VSA Ohio
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Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts |
Erin Hoppe |
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Tel.: (614) 241-5325 |
Website: |
Organizational Profile:
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Full-time Staff: 1 |
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The mission of VSA Ohio is to empower people with disabilities, creatively and inclusively, through the arts. Since 1986, VSA Ohio has provided an inclusive environment in which children and adults with disabilities are given the opportunity to celebrate life through the arts, education and creative expression. VSA Ohio programs and services are implemented through a network of local arts, community and educational organizations. Programming includes festivals for inclusive audiences, professional development for educators and artists, teaching artist residencies in inclusive classrooms, special outreach programs for children, performing and visual arts competitions and exhibitions, and monthly electronic newsletters. VSA Ohio serves as an advocate for the arts, arts education and accessibility issues with a goal of making the arts and arts education accessible to all Ohioans.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
Ohio Department of Education; Ohio Arts Council; Ohio Citizens for the Arts; Ohio Alliance for Arts Education; Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council; KeyBank Foundation; Target; Honda of America; Mfg.; Athens Photographic Project; Blue Shoe Arts; The Ability Center of Greater Toledo; Ohio Kennedy Center Partners in Education Teams; VSA Ohio Service Division Representatives (including North Canton Playhouse, Wayne Center for the Arts, Parma City Schools, Westerville Recreation and Parks, and City of Twinsburg); and many more other social service agencies; local boards of developmental disabilities organizations; K-12 schools, universities, recreation centers, camps, galleries, and other activity sites in the state
Educational Programs and Artist Residencies
Adaptation, Integration, and the Arts (AIA)
VSA Ohio developed this program to partner teaching artists and educators in inclusive classrooms with the goal of enhancing teaching and learning through an arts integrated curriculum. In 2009-2010 VSA Ohio will identify at least ten diverse school sites, grade levels, and subject areas throughout Ohio to present teaching artist residencies. After initial planning with VSA Ohio staff and school administrators, teaching artists and classroom teachers work together to develop residency plans that incorporate an art form into the existing subject area curriculum and align the plans with content standards in the arts and the other academic content areas. VSA Ohio presents professional development opportunities on inclusion, evaluation, and professionalism for educators and artists throughout the year. In 2009-2010, VSA Ohio will present the VSA Institute: The Arts and Inclusive Learning.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
Accessible Expressions Ohio (AEO)
Accessible Expressions Ohio is a statewide, juried, visual arts exhibition and tour adding to the richness of cultural diversity throughout Ohio. VSA Ohio receives entries from artists of all ages and abilities between September and December 1st for adjudication; typically 100 pieces of art are chosen. All artwork is exhibited at an Opening Ceremony, where a second adjudication is conducted to determine the first, second and third place winners in categories for Youth, Emerging and Professional Artist, as well as Best in Show and People’s Choice; winners receive a ribbon and cash prize. Winners in the Youth Category are submitted to VSA for the national CVS Caremark All Kids Can...Create! Call for Art. Following the opening ceremony, the artwork is divided into tours and travels to diverse sites throughout Ohio, including government, non-profit service, and corporate offices, community art centers, libraries, and galleries. Sales of artwork are encouraged at the opening ceremony as well as at each tour site. The CVS Caremark Sights & Sounds of the Arts Festival is presented in conjunction with the AEO Opening Ceremony.
Careers in the Arts
The Careers in the Arts program grew out of the 2005 Careers in the Arts forum sponsored by VSA Ohio, the Ohio Arts Council, The National Arts and Disability Center at UCLA, the National Endowment for the Arts, and VSA. In 2009-2010 VSA Ohio will present four regional Careers in the Arts Community professional development workshops in the west, northeast, southwest, and central Ohio. The audience for the workshops includes people with disabilities seeking a career in the creative industry, their families, service providers, and administrators in the cultural and disability fields seeking to advance policies and practices for employing individuals with disabilities. Professional development will include vocational (marketing, financial planning, master classes) and advocacy training, resource dissemination, and opportunities for networking that connect individuals with services and resources. The objective of the Careers in the Arts Community Workshop program is to make employment in the creative sector accessible to people with disabilities. These workshops will be presented in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council and are supported by the Ohio Development Disabilities Council and KeyBank.
Artists Technology and Information Center (ATIC)
The Artist Technology and Information Center is a dedicated computer station available for use by artists with disabilities to learn to use technology, create Web sites, research opportunities, complete online grant applications, or simply update a resume or cover letter. One-to-one coaching with an artist services coordinator is available. The goal of the program is to provide the necessary technical support for artists building careers.
Cultural Access and Inclusive Arts Services
Accessible Theater
VSA Ohio partners with local theater companies to provide students with disabilities high-quality arts experiences. Typically students and chaperones from the Ohio State School for the Blind and the Ohio School for the Deaf attend live theater performances made accessible through the inclusion of American Sign Language or audio description as well as interaction with the actors during and after the performance. This programming is sponsored by Target. VSA Ohio will also support Ohio’s Partners in Education teams in bringing the Kennedy Center and VSA co-produced performance of Nobody’s Perfect to Ohio in 2010.
Public Awareness and Outreach
Service Division Network and Festivals
Since VSA Ohio’s inception, committees throughout the state have presented inclusive festivals, summer camps and other local activities for persons with and without disabilities in their regions. The Service Divisions are made up of individuals of all ability levels from cultural institutions, school systems, county developmental disabilities boards, cities, and the community. These representatives assist with the dissemination of state and national opportunities and contribute to the planning of VSA Ohio programming. Service Division networks for fiscal year 2010 include Athens County, Central Ohio, Cleveland Area, Miami Valley, Stark County, and Wayne Center for the Arts.
VSA Ohio Web site and Newsletters
VSA Ohio’s Web site, www.vsao.org, features announcements for workshops and exhibitions for artist participation, information about VSA Ohio programs and activities, and links to other arts organizations across the state and nation.
VSA Ohio disseminates a monthly electronic newsletter, the VSA Ohio eVoice, which includes information about its programs, opportunities and resources, and events in the arts and disability communities locally, statewide, and nationally. A text only version is available on the VSA Ohio Web site; other formats are available upon request. A print version of the newsletter, the VSA Ohio Voice, is published several times annually. An electronic (and print) newsletter, Artists Update, is disseminated bi-monthly and includes focused information about opportunities and resources for artists in Ohio.
Young Soloists
VSA Ohio disseminates a call for entries in September of every year to find three musical artists under the age of 25 as its Young Soloists of the year. The Young Soloists demonstrate outstanding talent in vocal or instrumental music and are selected by a panel of three diverse experts in the music field during December. All applicants are forwarded for entry to the International Young Soloists Award program sponsored by VSA. The three Ohio winners receive cash prizes sponsored by Ohio music and education organizations and are invited to perform for a live audience at An Evening With the Young Soloists to be held May 1, 2010. Winners may also be asked to perform at events throughout Ohio during the year.
Advocacy
VSA Ohio is an active advocate for the arts, arts education, and accessibility issues at all levels. VSA Ohio visits and writes letters to legislators and other stakeholders with personal impact stories, invites them to events, raises awareness about disability issues during National Arts Advocacy Day and Ohio Arts Day, and will participate in the Ohio Developmental Disability Council’s 2010 Legislative Advocacy Day. VSA Ohio also presents information and displays art work from the Accessible Expressions Ohio tour at conferences and other events to raise awareness and make valuable connections among constituents.
(F) 202-429-0868