Founded in 1974 as an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the participation of people with disabilities in the arts and society. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and tools they can use to support arts programming in their schools and communities; showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities; and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Currently, five million people participate in VSA arts programs each year through a network of affiliates nationwide and in more than 60 countries around the world.

VSA arts is the creator of Start with the Arts©, a comprehensive early childhood resource for classrooms that encourages the development of literacy and school readiness skills; Express Diversity!©, a program of instructional materials for increasing disability awareness through the arts; and the VSA arts Institute, a professional development training for teachers, teaching artists, and arts administrators offering arts based teaching strategies to include students with disabilities.

VSA arts has also created a companion booklet to this exhibit that includes two collections of educational arts activities for use in the classroom or at home. The first four activities are based on VSA arts’ resource Start with the Arts and were highlighted at the Start with the Arts Family Festival. These are followed by a set of activities that were developed for VSA arts’ call for children’s art “Discover What Art Is.…” To acquire your free copy, or learn more about the resources mentioned above, please contact us at 800-933-8721 or visit www.vsarts.org