Notable Quotable: Dr. Joel Snyder, Audio Description Pioneer

"I think we need to be better at spreading the word about the abilities of people who have, quote/unquote, 'disabilities.' Everybody has abilities, and we're all using them to the best of our capacity, and folks who are blind, they're doing that, too. They simply need the art form, the culture, to be accessible to them. You know, the social model of disability dictates that a person is disabled only to the extent to which society doesn't accommodate their individual needs, so that if a building doesn't have a ramp, well, it's inaccessible, isn't it, to somebody who uses a wheelchair. But as soon as that ramp is there, or the building is designed with the ramp, the disability goes away. So there's really no good reason why a person with a physical disability must also be culturally disadvantaged. I don't think so. I think it's beholden on all of us who run public institutions, and certainly funded with public money, to be as inclusive as possible, to involve all of the public to a greatest extent as possible."

Dr. Joel Snyder is an educator, advocate, and pioneer in audio description. For 12 years he directed the Audio Description Project for American Council of the Blind. Learn more about Dr. Snyder's work and why audio description matters for everyone on the Art Works podcast.