Echoes of the City: Disability Arts Exchange: In-Person Registration
About this Event
Echoes of the City: Disability Arts Exchange is a workshop series curated by Vanessa Hernández Cruz in partnership with The Music Center in Los Angeles, CA & Los Angeles Spoonie Collective. The series offers a space for Disabled artists, creators and dreamers of all experience levels to connect, imagine and create. Throughout our journey from Spring 2026-Fall 2027, we will explore powerful themes that shape our lives through the intricate tapestry of time and memory. Featuring guided monthly workshops led by QTBIPOC Disabled facilitators across the arts, we will channel these ideas into a collective body of work in connection with Vanessa Hernández Cruz’s new multimedia dance work “Echoing Memories in a Distant Future,” set to premiere in Fall 2027.
ANNOUNCING OUR SUMMER LINEUP:
Art To The Rescue! Art & Writing For Sensory Overload
July 25, 2026 from 10am-noon PST
Facilitated by Amaranthia Sepia (she/her)
Have you ever been overwhelmed in public situations, crowded spaces, by noises sudden or irregular, or accosted by bright lights at times? What happens? Do you freeze? Do you want to leave? Do you have any other options?
“Art To The Rescue!” is all about utilizing art & writing to manage sensory overload & anxiety, with a particular focus on those who are neurodivergent and/or living with trauma-related disorders. This workshop serves as a teaching tool to help people struggling with mental health to use art & writing as a healthy coping mechanicism, and reflects my personal experience with neurodivergence, sensory overload, C-PTSD and panic disorder.
Attendees are taught how they can create expressive art and writing to reflect on their sensory experiences and emotions. Attendees listen to music of their choice that matches their mood as they create to create a liberating multi-faceted creative sensory experience while sharing the story behind their creations to build community with other disabled folks from similar backgrounds. Since I was little, I have utilized music as I create art and writing projects to put my feelings and symptoms on paper, which helped me self advocate as I sought mental healthcare, and meet others fighting the same fight. Open to anyone of any artistic ability!
Movement Improvisation: A Practice of Disability Presence
August 21, 2026 from 10am-noon PST
Facilitated by Kayla Hamilton (She/They)
This workshop invites participants to explore improvisation through the lens of disabled experience, where access shapes the work from the very beginning. Each exercise includes guided, open-ended prompts that can be engaged from a range of positions such as sitting, standing, lying down, moving, or observing, allowing participants to choose the pace and level of involvement that feels right for their bodies. We will use a mix of verbal, visual, and imaginative cues to support multiple ways of participating, while building in space for rest, pause, and reflection. Together, we will practice listening, adapting, and responding to ourselves and each other, approaching improvisation as a shared process of attention and relationship. In this space, technique is redefined as presence and responsiveness rather than sameness or replication, and each moment unfolds in real time, shaped by the needs and contributions of the group.
Access Information:
- Masking required for all participants (K95 masks + rapid tests will be available onsite)
*If unable to mask due to access needs, we do ask participants to COVID test 24 hours before a workshop. - Scent-free environment
- ASL interpreters are available upon a request (a week notice is required)
- Transport chairs & Wheelchairs are available upon request (a week notice is required)
- Access Doula onsite
- Ushers will be available for wayfinding and with wheelchair support
- High quality air filtration system running throughout the building
- Serenity Space available (Quiet Room)
- Sensory kits available (ear plugs and sensory toys)
- Sanitizers
Stay Tuned for our Fall 2026 Lineup!
Important Note:
When using Access Paratransit, Butterfli Access For All, Uber ask driver to drop off/pick-up on Grand Ave when booking your trip. Entrance will be closest to the cross street W 1st St.
Announcing our new partnership with Butterfli "Access For All" Transportation Service through the Los Angeles Urban League!
Butterfli’s LA Access For All (AFA) program makes it easier than ever for individuals who use a wheelchair or mobility device to attend inspiring community events like Echoes of the City: Disability Arts Exchange.
What this means is that you can use their same-day service transportation for $2 each way, if you are a wheelchair user or mobility device user!
We invite you to book a ride to our workshops and to check you eligibility by visiting their website:
📱 Call them starting at 7:00 AM to book your trip or use, visiting their website or using our app Butterfli Passenger available for both IOS & Google Play.
Parking & Rideshare Information
Accessible parking is available in both The Music Center Main Garage and the Walt Disney Concert Hall Garage for vehicles displaying valid, state-issued disability parking placards. If you would like to self-park in these spaces, you will find them on levels two and four in The Music Center Main Garage and on levels three and four in the Walt Disney Concert Hall Garage.
Parking is $10 on weekdays starting at 4:30 p.m. and on weekends all day. At all other times, you will pay the non-event rate of $3.50 for every 15 minutes, with a $20 maximum.The valet rate for vehicles displaying valid, state-issued disability parking placards is $10 for The Music Center Main Campus Valet and $23 in the Founders Circle Parking Garage.
Please be prepared to pay cash; credit card transactions are available at certain garage entry points or in the parking office, but cash transactions still remain optimal and will help enable a more efficient parking experience.
Rideshare is also available. The Music Center has rideshare drop-off and pick-up points:
- 135 N Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012 drop off/pick up on Grand Ave closest to cross street W 1st street for accessible rideshare vans
- 218 N. Hope St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 (adjacent to Jerry Moss Plaza)
- 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (in front of Walt Disney Concert Hall)
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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