WexCast: What's New in Accessibility

Transcript

Melissa Starker: This is Wexcast, from the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University. For this episode, we listen in on a conversation between three Wex staffers who are essential to the center’s efforts to make the arts accessible for all. 

Wex Accessibility Specialist Tammy Eckard, Events Manager Francesca Mouery, and Social Media and Digital Accessibility Manager Austin Dunn sat down to discuss the role each of them play in this work, how the work is evolving, and how Tammy is building on the efforts of her predecessor, the late Helyn Marshall. Let’s listen.

Tammy Eckard: Hello, I'm Dr. Tammy Eckard.

Francesca Mouery: Hello, I'm Francesca Mouery.

Austin Dunn: And hi, I'm Austin Dunn.

Tammy Eckard: All right, wonderful. Today's podcast we're going to talk about accessibility, and I really want to know more from you two. So, let's start with our first question. OK. Can you tell the listeners how the Wex approaches accessibility, both of you in your words?

Austin Dunn: I work as the social media coordinator. And my approaches to accessibility here at the center are really focused around digital accessibility as it relates to our communications, and making sure that when we're creating a social media post or when we're looking at our website, that's digitally accessible. Ohio State has a cohort of digital accessibility coordinators, so we're all thinking through these things. Especially as we move towards these deadlines that have been set more broadly about digital accessibility and what we need. So, I think when we look at our digital spaces we're making sure that one's experience there is really where it needs to be in terms of the guidelines, but then that we're also thinking kind of beyond that, of what ways that we can push beyond digital accessibility. One of the ways I try to do that is in the social media realm.

I've talked about this a few times with just units at Ohio State and other museums about how social media can really be difficult, because you're up to the whims of the platform, so you have to get it to work for you and make sure that when you're writing your alt text, when you're writing your caption, it's something that everyone can utilize. Kind of really thinking creatively. And Tammy, I know we've done a couple of things now, trying to think creatively about ways we can introduce more accessibility into our social Reels and things like that, especially around programs about Deaf Cafe.

Francesca Mouery: And from my side, mine is more experiential, like on the day of events. Here at the center, here at Mershon Auditorium, ensuring that everybody in the space is welcome in whatever way that they may need in terms of access and resources to navigate the spaces, since some of our spaces here are a little unusual and beautiful. But there's a lot that you need to take into account when thinking about what somebody may need when they come to the space upon entry. And during events as well. We have a lot of resources too within our spaces for auditory accessibility needs. And just really anything that someone might need—we’re trying to think of it beforehand. But then also on the day of the event, how can we assist the best that we can? How can our staff, our part-time staff and volunteers have the knowledge to go forth and help patrons with accessibility needs? But yeah, there's a lot to touch on, but that's the gist.

Tammy Eckard: Yeah, I think that's fantastic. Austin, just speaking about digital accessibility, I think what's also difficult is you're kind of writing the narrative as you go, because there's not a lot of…

Austin Dunn: It's very new. It's very new.

Tammy Eckard: It's so true. Yeah, so it's very difficult to know what the best practices are when it's still being developed as we speak.

Austin Dunn: Especially for social media. And I think as platforms change and evolve daily, new guidelines have to be created in the moment. It's unfortunate that with your own website you can make all the changes you need to conform. But if a new platform arises, then all of a sudden we're starting again, looking at those guidelines, what needs there are.

Tammy Eckard: And then with just space, physical space, you don't always know what you're going to get, so it's difficult to prepare sometimes for accommodations at the door, but definitely something to think on.

Austin Dunn: And maybe it would be good too for the listeners to talk about what you do as an accessibility manager here at the center. Because we each, Francesca and I each plug in our own ways over the past year. But now that you've come onto the center, what does your role look like in your day to day life?

Tammy Eckard: Yeah, so since July when I joined the Wex, I started with physical, the physical environment of accommodations and thinking about accessibility. I would say for me accessibility is about access. It's about being open, it's about thinking ahead of the time that someone comes to the tour. Not necessarily always with digital experiences, but with physical experiences or physical attendance. 

