Listen to this post:
Disability arts, arts and disability, art for people with disabilities, art by disabled people: no matter how you slice it or what you call it, there really is a vibrant, exciting arts community. It’s big!
I’d like to introduce you a very sweet video about the place where I got my start in the disability arts: VSA Texas, formerly VSA Arts of Texas, but always awesome. You can read a little more about the amazing work I got to be part of and one of the many people I met there 12 years ago (Mike Burns) in my post from January 17th, 2013 on this blog. Please check out this short video produced by One Story Productions to get a taste of some of the work VSA Texas does and how community members feel about participating in the arts.
To learn more about VSA International, visit their page on The Kennedy Center’s website. You can read about all the locations and affiliates and their programs. In a nutshell, it’s about access to the arts for all. That includes training, education, opportunities to perform and opportunities to be a patron. Equitable opportunities, not limited or “special” opportunities.