HISTORY OF CREATIVE ACCESS

Creative Access began in the spring of 1992 when a group of Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing individuals, parents and professionals of varied ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds, met to address the issue of exclusion of deaf and hard of hearing people from the social and cultural fabric of our communities.

Concerned about the invisibility of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in the cultural highways and byways of our City’s vast array of cultural arenas, we set about the task of altering this picture significantly. Prior to that time, the Deaf community had indeed constituted a virtually invisible minority in most walks of life. Thus, we believed, that invisibility allows stereotypes to be perpetuated, and therefore saw visibility as the key to breaking down stereotypes about Deaf people, their language and their culture. Further, we viewed access to and participation in the arts and cultural life of any community as amongst the best means of achieving this. After all, has it not been demonstrated time and again, with the emergence and celebration of cultural diversity, that participation of and exposure to any minority culture, benefits all who are availed of it. Having described our primary purpose, our mission then became: to assure greater visibility, full accessibility, opportunity and inclusion of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people of all ages in the arts and cultural venues of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and to do so by bringing Deaf and Hard of Hearing people of all ages into the mainstream of Philadelphia area arts and culture by promoting American Sign Language and the Deaf culture wherever and whenever possible.

Though it is true that hearing loss crosses all lines, the key problem is the same for all, that is, the breaking down of communication barriers so that individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing may have the option of having access to mainstream, hearing culture. However, from the start, the founding group of what came to be known as Creative Access, believed that to simply promote access to mainstream cultural events and programs would be leaving out an equally essential part of our mission: to promote and provide stages and forums in which to showcase the skills and talent of performers who are themselves of and about the DEAF culture, or who perform and enlighten us all, through the unique beauty of American Sign Language. This brings another hue to the already rich and diverse cultural arena we call the Delaware Valley.