So, accommodations are difficult, they are, but they're necessary at the same time. So, there's two areas of needs here. One, planning for what's happening before we get here, what can we predict we can do to make the space open and accessible for everybody? And then two, how do we handle maybe the last-minute walk-ins or do the best we can to provide the same experience and participation for somebody who wants to show up? Because time tax is a thing, so you can't always plan your life around what schedule you want or what events you want to go to, so that shouldn't bar you from participating. Yeah, I'm just trying to create both places that are both very open and accessible in a lot of ways.

Francesca Mouery: Yeah, like making people feel like it's not a problem at all to reach out with their needs and their accessibility accommodations. I think that some people sometimes just before the event end they're afraid to ask for certain things, but to cultivate a space that is a welcoming environment that has the resources, I think has been a great goal. And having you in this position is amazing.

Tammy Eckard: Thank you.

Francesca Mouery: We need somebody to advocate, and it's a group effort, I think when everybody advocates together for the equity and the diversity of accessibility, that's important. But having a point of contact too that is knowledgeable about this stuff is really helpful.

Austin Dunn: There's such a difference when someone comes into a space and people have already thought about what needs they might need met, before they arrive. And something always sticks with me, a quote, I don't remember where I first heard it, but sometimes having a disability, it's like 95% logistics when you're going somewhere. And if you arrive at a place where some of those logistics have already been thought for you, it's much more of a welcoming space. Because instead of trying to figure out how to navigate, you can just be there and enjoy the space.

Tammy Eckard: Correct. What I like to say, does it require an extra step? And those extra steps should be what we're thinking about and what we're taking away and eliminating. And the experiences here can’t always be done in the way that we want them, but we do the best we can the first time and hope we get better the next time. It's definitely a work in progress.

Francesca Mouery: It's always changing. It is accessibility too. When you think that you know the best practice, it just keeps moving. And so, it's a constant learning experience to keep up with the times of, I don't know, technology and a lot of different things that are changing in terms of accessibility.

Tammy Eckard: I'm going to go back to a question that we didn't get to. When addressing, I guess accessibility from a digital front and from a physical space front, what do you think would be some key important places in defining what we do here?

Austin Dunn: I think for the digital realm, the main aspect that I'm always concerned with is, what are the communication barriers we unintentionally create within a digital space through UI, user interface design, through our social media through our website. If someone is struggling to navigate a page or if they don't navigate the page in a way that the information is available to them that they need to know, that's creating a barrier.

And so to me, it's identifying the opportunities to make it very clear how to visit, what to expect, what you can find here, even what the space feels like. One of the things that I've really started to try and introduce over the past year with some of our video social content is, what does it look like when you walk in the door? What is that going to look like? Because someone visiting here for the first time might not know that when you walk through the door and you turn right, that's the set of stairs to go down, but the elevator is right there as well. And so, it's important to me to show those things, as well as to describe those things because, I don't know about you, but I'm a planner. I love to plan, and when I'm going to a museum or an art center, I like to know where the parking is. I like to know what I expect when I come through the door. I don't want to have to worry about any of those additional anxieties when I'm coming into a space so that I can just enjoy the art. And I can just be there and I can know where I'm supposed to go. And so, those expectations prior to coming to a site, I think sometimes we take for granted. And so, allowing ourselves to really break down what is that experience going to be is really important.

Francesca Mouery: And you talked about showing people what we have. Well, then on our end it's actually providing it. And now here you go, and actually showing that yes, there is a space for you to land. Always in my mind, I'm like, "Have a place for people to land." During events at Mershon Auditorium, a lot of those big concert events can get very crowded and can add a lot of stress in the situation of trying to figure out accommodations for accessibility parking. It even starts before you get into the space. So, the parking garages and figuring out where is the best place for our party to access the space?

Then you get in the space, where do you land next? We have an accessibility check-in area in the quarter right when you enter through the main doors on High Street of Mershon where people can wait for their families to go park the car if they need to maybe access the space earlier with accessibility equipment, and things like that. So, just having that space and environment for people to go, "Okay, I'm good to wait here. Let's get to the next place, which is our ADA accessible seating." We have to have that in our spaces, because we have to accommodate everybody who comes into the building. That's the goal at the end of the day is to make sure that everybody is accounted for and feels great during their experience here at the Wex and at Mershon. Yeah, providing, providing the actual accommodations. I think that grabbing this back and forth of always making sure that people know the updated information on the front end. And then following through up until the last minute of the event, making sure that they have what they need.

