On December 19, 2017, Janice Bartley, a Self-Advocate and Administrative Operations Clerk at AHRC New York City Headquarters, presented at The School of Visual Arts (SVA) Disability Awareness Training for a group of future art therapists who will soon be graduating from the school’s Art Therapy Master’s program. Janice spoke about her own experiences and gave advice about the best ways of working with people with disabilities before answering students’ questions in a panel alongside her fellow presenters, Jonathan Novick, Outreach Manager for the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, and Walei Sabry, NYC Digital Accessibility Coordinator, with support from Matthew Estep, Self-Advocacy Advisor.
Val Sereno, Special Programs and Projects Coordinator for SVA said that the event was an exceptional success and has already invited Janice to present again next semester.

This panel came about through an ongoing collaboration between AHRC NYC and SVA, which has also included the partnering of AHRC NYC artists with SVA art therapy students for a four-session Community Access workshop in which they created art for a reception at SVA’s Chelsea Gallery. AHRC NYC artists will have another opportunity to take part in these workshops and have their art displayed next year.