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Website Accessibility Statement

The Ottawa Center for the Arts is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all people with disabilities. We are dedicated to providing an inclusive and welcoming online experience that allows all visitors, regardless of ability, to easily access information about our programs, events, and historic spaces.

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We believe the transformative power of the arts should be accessible to everyone. Our ongoing efforts aim to meet and exceed web accessibility standards.

Effective Date: October 1, 2025

Last Updated: October 1, 2025

1. Conformance Status

The Ottawa Center for the Arts strives to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard. These guidelines, set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), define requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with various disabilities.

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We are committed to the following:

  • Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.

  • Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable.

  • Understandable: Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable.

  • Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

2. Accessibility Measures

We have integrated accessibility into our web design and development process through the following measures:

  • Alt Text: Providing alternative text for all meaningful images and non-text content to be read by screen readers.

  • Keyboard Navigation: Ensuring all features and navigation elements can be operated using a keyboard only, without requiring a mouse.

  • Clear Visuals: Maintaining sufficient color contrast between text and background elements for readability.

  • Semantic Markup: Using proper HTML headings, labels, and structural elements to ensure compatibility with screen readers and other assistive technologies.

  • Forms: All online forms (contact, sign-up, donation) include properly labeled fields to assist users of assistive technologies.

3. Known Limitations and Remediation

Despite our ongoing efforts to make all content fully accessible, some limitations may exist, particularly concerning third-party or older content. Please contact us if you observe an issue not listed below:

Content Part

    Limitation Description

    Interim Solution

Legacy PDF Documents

Some archived or older documents (e.g., historical reports) may not be fully tagged for screen readers.

We are actively working to remediate or replace these documents with accessible HTML pages.

Third-Party Content

Content embedded from external platforms (e.g., external ticketing or video players) may not meet WCAG 2.1 standards.

We select third-party vendors with accessibility in mind and provide alternative contact methods for users encountering issues.

4. Feedback and Assistance

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of the Ottawa Center for the Arts website. Your input is critical to our continuous improvement.

 

If you experience any accessibility barriers while using our website, or if you require an accommodation to access our online content, please contact us promptly:

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  • Phone: 815.324.0520

  • Email: info@ottawaartscenter.org

  • In Person: Please ask for assistance at our visitor services desk at our location in Ottawa, Illinois.

 

We aim to acknowledge feedback and address concerns within five (5) business days.

5. Physical Accessibility

Information regarding the physical accessibility of our historic venues, including details on ramp access, accessible restrooms, and seating, can be found by contacting us directly.

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