENT CONTEXT

Following the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, the Museum, Arts and Culture Access Consortium (MAC) was formed by a small group of museum and disability professionals who started meeting informally to discuss topics related to accessibility at their New York-based institutions. Even now, MAC is the only organization bringing cultural organizations together and providing a hub of resources around access across all arts & culture disciplines in New York City. MAC continues to provide a strong peer network that supports knowledge sharing across organizations/between practitioners and a community for all who are concerned about access in arts and culture.

MAC’s volunteer steering committee is comprised of leaders from the cultural and disability communities and provides oversight of the association’s activities, including professional development workshops, technical assistance to cultural institutions, and the development of public resources related to cultural accessibility. Currently the steering committee plans, manages and undertakes all administrative responsibilities with support from paid project staff engaged to manage funded initiatives as needed. While MAC’s current leadership (steering committee and staff) includes people with disabilities, it lacks the racial and intersectional diversity necessary to authentically lead an organization concerned with collective access and liberation.  

As MAC entered the planning process the organization was reckoning with a number of challenges as it adapted to post-pandemic realities. The volunteer structure was under stress with a small group of people taking on the majority of the work and many struggling to keep up with the workload as their own lives and commitments shifted as a result of the pandemic disruption. While MAC continued to have success with the Supporting Transitions program, other programs were less consistent (due to a lack of funding/staffing to move them forward). Members and leadership were feeling an overall lack of direction, momentum and visibility that was limiting the MAC’s impact and potential.

MISSION 

MAC is an organization striving toward increasing access to cultural institutions in and around New York City for the disability community through connection, education, and advocacy.

MAC addresses the needs of disabled New Yorkers and visitors in engaging with cultural experiences, spaces and opportunities by working with arts and culture institutions and cultural workers to support their efforts to:

• Improve equity and access for disabled New Yorkers and visitors to cultural programming and cultural experiences;
• Increase cultural competency and cultural humility around disability within the arts and culture sector through awareness building, training and education;
• Sustain and expand the community of cultural practitioners committed to disability equity and access;
• Promote access programs and services and connect them with relevant disabled communities in and around New York;
• Champion disabled artists and cultural workers, promoting representation, employment and visibility of the disabled community in arts and culture and creating workplaces that support equitable opportunities for disabled New Yorkers; and
• Partner with policy makers and advocates across sectors to raise awareness around and enact integrated city-wide access policies and practices that include cultural facilities and activities.

VISION

MAC envisions a future in which cultural experiences and a rich cultural life are completely accessible and equitably available to all New Yorkers and visitors. To that end, we strive to continually improve the cultural opportunities in and around New York for disabled people. We understand that an accessible future is not a fixed point but an evolving process which is deeply connected to other aspects of quality of life and community wellbeing. Our vision for the future requires both enhancing and growing knowledge and resources, and also dismantling, realigning, and reimagining ideas, systems and practices.  

We set our expectations beyond compliance, committing to equity, belonging and universal access that are not dependent on the individual to seek accommodation but designed to recognize, invite in, and engage all people. We recognize that an accessible cultural future for New York must be created with and led by disabled people and must represent the intersectional diversity of New York’s disabled communities.

We believe that an arts and culture ecosystem that is fully accessible benefits not only our disabled community members but all of our organizations, artists and community members. We are committed to the notion that “a rising tide lifts all boats” in that intersectional justice is key to the work we do and how we can support the greater NYC community.  

OVERARCHING GOALS

We seek to bring about a ‘culture shift in the cultural sphere’ such that arts & culture institutions and practitioners value, seek out and support the contributions and needs of disabled people. We highlight the efforts of our members and partners as examples and opportunities for others in the sector.

MAC aspires to be the central resource and thought leader for disability equity in arts and culture in New York. We want to provide a connection between the network of cultural organizations and institutions with existing disability access practices and programs, and the opportunities, relationships and resources they need to embrace and enact a fully accessible cultural future for New Yorkers. 