Austin Dunn: They always talk to each other. It's the full experience. For us when we're working it's like, okay, on the digital side, and you're like, they're here in the front door, but for a person that's just one moment, that's the full experience of it somewhere.

Francesca Mouery: Both of our sides meet in the end to create a beautiful harmony of-

Tammy Eckard: I love it.

Francesca Mouery: ... experience for people. But yeah.

Tammy Eckard: What you've both described is how walking in from just July, how some of this stuff is already embedded in the work, which made it both interesting, lovely to start in this work, right? Because I didn't have to start from scratch. It's already been baked in ways that you're all thinking about it and all moving towards improving it. And so that brings me to where it started. I would love to hear your answers and sort of what was the precedent that was set in this center by the late and great Helyn Marshall?

Francesca Mouery: I'm an event coordinator, but accessibility is embedded in my work. Helyn was an event coordinator, house manager. And then she became the accessibility manager. She has a familial or had a familial history with accessible needs in her family her whole life and was very knowledgeable about everything accessibility. So when I came in, I wasn't expecting to have such an emphasis on that part. I knew I'd have to work with it, but meeting such an empathetic, strong, amazing soul that was Helyn, inspired me to engage more with accessibility myself. One of my goals when I first started was, get more into accessibility, become more knowledgeable about accessibility because of her. And if it wasn't for her beautiful soul showing that empathy and expressing it to others and encouraging them and inspiring people to get involved too, I think that that is so special. You need that energy to branch out into your community and get people knowledgeable about what needs to be done forward with what you're doing.

Austin Dunn: Helyn was really foundational for a lot of the accessibility work that happened at the Wex. She was the accessibility manager before you arrived, and she was really thinking ahead of the game, not just about meeting requirements. But finding empathy in the work and really looking forward of how can this place be this kind of community and this welcoming center through accessibility work? When I first met Helyn, I was just starting at the Wex. I met her on my first week and immediately Helyn, if you ever met Helyn, she was immediately cool. Made you feel certainly very welcome. And I had the benefit of being able to go to the leadership and arts and disability conference—LEAD—with Helyn. And it was in Raleigh that year, and I had not been at the Wex for more than a few months. But it was the first opportunity I was able to see accessibility in the arts in one kind of conference. And I learned a lot from Helyn throughout that conference.

And was really special about Helyn was that Helyn was really foundational for the center in terms of a lot of the work. And really on her last day here before her medical leave, I remember seeing the email, and you saw it too, where she was like, "I've been doing this for this long. Here's the work." And I was like, "Helyn, why are you sending this email? Why are you talking this way?" But she was so thorough in every way that she thought through the work. Including setting us up so that, Tammy, when you arrived there would be nothing missed. We would be able to see all of the work that she had done. She was organized, she had all the contacts for us, and we were kind of able to continue this moving forward while we were looking for you to arrive. And over the year it was really, it's hard losing a co-worker. And Helyn was really special I think, to all of us. She was kind of that person to talk to in many ways, and it was very easy to connect with.

When we were at LEAD, the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability conference, I was able to really get close with Helyn, and I'll never forget, we were talking just about accessibility and being and what does it mean? And I was also coming to terms with my disability identity and having a episodic motor condition and what does that mean in the space and what do those kind of accommodations look like? And we were making a joke about marketing assets, and she whipped out this mini canvas from her purse and drew a little picture on it, and then on the back said, "Thank you for being here with me." And that's still at my desk today. Because I think it's such an embodiment of what she represented, which was just like, "Thank you for being here with me in this space," and that we can do it together. I really try to look for that kind of empathy in the work.

And I'm really grateful for everything that she's contributed to this institution moving forward. All of the projects, the work with her interns, alt text style guides, everything, the physical accommodations, everything that she was really able to build here. And kind of lead forward into a really forward-thinking institution in a very kind and caring and personal and human way.

