“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton

Ask anyone for their favorite singer, band, play, musical, or concert, and they’ll have an answer at the ready. Camelot. Pearl Jam. The Seattle Opera. The Nutcracker. Bonnie Raitt. And ask anyone with significant hearing loss which arts performances they’ve missed, and they’ll also have a similar list–and some reasons why they’ve missed them. I can’t hear the dialogue at the theater anymore. I miss half of what they say in the movies. I used to love rock and roll concerts, but now all I hear is metal and echoes.

Accessibility in the arts is not only meaningful to people who need it, it’s absolutely possible. Sometimes, it’s even easy: An ASL interpreter to the side of a stage, or a hearing loop at a musical, or a program written in Braille can be the difference between making a memory or missing out.

The Kennedy Center works hard to improve accessibility in the arts, notably via its LEAD program: Leadership Exchange in Arts & Disability. As part of the Kennedy Center’s Access/VSA International Network, LEAD hosts an annual conference that draws together arts organizations from all across the world.

This July, LEAD met in Seattle, and our president Cheri Perazzoli and hearing loop advocate Juliette Sterkens attended as exhibitors–and of course, as learners, too.

“I came away from LEAD with some terrific ideas. I was reminded that accessibility is a journey, not a destination. And that accessibility changes over time,” said Perazzoli. She explained that for people with hearing loss, hearing loops are currently the gold standard for assistive listening systems. New technologies like Auracast are on the way and may be added to venues as well in the future, she added.

The LEAD events were held throughout Seattle, such as at the Seattle Arts Museum and the Seattle Center. At the Seattle Art Musuem, staff explained how to engage all audiences via multisensory strategies. Attendees with hearing loss could listen to the presentations through an assistive listening system receiver. Captions were also provided.

Juliette Sterkens, a nationally known speaker and advocate for hearing loops, joined Cheri at HLAA-WA’s exhibitor booth.

Here, Juliette explained why hearing loops are still needed and how they help people with hearing loss to be arts patrons in theaters and museums.

You can download a copy of our handout, seen to the right and designed for the LEAD conference, “Creating Hearing-Friendly Arts & Culture Venues” here.

Cheri also attended a workshop called “Accessibility Planning: The Key to Successful Inclusion.” This workshop stressed the importance of buy-in across departments of an organization and the need for a comprehensive accessibility plan. Other workshops at LEAD included “Developing Multisensory Strategies to Engage All Audiences” and “Funding Access in the Arts.” The funding workshop was co-led by two local arts leaders, Bryan Carter (4Culture) and Michael Greer (ArtsFund). Local arts accessibility advocate Elizabeth Ralston (Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium) led the “Roam Around Seattle Center” tour that explored disability access around the area, including the very hearing-friendly Seattle Rep.

“Juliette and I were so happy to connect with so many wonderful folks interested in arts accessibility,” Perazzoli said. “We hope that these wonderful arts organizations see HLAA-WA, the HLAA Get in the Hearing Loop program, Juliette, and the Center for Hearing Access at the Shedd Institute as free resources as they make their spaces and programs accessible to people with hearing loss.”

A huge shout-out to the LEAD organizers who made the conference sing: Betty Siegel, Elizabeth Ralston, and Cindy Brown.

We’re especially grateful for the outstanding hearing access throughout the event, including captions, live CART, and audio access.

In 2025, the LEAD conference will be in Cleveland, Ohio, August 18-25. If you’re a disability advocate or an arts organization, we encourage you to save that date.