VSA arts of Texas
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3710 Cedar Street, #7 |
Celia Hughes |
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Tel.: (512) 454-9912 |
Website: |
Organizational Profile:
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Full-time Staff: 3 |
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VSA arts of Texas promotes the creative power in people with disabilities by working with all community members to facilitate full access to the cultural and educational arts.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
Texas Commission on the Arts; Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities; City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division; Webber Family Foundation; Ysleta Independent School District; Austin Independent School District; Fort Worth Independent School District; Knowbility, Inc.; Austin Mayors Committee for People with Disabilities; Sister Cities International - Fort Worth; Education Service Centers - Regions 1, 3, and 17
State Programs
Educational Programs and Artist Residencies
Arts Alive
Arts Alive! connects experienced teaching artists with teachers who have been formally trained in utilizing the resource, Start with the Arts. Teaching artists from five artistic disciplines (visual art, drama, dance/movement, music, and literature) are placed in classrooms for a minimum of five hours per session. Classrooms include pre-school, special education and inclusive elementary schools. Through grants and fee-for-service contracts, Arts Alive activities are currently underway in El Paso, Austin, McAllen, and Edinburg.
Expressive Arts
Hill Country Expressive Arts offers expressive arts therapy to Austin classrooms using art, music, or dance activities specifically designed to address the social, communications, and learning needs of the individual students. Special Education teachers and teachers’ aides attend professional development training to integrate arts in their classrooms using a multi-sensory experiential framework. During their residency, licensed art therapists mentor teachers to assist in the inclusion of expressive arts in order to continue the work after completion of the therapists’ residencies.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
Art Works!
Professional opportunities for emerging artists with disabilities include the Annual Careers in the Arts Forum for artists and arts administrators and regional workshops for visual artists that include building a portfolio, photographing work, marketing and promotion guidelines, copyright laws, and how-to’s for exhibiting work. Individualized artist support provides opportunities to access art supplies, classes, mentorships and professional exhibits.
Start with the Arts Teacher Training
Two-day workshops for classroom teachers feature an introduction to inclusive adaptations for the classroom, a review of pre-literacy concept essentials and handson activities from the Start with the Arts Teacher’s Resource. Early childhood teachers and caregivers can use these techniques to enrich the child’s learning environment and build a solid foundation for reading and writing success. Taught by experienced arts educators, participants are encouraged to rediscover their own creativity and learn practical tools for sharing the joy of art with all children. The Artist Institute provides professional development opportunities for teaching artists and fine arts educators that focus on developmentally appropriate practice in the arts, positive critical response formats, differentiated teaching techniques, and linking the arts to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills in other core areas.
Playwright Discovery Workshops
A partnership with the University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance sends graduate students into selected middle and high schools to teach the fundamentals of playwriting. Workshops help students better understand the form of drama so that. as young playwrights, they may prepare for the annual VSA arts Playwright Discovery competition. Workshop sessions include a disability awareness component, a review of the basics of dramatic form and an exploration of the elements of drama, such as monologue and dialogue, as well as stage direction.
Cultural Access and Inclusive Arts Services
Cultural Access Institute
Arts access professionals provide workshops and individual consultation to cultural arts and education organizations on disability awareness, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and long-range planning, accessible Web site design and facility and programs access assessments to help reduce the barriers to the arts. VSA arts of Texas also partners with statewide arts and disability organizations to produce access tracks designed to meet the needs of the specific arts discipline or organizational focus.
Inclusive Arts
Audio Description is offered on a regular basis at Austin area theaters, museums and requested events. Building upon the success of this service, volunteers work with ACCESS San Antonio to introduce audio description to Bexar County. VSA arts of Texas also operates a model program for volunteer maintenance of assistive listening systems for local arts venues. Staff provides consultation on captioning, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), and American Sign Language theatrical interpreters. The http://www.vsatx.org Web site provides a monthly calendar of accessible events in Austin and Central Texas. Information from other communities is included when provided.
Public Awareness and Outreach
Actual Lives Performance Project
Actual Lives is a community-based writing and performance project which establishes theatrical voice and presence for people with disabilities. Beginning with an individualized workshop format, participants write from their experience and then learn how to translate personal narratives into performance. With every workshop, VSA arts of Texas introduces individuals to the stage, some who stay to work at subsequent workshops. Actual Lives members are sometimes asked to perform for college groups, summer camps, corporate trainings and other community events.
Cultural Rodeo
Designed to shatter stereotypes of people with disabilities, cutting-edge performances by individuals with disabilities are offered in communities across Texas. Performers have included Bill T. Shannon, David Roche, Dancing Wheels and the Moscow Nedoslov Theatre Company. In addition, exhibits by visual artists are juried by professional artists, gallery owners and art teachers and displayed at galleries, and alternate locations throughout Texas. At least one statewide competition for children and/or adults is organized and promoted every year. VSA arts of Texas partners with the National Arts Program to showcase artwork created by the employees of the City of Austin and their family members. Art in the Park is an inclusive arts celebration that takes place every April in Austin; the longest running Festival is held every January in Plano.
Star of Texas Outreach
The Web site (http://www.vsatx.org) serves as a resource to artists and cultural arts organizations looking for ways to reach out to a diverse audience. The e-mail Start with the Arts – Texas Newsletter offers arts activity tips to educators and early childhood specialists (subscribe at http://www.vsatx.org/newsletter.html). The newsletter, distributed tri-annually in standard and alternate formats, provides information on upcoming events and initiatives of VSA arts of Texas as well as national initiatives and calls for art.
Follow the Dream
Follow the Dream is a statewide community-based project that showcases the visual art works of children and adults with disabilities. Free art classes are offered in community settings and teachers participate through classroom activities based on a theme and curricular materials provided via our website. In November (proclaimed “Disability Arts Month” by the Texas Legislature), the artwork created through these activities is displayed at school administration buildings, City Hall, local libraries, banks, and other locations.
(F) 202-429-0868