Programs

State Programs

Access the Arts | Allen Ginsberg Poetry Program | Artistic Expressions
Cultural Community P-ART-nership | Chance to Dance | Festivals
Legacy Program | Monday Night Music | Sightlines & Stagehands
Summercamp Connection | VSA arts Reach | Artist & Arts Resource Directory
VSA arts with RISD Museum

National Programs

Access the Arts

VSA arts of Rhode Island maintains an ongoing student exhibition at the RI Department of Education's headquarters in downtown Providence to showcase the variety of artwork produced in the Access the Arts residencies and increase exposure for the talents of these student artists. This program expands awareness of the importance of arts in education.

For more information: Access the Arts guidelines and application

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Allen Ginsberg Poetry Program

VSA arts of Rhode Island provides poetry workshops for adults with developmental disabilities, conducted by professional poets, at a variety of community sites throughout Rhode Island. A statewide poetry competition is sponsored annually with Blackstone Valley RI ARC. The first place recipient is given the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Prize. Additionally, VSA arts works with Rhode Island poets to participate in the International “One Heart, One World” Exhibition and other national poetry events.

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Artistic Expressions

VSA arts of Rhode Island, in collaboration with community organizations and galleries, presents exhibitions of artwork created by both emerging and established adult RI artists with disabilities, and sponsors artist receptions that engage the general public. These exhibitions provide programmatic services vital to artists’ professional development.

Get more exhibition details

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Cultural Community P-ART-nership

VSA arts of Rhode Island provides mini-grants and other direct assistance to community agencies throughout the state. These services and support directly increase people with disabilities’ opportunities in the arts. They also form a bridge between cultural and disability organizations, thus increasing accessibility and facilitating inclusion in arts and arts education.

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Chance to Dance

VSA arts of Rhode Island, in partnership with Dance Alliance, provides support to Chance to Dance, enabling it to expand its statewide educational arts program to include more students with disabilities. All children involved in this inclusive model program create, learn, and rehearse a dance and perform it in a culminating weekend of shows at the Providence Performing Arts Center that attracts an audience of approximately 5,000.

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Festivals

VSA arts of Rhode Island’s festivals are free, multi-arts celebrations held in partnership with leading RI community organizations that bring together artists, children, and adults of all ages and abilities. Festivals include "Arts, Artists & Athletes" in collaboration with the RI Special Olympic Games on the campus of the University of Rhode Island; the "Fabulous Fall Fiber Festival" held mid-September in collaboration with Rhode Island's Convergence; and the Labor Day Weekend "Rhythm & Roots Festival" held at Ninigret Park with Grey Fox Festival Productions. As an active participant on the planning committees, VSA arts of Rhode Island works to assure that all activities are both physically and programmatically accessible.

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Legacy Program

VSA arts of Rhode Island sponsors a creative writing and visual arts program for seniors and older adults with disabilities residing in Warwick's subsidized housing. This program increases social interactions for an otherwise isolated population. It also provides participants with positive ways to share their lives and artwork with their families and neighbors. Participants receive public recognition of their talents at the culminating exhibition held in collaboration with the Warwick Housing Authority.

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Monday Night Music

& Tuesday Nite Dance

VSA arts of Rhode Island sponsors music and dance classes for adults with developmental disabilities in sessions of six-week classes scheduled throughout the year. Each class includes both appreciation and instruction in a variety of musical and dance styles.

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Accessible Rhode Island

VSA arts of Rhode Island’s Accessible Rhode Island initiative provides consultation, workshops, and other assistance to theaters, museums, cultural venues and recreational sites throughout RI in collaboration with the MS support group Dare To Dream. The initiative directly improves access and increases inclusion of people with disabilities by conducting outreach to and site surveys for listing in the Accessible Rhode Island Guide, available in hard copy print and on the web. This serves to encourage greater participation by people with disabilities in the cultural life of the community, to provide the artistic and operational directors of RI's cultural venues with both practical information and direct assistance in how to improve and increase their accessibility. Currently over 300 locations are listed in the guide.

www.accessiblerhodeisland.org

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Summercamp Connection

VSA arts of Rhode Island works with summer programs statewide to provide quality arts experiences to children with disabilities. At sites, including the RI Youth Guidance Center's Camp SummerSprout and Brown University's Camp SteppingStone, VSA arts of Rhode Island provides a variety activities to children with learning and/or behavioral disorders, and for children with HIV/AIDS and their siblings.

