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Image: Blue Square Picture: Man wearing earphones Low vision patron listens to audio description via ear piece Image: Green Square Picture: Child hugging a man. Deaf Child hugs an actor from Blues Clues after the show. C A C Logo, About Us
Animated image: Rotates through the following access symbols on a four second delay: braille, closed captioned, ASL Interpretation, audio description, large print, open captioned, T T Y available, wheeelchair accessible, assisted listening.

Mission

Cultural Access Consortium (C A C) champions the belief that the arts must be accessible to all regardless of physical or cognitive abilities or financial means. C A C works in partnership with community members to provide cultural institutions with ,

1. Access technical support,

2. Access information and referral,

3. Outreach initiatives linking human services and arts organizations.

History of C A C .

In 1991, a group of Boston-area theatre companies under the name Theatre Access Consortium initiated regular meetings to share information about accessibility program procedures and policies. When Theatre Access Consortium disbanded, Judy Berk, an original member, founded Cultural Access Consortium in 1998 to address the growing accessibility needs not only of theatres, but of other cultural institutions as well. C A C, a 501c3 corporation, has since established itself as a thriving community-based organization inspired by the vision of a world where everyone participates fully in the cultural life of our communities.

Community Governance.

C A C benefits from the guidance of a diversity of stakeholders. Its Board consists of leading professionals from local businesses, cultural institutions, and community advocacy agencies. Advisory groups consisting of members from the blindness, Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and physically-challenged communities also contribute to the development of C A C programming and services.

Leadership.

Judy Berk, Founder and Executive Director, has collaborated closely with organizations and community members for over 12 years to create accessible cultural programming in Massachusetts and the greater New England region. She served as Student Matinee and Access Coordinator at Huntington Theatre Company; Founder/Coordinator of Boston Artreach for V S A Arts of Massachusetts; and Co-facilitator of training workshops for Deaf A S L theatre consultants and theatre audio describers sponsored by Huntington Theatre Company and Bay State Council of the Blind, respectively. Her publication credits include co-author of "Deaf-Blind Theatre Access Guide" and "A Guide to Audio Description in the Performing Arts." Judy currently serves on the Access/Diversity Advisory Board of DeCordova Museum, Huntington Theatre Company, Museum of Fine Arts, StageSource, Wang Center for the Performing Arts, and Wheelock Family Theatre. Judy also sits on the Steering Committee of Boston's Show of Hands Theatre Company, a Deaf-run organization.

Valerie C. M. Ching, Program Director, has worked to bring the arts and human services together through community-based projects for over ten years. As Education and Outreach Associate at Huntington Theatre Company, she designed and implemented outreach initiatives with members from the Deaf and blindness communities, youth and elder organizations, and many others. Trained as a playwright and audio describer, Valerie has served as secondary describer at Wheelock Family Theatre and describer consultant at numerous New England theatres. She co-authored and edited "A Guide to Audio Description in the Performing Arts" and currently serves on the Board of StageSource - the alliance of New England theatre artists and producers. She sits on the Access Advisory Board of Wheelock Family Theatre and Huntington Theatre Company, and on the Steering Committee of Boston's Show of Hands Theatre Company, an organization established by Deaf theatre artists and their hearing allies.