Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education
Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education
Reimagining Equity in Arts Education Through Learning, Listening, Collaboration and Action [Word-Art Design by S. Joyal]
Alt Text for the Image:
A language-based graphic in orange, yellow, and purple in the shape of a circle that includes the following words: Action, Art, Beat, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, Body Side, Brain Dance, Brave, Breath, Color, Connect, Core Distal, Create, Cross Lateral, Culturally Responsive, Dance, Disability, Dynamics, Energy, Engage, Form, Harmony, Head, Line, Lower, Music, Melody, Meter, Mood, Naturalist Intelligence, Perform, Pitch, Plot, Present, Produce, Respond, Role, Rhythm, Shape, Significance, Social-Emotional Learning, Space, Spatial-Visual Intelligence, Tail, Theater, Think, Tension, Texture, Time, Timeline Touch, Universal Design for Learning, Upper, Value, Vestibular, and Visual Art. This graphic was designed by Suzanne Joyal as a way to record the brainstorming exercise that she and Elise Sobol developed together for their 2023 ABLE Assembly Conference presentation on the Arts Make Education More Accessible for ALL.
The Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education (LNAAE) is a professional learning network composed of educators, artists, administrators, and activists from across the globe who meet online to further their own learning and share resources. Gatherings include meetings focused on general network topics as well as learning sessions that highlight a particular presenter and topic, such as presentations by artists and educators with disabilities and those working with people with disabilities, reports from specialists in the field, first-person accounts of the role of the arts in education, and more. All are welcome!
The Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education is proud to be part of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education. The network was originally formed by Dr. Rhoda Bernard, managing director of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education. Network events are organized and managed by a steering committee of members who serve one-year terms and are appointed by Dr. Bernard.
The 2024–25 Steering Committee:
Suzanne Joyal, M.A.
Mehdi Raoufi, M.A.
Elise Sobol, Ed.D.
Elisabeth Staal, Ed.M.
Krishna Washburn, M.Ed.
Mission: The Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education is a welcoming community of educators, artists, administrators, and activists committed to disrupting ableist practices and reimagining equity in arts education through continuous learning, listening, collaboration, and action.
Vision: The Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education aims to deconstruct ableism in arts education by supporting artists and educators through connection, resource-sharing, and lifelong learning that centers on artists and educators with disabilities.
Values: As a group we are guided by:
- Ensuring accessibility
- Creating high-quality arts and arts education experiences across ages and art forms
- Ingraining accessibility in artistic approaches to high-quality programming
- Centering first-person accounts
- Collectively learning and growing
Upcoming 2024–2025 Meetings
Creative Sound Play: Working Memory and Cognitive Flexibility
Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 4 P.M.
The Berklee Institute’s Leadership Network for Accessible Arts Education (LNAAE) is pleased to welcome Hayes Greenfield, multiple award-winning musician, composer, sound artist, and educator, as the guest for our next learning session. Dedicated to sharing his unique perspectives to break down barriers and open doors of opportunities for even our youngest members of society, Greenfield will present “Creative Sound Play: Working Memory and Cognitive Flexibility” on Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 4:00 p.m.
Greenfield has been working with young people of all abilities and in all kinds of capacities since the early '90s. He is known for his performances, his soundtracks, his Jazz-a-ma-tazz series, his Creative Sound Play, and his various teaching programs for our arts education communities. As a dyslexic, he has developed specific strategies that he uses to navigate the multidimensional world in the arts that demand literacy and excellence. His interactive session will showcase his unique work in sound, accessible and inclusive to all learners, including those who are blind, deaf, and/or with other sensory issues. Greenfield will share the excitement he has experienced with audiences worldwide, for his approach to teaching that lays the foundation for a life of joy, wellbeing, and critical thinking. For further background on the artist, please see https://www.creativesoundplay.com/about-hayes. Please save the date for this Leadership Network event.
2024-2025 Meeting Dates:
September 26, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET: Amber DiGerlando
November 7, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET: Artist Panel: Nicole Agois, Dr. Piper Hutson, Scott Turner
January 23, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET
March 27, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET
May 29, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET
2023-2024 Meeting Dates and Guest Speakers:
Tuesday, September 19, 2023: Jenna Gabriel
Monday, November 18, 2023: Akini A. Gill
Thursday, January 18, 2024: Christopher Unpezverde Núñez, featured work “Yo Obsolete” commentary by Krishna Washburn, LNAAE Steering Committee member
Thursday, March 28, 2024: Kristin Long
Thursday, May 30, 2024: Dr. Anne Palmer
All meetings are held on Zoom. If you would like to receive notifications about meetings including the Zoom meeting information, please sign up for our email list by filling out the "Contact Us" form below.
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Resource Spotlight:
Check out some resources from previous meetings and learning sessions!
Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People: a disability justice primer based on the work of Patty Berne and Sins Invalid.