Posted Monday May 06 2013 at 07:02 am
Celebrate CATA’s 20th anniversary by attending their their Annual Performance & Gala!
When: Saturday, May 11 at 6pm & Sunday, May 12 at 1pm
Where: Tina Packer Playhouse, Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, Massachusetts
Posted Sunday May 05 2013 at 5:04 pm
Unbound Visual Arts, founded to enliven the creative economy for all in Allston, Brighton and the surrounding towns, is presenting a new exhibit titled "Unlimited" at the Art Gallery at The Harvard Allston Education Portal. The Education Portal is the Allston-Brighton community’s front door to Harvard's educational, cultural, arts, and recreational resources.
The "Unlimited" exhibit includes 14 sculptural artworks by six artists of the Boston Sculptural Gallery including VSA teaching artist Nora Valdez. The exhibit interprets, explores, and presents concepts related to "unlimited" lives.
Where: 175 North Harvard St., Allston, MA
When: May 9 - June 30, 2013
Opening Reception: May 9, 2013 5:30 - 8pm
Posted Monday April 15 2013 at 7:15 pm
Over the past few years, staff and friends of VSA Massachusetts have raised a few brows when they begin to talk about three little letters . . . V S A. It often goes something like this:
Parent: Hi, I'm Sheila's Mom.
VSA Staff: Hi, I'm staff from VSA Massachusetts.
Parent: VSA?
VSA Staff: Yes, VSA - followed by a somewhat lengthy description along these lines - VSA was founded by President Kennedy's sister, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, at the time that the National Cultural Center was dedicated to President John F. Kennedy and is affiliated with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. today. Originally known as the National Committee Arts for the Handicapped (OUCH!) and formerly named Very Special Arts, VSA changed its name in 1999, eliminating the use of the word "special" to honor the progress made by members of the disability community since the organization's inception.
Parent: Oh, neat, what is it that you do here at the school?
What we do is not captured in our name, so most people continue to call us Very Special Arts, a name that seems to still resonate in the broader community. However, "special" often does not resonate for those with disabilities or those who are advocates.
In the 1980's, when we were all running around in neon outfits, Very Special Arts seemed like a good fit. Today, even though there are a few people reviving neon, we need to move past "special" and say VSA.
Think of it like CVS or CNBC - as soon as you hear it, you know what it means. We don't go around, saying, "Oh, I need to pick up some toothpaste from the Consumer Value Store (CVS)."
VSA means arts for all in schools and in our communities.