We hope to generate a supportive peer community of cultural workers and disability equity advocates invested in disability access in arts and culture. We recognize that real change is not just regulatory but requires a commitment to constantly working on a community level to learn, adapt and advance our practices.

Goals for 2023-25

• Establish a suite of programming (with 2 – 3 core programs) that is mission-driven and sustainable.
• Develop sustainable, effective & appropriate infrastructure to develop programs & support operations; including paid staff so that the bulk of the work of MAC is not falling on unpaid labor.
• Continue our learning and active practices of anti-racism and anti-ableism. 
• Disrupt our current power structures and create opportunities for people from historically and currently excluded communities in the membership and decision-making roles within MAC.
• Implement a training program that shares knowledge and learning, generates earned revenue, and responds to inquiries from cultural institution and/or individual partners.
• Clarify what membership means and increase the number of members, especially institutional members. Add a new membership category to engage agency partners as members of MAC.
• Increase visibility and name recognition of MAC in the cultural community and disability community.
• Generate sustainable annual funding, including baseline general operating support to reliably support operations, staffing and programming needs.

MAC hopes to serve three constituencies with our work at the nexus of arts & culture and disability access. Our constituencies include:

• Disabled Audiences:  Audiences in New York with all kinds of disabilities with an interest in engaging in cultural experiences.  MAC provides a cultural calendar, website and advocacy to support this constituency.
• Cultural Organizations:  Cultural organizations across disciplines including museums, visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, horticulture, and arts education in New York across disciplines and the people who work with and within these organizations.  MAC provides access training and tools, community support, workforce development, and advocacy to support this constituency.
• Disabled Workforce:  Individuals with all kinds of disabilities who work in and/or desire to work in the cultural sector, inclusive of disabled artists.  MAC provides training, access to employment opportunities, and advocacy for this constituency.

We focus our programs & services in three overlapping areas:

• Connecting:  Programs that create community, connect people and ideas and create easy access to information.
• Learning:  Training programs and hands on learning experiences such as internships and apprenticeships.
• Advocating:  Leadership on arts & culture policy advocacy, research and data development to support advocacy efforts, and support for broader disability access advocacy.

Goals

• Provide consistent support for our three constituencies with connecting, learning, and advocating opportunities at the nexus of arts & culture and disability access.
• Measure the impact of our programs & services so we can track and report our success and grow from learnings and unlearnings.
• Make our programs & services more intentionally inclusive and equitable in design and delivery across disability

Strategies

• Create consistent program content for cultural organizations and workers
• Develop slides, handouts etc. to support program delivery
• Assess current payment structure for program offerings, propose & put in place an appropriate fee structure for planned programs
• Connect programs and the people we serve through more consistent membership communication and programs and a biannual conference
• Invest in staffing to consistently communicate with and engage members/stakeholders
• Build community by connecting MAC constituents with each other
• As momentum builds, plan for and launch a biannual conference to bring together our constituencies (Disabled Audiences, Cultural Organizations, Disabled Workforce in the Arts)
• Build on the successful approach of Supporting Transitions to address the needs of people with different disabilities
• Develop & Pilot Learning Cohorts: co-learning opportunities to meet the needs of learners at different stages of development and encourage peer connections
• Build Research & Data Collection with appropriate partners
• Extend the work from MVACI to support advocacy work
• Consult and collaborate with partners with shared interest and networks
• Research advocacy programs and develop an advocacy approach and tools that serve our community and programmatic priorities.
• Focus advocacy efforts around access issues for disabled audiences and artists
• Set specific goals for each program and establish ways to measure impact for ourselves
• Proactively integrate participant centered program design in how we design and deliver all programs
• Use focus groups and other tools to listen to the community and align programs around their needs and interests

Goals

• Define and build a sustainable and equitable staff/leadership structure to improve accountability and support MAC’s organizational and programmatic goals. Continue to support needed program staff alongside the leadership structure by building program manager compensation into program budgets.
• Continue our learning and active practices of anti-racism and anti-ableism.  Integrate the principles of disability justice and other frameworks into MAC’s ways of working.
• Disrupt our current power structures and create opportunities for people from historically and currently excluded communities in the membership and decision-making roles within MAC.
• Prepare for transition from fiscal sponsorship to 501c3 when the conditions are right.

