Talks: Christena Gunther

In October I sat down with Christena Gunther, founder of the Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC). We discussed her network and how she gets things done.

Christena is the Director of Tour Operations and Guest Experience at the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. She also founded the CCAC after working at a similar organization in NYC. That organization was the Museum Access Consortium, or MAC for short. MAC was co-founded by Rebecca McGinnis, who Christena worked with at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Christena served on the Steering Committee at MAC, until she decided to make her way to Chicago in 2012. Upon her arrival, Christena realized Chicago was lacking any type of collective resource for accessibility in the arts. Determined to bring the MAC model to Chicago, Christena started reaching out to people she knew from the LEAD Conference. LEAD was started by the Kennedy Center and stands for Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability. In 2012, museums weren’t doing a lot of access, but theatres were. Christena met Evan Hatfield from Steppenwolf, and Lynn Walsh who was with the Children’s Museum. They saw the need, were interested, and just “got it.”

With her two new co-chairs on board, Christena got to work. Guided by the belief that “everyone deserves access to Chicago’s rich arts and culture,” the CCAC set out to become a “resources for resources.” They started gathering a steering committee through the cultural institutions in the city, keeping in mind they wanted to be cross-disciplinary, inclusive of small organizations, but needed some big players to get established. One of the most crucial factors when building the committee, was the inclusion of people with disabilities. Not only so their voices would be heard without tokenism, but because they are the experts in what they need and want.

The CCAC launched monthly professional development workshops, many of which I’ve experienced firsthand. Programs are always hosted in the cultural institutions themselves. This allows attendees to experience the reality of these spaces. Program attendees come from across the city. Some serve as their institution's access liaison, others are just motivated to invoke positive change in any way they can. Development workshops range from trainings to guest speakers. Just two weeks ago, a workshop included local legal experts, the head of access at the Kennedy Center, Betty Siegel, and presentations from cultural enthusiasts with disabilities on their personal experiences. Beyond workshops, Christena and the CCAC manage and active list-serv to connect with access groups nationally. In January 2016, the CCAC established their Access Calendar, which facilitates promotion and outreach for cultural spaces, serving as a tool for both institutions and the general public. While the CCAC is proud to assist Chicago consumers with disabilities, arts administrators remain their true target audience.

2015 was the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA. In celebration, and in acknowledgement of the work that remains, the ADA called on institutions to participate in an initiative called ADA 25. For their part in ADA 25, the CCAC decided to help 25 cultural organizations in Chicago commit to something for access that would go beyond a single event, to make a lasting effect on access to the arts. They didn’t get 25 organizations to participate, they got 30. Major collaborators included the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and the Department of Cultural Affairs, both of which introduced Christena to people in their network. Also as a part of ADA 25, the Chicago Community Trust funded a new website for the CCAC. The most recent addition to the CCAC’s offerings is an accessible equipment loan program. Starting just last month, organizations without their own assistive listening or captioning equipment can borrow those resources at no cost. This program is made possible through funding from the Michael and Mona Heath Fund. These equipment loans support cultural institutions of all sizes and budgets, “as they grow their audience of visitors with disabilities and respond to accommodation requests.”

With the exception of some private and public funding for specific projects, the CCAC operates at almost zero cost. They are not a 501(c)3, nor are they fiscally sponsored. Attendee and host organizations occasionally pool funds for speaker honorariums, and captioners and interpreters often donate their services in exchange for promoting their businesses at events. While this approach has been working, Christena is exploring other options as the CCAC continues to grow. Since founding the CCAC, Christena’s aim has been to bring openness, transparency, and support to the accessibility community in Chicago. By fostering this network for shared learning, improvements can be made quicker. The work is never done, no institution is ever “totally accessible,” especially since disabilities and technology are constantly evolving. Christena and the CCAC are leaders in that work here in Chicago.

Christena still attends the LEAD Conference, now as an organization founder. In 2015, the Kennedy Center awarded the CCAC the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Emerging Leader award.

Links to the CCAC's pages:

Website

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