Tammy Eckard: Not only was it felt here in the center, was felt outside of the center in the community, the disability community and the educational academia community. Because you'll see that Helyn's work, you mentioned alt texts comes up, it comes up a lot as a guide, as a best practices of how to do it. Her work continues to be desired there. Just to mention to the honorary mention of her as an award at the next conference, the Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, and Disability, and how she will be honored.

Austin Dunn: So ultimately, Helyn would want someone to bring their own kind of self and interests and ideas and passions to this kind of role in this kind of work. So, can you tell me a little bit about your background, your experience, and really what you're looking to bring to the position of the accessibility manager at the Wexner Center for the Arts?

Tammy Eckard: Yes, of course. Thank you. Let me start with what led me here from faculty work to now being in a completely different role that I've never really been in. So, this is a new place for me personally. But I come from a long history of working with individuals with disabilities, especially from the deaf community perspective, the deaf community side as a certified interpreter, being an ally to the community for many, many years. It doesn't come unfamiliar, it just comes in different ways. So, addressing accessibility has been my life's work in a strange way, as the facilitator of communication. As the person who would hear from both places what was needed, what was given, where in making that connection between interpreting, I guess, in the deaf community. And then from a faculty perspective, being here on campus, working with students with different disabilities that accommodating them from a teaching mindset or a teaching schema. So, it's not unfamiliar, it's just different being in this space, but definitely a heightened amount of work that I'm doing here now, focusing on that.

Austin Dunn: I imagine your experience at the university gives you a unique perspective now coming to the Wex.

Tammy Eckard: Right.

Austin Dunn: In many ways we're on campus, but we're also connecting to the broader Columbus community.

Francesca Mouery: Right, different part of OSU, different part of connection to everybody else in Columbus.

Austin Dunn: Yeah. So, I'm curious what in your experience with the university, gives you that kind of unique insight of how to approach the work here?

Tammy Eckard: A, I love your question. And thinking about appropriate answer will be the harder part. I really didn't know how it was going to shape out, but in the last few months of being here it's worked out fairly well as far as knowing how to really engage the other area of academia that isn't often thought of, talked about, or both ways considered, so it goes both directions. But how we as faculty members consider the Wex in our teaching, how students are maybe thinking about accessing the Wex for either personal engagement or learning, or a place to have respite, whatever the cause would be to visit or use anything here. I'm thinking of all those situations that could occur, either teaching moments, physical presence moments, event planning moments. Yeah, I mean, it ties well into teaching, I will say. It's a lot of planning, a lot of forward-thinking, a lot of testing, a lot of trial and error.

It's never perfect the first time you do it. Even after several decades of being a faculty member or being a teacher you're not ever your best self. You're always pushing to be better. So, I think that this work definitely lends itself to that. Because I get bored easily, so it's definitely good to have multiple things happening. Having, if you're perfecting something, it's never polished. It's getting there, you're a work in progress. But accessibility is the same thing. It's never going to be stagnant. It's never going to be still, It's always going to be moving. And we should always be thinking forward about how we're accessing information, using evidence to inform our decisions, how we're engaging the communities, how we're serving, and what are we doing as allies to that as well. So, it's very, very nice, iterative sort of process of thinking.

Same thing for teaching. You're constantly thinking, reflecting. I think that it lends very easily to that mindset that I come with. But really what, I'll get to that other question maybe, was what kind of brought me to this place where I would say. When I completed my doctoral degree, it's really about making change. And doing it in more of a practitioner way, scholarly practitioner way. So using evidence to inform your decisions, but yet making policy changes, making management changes, making change for the greater good of students for higher ed. That's sort of been my focus. 

So, I look at it very similarly. We're positioned in a higher education institution. We serve students here, although we have a greater populace that comes here. So, how can I use what I know/learn more? What don't I know? Where are the gaps? What have we done? What haven't we done? Where can we fill it in? Where do we want to be? All of that stuff is part of the process of change. And so, how do we make that change in the most meaningful ways possible?

