VSA arts of Minnesota
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Hennepin Center for the Arts |
Craig J. Dunn |
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Tel.: (612) 332-3888 or 1-800-801-3883 |
craig@vsaartsmn.org Website: |
Organizational Profile:
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Full-time Staff: 3 |
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VSA arts of Minnesota is working to create a community where people with disabilities can learn through, participate in, and access the arts. It does this by making the arts available and accessible to people with all types of disabilities throughout Minnesota.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
Minnesota Department of Education—Special Education Section; Minnesota State Arts Board; McKnight Foundation; Jerome Foundation; Travelers Foundation; General Mills Foundation; Target Corporation; United Arts; 3M (via COMPAS); Medtronic; Ameriprise; Land o’ Lakes; St. Paul Foundation; Phillips Foundation; Metro Regional Arts Council; National Arts and Disability Center; ArtSpace Projects; Cornerstone Copy Center; Guthrie Theater; Perpich Center for Arts Education; Young Audiences of Minnesota; Springboard for the Arts; Minnesota Department of Human Services; Minnesota State Academy for the Blind; Vision Loss Resources; Park State Bank
Educational Programs and Artist Residencies
School Residency Program
VSA arts of Minnesota partners with 16 schools throughout the state (at least one in each of the eight congressional districts) and offers the services of visiting artists to provide participatory arts experiences to students with disabilities. In addition, the VSA arts of Minnesota’s Artist Ambassador Program pairs the organization’s arts in education coordinator with a Minnesota artist who has a disability. The team works together to make classroom presentations focusing on building student awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities in the arts.
Art Center Classes
VSA arts of Minnesota partners with community art centers to provide arts classes designed to meet the particular needs of young people with disabilities. These partnerships are currently scheduled to occur with art centers in Mankato and Maplewood and in 2009 will be expanded to include new metro locations.
Arts Festivals
VSA arts of Minnesota and music therapy students at Augsburg College in Minneapolis will host a festival for students with disabilities from the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding school districts on April 17, 2009.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
Teacher and Artist Professional Development
VSA arts of Minnesota will conduct workshops that address topics crucial to successfully using the arts with students with disabilities. The workshops will be for artists in residence, classroom teachers, arts specialists, and others seeking to improve their skills in working with students with disabilities in and through the arts. Workshops are scheduled to occur throughout the year in St. Cloud, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington.
Interpretation and Audio Description Professional Development
Workshops will be offered throughout the year to instruct American Sign Language interpreters and audio describers in working with performance companies and other arts settings, and to instruct arts administrators in working with interpreters, describers, and real-time captioners. These workshops will be done in cooperation with the Minnesota State Arts Board and selected regional arts councils.
Artist Recognition Grants
For the 13th year, VSA arts of Minnesota will maintain a grant program for artists with disabilities. This competitive program recognizes Minnesota artists with disabilities who have been active in their art form for a number of years. Seven $1,250 grants were awarded in December 2008.
Career Training and Information Sharing for Artists with Disabilities
This program has two distinct parts. The first component is ongoing networking and technical assistance to artists with disabilities as a continuation of the VSA arts of Minnesota Careers Forum and careers workshops. This is primarily accomplished via our facilitation of the Artists with Disabilities Alliance (Twin Cities) gatherings throughout the year and our work with new artist networking groups that were established in Duluth, Fergus Falls, St. Cloud, and Bemidji. A retreat will be held in March 2009 for artists with disabilities from throughout the state. This program also includes an e-mail posting service that lists current information pertinent to Minnesota artists with disabilities, including employment opportunities, calls for art, accessible performance listings, and announcements of happenings by and for artists with disabilities. Inclusion on the e-mail list is by request.
Cultural Access and Inclusive Arts Services
Access Services and Training to State Arts Organizations
VSA arts of Minnesota serves as a resource to state arts organizations and others interested in matters concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), disability awareness, and physical and programmatic access to publicly supported arts venues and services. This service is provided using on-site reference materials and by accessing other resources available through organizations and individuals throughout the community. VSA arts of Minnesota will make at least three presentations in collaboration with the Minnesota State Arts Board on new issues regarding accessibility and the arts during the coming year. Captioning will continue to be an area of interest in 2009 and will result in a convening for people interested in learning how to prepare and present captioning of scripted material during live performance for audience members who are hard of hearing.
Access to Performing Arts
Access to Performing Arts is a program that provides technical assistance to arts organizations and funding to assist with costs of American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and audio description (AD) for individuals who are deaf or blind who attend ASL and AD performances. Technical assistance includes marketing to communities who are deaf or hard of hearing and blind or low vision, and building performance organizations’ capabilities to meet the needs of audience members from these communities.
Public Awareness and Outreach
Arts Access Awards
VSA arts of Minnesota will present the 12th annual Arts Access Awards in September 2009. The awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made accessibility and disability awareness a priority. The award, created each year by an artist with a disability, is named the “Jaehny” in honor of one of VSA arts of Minnesota’s cofounders, Jaehn Clare.
Public Events
VSA arts of Minnesota offers artwork by artists with disabilities available to organizations in the community. Exhibitions will be held at Vision Loss Resources and Park State Bank, both in Minneapolis, and at the Minnesota Department of Education in Roseville. Other locations will be determined throughout the year.
Newsletter and Web Site
Arts Access, the organization’s newsletter, is published three times a year and features accounts of programs, artist profiles, and acknowledgment of donors. It is distributed to more than 5,300 addresses and is available in electronic, large print, and Braille formats. The Web site of VSA arts of Minnesota, www.vsaartsmn.org, is accessible to people with a wide range of abilities (including people who are blind or have low vision) and includes current and pertinent information about the organization and its programs.
(F) 202-429-0868