Open Door Arts

10/14/2026

Join us on Sunday, October 25th from 1-3 PM for an artist reception celebrating Tim de Christopher’s solo exhibition “Paper and Stone: A Retrospective” in the Open Door Gallery at the Worcester Art Museum

Spanning nearly 50 years of Tim de Christopher’s artistic practice, Paper and Stone brings together stone carvings, paintings, prints, drawings, and 600 of the artist’s signature napkin sketches. The retrospective celebrates de Christopher’s distinctive artistic voice, humor, and ongoing exploration of time, memory, and the everyday.

Reception Details:
Starting at 1:00 PM, there will be light refreshments and time to explore the exhibition. You’re also invited to join a drop-in art activity, Napkin Sketching, where you can create your own napkin sketches in the drop-in studio.

At 2:00 PM, Tim will give an artist talk on his process, reflecting on the theme of time, including his years as a student and as a free “agent” in NYC, and on his diagnosis and how it has affected him physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

ACCESS:
We are committed to creating an inclusive exhibition environment. In this exhibition, there are image descriptions of all the artworks, tactile materials and representations of the artworks, a large print guide, a Braille guide, and an audio tour.

Please refrain from wearing scented products, including perfumes/colognes, hair products, cosmetics, and scented lotions at this event. This is in consideration for people with fragrance allergies or chemical sensitivities.

For further access requests, feedback, or to request sign language interpreters or sighted guides for the October 25 event, please email [email protected]. Please request sign language or sighted guides by October 14 if possible.

More info at:
https://mailchi.mp/opendoorartsma/paper-and-stone

Image description: A graphic with a dark green background. Neon green and white text shares the exhibit and reception information, also in the post text. In the middle is Tim's grey limestone sculpture "The Angel of Hope and Despair," which features 3 people and an angel gathered around a round table with a small piano in the center. At the bottom of the graphic are access symbols for physical accessibility, large print, braille, tactile elements, and audio description. There are also logos on the left for Open Door Arts and the Worcester Art Museum.

10/13/2026

The Open Door Arts family is so saddened by the sudden passing of our long time friend and Advisory Board member, Jeremy Alliger.

Anyone who knew Jeremy felt his infectious enthusiasm and love for art in all its forms, especially dance, and for the artists and creators who brought it to life. Throughout his career, Jeremy championed the work of so many dancers and dance companies, with a special passion for the work of disabled artists. We were so lucky to collaborate with him on some of the incredible projects he brought to life, including the first International Wheelchair Dance Festival and the unforgettable Boston production of Heidi Latsky's GIMP.

We're profoundly grateful for his friendship, encouragement, advocacy, and support over these past few decades.

Fly high, Jeremy. You will be sorely missed!

09/28/2026

We are honored to exhibit Paper and Stone: A Retrospective by artist Tim de Christopher in the Open Door Gallery at the Worcester Art Museum. The exhibit will run through December 6th.
There is an artist reception on Sunday, October 25, from 1-3 PM.

About the exhibition:
Tim de Christopher began his art career in 1977 while living in New York’s Lower East Side and attending Cooper Union. He is now an established artist known for his stone carvings featured in private collections and public installations, including gargoyles for the facade of the Jewish Museum in New York City and a major work titled Rock Paper Scissors installed in Turners Falls. With this public artwork, de Christopher has made his mark on the town of Turners Falls.

Paper and Stone is a retrospective of de Christopher’s artwork, on view in the Open Door Gallery at the Worcester Art Museum. Featuring stone carvings, paintings, prints, and drawings, this maximalist celebration highlights Tim’s consistent artistic voice across media, as well as his legacy of creativity, humor, and gift for elevating the everyday. A special highlight of this exhibition is the display of Tim’s Napkin Drawings—600 napkin sketches made from 1977 to the present day, installed in the drop-in studio. A literal visual diary of the artist.

Access: We are committed to creating an inclusive exhibition environment. The gallery is physically accessible and can be accessed through the Lancaster Street entrance of WAM. There are image descriptions of all the artworks, tactile materials and representations of the artworks, a large print guide, and an audio tour. For further access requests, please email [email protected].

09/17/2026

Thank you to the Onion Foundation for publishing a great article about the Peer-Learning Communities that were led by our Director of Cultural Access, Dani Rose!

The Onion Foundation shares:
"Starting in September 2025, ODA shared their expertise and custom tools with 28 Onion Foundation grantees via a 10-month Cultural Accessibility Peer Learning Cohort.

Throughout the learning community, nonprofits learned about building accessibility best practices into staff training, committee activities, communications, and strategic planning. As Rose explains, 'They began to realize where to put their efforts and resources in the immediate present while planning for a more accessible future.'

At the end of the cohort session, nonprofits had not only a clearer picture of their core goals and objectives, but also a better sense of how to improve over time."

Read the full article at:

As a mission-driven, inclusion-focused arts nonprofit, Open Door Arts (ODA) has championed accessibility in their programs for more than 50 years. Now, with the

09/10/2026

Arts and cultural organizations invest in professional development for educators, fundraisers, marketers, producers, curators, administrators, and organizational leaders.

Accessibility deserves that same investment.