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VSA arts Reach

VSA arts of Rhode Island conducts a variety of workshops, demonstrations, and consulting services on physical and programmatic accessibility, disability awareness training, and arts education with inclusion techniques. Information provided ranges from a general VSA arts of Rhode Island program overview to how accessibility is achieved in specific VSA arts of Rhode Island arts activities. VSA arts of Rhode Island also partners with the RI Arts Learning Network in developing the State of Rhode Island's Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements in the Arts.

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VSA Artist & Arts Resource Directory

VSA arts of Rhode Island maintains a roster of artists and art therapists who have both a strong background in their art form and extensive experience working with children and adults with disabilities. VSA arts of Rhode Island also produces a cultural arts resource directory that includes all artistic disciplines. This directory provides referrals for interested agencies and individuals throughout the state as they design or implement independent programs.

More on artist roster details

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VSA arts connects with RISD Museum

VSA arts of Rhode Island sponsors art classes for adults with developmental disabilities in collaboration with the RISD Museum of Art. Sessions of six-week classes are held throughout the Museum’s galleries. Classes include art history and the basics of drawing, painting, and sculpture. Additionally, RISD students work as artist assistants to the VSA arts of Rhode Island professional arts educators and receive professional development in teaching and conducting arts programming for adults with a wide variety of developmental and physical disabilities. Each session culminates in a reception and exhibition of participants’ work.

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National Programs

VSA arts of Rhode Island works to fascilitate local Rhode Island students to submit works to the national office of VSA arts in Washington, D.C in the following programs.

Driven: A Call For Art
VSA arts and Volkswagon join together for a national juried exhibition for young artists with disabilities ages 16-25. There is no entry fee, all artwork must be original and have been completed in the last three years. Prizes include $6,000 for Second Award, $10,000 for First Award and $20,000 for Grand Prize. Twelve awards of excellence will also be given out for $2,000. Deadline for applications is in July.

For More Information and Guidelines Click Here

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Playwright Discovery
The Playwright Discovery Program challenges middle and high school students of all abilities to look around them and examine how disability affects their lives and the lives of others, through the art of writing a one-act play. The writer of the selected script will travel to Washington, D.C to view a production of their play produced by VSA arts and presented at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, the winning playwright will receive $2,000 and possible mentoring opportunities. Deadline for applications is in April.

For More Information and Guidelines Click Here

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Young Soloists Award
The Young Soloists Award is open to any individual musician age 25 and under with a disability. Musical ensembles (2-8 members) will be accepted, but in order to be eligible at least one member of the ensemble must have a disability, and all members must fulfill the age requirement. All genres of music will be accepted. Winners will be chosen by a distinguished panel of music professionals, and will receive $5,000 and an opportunity to perform in Washington, D.C Deadline for applicants in the United States is in November, and for International applicants, December.

For More Information and Guidelines Click Here

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Call For Writing
The VSA arts Writing Project Call for Writing is open to students with disabilities and students with connections to people with disabilities, ages 11-18 years. All writing must be original and created by the student submitting the entry. Fiction and non-fiction should not exceed 500 words. Poems should not exceed 100 lines. Deadline for applications is in December.

For More Information and Guidelines Click Here

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Williamstown Apprenticeship
The Williamstown Theatre Apprenticeship is open to students with a disability, ages 19-24, interested in expanding their theatre education and knowledge. A professional theatre in Williamstown, Massachusetts, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, offers 70 promising students classes in acting, voice and movement. As well as opportunities to learn about the different aspects of running a professional theatre company. Deadline for applications is in February.

For More Information and Guidelines Click Here

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