Accessibility Initiative
Cactus Club is not ADA compliant at this time. The bones of CC are nearly 140 years old and it requires four stairs to enter. The building is considered “legacied”– there’s no regulatory requirement to make it wheelchair accessible.
The Cactus+ Accessibility Initiative is a special project that braids infrastructure improvements of our 140-year-old building into artist resourcing and community programming. This work will broaden the reach of who can access the space and impact public understandings of how accessibility is defined. We’re fundraising to make our 140 year old building more accessible to artists and attendees of all mobilities.
Defining accessibility is supremely important to understanding the scope of our work. Improving accessibility is the dismantling of barriers: physical/sensorial, financial, legislative, and cultural. This project is rooted in the belief that art is the road to liberation and our struggles are interconnected. This project begins with a desire to address needs for mobility access to and within our physical space. The overarching vision is to resource disabled, neurodiverse, poor, multiracial, undocumented, queer and intergenerational artists and community members.
In 2024 this project received a Wisconsin Special Projects Grant from Ruth Foundation for the Arts. This support enables us to launch two exciting programs: In The Clouds (ITC), a residency program, and Ground Level (GL), an artist empowerment series. Through the residency program we will be installing a 23-foot ramp to the front door in the spring of 2025. We are working with Milwaukee-based artist Kate Klingbeil to design and install a mosaic facade on the ramp and stairs.
Draft floor plan of the proposed ramp (in dark blue) to the front door of Cactus Club. Prepared in 2021 by Quorum Architects
We are working with architects and community partners to determine the scope of the mobility-centered renovations and expansion. This is an ambitious cultural project and building project. We want to invite artists and community members to be part of the process, beyond just fundraising, but also in dreaming and determining how we move forward with it.
In summer 2024, Cactus+ began hosting fundraising concerts on-site with special guest artists. 50% of ticket sales were donated to the Accessibility Initiative.
July 10, 2024: Bully w/Scarlet Demore
August 30, 2024: ESG w/Clickbait • Diamond Life • DJ Christreater
More fundraising concerts forthcoming
Present Conditions • Accessibility
Guests who require accommodations, mobility-related or otherwise, should reach out to the club in advance by phone during open hours or email kelsey@cactusclubmilwaukee.com.
Signs will be posted when strobe lights and/or fog/hazers are used in the live room. The volume of shows ranges drastically by artist and we encourage folks with sound sensitivities to bring protective gear. We do sell basic earplugs behind the bar and at the sound booth for $1.
We presently do not have deaf/hard of hearing accommodations available, however, we are working to improve this in the immediate future.
Our Website
As of January 2023, our web developer audited this website and took immediate actions to improve the website’s accessibility. After hours of testing, research and implementation, we believe this website to be WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliant to the best of our ability. The website has become a crucial part of our messaging, as it sometimes receives nearly 10,000 unique visitors accounting for 24,000 page views per month. We pledge to do our best to audit the site on an ongoing basis and continue accessibility enhancements when possible.
Small Win
July 28, 2022 – City of Milwaukee passed an ordinance change to support accessibility improvements for old buildings. Prior to this change, a special permit fee would have been about $400 annually for Cactus to have a ramp to the front door. Now that fee is waived for anyone making accessibility improvements to their entrance, eliminating one financial hurdle. Council File #220190 for sections 245-430;7;13.5
Many thanks to the City’s ADA Coordinator Rebecca Rabatin and Alderperson Marina Dimitrijevic for introducing this policy change and their advocacy.