Strategies

• Assess, adjust & clarify steering committee role; transitioning to an advisory/governance approach. Focus the steering committee on visioning, setting strategic expectations/big picture goals, resource development, and building community relationships.
• Clearly define steering committee expectations and membership requirements
• Create stipends for steering committee or working committees to make these roles more accessible to disabled, diverse (race, culture, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, family-status) and financially disadvantaged individuals
• Build towards a shared leadership staffing structure to support our programming team with operational leadership. Start with one part-time position in fundraising/membership and grow as our resource base increases. 
• Maintain part time program staff and engage consultants as needed for specific projects to ensure appropriate capacity and pay people for their labor
• Develop and implement a DEIJ implementation protocol to ensure that we are integrating disability justice and other frameworks of equitable practice into how we approach all aspects of our work
• Address racial and disability diversity in our leadership and staff by engaging in inclusive selection processes and continually assessing and adapting our practices with an equity lens to support diverse candidates.
• Prioritize building relationships with multiple marginalized disabled people and developing our understanding of their needs and interests.
• Maintain fiscal sponsorship with FCNY until we achieve at least one of the following milestones:
  • We need more flexibility, immediacy, or frequency in making payments
  • Our business structure changes
  • Our values/needs conflict with our fiscal sponsor
  • Fiscal sponsorship fee increases and exceeds value of relationship for us
  • And we have the accounting oversight, financial planning and health expertise on the Steering Committee or within our leadership to manage as a 501c3 consistently.

Goals

• Monetize programming and MAC’s knowledge base/connections while maintaining access for all
• Build our foundation and government support – especially as we engage staff to support fundraising efforts
• Build a baseline of support from individual donors & supporters
• Activate our business relationships to secure corporate sponsorships

Strategies

• Create a values-aligned pricing model for custom workshops & access consulting referrals
• Build additional income generating programming:
  • Offer cohort training programs
  • Generate money through job postings
  • Host Events – ie MAC Night at the theatre
• Research and reach out to large local & national foundations and government funders supporting Arts Service Organizations & Disability Service Organizations
• Highlight recognition by other organizations through awards
• Secure multi-source support for Supporting Transitions
• Develop our asking capacity & tools to build an individual donor pool
• Set up sponsorship relationships with businesses we work with

Goals

• Adapt membership structure, pricing and benefits to better support MAC while encouraging membership growth
• Build and diversify our membership base
• Create a strong sense of community and connection within the membership 

Strategies

• Focus on institutional membership, including individuals as part of the membership package and encouraging multiple individuals from an organization to participate
• Eliminate individual member dues or maintain at a low level for greater access
• Create a tiered pricing structure for institutional membership based on organization size. Introduce new rates gradually
• Provide value-added membership benefits including discounts, priority access, and a knowledge-base through a managed member List Serv
• Create a list of major cultural organizations and undertake a membership drive to engage them with MAC
• Partner with other service organizations with similar membership bases to offer shared programming and promote crossover membership
• Add disability organizations & agencies to our membership base – make a case for their involvement around access to arts & culture resources for their clients/participants
• Create peer sharing and connection opportunities for members such as ‘buddy’ or mentorship relationships
• Deliver consistent programming and communications including quarterly ‘big tent’ events that bring the entire membership together around program intensives and member-led programming

Goals

• Increase awareness about MAC within cultural institutions, engaging people in all departments and in decision-making positions.
• Create a clear, consistent image around MAC’s mission, vision and values
• Amplify MAC’s values and visibility through advocacy work

