AWS Foundation will support increased accessibility at this year’s Taste of the Arts Festival, presented by 3Rivers Credit Union. Funding will help Arts United to ensure that the Taste of the Arts Festival is an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible experience for festival participants and community members.

 

“Taste of the Arts celebrates the creativity of our community,” says Patti Hays, AWS Foundation CEO. “This grant enhances access for people with disabilities to attend the event and highlight their talents. As our arts community grows more inclusive, it strengthens its impact.”

 

In addition to increasing the festival’s capacity to intentionally feature more performers of diverse abilities across all of the festival stages, Arts United also will be:

  • Identifying and preserving sensory-friendly areas of the festival that attendees can visit should they need a break from the sound and activity featured in other parts of the festival
  • Providing sensory-friendly kits that attendees can borrow and keep with them as they navigate the different areas of the festival
  • Increasing access to ADA-accessible infrastructure like restrooms and hydration stations
  • Engaging ASL interpreters at select performances across the festival
  • Offering greater accessibility to all parts of the festival via a continuous shuttle service that will be available throughout the day

 

“The core Taste of the Arts Festival mission is to celebrate the rich diversity of arts and culture in Northeast Indiana,” said Thad Tegtmeyer, Festival Chair of Taste of the Arts. “With this amazing support from AWS, we are able to welcome more community members and performers of varying abilities into this celebration. This is really exciting for the festival and the community of Fort Wayne.”

 

For more information and updates about the 2022 festival, visit tastefw.org and follow Taste of the Arts Festival on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Taste of the Arts is sponsored in 2022 by 3Rivers Credit Union, NiSource Foundation (NIPSCO), AWS Foundation, Arcpoint Productions, The Landing, Arts Campus Fort Wayne, Riverfront Fort Wayne, Ambassador Enterprises, AEP Foundation, Parrish Leasing, Sweetwater, Indiana Arts Commission, Bradley Co., Current Mechanical, Do It Best Corp., Metropolitan Title, North Eastern Realty Group, PHP, 1st Source Bank, Downtown Improvement District, Fort Wayne Metals, Ferguson, Strahm Building Solutions, Lincoln Financial Group, Pizza Hut, and Rea Magnet Wire.

 

Festival format is subject to change should any public health guidelines for Allen County and the City of Fort Wayne call for heightened precautions. Arts United will continue to monitor the health of the community under the guidance of the Allen County Department of Health and CDC.

 

 

About Arts United

Arts United is a private, nonprofit local arts agency that serves Northeast Indiana through arts advocacy and promotion, fundraising and grantmaking, back-office business support, community and economic development, and Arts Campus Fort Wayne coordination. Arts United’s mission is to mobilize resources to develop, coordinate, and support arts and culture, enhancing the quality of life and the economic vitality of Northeast Indiana.

 

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