Raleigh Arts Again Leads at LEAD®

Raleigh Arts staff as well as members and alumni of the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access attended The Kennedy Center's 2025 Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD®) Conference Aug. 18-22 in Cleveland, Ohio. Raleigh Arts partners with United Arts Wake County on this annual disability arts peer cohort program and provides scholarships for arts and cultural nonprofit staff to attend LEAD®.

Raleigh advocates for arts accessibility have had a significant presence at previous years' LEAD® conferences. This year, three alumni of the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access presented sessions:

• Considerations for Military, Veterans, and Acquired Disabilities
  Jamie Katz Court | North Carolina Arts Council
• A Sensory Journey Through Art: Virtual Programming for People Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision
  Molly Hull | North Carolina Museum of Art
• College Students and Arts Accessibility - Building Awareness
  Dan Ellison | The Arts and Disability Project
  

In addition to presenting, Learning Community alumna Molly Hull received the 2025 LEAD® Award for Emerging Leaders, which recognizes arts administrators who apply what they learn at LEAD® to facilitate and shape cultural arts opportunities that are inclusive of people with disabilities. Molly is the Accessibility Coordinator for the North Carolina Museum of Art, where she ensures that tours, programs, and outreach initiatives are accessible to all abilities and ages.

About the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access

A co-production of the City of Raleigh Arts Commission and the United Arts Wake County, the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access was developed in 2015 to train arts and cultural administrators in arts and accessibility best practices. This nationally recognized program uses an inclusive design approach to help learning community members improve their organizations' engagement of people with disabilities in the arts.
Learn more about Raleigh Arts' Universal Access and the Arts initiative and the Arts Learning Community for Universal Access application process.

About the Raleigh Arts Partner Program

The Raleigh Arts Partner Program works with Raleigh's nonprofit arts community, providing funding and other resources with a goal of ensuring that Raleigh residents and visitors can find all kinds of art in all kinds of places throughout the City. The Arts Learning Community for Universal Access is one example of the Raleigh Arts Partner Program's initiatives.

About Raleigh Arts

Raleigh Arts is the City's hub for public art, community arts programming, and partnerships and support for Raleigh's nonprofit arts community. Raleigh Arts also oversees the Pullen and Sertoma Arts Centers and manages several exhibition spaces as well as the Municipal Art Collection. Raleigh Arts believes the arts are for everyone, and we work to ensure every resident has access to and can enjoy the arts as art makers, audience, and students.