Before we can celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), we must first acknowledge the many activists and advocates who brought us to that wonderful moment on July 26, 1990.
This fact was never more evident than if you listened to the speakers at the recent DisArt closing panel discussion at UICA on Tuesday, July 24. Calvin College's Professor of Art Elizabeth VanArragon held the audience spellbound as we sat in the hot summer sun of UICA's 5
th floor terrace sharing stories of those individuals who fought for accessibility. It was a poignant reminder that, during the pre-ADA years, people with mobility needs were often literally left at the curb with no way to get on a bus, much less cross a street safely.
On Thursday afternoon, Disability Advocates of Kent County (DAKC) invites the community to come together and celebrate how far we have come and plan what the next years could have in store as a nation begins to re-imagine what an "emerging utopia*" based on access could provide for the future generations.
There will be special gifts for the first people through the door at this event, as well as chance to hear from so many organizations and service providers in our community.
The celebration will include entertainment, such as Arts InMotion Studio Dance, Cassaundra Bell, The New Midwest with Chris Smit from DisArt Festival singing, and DAKC's very own Dave and the DAKC'ettes!
This is also the closing week of the
DisArt's Art of the Lived Experiment exhibitions, which will be dismantled and shipped back to Liverpool. This international exhibition's only stop in the U.S. comes to a close on Friday, July 31, 2015.
Admission: Free
*"Emerging Utopia" is a phrase I used at the closing panel discussion at UICA on July 24 to describe the process in which we all find ourselves in history, regardless of the period one is born. "Life is about evolving and making access (room) for others."