MOMA CELEBRATES DISABILITY AWARENESS WITH A SPECIAL DANCE PERFORMANCE BY DEAF ARTIST AND PANEL DISCUSSION ABOUT ARTISTS WITH DISABILITIES

WHAT:
In celebration of disability awareness, The Museum of Modern Art presents Beyond Barriers: Accessing the Arts, two public programs that celebrate visual artists, writers, dancers, and other professionals in the field who are disabled or working with individuals with disabilities.

WHEN:
The first program, The Art of Dance, will be held on Tuesday, September 28, at 6:30 p.m. The second, Alternative Approaches to the Arts, will be held on Tuesday, October 5, at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:
The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2, The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street.

The Art of Dance examines the consequences of the condition of deafness for performing and visual artists. The program features a dance performance by Fred Beam, a deaf performer best known for his work in dance and theater. The performance will be accompanied by music. Following is a conversation with Dr. Deborah M. Sonnenstrahl, Professor Emeritus, Museum Studies/Art History, Gallaudet University, and the first deaf recipient of the Professional Museum Certificate from New York University, whose numerous books and articles focus primarily on deaf artists.

Alternative Approaches to the Arts presents a panel discussion about the role of touch, sight, and sound in the arts from the perspectives of the creator and the viewer. Other topics to be discussed are how artists are or are not influenced by their disabilities and how museum exhibitions can be made more accessible to visitors with special needs. Panelists include Paola Antonelli, Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art, whose 1995 exhibition Mutant Materials offered Braille labels and touchable objects; Willard Boepple, sculptor; Stephen Kuusisto, author of the bestseller Planet of the Blind, A Memoir; and Dr. Sonnenstrahl. The panel discussion will be moderated by Charles A. Riley II, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of We Magazine.

Special services provided by MoMA for Beyond Barriers: Accessing the Arts include sign-language and voice interpretation, as well as the CART (Computer Assisted Real Time) captioning system and an infrared sound amplification system. An information table located outside the Titus 2 Theater will offer brochures and pamphlets on programs for visitors with disabilities and special needs throughout the tri-state area.

This program is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, with additional support from The Theodore H. Barth Foundation, The Charles H. Leach II Foundation, Ethel Holland, and Sound Associates.

TICKETS:
Tickets are $8, members $7, students and seniors $5, and are available at the Lobby Information Desk. For further information, please contact Elly Karp, Programs for Visitors with Disabilities and Special Needs at 212/708-9864 (voice), 212/247-1230 (TDD), or by email at specialneeds@moma.org.

MoMA PROGRAMS FOR VISITORS WITH DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS:
Since its founding as an educational institution in 1929, The Museum of Modern Art has been dedicated to helping people understand and enjoy the visual arts of our time. MoMA has played a pioneering role in educational programming for visitors with special needs and disabilities, offering sign-language-interpreted gallery talks, open-captioned videos, sculpture Touch Tours, art courses for blind and visually impaired students and adults, and collaborations with special education schools. Additionally, the Museum extends its commitment to homebound individuals who are elderly, disabled, or living with AIDS, through teleconference courses.

MoMA’s programs for visitors with disabilities are highly regarded for integrating visitors with special needs into the mainstream. The Museum of Modern Art is visited by some 1.8 million people every year, serving more than 4,200 individuals with special needs and disabilities, who come to see its art collection as well as to attend temporary exhibitions, film programs, and special events. An even larger audience with special needs is served by the Museum’s ambitious national and international programs of circulating exhibitions, its active publishing program, its library, and its educational activities, including its Web site, www.moma.org.