Francesca Mouery: The tapestry of the story of change.

Tammy Eckard: Whaaat?

Francesca Mouery: We're all part of it, we all come together to do better with this.

Tammy Eckard: See, I don't say it that nice. It goes-

Francesca Mouery: More poetic, I'll admit, but-

Tammy Eckard: That was great. I love it.

Austin Dunn: I mean, I think in some ways the work is about change. It's about looking at your space, your digital space, your communications and making change for other people. And in many ways the field itself is constantly changing.

Tammy Eckard: There's a lot we don't know.

Austin Dunn: Exactly.

Tammy Eckard: Even with your work in digital accessibility, the work that you've done, there's no rules really. They're forming, they're developing and define rule, right? Policy versus law. They're two different things, so where do we sit with compliance? Where do we sit with going above compliance? Where do we want our standards to be, our expectations to be? And just toeing the line is not good enough.

Austin Dunn: And I think what it involves is oftentimes being a really good listener in many ways. And so, I'm wondering now while we're on the topic of change, I'm wondering if you can speak to some of the things that you're looking to change or work on here? One of which being I think that ties you so closely to the university, is this upcoming case study, which sounds really exciting.

Tammy Eckard: Yes. So Scott Lissner and I have been working here at the Wex talking about where we are, where can we be, how do we get there? Some noticeable places that I immediately identified that needed some attention. And so, he came to me with this idea about the art access course that he was considering. And so he was like, "It would be really cool if the Wex was part of that, if the Wex was part of that case study." And I thought, "Yes, please, can we be part of that?" That's fantastic to have not only students here getting in places that I can't always get in. Not to mean that I can't, but timing, right? There's only one of me. So it would be fantastic to have a whole class of me doing the work that we want to have happen here. And so it does elevate the process, it does elevate our attention.

Not only that, but you've got the backing of the ADA coordinator coming in, teaching the course/offering meaningful suggestions. Like, "These are things you need to do. Here are things you should be thinking on." I'm just speculating where we're going to go with this. But very exciting as far as an academic class being taught, specifically towards arts and access and inclusion. And addressing that, namely, even here at the university, OSU. So super excited about what's to come. There's lots of reading to do prior to the course coming out. Which I sent everybody, because I too need to look and see what are we coming in with? What are they starting from before they get to this center? I'll be excited to see what they come up with, what the recommendations are. And I'll be asking for help along the way from different places and resources.

Austin Dunn: It'll be a collaborative effort.

Francesca Mouery: Yes.

Tammy Eckard: So hopefully, I know it could read as somewhat, ooh, they're coming in to tell us what we're doing wrong, or to say that there's something not working, or to really show our flaws. But to be completely honest, that's the process.

Francesca Mouery: That's part of it.

Tammy Eckard: That's the process. You will not get better if you don't address what's wrong, if you're not open to addressing what's wrong. So, we definitely have to be vulnerable in ways that we're going to be seen. Maybe not in a way that everybody prefers. But I hope that in the end it becomes an experience that continues that we do again and again. That develops a lot of new knowledge to a production of new knowledge when it comes to accessibility and thinking about museum spaces or public spaces where everyone should have access to all of the information here, regardless of what type of body you bring.

Austin Dunn: And how special is that to come from the lens of the students, because they're the ones who are on campus the whole time. They're right at our doorstep.

Tammy Eckard: Totally agree. I mean, it also gives me a little bit of teaching, being in the classroom, working with students, too. Love that. That will forever always be something I've enjoyed doing. So, having them come back in a different way. So, not my students are not-

Francesca Mouery: I know, but it's like full circle-

Tammy Eckard: But they feel like students need-

Francesca Mouery: You're connected to it. It means something to you.

Tammy Eckard: The course is actually being, I don't know, sponsored/offered through disability studies, which kind of goes back to the multiple perspectives conference. The student poster session and the awards that they're giving out to students sort of the focus here. It's like where we've come from and where we're going with accessibility with that conference. And so, I was happy to see that they're honoring Helyn as well in there.

