LEAD in Raleigh logoRaleigh, N.C., Welcomes the 2022 LEAD® Conference! 

August 1-5, 2022
Raleigh Convention Center

Let us be among the first to welcome you to Raleigh! We look forward to hosting the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Conference. Below you'll find links for some of the best things to do while you're in town, dining and more!

Get conference information here.

The Kennedy Center logo

 

Book your room
 

Raleigh Marriott City Center

Raleigh Marriott City Center

500 Fayetteville St.
Raleigh, N.C.

Area: Downtown Raleigh

The Kennedy Center’s 2022 LEAD® Conference is offering specially priced room blocks at the Raleigh Marriott City Center. Sessions will take place at the Raleigh Convention Center, which is located directly across the street from the conference hotel.


Accessible transportation

At a cost, Wisdom Care Transportation is available for wheelchair accessible transportation only. Call 919.825.0902 or visit www.wisdomcaretrans.com to book accessible transport to and from RDU International Airport. The deadline to reserve accessible transportation is Mon., July 25. (Use promo code: LEAD Raleigh)

For transportation from and to RDU International Airport, please have the following information ready:

  • Arrival and departure date and time
  • Airline
  • Flight number
  • Specific transportation needs (to determine type of vehicle and equipment needed)
  • Number of passengers

Note: Caller will need to provide contact number and email address, as well as credit card information.

For transportation to and from the Raleigh Convention Center or downtown Raleigh, please have the following information ready:

  • Date and time you would like to be picked up
  • Specific transportation needs (to determine type of vehicle and equipment needed)
  • Number of passengers

Note: Caller will need to provide contact number and email address, as well as credit card information.

In addition, Wisdom Care Transportation will offer on-demand accessible transportation throughout the conference week at a separate cost based on availability. For additional transportation, see resource below. 
 

Air transportation

RDU International Airport is approximately 15 miles from the Raleigh Marriott City Center. Visit their website for more information on traveling with disabilities at RDU.  

American Airlines is offering a discount to attendees of the 2022 LEAD® Conference. Tickets may be purchased online at www.AA.com or by calling American’s Meeting Services Desk at 800.433.1790 (fees apply for reservations booked over the phone).

The discount is 4% off published fares (excluding basic economy and non-discountable fares).

Enter promotion code 1972EN after you have selected your flights.

 

Ground transportation 

Rideshare
Services from Uber and Lyft are available to and from the airport.

Taxi
Taxi Taxi is the exclusive taxicab company for pick-up/drop-off at RDU. Guests may call 919.333.3333 for any airport-related taxi needs.
Walk-up taxi service is available at both terminals in the taxi zones.

Other Transportation Options
Visit the RDU website for additional information on transportation from RDU.



Blog Series

Disability, the Arts and Raleigh: Inclusive by Design

The City of Raleigh is very much on board with the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD®) Conference, the 20th edition of which comes to the Raleigh Convention Center, Aug. 1-5. So it’s fitting that while the conference is going on, one of the event’s...

Accessibility has always been embedded in the DNA for the National Women’s Theatre Festival in Raleigh, N.C., and it's a priority that comes from the top. Not only does executive director Johannah Maynard Edwards have a son with autism, she herself has an autoimmune...

The Raleigh Convention Center will take on a leading role when The Kennedy Center’s Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Conference (LEAD®) comes to town Aug. 1-5, serving as headquarters and primary venue throughout the event. That is entirely appropriate because...

Visual Art Exchange (VAE) has been a key part of Raleigh’s arts infrastructure since it came into being way back in 1980. All the same, VAE also occupies a unique and somewhat non-mainstream niche—one that has evolved and become more nuanced in recent years while moving...

Downtown Raleigh has changed immeasurably over the past four decades, with expansion pushing seemingly everything up and out as growth remakes the city. And yet there has been at least one constant through all of it. Since 1986, Artspace has anchored the southern end of...

The 20th annual Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Conference (LEAD®) is coming to Raleigh for the first time, happening Aug. 1-5 in downtown Raleigh. Run under the auspices of The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., it’s the leading event in the field of arts...

If you’re planning something, whether it’s putting on an arts event or constructing a space where one might happen, you’ll want to consider issues of accessibility through the lens of inclusive design. And Sina Bahram is here to tell you that, chances are, you’re not...

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