Center for Community Arts Awarded Sensory Inclusive Certification
A customer service team member is always stationed at the front desk to welcome visitors to Shadelands Art Center, now a Certified Sensory Inclusive venue.
As the main location for Center for Community Arts under Walnut Creek Arts + Rec, Shadelands Art Center is home to an eclectic array of public arts programming that inspire community members and visitors to develop their creativity — and just as importantly, Shadelands Art Center provides opportunities for social engagement and connection.
The venue hosts early childhood, youth, and adult classes in a variety of art disciplines; youth camps; preschool enrichment; musical performances; and all-community events such as Family Arts Day and the upcoming Handcrafted Holiday Sale. For children and adults with sensory sensitivities or challenges with sensory regulation, the offerings can be overstimulating. For instance, a bustling arts class or orchestral concert might be too much for some visitors to enjoy.
Festive all-community events, such as Family Arts Day, can be overwhelming for people with sensory sensitivities.
“One of our core tenets through all of Walnut Creek Arts + Rec is that every single individual in our community deserves to experience cultural opportunities,” said Elizabeth Sheets Orcutt, Arts + Rec community relations manager.
To that end and to further open arts opportunities to all people, Shadelands Art Center recently completed a comprehensive training program and received a national Sensory Inclusive Certification from KultureCity, the world’s leading nonprofit dedicated to sensory accessibility and acceptance for individuals with invisible disabilities and sensory needs. Its trademarked Sensory Inclusive Certification program has been widely embraced by venues such as sports stadiums, concert halls, and cultural institutions worldwide — and now Shadelands Art Center is one of those venues.
KultureCity sensory bags are available and free to use during visits to Shadelands Art Center; they include noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards, and weighted lap pads.
The certification process involved detailed staff training by leading medical and neurodivergent professionals on how to recognize guests with sensory needs and how to handle a sensory overload situation. Shadelands Art Center is also now equipped with sensory bags, kits that include noise canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards, and weighted lap pads.
Sensory needs are common among people with autism, dementia, post-traumatic stress, and neurological conditions such as sensory processing differences. One in four children and adults live with these challenges, marked by over stimulation by crowds, lights, sounds, smells, or intense activity. Often, these sensory needs are invisible to friends, neighbors, schoolmates, teachers, office colleagues, and others with whom they interact.
Early Childhood Coordinator Rosie Lopez and all Shadelands Art Center staff members have gone through KultureCity’s Sensory Inclusive training and are available to secure a sensory bag, direct people to quiet zones, and lend a helping hand during a sensory overload situation.
“Center for Community Arts is a place for everyone to participate in our programs,” said Program Manager Maile Ogasawara Garcia. “Our staff and teachers at Shadelands take every opportunity to learn and grow as educators. When sensory processing differences were brought to our attention, we took steps to improve how we welcome community members and visitors. The KultureCity sensory training and tools have helped us to be more aware and supportive as we welcome participants with visible and invisible disabilities into this space for classes and events.”
“Our team has worked hard to become trained and certified so we can open up our center to everyone, including those who might not have historically been able to fully experience the joy and enrichment of the arts and arts education," said Elizabeth. "The arts are essential to the human experience, and this sensory inclusive certification allows us to create opportunities for those who may be overwhelmed by activity. We welcome everyone and provide the accommodations needed to ensure everyone can engage with and enjoy the arts."
New signage on the front door of Shadelands Arts Center identifies the center as a Sensory Inclusive location.
Shadelands Art Center’s atrium has been designated a quiet area as a part of its sensory accessibility offerings.
“If anyone has a sensory overload situation, our entire staff at Shadelands Art Center is educated and ready to respond,” said Maile. “We have new signage up throughout our Shadelands facility about our sensory inclusive options, including our atrium, which is now a designated quiet space during busy, bustling days. Staff members are ready to help anyone who needs a sensory bag — or just a helping hand.”
Signs let people know that sensory bags are available at the front desk, free to use while at Shadelands Art Center.
Walnut Creek Arts + Rec collaborated with KultureCity to create the Shadelands Art Center Social Story, designed to assist visitors in preparing for their trip to the center.
“This is a great place to pilot this program because inclusion is a part of how we interact with children and youth and adults every day,” said Maile, who noted that specific venues are certified, not departments. “This is especially true for our preschool team members, who are already well-versed in sensory inclusion because they work with young children every day, and they often reach out to specialists and organizations for help in providing the resources their children need for a fully enriching preschool experience.”
The goal is to provide accessibility to the arts for all — allowing children and adults of all abilities to participate in and enjoy cultural experiences.
“As an art center, our approach is to meet people where they’re at — thinking about what they need to enjoy the art experience. KultureCity’s formal training fine-tuned what we already practice and further trained us in recognizing signs of distress, which translate into how we work even better with our preschool kids, our youth in classes and camps, our adults in workshops, and the public at large at indoor and outdoor events,” said Elizabeth.
“We serve the entire community — everything we do here is for the community,” said Maile. “We see this certification as enhancing that community benefit by allowing accessibility to all we have to offer in a welcoming, sensory-friendly environment with staff fully engaged in helping everyone enjoy the arts.”
Paraphrasing KultureCity, Elizabeth said, “We are making the nevers possible.”
