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KANSAN.COM
ARTS & CULTURE
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KU'S AUDIO-READER NETWORK AWARDED $9,324 GRANT
The grant, funded by the Ethel and Raymond Rice Foundation, will allow the Spencer Museum of Art to provide audio descriptions for people who are blind or visually impaired.
"The need for information doesn't go away just because you've lost your vision or your vision is diminishing."
Lori Kesinger Audio Reader's outreach coordinator illustration by Sam Billman
▶ MINSEON KIM
@minseonkim94
The University Audio-Reader Network and the Spencer Museum of Art will enrich the art museum experience for people who are blind or visually impaired.
The network received a $9,324 grant from the Ethel and Raymond Rice Foundation on Jan. 14. The grant will help fund an audio description training by KU Audio-Reader at the Spencer Museum of Art, according to a news release. The grant will also help the Audio-Reader Network expand on its audio description services.
"We want to make everything available to people with vision loss so that they can continue to participate and be active members of their community," said Lori Kesinger, Audio Reader's outreach coordinator.
The descriptions will describe the visual elements of works of art in the Spencer Art Museum. The Audio-Reader program
also provides services that include its free 24-hour FM radio service that reads newspapers, magazines and books.
Celka Straughn, Director of Academic Programs, at the art museum said this new audio description program would make things more visible for other audiences of the museum as well.
Straughn said the audio description can provide an alternative way for visitors to understand each element of the art.
"People quickly glance at the art, and sometimes you are not aware of what you are taking in," Straughn said.
Audio description will start with the permanent collection at the museum. Descriptions used in the museum won't be as simple as regurgitating the description next to the art on the walls of the museum. Rather than interpreting the art for guest, the descriptions will guide visitors through what is there and allow people with different levels of vision to interpret art works for themselves.
"It creates a lot more independence for people to be able to enjoy the arts independently," Kesinger said.
Erin Bolton, former multicultural coordinator at the art museum, was volunteering at Audio-Reader when she suggested the idea and initiated the move to connect staffs from both the museum and the Audio Reader network in order to make the collaboration real
Kesinger said the descriptions will always be available for blind and print-disabled people and they won't have to wait for somebody to help them.
"It is a great opportunity to increase access of art to visually impaired people and more diverse audiences," Bolton said. "I love the fact that this program will increase the outreach to a new set of audiences especially for those who are losing their sight and yet still want to
access artwork."
The grant will help staff bring a trainer from the Audio Description Associates to Lawrence for description training. Kesigner said this could be an opportunity to invite and train people from other museum in the area as well.
Even though the audio description training program is still in its beginning stage, staffs at both organizations are confident the program will open up the museum to a completely different audience who may shy away from going to the museum because of blindness or vision impairment.
"Just because you are unable to see or have difficulty seeing, you shouldn't be kept from doing other things," Kesinger said. "The need for information doesn't go away just because you've lost your vision or your vision is diminishing."
- Edited by Shane Jackson
KU student finds her roots through self-published book, "Eliza: A Generational Journey"
► BRIANNA CHILDERS @breeanuhh3
SUBMITTED BY CRYSTAL BRADSHAW
Junior Crystal Bradshaw started writing her book, "Eliza: A Generational Journey," when she was 16.
Trying to write a book is never easy, but when that is paired with research that dates back to the 1800s, Crystal Bradshaw, a junior at the University from Jetmore, Kan. only has one word to describe the process: Frustrating.
Meredith Wiggins, a co-worker and mentor of Bradshaw's, said she thinks the book will impact readers because it sheds light on an aspect of African American history and literature that isn't the first subject when talking about such issues.
Bradshaw, majoring in creative-writing, recently released her book, "Eliza: A Generational Journey" through self-publishing and just ordered a second printing of the book. The book, a historical fiction novel, tells the story of Bradshaw's great grandmother, Eliza.
Wiggins is an administrative associate at the KU School of Law Office of Career Services, but Bradshaw and Wiggins met while they were both working for the University's project on the history of black writing.
"It talks about the exoduster movement, which is former slaves moving to the Midwest, particularly Kansas, and
it's amazing to think this is her [Bradshaw] family," Bradshaw said.
After Eliza and her family moved to Jetmore, her husband Louis, died months later and she was left to take care of their five children on her own; her two youngest children died later on.
The book follows Eliza's life during the 1800s when she was a slave in Kentucky. Around 1865, Eliza and her family were emancipated and traveled to Jetmore where the Bradshaw family has lived for over 134 years.
"Her persistence and courage to keep going on no matter what is what impressed me the most," Bradshaw said. "I think that's a lesson most young people can really take to heart. If she can push through that then I can too."
"It was embarrassing for me because I didn't know any of my family history and I barely knew anything about my great-grandparents so it pushed me to find out about them," Bradshaw said.
The book, which was released in early December took about five years to write, Bradshaw said.
"I really started writing not knowing what I was doing," Bradshaw said. "I wrote the first pages when I was 16 and I was experimenting with the writing style and dialogue, plus I was going to school and had work."
Bradshaw said the most interesting part about Eliza was how strong and persistent she was.
Bradshaw started researching Eliza because of a project she in high school where she had to research her family history.
"She was the daughter of her mother and her mother's master, then at the age of 7 she was sold to a different plantation, and again at the age of 17," Bradshaw said.
Wiggins said one of the parts about the book that stood out the most was Bradshaw's ability to write in a child's voice.
"I have never read a book that has gotten the voice of a child better and I mean that as the highest compliment because I think writing as a child is one of the hardest things to do," Wiggins said.
Bradshaw self-published her book, so the complete publishing process took a little longer. The editing process took about one year and then she had to work on getting it printed, which took about three to four months. The publishing process was difficult because she had to do everything herself, such as formatting the size of the book, making the dedication and afterword page, and designing her own cover.
"I didn't really want to hire someone to do that for me plus I figured
those skills would be very beneficial to me in the future," she said.
Right now, Bradshaw is selling her book herself but is working on
getting it put into stores around Lawrence. She also plans on putting in a third order of about 300 copies.
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