Modeling, Music And Movies: Accessibility And The Arts

Forbes

17-06-2025

Simple in-person entertainment—a concert, a movie, a sporting event—can be almost impossible to attend for people with disabilities. And being front of the camera, say as an actor or a model, was a career once mostly closed for those who didn't appear perfectly able-bodied.
These Accessibility 100 members are working to flip that script by creating authentic narratives in their movies, taking the runway in wheelchairs, overlaying sign language on streaming services, and building stadiums and arenas with features to get everyone in the game.
Mikael Schulz
After a car accident left her a paraplegic at the age of 6, Bri Scalesse felt all eyes on her as she wheeled to school. But what if those curious (even judgmental) eyes could be used to her advantage? Scalesse noticed that there were no fashion and beauty models in wheelchairs—so she decided to trailblaze. She has since modeled for top brands like Victoria Secret, Sephora, Google, Adidas and more. 'Disabled people want to go out on dates and brunch with our friends and want to wear clothes that are beautiful and interesting just like anyone else,' Scalesse says. 'It's amazing to see how this representation impacts girls' self-esteem—to let someone say, 'Hey, There's me.'' Scalesse has become such a force in the modeling industry that she contractually requires all shoots have easy-access bathrooms, no steps and other accessibility features, most of which remain for any model, cameraperson or runner who uses the space in the future.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has led the national charge for access to the arts for people with disabilities, serving 1.5 million patrons and families with disabilities annually. Every Kennedy Center theater has physically accessible seating, listening devices, audio descriptions, sign language and interpretive captioning; the center also stages sensory-friendly/relaxed performances Its Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability email group (boasting almost 1,000 members) holds an annual conference to discuss new innovations and best practices, such as live transcriptions sent directly to patrons' phones. The center has sponsored hundreds of young visual artists and musicians with disabilities to learn the business, and presented education programs about arts and disability to about 51,000 students last year, about half with disabilities, in collaboration with local schools. "We just have to ensure that every person has access to the arts and culture," notes Betty Siegel, director of the center's Office of Accessibility. "It was built into the DNA of the building and the organization."
Legally blind and with several neurodivergent diagnoses, Sony, Warner and Amazon artist Lachi has brought her "big dis energy" (short for disability) to dance pop—and the White House, United Nations, BBC and HotAC radio charts. Her advocacy organization, Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities, has brought together music industry vets with disabilities and forged agreements on inclusive events with some of the industry's biggest players (Tidal, LiveNation, Netflix, the Grammys). Surveys by RAMPD suggest that 70% of industry members with disabilities hide them. Lachi says that's how she started. "I can't really see, I'm tripping over wires. I'm missing hand waves that could cost me a record deal. I'm bumping into the glass doors of sound booths, which are my number one enemy. I started realizing I'm going to have to change things honestly for my own career." Now she's a Grammys Board Governor at the Recording Academy, bringing ASL interpretation to the red carpet and year-round training and programming.
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Some people notice how much Farrelly—the director behind Dumb and Dumber, several other hit films and many streaming series—creates and casts so many characters who have disabilities. Then again, some people don't notice, because it comes off so naturally. And isn't that the point? 'When you don't have people with disabilities in your movie, you're not making the real world—it's fake, it's a fake movie.' Farrelly says. Decades ago, after his childhood friend broke his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down, Farrelly also made sure to interview disabled camera operators and other behind-the-scenes assistants to open his sets to everyone and incorporate their perspectives. ('I don't hire someone because they have a disability—I hire them because they're good,' he clarifies.) The result has become not just content with ultra-real disabled characters that connect subtly with the audience—just watch Loudermilk on Netflix—but an influence across Hollywood. Says his longtime casting director, Rick Montgomery, 'I do believe people follow him. If we looked at film history, I think you'll see a lot more of it now. Someone has to start all that, right?'
Fewer than 3% of characters depicted on-screen in movies and television have disabilities, and with a few exceptions—think Marlee Matlin in The West Wing—people with disabilities are cast in movies and television to play characters where their disability is leveraged in the plot, or where the plot itself portrays disabilities in inaccurate or disrespectful ways. ReelAbilities, a film festival based in New York, gives a platform to disabled filmmakers, actors and crew to create authentic narratives and voices around disability. Last year, it held the New York premiere of 'Ezra,' a road-trip story in which the main character, who is autistic, is played by an autistic actor. ReelAbilities holds festivals across North America, partners with schools to create lesson plans on how disabilities are considered, and encourages non-disabled artists to think outside the box. 'The only reason Hamlet hasn't been in a wheelchair,' says ReelAbilities CEO Isaac Zablocki, 'is that no one has had the imagination to make it work.'
The vast majority of accessibility innovators have the disability they're aiming to address. But while Mariella Satow, who just finished her sophomore year at Stanford, is not deaf, she saw a need and founded SignUp Media, which has taken the concept of closed-captioning to new heights. For people and children who can't read text fast enough, or for those who simply prefer sign language, a browser extension overlays a human interpreter on more than 300 titles on streaming platforms like Disney+, Peacock and Netflix. (Some studios are now releasing titles with SignUp built in.) Given that sign language is by no means universal, interpreters speak different dialects for the U.S., Canada, Mexico and so on. 'I think what signup does that other sign-language companies don't is we meticulously match the interpreter to the project, like using a Pacific Islander interpreter with 'Moana,'' Satow says. 'It's more authentic.' SignUp is currently moving into India, where very little closed-captioning exists, attracting interest from government and education entities.
Courtesy of Dominic Marinelli
It's one thing for laws to define accessibility requirements for buildings—but quite another for them to actually be designed and work in real life, particularly in stadiums and arenas that have to anticipate sightlines, small bathrooms and crowded spaces. This is where Dominic Marinelli, who heads the United Spinal Association's Accessibility Services program, has stood out for more than three decades. His team has designed and overseen accessibility features for dozens of stadiums and arenas, from professional sports leagues to Alice Tully Hall in New York City, allowing millions of disabled people (not just wheelchair users) to attend events just like anyone else. 'Little people have had trouble reaching the faucet in bathrooms,' Marinelli says, so bathrooms designed by his group have some lower sinks. 'We've implemented adult changing tables, and sensory rooms for people who get overstimulated in the stadium or arena environment.' Marinelli is also a sought-after instructor who teaches developers of multifamily housing, campuses and commercial properties the ins and outs of accessibility.