Doing this work well takes more than good intentions. It requires knowledge of disability, legal responsibilities, accessible spaces and services, communication, program design, organizational practices, and much more.

That's one reason we created the Cultural Access Practitioner Certification: to recognize accessibility as an area of professional practice and give the people doing this work an opportunity to build and demonstrate their knowledge.

Access is everyone's responsibility.

But the people leading the work need the tools to lead it well.

Learn more at: https://artsaccesshub.org/training-certification/cultural-access-practitioner-training/

Introductory pricing is available through November 1.

08/14/2026

✨Please join us in congratulating our own Charles G. Baldwin for receiving LEAD's Award for Excellence in Accessibility Leadership✨

Time and again, Charles has demonstrated that accessibility isn’t simply about removing barriers, it’s about creating spaces where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and able to fully participate.

📸: Nicole Agois, Managing Director of Open Door Arts, with Charles G. Baldwin at the 2026 LEAD conference.
Read more: https://massculturalcouncil.org/blog/celebrating-our-champion-of-access/

The Kennedy Center Access/VSA International Network

08/13/2026

The link to become a Certified Cultural Access Practitioner is now live!

Led by disabled cultural access experts, this first-of-its-kind national certification combines disability-centered knowledge, legal responsibilities, recognized practices, and practical strategies for creating meaningful organizational change. It is designed both for people entering the work and for practitioners ready to deepen, broaden, and formalize their practice.

Learn more at: https://artsaccesshub.org/training-certification/

Image description in the alt text.

07/31/2026

Announcing the Arts and Culture Accessibility Hub Art Exhibition!

Launched last August, the Arts Access Hub is a go-to resource to transform your access intentions into action. Co-created by a majority-disabled team of cultural access experts, this free, easy-to-use platform offers tools, training, and guidance to help you strengthen your organization’s accessibility, and connect with community.

The artwork on the Hub is not a decoration. It’s a deliberate act of centering disabled artists, whose stories, perspectives, and cultural labor are too often sidelined. Each piece is a testament to the power, nuance, and brilliance of disabled creativity. Previously, the art was only accessed through its featured topic page on The Hub.

This exhibition is a space where all the art can be featured and experienced together. We are honored to share this powerful collection of art.

Featured artists:
Alex Dolores Salerno
Andy Slater
Ariana Martinez
Anya L'Esperance
Aurora Berger
Bec Miriam
Bo Kim
Camilla Jerome
Carmen Papalia
chiara francesca
Chloe Pascal Crawford
Daisy Patton
DaNice D Marshall
Delana Thompson
Dominic Killiany
Dominic Quagliozzi
Dorian Reid
Dylan Mortimer
Elendë Connor
Em Kettner
Emilie Louise Gossiaux
Ezra Benus
Felicia Griffin
Finnegan Shannon
Frances Bukovsky
Gregory Blackstock
Gordon Sasaki
Heidi Swevens
Jeff Kasper
Jen White Johnson
Jillian Crochet
Judith Klausner
JJJJJerome Ellis
Laron Bickerstaff
Liza Sylvestre
Megan Bent
Micah Bazant
Michaela Oteri
Shana Harper
Shawn Sanders
Sins Invalid
Stephen Proski
Sugandha Gupta
Tony Giordano
Zooey Kim Conner

Visit the exhibit at: https://artsaccesshub.org/about-us/art/

Access and site navigation: Entering the 3D exhibition has two options: 1. explore on your own with keyboard navigation or trackpad, or 2. experience the site through the audio tour that goes from piece to piece.

If you explore on your own, each artwork has a more info icon (i); when expanded it provides the image description and a link to the artist's website. The audio tour reads the image description aloud.

The virtual exhibition is not screen reader accessible. The catalogue in the main menu is screen reader accessible. This is the link to the catalogue: https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/15757183/catalog

Video description in the comments.

07/17/2026

From Emerson Colonial Theatre :

Join us for the ASL-interpreted and open-captioned pre-Broadway performances of Paranormal Activity at the Emerson Colonial Theatre on Sunday, July 19 at 7:30 PM (ASL) and Thursday, July 23 at 7:30 PM (Open Captioned).

About the show: James and Lou move from Chicago to London for a fresh start. But as the young couple settles into their new home, Lou is certain that something isn’t right, and before long they will both have to grapple with the same truth: places aren’t haunted, people are. Inspired by the iconic, terrifying film series, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is a new story live on stage.

The ASL-interpreted performance will feature C Ledford, Desiree Weems, Ember Spera, and Eli Onyeabor, led by Kristin Johnson.

Use Promo Codes: ASL and OPENCAPTION

Seats are located in the front Orchestra Left section and are indicated by a star once the promo code is activated.

Image: A graphic for Paranormal Activity. Title is in red text with "Accessible Performances" below in grey text. In the middle is a blue-tinted image of a person peering into a door and using their phone as a flashlight. At the bottom are Bitly links for ASL and Open Captioned performances.

ASL Performance: bit.ly/paranormalASL

Open Caption Performance: bit.ly/paranormalcaption

06/26/2026

We're grateful to NBCUniversal for awarding us a Local Impact Grant this year to support our CareerCREATE Program in 7 Boston Public Schools.

Thank you to the team at NBC10 Boston for featuring our program recently!