Art and Advocacy: The Art of Using Art as a Tool and Process for Disability Advocacy and Community Support 1179

How do health care professionals collaborate with members, leaders and artists from the disability community? What does "art as advocacy" look like in the disability community? This presentation will provide an overview of the art and advocacy training program at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities. This Art and Advocacy Program was created in partnership with the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL), housed under the Department of Art Therapy and Counseling at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago since 2021. Supported by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (90RTCP0005), this program focused on using art to address disability related issues, specifically support for emerging and professional artists with disabilities, arts policies and community support. This presentation will highlight the "Art Tour Guide Training", which is a program for people with disabilities who are interested in gaining marketable job and self-advocacy skills through researching, developing, leading and facilitating the in-house art tour of the permanent art collection at Access Living. The presenter will discuss the benefits of a training program that is based in disability culture advocacy knowledge and the independent living philosophy and practice. The presenter will also speak about the development of the program, including its challenges, progresses, outcomes and future plans.