Finally reaching the Queens Museum was a triumph! We've faced numerous transportation challenges over the years because it's situated in Flushing Meadows Park without a clear building address. Navigating transportation has been one of our biggest challenges to exploring, but that's a story for another day. There's something quite extraordinary about stepping into a place you've longed to visit for a while, which for us included both the Unisphere and the Queens Museum.
Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by Glori Tuitt's mural, "Black, Trans, & Alive (Qweens Song)." This piece is a vibrant celebration of the Black trans community, highlighting their resilience and contributions with both boldness and beauty. It created a welcoming atmosphere for our visit, starting us off with visible disability representation—a serendipitous discovery.
Signal Award Bronze Winner Spring 2023! "The Met’s small-but-mighty podcast about art’s connection to wellbeing just won a Signal Award , which seek to “honor and celebrate the people and content that raise the bar for podcasting.” It’s their inaugural year and with more 1700 entries, we’re honored that Frame of Mind won a bronze in the Arts & Leisure category."
Our initial post:
The Met Museum is by far one of Annie’s favorite museums because of her love for Art especially during the Impressionist period so when they reached out to us for a podcast series, well… you can only imagine the excitement!
Listen to us share our story in 15 minutes where we touched on many topics ranging from the challenges of finding accessible information, to celebrating and sharing Disabled Artists stories and the fact that we too belong in these spaces. There are also takeaways tips for cultural institutions to do better on Disability Inclusion & Accessibility.
A very special highlight in the podcast is Annie, a Disabled Artist, artwork which was featured on the Met’s Museum website front page for its Art & Activism online collection and celebration during the American with Disabilities Act 30th anniversary. This artwork is currently being created into a variety of Disability Pride pins rolling out Summer 2023 on Kickstarter! You can get notified of our launch here.
Click here to listen to the podcast and view the entire transcript.
Thanks to the team at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for including us and our story in this special podcast!
We visited mid-morning on a Saturday when timed entry wasn’t required. (Timed entry tickets are required from noon onwards and subject to change.) There are stairs and ramped pathways on two sides of the island which leads up to two look out points offering spectacular views of Midtown and Downtown as well as New Jersey. We checked out both sides which were fairly crowded along the way up and definitely too crowded once at the top, especially at the Southwest Overlook. A few benches are along the way for resting or to just sit and soak in the surrounding vistas and nature.
We had plans to spend approx. 3 hours but it was too hot, there was no live entertainment and the food trucks were closed for a break. The only shaded areas available were in the food court section which is served by a couple of food trucks offering small bites and sips. Menu items consist of local sandwiches, sweet treats and a local beer/cocktail menu.
It was good to see the space but next time we’d plan around one of their live performances for a more entertaining visit. I would note that the park was crowded and even more crowds came in by midday when we were leaving. The few staff around were helpful. And we all liked it better than The Vessel at Hudson Yards.
It’s best described as a sense of relief mixed with excitement. Relief knowing you’ll get somewhere that is accessible, that has an accessible restroom (yes! that’s a big deal as oftentimes smaller, older restaurants tend to not have one) and that their staff have encountered and served people with disabilities. The exciting part is experiencing a new, hot spot, one that was created with inclusion in mind. PLUS, it’s the first time Annie and I were going to have a drink at an accessible bar!
Contento NYC recently opened in East Harlem with countless praises from many prominent press orgs and food writer gurus. It is the brainchild of Sommelier Yannick Benjamin who partnered up with George Gallego, Oscar Lorenzzi, Mara Rudzinski, and Lorenz Skeeter. Yannick became a paraplegic at the age of 25 never gave up on his dream to open a restaurant which he credits to his stubbornness. Read more about his incredible story and the team’s inclusive approach on this Resy blog.
We were eager for our visit to check out the new spot and to be honest, we hadn’t been out for a decent meal together the entire year. On top of that we had a photoshoot for an upcoming magazine, a first milestone for us, so there were plenty to look forward to. We spent two hours between the shoot, socializing and finally getting down to our meal. We sampled several delicious wines (it’s a stellar wine list carefully curated to reflect affordable unique wines) and a variety of items from the menu: Panisse, Crispy Yuca, Octopus, Ceviche, Salmon, Pork Katsu, Contento Burger, Chocolate Mousse and Olive Oil Cake, all delicious. Standouts are the Pork Katsu, Octopus, Ceviche, Burger and Olive Oil Cake!
Yannick and Mara were gracious hosts allowing us to use the space, they along with the rest of the team exemplified the meaning of welcoming, unpretentious and inclusive hospitality. The truth is we left more than just contented, we left with full bellies and full hearts, and with enormous hope that the world is moving towards more inclusion for the disabled community.
Contento NYC Visual Description: Ex posed red brick walls on both sides, one side with a darker fill in, the other lighter. As you enter, the left wall has two large colorful (turquoise, pink and green pops out) local art pieces. The wall in front of the small open kitchen in the rear of the room is wallpapered in black with gold accents. A small wine storage area is visible through a spiral decorated piece of ironwork. The open kitchen is often busy with a few cooks preparing the meals. On the right of the restaurant is the bar area and behind the bar is a full wall of more wines and wine glasses. There is a long yellow banquet seating against the left wall with tanned tables then a single chair facing the other side of the table. The room is dotted with occasional small bouquet of flowers. Entrance and front walls are panels of glass which are all retractable.
Wave Hill is a New York City landmark dating back to 1843 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's a cultural center and horticultural gardens with a classic view overlooking the Palisades, often referenced as a secluded gem tucked away in Riverdale, Bronx. We recently visited and expected a few tranquil hours of exploring accessible grounds and facilities to soak in this lush natural beauty. But we were disappointed once on the premises. Our experience was fragmented due to the lack of transparent accessibility information, which meant we were misinformed about what is accessible for a wheelchair user.
I typically read through the Accessibility page of any new place we're visiting prior to our outings to gauge what we can and cannot do. Their Accessibility page states “The indoor spaces of Wave Hill, including Wave Hill House, the Perkins Visitor Center and Glyndor Gallery, are accessible to all our visitors. Mainly due to the topography of the gardens, some areas of the gardens are less accessible; they are indicated on our seasonal Map & Guide.” I naturally assumed this meant mostly accessible main grounds and buildings. Upon arrival, we collected the seasonal Map & Guide as referenced on the website from the staffer who checked our entrance tickets. We inquired about the accessible areas, to which the staffer pointed out all of the buildings and told us to use the accessible paved roads and to stay off the unpaved areas.
