VSA arts of New Mexico
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4904 Fourth Street NW |
Marjorie Neset |
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Tel.: (505) 345-2872 |
Website: |
Organizational Profile:
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Full-time Staff: 28 |
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VSA arts of New Mexico is dedicated to providing creative learning and employment opportunities for people who have disabilities or limited access to the arts. VSA arts of New Mexico, through the North Fourth Art Center and Statewide Outreach, offers people with disabilities the opportunity to create and present artwork in a dynamic and inclusive environment. VSA arts of New Mexico owns and operates the North Fourth Art Center, which houses a variety of resources, including an extensive visual arts studio, a 150-seat black box theatre, and a newly renovated gallery space. Programming at the center includes literary, theater, video, dance and performing arts classes, providing participants with opportunities to enhance their lives and community through rich and various interactions with the arts.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
Albuquerque Community Foundation; Albuquerque Public Schools; ARC of Albuquerque; City of Albuquerque Therapeutic Recreation Program; City of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund; Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation; New Mexico Arts; New Mexico Commission for Community Volunteerism; State of New Mexico Department of Health, Long Term Services Division; Western States Arts Federation
Educational Programs and Artist Residencies
Day Arts Classroom Program
The Day Arts Program offers youth and adults with developmental disabilities a broad array of classes in the visual and performing arts including drawing, painting, clay, mask-making, fabric arts, video, dance, drama, literature, poetry and more. Classes are tailored to a variety of learning styles and individual goals.
Multi-Sensory Studio
The Multi-Sensory Studio is designed to offer arts activities and individual instruction for people who are most comfortable working in environments that focus on the senses as an important foundation for learning and creating.
Community Creations/ArtWORKS
The North Fourth Art Center provides weekday evening and weekend classes to adults and young people with mental health, economic, and housing issues; seniors; and North Valley families. Classes include an assortment of art and art therapies, dance, and theatre productions. Outreach activities serve hundreds of children, youth, adults and seniors each month in community settings as varied as nursing homes and pre-school programs targeting special populations (see AmeriCorps Program description). AmeriCorps volunteers, VSA arts teachers, and community members are all active participants in this project and its diverse components.
ArtAdventurers
ArtAdventurers is a youth arts after-school program where the students (the adventurers) “trek” around the world exploring art forms and lifestyles associated with the cultures of the artists presented in the North Fourth Theater and Gallery. Students rotate from dance, to theater, to visual arts and music. Lessons also include disability awareness, hate crime awareness, sign language, and New Mexico History. The program was piloted in the fall of 2005 and is scheduled for full implementation in January 2006.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
Buen Viaje Dance Company/Equilibrium Theatre Company:
The Buen Viaje Dance Company, a mixed-ability contemporary company of dancers with and without disabilities, has a long history of performing in the Albuquerque community. The company produces and performs original work, as well as facilitates workshops and outreach activities in varied community settings. Equilibrium Theatre Company was founded four years ago as an outgrowth of theatre classes offered in the Day Arts Program. It is a mixed-ability company focusing on exploring and explaining social issues, especially those related to disabilities. Each year the company develops an original piece to present in educational and community theater venues. The highlight of its 2004-05 season was having the production “Side Show Play” accepted into the Boulder Fringe Festival.
STUDIO 4
STUDIO 4 offers professional development services and statewide exhibit opportunities for New Mexico artists with disabilities. Year-round rotating exhibit sites in Albuquerque and Santa Fe include the work of professional and emerging artists. Individual artist supports include framing, slides, portfolio development, and individual career mentoring. Collaborations with the University of New Mexico Fine Arts Department include art career seminars. North Fourth Art Center hosts an annual arts and crafts fair event featuring the work of artists with disabilities from throughout the state. In addition, varied special projects are implemented in conjunction with individual artists and partnering agencies in the disability and arts communities.
Cultural Access and Inclusive Arts Services
VSA arts of New Mexico Access/Disability Awareness Services
VSA arts of New Mexico’s Access/Disability Awareness Services include special projects designed to highlight access and targeted outreach and accommodation encouraging broad audience and participant involvement in all North Fourth Art Center programs and presentations. In addition, VSA arts of New Mexico has begun implementation of a contract with the New Mexico Commission on Community Volunteerism’s Inclusion Initiative which includes training and technical assistance with AmeriCorps programs statewide, as well as outreach in the disability community to increase the representation of people with disabilities in all AmeriCorps programs.
Public Awareness and Outreach Programs
North Fourth Theatre and Gallery
VSA arts of New Mexico completed renovation of The North Fourth Theatre and Gallery in 2005 and has planned a Grand Opening event in March 2006. The North Fourth Theatre and Gallery will present the work of VSA arts performing arts companies, community groups, and contemporary touring artists from the region, U.S., and the world. The opening season will include presentations by New York artist Cathy Weiss, Eiko & Koma’s Cambodian Project, the international touring exhibit Displacements, and an African theatre/dance festival. The focus will be on socially relevant work, particularly the work of artists with disabilities and other unique concerns.
VSA arts of New Mexico Statewide Outreach
Statewide outreach activities include arts education programs targeting youth and adults with severe disabilities, along with professional development opportunities and events highlighting the work of aspiring, emerging and professional artists throughout the state. Active, year-round collaborations with partnering organizations in the arts and disability communities result in multiple opportunities for visual artists to exhibit their work, including a year-round rotating exhibit at the Governor’s Commission on Disability in Santa Fe. VSA arts of NM also facilitates local community performing arts showcase events and a publication featuring poetry by writers with and without disabilities. The VSA arts of NM Web site hosts a growing Artist Galleries section and an ‘Opportunities for Artists’ page that is updated on a regular basis.
AmeriCorps Volunteer Program
In 2005-06, twelve full-time and ten part-time AmeriCorps members with and without disabilities will collaborate to offer classes for children and adults of all ages and abilities at the VSA arts North Fourth Arts Center. They will also facilitate an ambitious schedule of outreach activities in venues as diverse as nursing homes, the NM Pre-School for the Deaf, adult day care and senior centers, community centers, the VA Medical Center, multiple psychosocial rehabilitation programs, and pre-school programs for homeless children.
(F) 202-429-0868