Mission
The scope of the organization’s work
is immense, reaching people of all
ages and abilities across the globe.
Still, our mission remains simple—to
use the arts to include people with
disabilities in all aspects of society.
arts, students become lifelong learners,
experiencing the joy
of discovery and exploration, and the
value of each other’s ideas.
About VSA arts
Designated by the United States Con-
gress as the coordinating organization
for arts programming for persons with
disabilities, VSA arts is supported by
its affiliate network in offering diverse
programs and events and innovative
lifelong learning opportunities at the
international, national, and local lev-
els ranging from training institutes
and artist-in-residence projects to arts
camps and emerging-artist award
programs.
Learning Through the Arts
Programming and initiatives of VSA
arts are guided by four essential prin-
ciples:
• Every young person with a
disability deserves access to
appropriate arts learning
experiences.
• All artists in schools and art
educators should be adequately
prepared to include students with
disabilities in their instruction.
• All children, youth, and adults
with disabilities should have
complete access to community
cultural facilities and activities.
• All individuals with disabilities
who aspire to careers in the arts
should have the opportunity to
develop necessary skills.
Inclusion teaches us that all means all.
Everybody. No exceptions. The arts
invite people to leave familiar terri-
tory, to explore new answers, and to
seek new questions. The arts offer a
means to self-expression, communica-
tion, and independence. Through the
Working for Change
VSA arts is committed to driving
change—changing perceptions and
practice, classroom by classroom, com-
munity by community, and ultimately
society. There is still a long way to go
to achieve inclusive arts access and
equal opportunity of expression for
all.
VSA arts president Soula Anto-
niou captured the true mission
of the organization at the Start
With the Arts Festival, held in
Washington, DC the week of
June 5, 2005, when she said:
“Pearls are a traditional
gift to mark thirty years
together, and are a fitting
symbol for VSA arts’ anniver-
sary celebration. As a pearl is
made up of layers, our thirty
years are layers built upon a
unique vision that began with
Ambassador Jean Kennedy
Smith.
“In size, shape and color,
pearls exist in a stunning diver-
sity of forms. Likewise, we are
each a rare treasure. Working
together we resemble a string of
pearls, connected by a common pur-
pose and commitment to arts, educa-
tion, and disability.
“One of the most distinctive fea-
tures of a pearl is its luminosity and
the way it seems to glow from within.
This radiance is a caused by reflec-
tion; similarly, the work of VSA arts
reflects the extraordinary commit-
ment of our nationwide and interna-
tional VSA arts network of affiliates,
the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts, and the United
States Congress.”
What Is
VSA
www.vsarts.org
VSA is an international nonprofit organiza-
tion founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean
Kennedy Smith as Very Special Arts.
For more than thirty years VSA
arts has worked to create a society
where people with disabilities can
learn through, participate in, and
enjoy the arts. Currently more
than five million people partici-
pate in VSA arts programs
through a network of
affiliates nationwide
and in over sixty
countries.
