VSA arts and MetLife Foundation Announce 2009 “Arts Connect All” Awardees

April 6, 2009

Grant Recognizes Arts Education Programs that Make the Arts Accessible to All Students

WASHINGTON, D.C. - VSA arts and MetLife Foundation announced the 2009 awardees for "Arts Connect All" today. The funding program, now in its fifth year, cultivates and recognizes arts education programs that create learning environments where students with and without disabilities learn side-by-side, creating art together. The grant rewards programs that use the arts to develop students’ social, cognitive, and artistic skills.

The following ten organizations will receive grants of $15,000 to continue their work in creating inclusive learning environments that engage students with and without disabilities:

Allegro Foundation (Charlotte, N.C.): Dance Instruction – Students develop dance skills, create original choreography, and learn about historically significant American dance pieces.

AXIS Dance Company (Oakland, Calif.): Dance Access/KIDS! – Students learn contemporary dance through a combination of after-school instruction, in-school residency, and performances.

Bethune Theatredanse (Los Angeles, Calif.): Infinite Dreams – Students participate in a dance and dramatic arts program that culminates in community performances and includes in-service training for instructors.

CENTERSTAGE (Baltimore, Md.): Playwrights in Schools – Students build literacy skills through an exploration of dramatic literature and the act of playwriting.

In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (Minneapolis, Minn.): Puppet Residencies, Exploring Water – Students design and build puppets, and they write a story for their puppets exploring concepts about water.

Luna Kids Dance (Berkeley, Calif.): Middle School Dance Inclusion – Students develop creative dance skills through kinesthetic, visual, auditory, and literary experiences; the program also provides professional development for educators.

Ruth Eckerd Hall (Clearwater, Fla.): Dancing to the Beat Arts Access – Kindergarten through grade 8 students learn dance and percussion in residencies.

Shakespeare At Play (Burbank, Calif.): Shakespeare Enabled – Professional development workshops, residencies, and performances make the works of Shakespeare accessible to students of all abilities.

Tampa Museum of Art (Tampa, Fla.): Partners in Art – This cross-disciplinary outreach program uses the creative processes of art-making to raise awareness and appreciation of community diversity.

Upstream Arts (Minneapolis, Minn.): Success in the Arts – Children build artistic, social, and communication skills through dance, theater, music, visual arts, and poetry workshops.

“This program motivates arts organizations to offer students with and without disabilities opportunities in theater, dance, and writing development,” said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts. “MetLife’s partnership enables these organizations to focus on helping all students grow through arts education.”

“MetLife Foundation is enthusiastic about making the arts accessible to every student,” stated Dennis White, president and CEO, MetLife Foundation. “We are proud to support organizations working with public schools to use art as a way to inspire and teach.”

About VSA arts
VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in 55 countries around the world. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, please visit www.vsarts.org

About MetLife Foundation
MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 by MetLife to continue its longstanding tradition of contributions and community involvement. The Foundation makes grants in health, education, civic affairs and culture. In 2008, MetLife and MetLife Foundation contributed over $43 million to nonprofit organizations and made $188 million in special loans and equity investments for community development. For more information, visit www.metlife.org

Media Contact:

Stephanie Taylor/VSA arts
(202) 628-2800 ext. 3883
SKTaylor@vsarts.org

General Information:

(202) 628 -2800
(TTY) 737-0645
www.vsarts.org