Francesca Mouery: It's wonderful to have somebody come in into this position who has so much care and knowledge from your own unique background and your own personal story to contribute to this place that can act as so many things for our community, for the OSU community and beyond. I'm excited for the future opportunities that we'll get to have, Austin and I, and everybody here at the Wex to work with you further on all of this. It's just really nice to have somebody, somebody so special to join the team here at the Wex.

Tammy Eckard: I don't know if I said this, but having an accessibility position is rare. And so, I think that that shows a lot about how the Wex is positioning themselves before me, even a decade before me when Helyn sort of created this position. It does show that there's a space for this here and that it's respected. So yeah, I mean, it's unusual. It's rare, but it's also fantastic that it's here. And so, we've got to sort of take it and run with it.

Francesca Mouery: No complaints, only celebrating that we have that here.

Tammy Eckard: Yes, yes, absolutely.

Austin Dunn: And we're very honored to have you here and continuing the work.

Tammy Eckard: The one other thing I would like to say is that we're really looking, and it's still in process, is sensory inclusive certification.

Austin Dunn: That's great.

Tammy Eckard: Yeah, that would be fantastic to have that space, because A, we're a museum or art center that is about sensory stuff. So we take in information through our eyes, through our ears, through our body, through our smell, how we walk into a space. So, it should be aligned, right? We need to create a sensory place as well for individuals who might process information different. That is exciting to come, and training/certification, and then hopefully we'll have materials available to individuals when they come and visit that will help with sensory inclusiveness. Yeah.

Francesca Mouery: That is wonderful.

Tammy Eckard: Yeah, thanks.

Francesca Mouery: Oh, my gosh.

Tammy Eckard: It'll be all you doing the work, too.

Francesca Mouery: But we'll all be here to, yeah, but that is, that'll make such a difference on visitor experience and navigating the space and experiencing, really experiencing everything that we have to offer here in the ways that are comfortable to the people who come in.

Austin Dunn: When we have these new initiatives. I'm always excited to talk about them from the marketing side, because then I want the communities to know that these are things that we're inviting you in. They're here for you.

Tammy Eckard: Yeah. Well, I will also give credit to Helyn as well, who created a space that we don't have in the interim. Hopefully we have something future design where there's an actual designated space for sensory inclusive areas where we can rearrange the room as we've been talking with designers, or feel comfortable in that space in different ways and change lighting, change sounds sort of thing. That would be fantastic. But that's yet to come with future designing. But the space that Helyn created that I've heard so much about and never saw in which someone took a picture of, was how comfortable her office was and that she made that the comfort room. So, I've done my darnedest to live up to that expectation and that high standard and making it comfortable in a way that I see it, but hopefully it translates out as well as Helyn's did.

Austin Dunn: Well, thank you for speaking today, and it was so nice to get the chance to speak with both of you about the accessibility work, and the conversation obviously is never done.

Tammy Eckard: Never done.

Austin Dunn: So, I'm looking forward to many conversations moving forward.

Francesca Mouery: And thank you so much for talking to Austin and I and all together. This was a great kiki with all of us, seriously to talk about something that's so important here. And from my perspective, I'm really excited to work with you further on making sure that events and experience here on the ground, on the day of events and exhibitions and concerts are the most comfortable for all patrons coming in. And doing best practices of accessibility, honing my own skills. Again, I think I said maybe earlier, maybe I didn't, but I'm no expert, but it's always a learning experience. We're always trying to get better in this work and do better in this work. So, thank you so much for talking further about this. It's great.

Tammy Eckard: Oh, thank you. I've enjoyed it as well.

Francesca Mouery: Yeah.

Austin Dunn: Thank you.

Tammy Eckard: Yes.

Melissa Starker: That was Wex Social Media and Digital Accessibility Coordinator Austin Dunn, Events Manager Francesca Mouery and Accessibility Specialist Tammy Eckard discussing their work on accessibility for the center. If you’re planning a visit to the Wex and have any questions about accessibility, you can email Tammy at accessibility at wexarts.org or call 614-688-3890. And for more information on all things Wex, head to wexarts.org. For the Wexner Center for the Arts, I’m Melissa Starker. Thanks for listening.