Courtney Adair Johnson
The McGruder Family Resource Center has long been a cornerstone of North Nashville, first as the John Early School, now a vital resource hub. Following a year-long renovation, the building will now be fully ADA-accessible, serving the community in new ways. The McGruder (Art) Access (Art) project will harness the creative problem-solving skills of artists to make the center more navigable, inclusive, and welcoming for people of all abilities.
Led by artist Courtney Adair Johnson, and two artist teams, the project draws on lived experiences with autism, deafness, blindness, wheelchair use, and harm awareness. By merging artistic vision with accessibility expertise, the team will work alongside the community to identify barriers, reimagine movement through the building, and design practical tools such as maps, QR codes, brochures, and signage.
This process ensures the resulting accessibility plan reflects the real needs of North Nashville’s diverse population, from long-time residents to new visitors. For the community, it means greater independence and connection within a central neighborhood hub. For the artists, it is an opportunity to expand their practice into meaningful, applied design that directly shapes how people experience and belong in shared spaces.
Artist teams:
Projects:
Stories on Accessibility: Feedback
Created by Dr. Cynthia Gadsden, Andrea Johnson, and Courtney Adair Johnson
Welcome to Stories on Accessibility: Feedback.
This printable booklet (Right) invites you to reflect on accessibility through a series of questions and images. As you read, consider your own experiences and how access to various spaces shapes the ways we move through and connect with our communities.
To assemble the booklet, (1) print this PDF double-sided, (2) cut and fold the pages as indicated, (3) take the two folded pages and then fit them into one another, and (4) stack the pages according to the page numbers, starting with the cover sheet as page one.
The photographs are from the McGruder Family Resource Center in North Nashville. Originally built as the John Early School, the building has long been a place of community gathering and support. Following a year-long renovation, the center is now fully ADA-accessible, expanding how it can serve residents and visitors alike.
Workshop:
Would you like to take The McGruder (Art) Access (Art) plan survey? It is a handful of questions (will only take a few minutes) on The McGruder Family Resource Center and how to move around the center. It is designed for the community that uses the center to have some input on the way finding and signage around the building.
Scan here for survey!
