Earlier this year, the Center welcomed the first cohort of Research Assistants (RAs) to join our Mellon-funded Access for Small Arts Partnerships (ASAP) grant. At the heart of ASAP are the innovative access initiatives happening at NYC’s small arts organizations. These projects form a growing edge of possibilities for creative, curatorial, and archival approaches to

The three-year grant will support Mills and the NYU Center for Disability Studies in running the Access for Small Arts Partnerships program. A 2017 gathering that helped spark the ASAP program. Photo by Earl Cabbell. Mara Mills and the NYU Center for Disability Studies (CDS) have been awarded a three-year, $1,045,000 grant from the Mellon

Kevin Gotkin has been dialed into disability worlds since 2012 as an access ecologist, teacher, writer, artist, and scholar. Before joining the Center for Disability Studies as a Postdoctoral Fellow in September 2025, they led disability economic justice initiatives as Artist-Organizer with Creatives Rebuild New York. From 2016 – 2019, they helped cultivate a broad platform for