New York Sculptor Mark Parsons Visits Alger Middle School in Grand Rapids, Mich.

April 9, 2008

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2008 - VSA arts is bringing acclaimed New York sculptor Mark Parsons to Karen Rashewsky’s special education class at Alger Middle School in Grand Rapids, Mich., from April 21-22. Parsons will spend two days with the students, exploring the relationship between art and biology. Students will learn about hereditary characteristics by examining similarities and differences in human faces, explore the relationship between the artistic process and scientific process, and learn about the science involved in making a sculpture. Parsons, an established professional sculptor who has multiple sclerosis, will also speak to the students about his experience living with a disability.

Parsons works out of his Brooklyn Studio and is currently director of production for the Pratt Institute School of Architecture. His work has been exhibited at The United Nations, The Kennedy Center, The Provincetown Art Museum, the New Bedford Art Museum, and in numerous private galleries. Parsons’ Foundations series was featured in VSA arts/Weekly Reader’s “Portrait of an Artist-Scientist,” a nationally distributed cross-disciplinary educational resource. In the Foundations series, Parsons altered the scale of architectural drawings and compared them to enlarged images of DNA to reveal similarities.

“VSA arts believes it is important to bring artists with disabilities directly into the classroom both to teach and to serve as role models,” said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts. “The arts have been proven to play a crucial role in cognitive and motor skill development, and the children learn while stretching their imaginations.”

“Alger Middle School is excited to partner with VSA arts to be able to provide this rare opportunity to our students,” said Michael Gareeb, principal of Alger Middle School. “Ms. Rashewsky regularly incorporates the arts into her curriculum, and the students have benefited greatly from this.”

Rashewsky’s self-contained special education class has six students, with both developmental and physical disabilities, ranging from 12-16 years of age. VSA arts provides a number of resources to educators to enable them to help children learn through the arts, and Rashewsky’s class has participated in these programs for more than 10 years via artist residencies, art workshops and other programs, such as the Grand Rapids annual Festival Day. Last year, she hosted an artist residency sponsored by VSA arts that featured the exploration of musical instruments.

About VSA arts
VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 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

Media Contact:

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