Posted Tuesday January 05 2016 at 07:10 am
in Education
Aysha is the newest member of the VSA Massachusetts COOL Schools team, having joined this summer as Associate Director. However, she is not new to the VSA family. Last fall, Aysha interned as she pursued her Master’s Degree in Arts in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She brings over 10 years of experience as a dancer, educator, teaching artist, arts administrator and social change agent along with a passion for arts-integrated inclusive learning and a determination to see the program thrive and grow. Her can-do attitude and contagious energy have already influenced the COOL Schools staff and teaching artist team to move forward with clear and bold goals. We want to celebrate her strong start by recognizing Aysha as Employee of the Quarter!
Posted Friday December 25 2015 at 06:32 am
in Cultural Inclusion
The following is American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) schedule of upcoming accessible performances:
The Pirate Princess
Sensory Friendly: December 28, 2015 2:00pm
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Audio Described: December 30, 2015 7:30pm and January 3, 2016 2:00pm
Nice Fish
Open Captioned: January 28, 2016 7:30pm and January 31, 2016 2:00pm
ASL Interpreted: February 2, 2016 7:30pm and February 6, 2016 2:00pm
Audio Described: February 4, 2016 7:30pm and February 7, 2016 2:00pm
1984
Open Captioned: February 25, 2016 7:30pm and February 28, 2016 2:00pm
ASL Interpreted: March 1, 2016 7:30pm and March 5, 2016 2:00pm
Audio Described: March 3, 2016 7:30pm and March 6, 2016 2:00pm
In The Body of the World
Open Captioned: May 12, 2016 7:30pm and May 15, 2016 2:00pm
Audio Described: May 26, 2016 7:30pm and May 28, 2016 7:30pm
Posted Sunday December 20 2015 at 09:52 am
in Call For Artists
Adriana Mallozzi
I inspired by a Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts contestant I met in March 2014. She had her headrest and armrests covered in fabric that matched her pageant dress. It was brilliant! I had never seen anything like it before. And it made perfect sense! We accessorize ourselves with jewelry, hats, belts, nail polish, etc., why not our wheelchairs? After all, we consider them to be extensions of ourselves.
Atara Schimmel
My life changed drastically and abruptly since severe and chronic pelvic pain over took my body. Art has been my hope and my spirit and I have followed the ways of healing and of life through art. I make jewelry laying on the floor in my bedroom during the time that my pain levels were so high that all that I could do was lie on the floor of my room. I found beauty and peace in the gem-stones and distraction from the 24/7 pain in the focus that creating jewelry demanded. I struggle daily with pain and I work very hard to maintain my connection to life. Art helps me with this tremendously.
Catherine Thatcher
"Art in my life gives me a chance to play with shapes and color and textures. I like to create beauty that people love to wear." Catherine's favorite medium is wire and has developed a line of fun and funky jewelry by wrapping high-polished noble metals around semi-precious gemstones, crystals as well as Marino & vintage glass. It is her passion to see silver and gold tones against and around the beads.
Lisa Lundin
I make art because it fulfills a longing in me. I feel complete when I make a piece of art. Looking at the paint or ink on my hands and then looking at my finished piece I feel proud to call myself an artist. I feel unique and special and that I am doing something I am meant to do.
Mihoko Wakabayashi
SAORI Weaving is an art of weaving by hand that is dedicated to free expression and self-development for everyone, regardless of physical or mental ability, age, or artistic aptitude. SAORI Weaving is pure improvisation from the heart, with no premeditated pattern in mind. Colors unfold, designs emerge, and beauty blooms directly from the genius of each unique individual working in harmony with loom, thread, and the spark of the moment. SAORI Weaving is a profound inner journey, yet we can enjoy it socially, working alongside others. We can also create clothing, bags, tapestries, and many useful items that can be appreciated by all.
Millicent Holder
I usually make jewelry because I don't usually feel like drawing. I started making
jewelry because I wanted something nice to wear. I've made so much jewelry during the years that I want to sell it. Making jewelry keeps my mind occupied. When my minds occupied I have a better peace of mind. When I create jewelry I feel good and proud of myself after I finished my jewelry. When I create jewelry I'm expressing my good character.
Sandra Jackson
I was a professional woman supervising a department and an accident caused epilepsy. After surgery, I permanently have seizures. My artwork is about expressing self, seeing what people like, and feeling from my heart what people like. I'm an upbeat person and people are upbeat around me.
Tony DeBlois
Ever since he was born - blind and weighing less than two pounds - Tony DeBlois has been defying the odds and wildly surpassing others' expectations. Diagnosed early on as autistic, at two years old his talent for music was revealed when he played "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on a toy piano. Going on to graduate with honors from the Berklee College of Music, today Tony leads an improvisational jazz ensemble and performs solo shows from Dublin to Taipei and also Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center.
