ABSTRACT
From its inception in 1983, Please Touch provided arts education for people with visual impairments. Please Touch grew into ArtAccess at the Queens Museum of New York, with programs designed for participants of all ages and abilities to enjoy personal connections to art and cultural institutions. In this chapter, Mitra Dejkameh and Vida Sabbaghi discuss how ArtAccess and COPE NYC (Creative Opportunities Promoting Equality – New York City) consider cultural institutions as a third space, which individuals with diverse physical, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive abilities can use to experience creativity in an arts-based environment. COPE NYC helps expand the reach of the museum with a commitment to access the ideas and realities of the diverse local communities.
