Making the arts accessible

Arts Access – the program

Wyoming is known as the “Equality State” because of the rights women have traditionally known here.

The Wyoming Arts Council’s goal is to apply the “Equality State” philosophy to the arts by building programs that make Wyoming a state where diverse populations and those who are disadvantaged or living in institutions, rural or isolated communities have the same access to arts programming as those in the larger urban areas or in communities with more economic means, arts organizations and facilities. This is the focus of the Arts Access Program.

First Lady Nancy Freudenthal recently said at the 2009 Wyoming Arts Summit that “We do what is important to us.” Making the arts accessible to everyone in Wyoming is important at the Wyoming Arts Council (WAC). The Council does this thoughtfully and well through careful attention to all of its programs and services. The WAC supports arts projects and arts activities statewide so Wyomingites can attend and participate in the arts with ease and dignity.

Being underserved and challenged

The Arts Access Program promotes and supports accessibility to the arts and arts programming through outreach, hands-on technical assistance, and funding to underserved communities in the areas of local cultural development, developing arts organizations, rural initiatives, arts programs that offer positive alternatives to youth at risk, and other programs for artists and arts groups in areas that are underserved in the arts.

An underserved community is defined as one whose people lack access to arts programs due to geographic isolation and/or limited access to quality arts resources and programs due to economic conditions, ethnic background, disability, age or other reason, such as:

• Rural areas or those isolated from large population centers
• Reservation communities
• Special education students or at-risk youth in a school or community setting
• Educational institutions with no arts curriculum or budget
• Special needs populations such as older adults and persons with disabilities or of low income
• Confined settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, correctional institutions, and youth facilities
• Ethnic populations, including immigrants and other for whom English is a second language

Making the arts accessible can be a challenge considering the many factors that may impact access to the arts in Wyoming on any given day.

Two factors that have an effect on equal access to the arts are disability and age. According to the 2008 American Community Survey, an estimated 77,000 people in Wyoming have a disability, or about 15% of the population age 5 and over. The fastest growing in-state population includes persons age 55 years and over. It has been reported that this age group in general has the most expendable income. However, in Wyoming the only source of income is Social Security for a quarter of the older adults age 65+.

Take Wyoming’s population density, it’s very low – only 5.1 persons per square mile. Compare this to neighboring Colorado’s 41.5 persons/mi2. The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) defines a frontier area as one with 6 persons/mi2 and lists the challenges facing frontier areas as isolation, distances, seasonal travel barriers, and the economy. The USDA's report Understanding Rural Population Loss notes that counties with low population density, such as frontier counties, are most at risk for population loss, and that communities with cultural or natural amenities are likely to fare better than remote communities that have fewer attractions to offer tourists and retirees.

The isolation and distances in underserved communities result in long road trips to attend school, shop for groceries, get health care, reach other basic services and, maybe, to attend a concert or performance. Public transportation options are often limited or unavailable in these frontier areas, making access to needed services and the arts difficult for low-income households, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Seasonal travel barriers can also make travel difficult.

The economy in frontier areas is usually based on a few specific resources or activities and so are more at risk of downturns and boom-bust cycles. Tourism, farming, ranching, logging, and mining are some of the common businesses in rural areas. And frontier areas where much of the land is federally owned may lack an adequate tax base to pay for needed services.

Now, imagine the often heroic efforts local arts councils and other organizations in underserved Wyoming communities must go to when developing community arts programs.

For more information, contact Marirose Morris, Arts Access Specialist and 504/ADA Coordinator, (307) 777-7723.