VSA arts of Massachusetts
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China Trade Center |
Charles J. Washburn |
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Tel.: (617)350-7713 |
Website: |
Organizational Profile:
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Full-time Staff: 4 |
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Leveraging access for people with disabilities through the arts, VSA arts of Massachusetts (MA) leads through a consortium of school systems, cultural institutions, universities, and human service agencies to creatively leverage programs, services, policy, and events in three program areas: 1) Create art programs in the schools to integrate students with and without disabilities; 2) Create sustainable opportunities in the arts for people with disabilities; and 3) Create programmatic and physical access to cultural and other public facilities.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
Massachusetts Department of Education; Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission and the Massachusetts Cultural Council; Boston Public and the Worcester Public Schools; Partners for Youth with Disabilities and their Access To Theater Program; Community Access To the Arts; The Federation For Children with Special Needs; Gateway Arts; Show of Hands Theater; Wheelock Family Theater; Lesley University and the Massachusetts College of Art
State Programs
Educational Programs and Artists Residencies
Educational Programs
VSA arts of MA’s education programs support the use of the arts from preschool through high school to support curriculum and to encourage the inclusion of students of all abilities and learning styles. Projects are guided by the understanding that infusing arts into instruction and curriculum has a profound effect on every student’s understanding and confidence, and allows active teaching and learning engaging all the senses. For some students with disabilities, arts infused instruction is particularly beneficial, providing opportunities for academic success and inclusion with their peers that they would not otherwise have. VSA arts of MA was awarded the Commonwealth Award by the Massachusetts Cultural Council in recognition of "Model arts education programs provided throughout the state that allow children with and without disabilities to achieve their highest potential."
Artist Residency Program
The residency program employs a culturally diverse group of approximately 30 Massachusetts artists for individually designed residencies across the state that utilize ideas from visual and performing arts disciplines to support students of many skill levels in addressing curriculum goals and building relationships with caring adults. All artist residencies foster the achievement of high standards while supporting the inclusion of students with disabilities.
Multi-Arts Resource Guide
VSA arts of Massachusetts publishes the Multi-Arts Resource Guide (MARG) and companion videos to provide teachers and paraprofessionals and after school care providers with a crucial tool for utilizing arts activities in teaching core curriculum. The MARG clearly presents accessible, creative arts activities in puppetry, movement, printmaking, collage, theater arts, sound, and "self concepts." Each easy to use lesson plan includes comments regarding direct curriculum connections and adaptations appropriate for students with varying abilities. More than 4,000 Massachusetts teachers use the publication. With financial support from the VSA arts national office, VSA arts of MA translated the curriculum guide into Spanish for use by its Latin American affiliates. A translation into Arabic for use in the Middle East is planned.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
Professional Development for Educators
VSA arts of Massachusetts enables teachers and administrators to employ the arts to more effectively engage students with different ways of learning. VSA arts of MA helps educators improve the instruction by educational professionals and paraprofessionals and learning for all students in inclusive classrooms through the arts. Over 250 Massachusetts educators participate in workshops each year. VSA arts of Massachusetts also offers training for artist educators to learn how to align their residencies with national learning standards and the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
Access Art
Access Art is a career development program that supports the aspirations of emerging artists with disabilities. Each year VSA arts of MA creates a variety of performance and exhibition opportunities to showcase the work of these artists. Access Art services include portfolio and skills development, networking opportunities and support for efforts to address the artists' collective need for affordable supplies, marketing materials, an on-line gallery and studio space. VSA arts of MA developed a highly successful pilot project for these services this year -- a course titled Putting Creativity to Work. The program is inspired by a publication of the same name produced by the VSA arts national office and the Social Security Administration.
Career Forum
This year, VSA arts of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council presented the region’s first Statewide Forum on Careers In the Arts for People with Disabilities.
Cultural Access and Inclusive Arts Services
A Show of Hands: A Celebration of Deaf Theatre
This is the first international festival featuring plays written and performed in sign language. The program was held in November 2005 and sold out three weeks before opening day. The festival featured artists from both coasts of the USA and from Russia and Hong Kong. It was presented in collaboration with Boston’s Show of Hands Theater Company and culminated a three-year Community Collaboration Project sponsored by VSA arts.
JazzArtSigns
In celebration of their 25th Anniversary Seasons, VSA arts of Massachusetts and Wheelock Family Theatre presented JazzArtSigns, Lisa Thorson’s groundbreaking multimedia, multisensory, and interactive improvised jazz performance piece for all audiences. The March event took place at the Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston.
Boston ARTreach Initiative
The Boston ARTrerach program solicits free and low cost tickets to Boston area cultural events and programs and gets them to people in group homes and other human service programs. VSA arts of MA supports the staff in their efforts to make all the arrangements necessary to get their clients to the show and provide volunteers to help with the process.
Access Expressed!
A trademark of VSA arts of Massachusetts, the title Access Expressed! signifies several aspects of the organization’s commitment to cultural access: a seasonal electronic newsletter that celebrates the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and discusses issues surrounding cultural access; a Cultural Resource Directory featuring programs from throughout New England - Access Expressed New England was published last year and is available in standard, large print and electronic formats; and a cultural access Web site, www.accessexpressed.net, which was launched with the support of the U.S. Department of Commerce and features databases listing accessible cultural avenues in states across the country (approximately 400 hits/day).
ADA Cultural Access Mini-Grants
VSA arts of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council will join forces to offer seed grants to organizations proposing innovative ways to include artists with disabilities and to attract audiences including people with disabilities. Organizations will respond to a Request for Proposals that will be reviewed by a panel broadly representative of the arts and disabilities.
Maida S. Abrams Award
In 2006, VSA arts of Massachusetts will inaugurate the Maida S. Abrams Award. This award will be presented annually to the Massachusetts team that is judged to have won a competition to develop new solutions to help individuals with disabilities have better programmatic or physical access to the arts or education through the arts. The award ceremony will be held at the Boston Architectural Center whose president will be on the blue ribbon panel judging the competition.
Public Awareness and Outreach
Universal Design in the Performing Arts
Universal Design in the Performing Arts is a 25-minute video that demonstrates how the principles of universal design can be applied to cultural programs to make them human centered and more accessible to people with disabilities. It is narrated by John Hockenberry of NBC's Dateline and was produced with the support of VSA arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Festivals
Festivals bring 40 Massachusetts artists, 600 students, and 100 teachers together to experience how the arts can include people of all abilities. The participatory events demonstrate the ability of the arts to help students achieve academic and social goals while improving coordination, concentration, cooperation and confidence. Teachers have the unique opportunity to witness their students becoming fully engaged and open to new ways of learning.
Access Expressed! Newsletter
Access Expressed! Newsletter is a periodic journal of cultural access featuring articles about the work of artists with disabilities and the access improvements made by cultural organizations. It also provides a calendar of accessible events supported by cultural sponsor organizations.
AccessExpressed.net
AccessExpressed.net is a Web-based database featuring access information from hundreds of facilities in 28 states. It also houses the archives of articles about cultural access.
(F) 202-429-0868