VSA Massachusetts
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The Nonprofit Center |
Charles J. Washburn |
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Tel.: (617) 350-7713 |
Website: |
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Full-time Staff: 4 |
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Organizational Profile:
VSA Massachusetts promotes the involvement of people of all abilities in the cultural life of Massachusetts’ communities and develops multi-sensory arts-based teaching strategies in Massachusetts’ schools, opening new windows into the general curriculum for all students.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission and the Massachusetts Cultural Council; Linde Family Foundation; The Shippy Foundation, The Jessie B. Cox Trust at the Boston Foundation, Boston Public and the Worcester Public Schools; Gardner, Pittsfield, and Amherst Public Schools; Partners for Youth with Disabilities; Access to Theater Program; Community Access to the Arts; Federation for Children with Special Needs; Theatre Company; Boston Children’s Museum; Massachusetts Audubon Society; St. Francis House; Worcester State College; University of Massachusetts Graduate College of Education, Massachusetts College of Art; Harvard Graduate School of Education; Lesley University
Educational Programs and Artist Residencies
Teaching Artist Residency Program
The residency program employs a culturally diverse group of approximately 30 Massachusetts artists for individually designed residencies across the state. The residencies 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.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
Professional Development for Educators
VSA Massachusetts enables teachers and administrators to employ the arts to more effectively engage students with different styles of learning. VSA Massachusetts helps educators improve the instruction by educational professionals and paraprofessionals and learning for all students in inclusive classrooms through the arts. More than 50 Massachusetts educators participate in workshops each year. VSA Massachusetts also offers training for artist educators to learn how to align their residencies with national learning standards and the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
Multi-Arts Resource Guide
VSA Massachusetts publishes the Multi-Arts Resource Guide (MARG) and companion videos to provide teachers, 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.
Access Art
Access Art is a career development program that supports the aspirations of emerging artists with disabilities. Each year, VSA Massachusetts 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 online gallery, and studio space. VSA Massachusetts offers a highly successful course for aspiring artists with disabilities titled “Putting Creativity to Work.” The program is inspired by a publication of the same name produced by VSA and the Social Security Administration.
Cultural Access and Inclusive Arts Services
Access Expressed!
A trademark of VSA 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 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 a database listing accessible cultural avenues in states across the country.
ADA Cultural Access Grants
VSA 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.
Universal Design in the Performing Arts
This is a five-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. Narrated by John Hockenberry of NBC’s Dateline, it was produced with the support of VSA and the National Endowment for the Arts. VSA Massachusetts also supports the use of Universal Design principles in performing arts events throughout the year.
Inclusive by Design
VSA Massachusetts has developed an approach to performing arts that is Inclusive by Design. This program was originally inspired by the notion of applying the principles of Universal Design to the area of performing arts in order to form a new type of ensemble. VSA Massachusetts collaborates with: musicians, visual artists, American Sign Language interpreters, audio describers and captioners for this program.
Public Awareness and Outreach
www.AccessExpressed.net
The Web-based database at www.accessexpressed.net features access information from hundreds of facilities in 28 states and articles about cultural access. VSA Massachusetts’ Web site, www.vsamass.org, supports arts-infused instruction and cultural inclusion activities. VSA Massachusetts also provides speakers for civic groups on topics involving art education and inclusion.
Festivals
Festivals bring Massachusetts artists, students, and 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.
(F) 202-429-0868