Universal Participation – Page 2 – Creative Minds Out Loud

Episode 68: Access Means Overcoming Psychological Barriers, Too

Matthias Waschek, Executive Director of the Worcester Art Museum, says truly accessible museums create experiences that make visitors want to return. In doing so they must challenge institutional norms to welcome and engage more diverse populations.

Matthias Waschek joined the Worcester Art Museum in 2011 as the C. Jean and Myles McDonough Director. German born, he earned his Ph.D. from Bonn University, working on French art in the age of Colonialism. He has published extensively in the areas of French art nouveau and the history of art history. His curatorial experience spans from old masters to contemporary art.
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Episode 58: Removing Barriers for Theatregoers

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Meg O’Brien, Interim Co-Director of Education at Huntington Theatre Company, discusses their long-standing commitment to universal participation. She shares how the Huntington makes productions accessible for patrons with hearing or vision difficulties, and how they’re expanding ways to integrate accessibility into performance models and schedules.

Meg O'Brien Meg O’Brien is in her 10th season at the Huntington Theatre Company, currently serving as one of two Interim Co-Directors of Education. She has also served as the Manager of Education Operations & Access Coordinator at the Huntington Theatre Company. Meg is an actor, dancer, singer, director, producer, and stage manager; however, her passion lives with Theatre Education, which she quickly fell in love with when she was in college. For the past 15 years, Meg has made her living teaching students of all ages about the world of the theater. Continue reading “Episode 58: Removing Barriers for Theatregoers”

Episode 55: Generate and Cultivate Engagement

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Zakiya Thomas, Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Executive Director of Education, Community Engagement and Inclusion, discusses how evaluation and accountability are key for institutions seeking to reach new audiences.

She says the same rigor that organizations apply to visitor experience or to the quality of work on display needs to also be applied around how that organization works with communities and the kinds of outcomes they expect to see.

For more than fifteen years, Zakiya Thomas has worked to develop engaging educational and public service initiatives designed to strategically align business, marketing, public relations and community engagement objectives.

She currently serves as the Executive Officer for Education, Community Engagement and Inclusion for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Continue reading “Episode 55: Generate and Cultivate Engagement”

Episode 51: Wide Perspective at the Narrows

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Patrick Norton is Executive Director of the Narrows Center for the Arts, a regional destination for the visual and performing arts. He discusses the Narrows’ contribution to the Fall River community and their arts therapy program for developmentally delayed adults.

Patrick Norton has been involved with the Narrows Center for the Arts for 21 years serving as Executive Director the past 11 years. From 1997-2012, he worked for Congressman Jim McGovern. He’s been happily married to the wonderful Maggie for 23 years and is the proud parent to two amazing boys, Benjamin and Owen.
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Episode 46: Museums in the Face of Changing Communities

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New England has the largest per capita concentration of museums in the country. Dan Yaeger, Executive Director of the New England Museum Association, speaks to the health of the region’s museums and the systemic challenges museums face to diversify their staffs and boards.

Dan Yaeger was named executive director of New England Museum Association in April, 2010. His passion is to strengthen capacity in museums and build skills in the leaders that serve them. Dan has a 20‐year history with museums, most recently as the director of the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, Massachusetts. He has developed communications programs for the Museum of Fine Arts/Boston, Peabody Essex Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, Currier Museum of Art, Old Sturbridge Village, John F. Kennedy Library, and Plimoth Plantation among others. Continue reading “Episode 46: Museums in the Face of Changing Communities”