Accessibility and Accommodations
Springfield Cultural Partnership is committed to accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities in our programs. While we are limited in certain ways, due to our lack of physical programming space, we will do everything we can to support full participation for all when utilizing partner, community and other spaces.
Springfield Cultural Partnership welcomes questions, concerns, or suggestions on how we can better support your participation in our programming. Please reach out to us!
Our coordinator for requests for assistance or accommodations is Kali Green, Arts & Culture Coordinator. You may contact Kali Green directly at kali@springfieldculture.org.
A helpful resource is Mass Cultural Council’s Top 10 Practices to Center Accessibility.
Translation
Springfield Cultural Partnership’s website has the option of auto-translation for every webpage. Springfield Cultural Partnership will make every effort to offer translation, interpretation, alternative formats, and other services individuals may need to participate fully in our programs, services, and events. Please submit requests for accommodations at least two weeks in advance of when they are needed.
Note: There are many wonderful translation services available in the Springfield Community. In the past, we have utilized UMass Amherst Translation Center services. Contact us if you would like to share your translation services with the Springfield Cultural Partnership.
Accessibility and Non-discrimination Requirements
As a grantee of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Springfield Cultural Partnership is contractually committed to abiding by state and federal regulations which bar discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and which require accessibility for persons with disabilities. Springfield Cultural Partnership is expected to be in compliance with:
- The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Cultural Equity
Springfield Cultural Partnership commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, and equitable region. We believe that equity is crucial to the long-term viability of both the arts and culture sector and communities-at-large.
Definitions
Cultural Equity – Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of arts policy; the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible, thriving venues for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources.
Diversity – The demographic mix of a specific collection of people, considering elements of human differences.
Equity – The promotion of justice, impartiality, and fairness within the procedures, processes, and distribution of resources by institutions or systems.
Inclusion – The degree to which diverse individuals are able to participate fully in the decision-making processes within an organization or group.
Acknowledgements & Affirmations
- In the United States, there are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally such that inequity and injustice result, and that must be continuously addressed and changed.
- Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector.
- We must all hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.
- Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
- The prominent presence of artists challenges inequity and encourages alternatives.
To Lead by Example, We…
- Pursue cultural consciousness throughout our organization through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies.
- Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and report organization progress.
- Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.
To Advance Our Sector Through Systemic Change Related to Equity, We…
- Provide opportunities for substantive learning to build cultural consciousness and to proliferate pro-equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences.
- Support programs that reflect the full breadth of our community.
- Improve the cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the full breadth of Springfield MA.
- Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes cultural equity.