Meet Helyn Marshall, Accessibility Manager ERIK PEPPLE, CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER 11
Helyn Marshall, the Wex’s accessibility manager, has been with the center since 2005. She was a familiar and welcoming face as head of our house management team, but in 2019 made the shift to the newly established accessibility manager position. Marshall, in her words below, talks about the importance of this role and what she brings to it as the center moves to offer greater access to all patrons, for all programs—both in person and online. “The field of accessibility, when focused on disability access, aims to reduce or remove barriers in order to ensure every individual has equal opportunity to participate in life, to go and do, and be human in varied environments. It means being interested in adaptations and exploring a lot of gray areas to discover what works for each person who has an accommodation need. Sometimes it’s something as simple as having the ability to sit for part of a performance rather than the need to stand and endure having a pain-body because of an inflexible environment. Sometimes solutions can be more complex, with layers of support
Helyn Marshall, photo: Jessica Pissini. Wexner Center Galleries, photo: Brad Feinknopf.
or adaptations needed for an individual to have the same opportunity to fully engage with the content of an event. It’s not all about physical access, though a lot of accessibility work does tend to orient around the physical in an environment-dependent context. There are other aspects to working in the field of accessibility where identities intersect. Not one single person on Earth only has one identity—we are a multitude within ourselves and that should be acknowledged and respected at least. Really, it should be celebrated and honored. So work in the field of accessibility can hopefully answer questions such as ‘can I get there?’ and ‘will I be able to participate?’ while also being deeply grounded in ‘do I belong here?’, ‘can I contribute?’, and ‘am I valued?’ The thing is, this pandemic, for as awful as it has been, has done massive work to foreground digital accessibility needs and pushed this work forward on a national level as we learn to cope and find new ways to connect more fully while remaining at home.” The Wexner Center strives to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as captioning or ASL interpretation, please contact Helyn at accessibility@wexarts.org or via telephone at (614) 688-3890.
