address:
VSA Minnesota
528 Hennepin Avenue Suite #305
Minneapolis MN 55403
VSA Minnesota is a nonprofit arts organization, an affiliate of VSA - the International Organization on Arts and Disability, an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which is located in Washington, D.C., and is part of a network which includes 48 state affiliates and 65 international affiliates.
The mission is to create a community where people with disabilities can learn through, participate in and access the arts. It has focused efforts in the following four service areas reaching people from all parts of the state:
* Arts programming (including residencies, performances and presentations) for students and adults with disabilities in educational and community settings;
* Professional development for teachers, teaching artists, artists with disabilities, interpreters, audio describers and captioners who work in arts settings;
* Accessibility resources and funding assistance for arts organizations throughout the state;
* Promoting awareness of activities by people with disabilities in the arts.
Artist Services:
Artists with disabilities are assisted in forwarding their arts pursuits through several grant programs, workshops, and both a statewide directory of artists with disabilities and a direct link to one of the largest Internet directories of artists with disabilities in the world.
Direct Arts Programs:
Arts festivals, performances, artist residencies, exhibits and other types of arts events are produced throughout the year. These activities enable people with disabilities to participate in art forms of all kinds.
Accessibility to the Arts:
VSA Minnesota works with arts organizations throughout the state to assist them in making their programs and services accessible to people with disabilities. The Access to Performing Arts program encourages theatre and dance companies to provide accommodations for audience members who are deaf or blind. The ADA Access Improvement Grants for metro area arts organization encourages longterm infrastructure improvements that allow more people with disabilities to participate in programming.
Education & Awareness:
VSA Minnesota provides direct arts programs in selected school settings, assists in disability culture activities, presents arts access awards on an annual basis and promotes increased awareness of disability concerns through a newsletter, web site and e-mail listserv.
What is it that VSA Minnesota does?
* Visual art exhibits by people with disabilities.
* Training workshops for teachers in special education settings, teaching artists, artists with disabilities.
* Assistance to theaters in making their performances accessible to people who are deaf or blind.
* Artist-in-residency programs for schools & residential centers.
* Arts festivals for people of all ages with a disability.
* Newsletters, artist directories and information via the Internet that connects Minnesota people with disabilities who are interested in the arts.
* And many other programs and services that assist people with disabilities in becoming more involved in arts activities within their homes & communities.
Nonprofit
