Eugene-area high schoolers enrolled in a program meant to support students with disabilities recently had the chance to come to the Hult Center for a day of dance, music, and visual art, designed with accessibility and inclusion at its core.
The April 3 event, Art Belongs, was a collaboration between #instaballet, the Hult Center, and the Lane Education Service District, which runs the Life Skills Education Program in several Lane County school districts.
What started as a single workshop idea quickly grew into a full day of creative activities.
“Today has actually been in the works for about three years,” said Miranda Atkinson, executive director of #instaballet. “We’ve been thinking about a way to bring youth with disabilities or youth who identify as neurodiverse to the Hult Center and really make sure that the space is ready to include and encourage them so they can be their full selves as they participate.”
That vision shaped everything from the programming to the layout of the building itself.
Savannah Ferguson, an administrator with Lane ESD, said organizers focused on making sure every student could fully participate.
“Making sure the space was accessible, that the activities were interesting and engaging,” Ferguson said. “We planned for sensory needs, personal care needs, and meal time needs, so students could just come and have a good time.”
That included transforming parts of the Hult Center into alternative spaces, like the dressing rooms into sensory rooms and quiet areas for breaks.
For Laura Lee, managing director of the Hult Center, the event reflected a broader effort to rethink how the space serves the community.
“The Hult Center was built for the community by the community, and to me that means everybody in the community,” Lee said. “It was really just thinking beyond the box…we’re a big building and we can host multiple different centers, different ways to produce and be part of creating art.”
Throughout the day, students rotated through activities led by teaching artists, collaborating on choreography, music, and visual art.
Antonio Anacan, co-founder of #instaballet and teaching artist, said the process of creating together helps build confidence and connection.
“When you create together, you listen together and you move together, that builds a strong bond,” he said. “So right there, you’re already building community.”
Some of the most memorable moments came in unexpected ways, like the very beginning of the day.
Miranda Atkinson recalled students being greeted with live music as they got off the bus. “Just the joy on their faces, immediately before the event had even formally started, was really great,” she said.
By the end of the day, that energy carried into a final performance and dance party, bringing together everything the students had created.
Organizers said they hope this is just the beginning.
“We are really hoping to make this an annual event,” Ferguson said, adding that the goal is to continue expanding accessible opportunities for students to engage with the arts in their community.
Laura Lee agreed, and said the Hult Center can make Art Belongs an annual event.
“Community partnership is incredibly valuable, and what happened today was just this spark of an idea and people talking together,” she said. “That’s what community partnership is the root of, and is the best way to make incredible experiences happen.”
