Arts Access Hub: A New Resource for Cultural Accessibility

NEFA welcomes New England's cultural sector to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26) and Disability Pride Month by joining us for this webinar with our colleagues at Open Door Arts.

Open Door Arts will share an inside look at the Arts Access Hub—a groundbreaking, free digital resource designed to support cultural organizations across the country in their accessibility efforts. Launching in August 2025, the Hub will bring together over 50 web pages of expert-vetted content, a comprehensive self-assessment tool, curated rosters of accessibility experts, and more. Co-created with a national team of over 40 leaders in the field, this one-of-a-kind platform offers practical tools and guidance to help cultural organizations of all types and sizes advance accessibility. This session will introduce the Hub’s features and explore how your organization can use them to drive lasting change, foster true inclusion for people with disabilities, and help transform the cultural sector into a more equitable and accessible space for all.

This session will be recorded and will include live captioning. If you require other accommodations to participate, please contact us by June 27, 2025.

Register for the Webinar

Speakers

Portia Brown, M.A., M.Ed. 

Portia is a certified ADA Coordinator with a commitment to supporting arts and culture organizations to improve their accessibility.  Since joining Open Door Arts in 2018 she has supported efforts to design and implement strategic solutions to improve access and representation of people with disabilities in the arts and culture sector.  Prior to 2018, she worked at Boston Ballet where she directed programming that provided accessible and inclusive dance education, trained educators and service providers, and led organization-wide accessibility efforts.  Portia earned her M.Ed. in Prevention Science and Practice from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, her M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of Colorado and earned her B.A. at Colorado College. She is a former special education teacher, the Primary Consultant for United Dance, and was a finalist for the 2017 Massachusetts Non-Profit Network Young Professional Excellence Award. 

Nicole Agois, M.Ed. 

Nicole Hurel is a musician, educator, arts administrator, and disability advocate whose work centers at the intersection of arts, education and disability. She is the Managing Director of Open Door Arts, an organization that works to increase access, participation, and representation in arts and culture by people with disabilities. She directed Open Door Arts’ education programs for 13 years before assuming the Managing Director role in 2017. Passionate for coalition building around cultural equity and accessibility in the arts, she currently serves on the Steering Committees of Cultural Access New England and the Boston Cultural Leaders Coalition, on the Advisory Board of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education, and as a Corporator of the Worcester Art Museum. She has also served on the Leadership Council for the city of Boston’s cultural planning process, as Board Chair for Abilities Dance Boston, as National Institute Faculty for VSA International, and as a consultant for organizations like PBS Kids and SchoolTalk. Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Nicole holds an Ed.M. in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.M. in Piano Performance from the Boston Conservatory.