Strategies

• Undertake targeted outreach to cultural & educational Institutions
• Partner with other service organizations to reach their constituents & increase awareness of MAC
• Improve list management and the ability to segment and target specific subgroups
• Use social media and connect with existing disability groups on social media to reach disabled community members where they are
• Increase MAC’s visibility in the cultural sector by creating conference presentations, reports, and white papers, participating in media as invited, tabling, and participating in fairs and convenings
• Clarify & communicate MAC’s brand identity
  • Make the ‘who’ of MAC more visible – highlight MAC’s people
  • Work with a branding expert on a rebranding campaign to support visibility and outreach
  • Create tools like a 90 second video and elevator speech to help steering committee members engage people with MAC
• Align ourselves with high-profile individuals who represent our brand and values
• Establish an evergreen e-mail address so there is continuity in communications with MAC even when the contact person changes
• Pay attention to pop culture opportunities for dialogue and for advocacy needs as they arise within disabled communities in the arts, so that MAC might leverage our resources and raise visibility to critical issues

Americans with Disabilities Act: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

Anti-Ableist: Employing strategies, theories, actions, and practices that challenge and counter ableism, inequalities, prejudices, and discrimination based on developmental, emotional, physical, or psychiatric disability.

Anti-Oppressive: Anti-Oppressive Practice recognizes the oppression that exists in our society/space and aims to mitigate the effects of oppression and eventually equalize the power imbalances that exist between people. It also recognizes that all forms of oppression are interconnected in some way, shape or form (Aquil et al., 2021).

Anti-Racist: Opposing racism (prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized) and promoting racial equity.

Cultural Competency: is the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. Cultural competence encompasses:

• being aware of one’s own worldview
• developing positive attitudes towards cultural differences
• gaining knowledge of different cultural practices and world views
• developing skills for communication and interaction across cultures

Underlying cultural competence are the principles of trust, respect for diversity, equity, fairness, and social justice.

Cultural Humility: The concept of cultural humility was developed by Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia in 1998. Cultural humility goes beyond the concept of cultural competence to include:

• A personal lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique
• Recognition of power dynamics and imbalances, a desire to fix those power imbalances and to develop partnerships with people and groups who advocate for others
• Institutional accountability (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998)

DEIJ: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice

Disability Justice: Centers intersectionality and the ways diverse systems of oppression amplify and reinforce one another. The term “disability justice” is often used interchangeably with terms such as “disability rights” and “disability inclusion.” Yet it’s important to recognize that “disability justice” refers to a very specific framework of thinking about disability. A disability justice approach centers the priorities and approaches of those most historically excluded groups, such as women, people of color, immigrants, and people who identify as LGBTQ+.

Fiscal Sponsorship: A mechanism that allows a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization (the sponsor) to support and provide the charitable infrastructure under which another entity (the sponsored partner) can operate. One of the most common uses of fiscal sponsorship is to enable a sponsored partner to apply for grants and solicit tax-deductible contributions. Fiscal sponsorship reduces the partner’s costs, conserves resources, reduces duplication of personnel, and simplifies organizational functions.

Participant Centered Program Design: Encourages participants to be actively engaged in the design and development of their activities in order to achieve a truly needs-based approach to programming. The simple practice of centering participants’ voices in the program design process not only empowers participants, but can also lead to increased retention, satisfaction, and overall improvement of programs.

Intersectionality: An academic term that refers to how different aspects of a person combine and create overlapping areas of privilege and oppression. Originally coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw over 30 years ago, it originally referred primarily to the experience of black women but has since grown to include many others.

MAC: Museum, Arts & Culture Access Consortium.

MVACI: Mapping Virtual Access in Cultural Institutions, a program of MAC.

Self-Advocate Corps: A component of the Supporting Transitions program in which a group of trained self-advocates from the program can be hired for consulting work in cultural organizations.

Steering Committee: The organizing body of MAC, currently made up of volunteer leaders from the MAC community.

Supporting Transitions: A program of MAC.