About the Network
The Access/VSA International Network is an active global community that shares best practices in arts access, brainstorms solutions to common (and uncommon) issues, and blazes an accessible path to the world of arts and culture.
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The Network is managed by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Office of Accessibility and VSA, which works toward a world where people with disabilities of all ages can learn through, participate in, and engage with the arts.
We make Kennedy Center performances and facilities accessible to all audiences, and providing resources, programs, and opportunities for educators, cultural administrators, emerging and professional artists and performers with disabilities.
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The arts and culture accessibility movement has always been strong, led by passionate and innovative administrators, teachers, artmakers, and organizations. But for years those leaders lacked the connection to share challenges and successes and the opportunity to build and improve on each other’s work. There was no center of learning, no coordinated “arts access field,” no standard for access. The disability rights movement and advent of federal disability rights laws helped change that situation, propelling arts and disability supporters to connect and learn from each other.
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The Access/VSA International Network is built on the shoulders of those pioneers. We offer the opportunity to support and learn from each other through in-person convenings, online learning, and lively listservs. We cross-pollinate new ideas. We illuminate the work of artists with disabilities and exemplify arts access—and the need for it—to the larger world. We provide a space where small grassroots organizations can connect with large established institutions, and experienced experts can mentor people new to the field of arts access. We organize, drive, and bring credibility to that field by innovating, creating shared resources, exploring and establishing global practices. We harness our collective experience, knowledge, and passion for access to arts and culture to shape the arts access movement, and to move it forward from access to inclusion.
The Kennedy Center Office of Accessibility & VSA
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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art's Office of Accessibility and VSA works toward a world where people with disabilities of all ages can learn through, participate in, and engage with the arts.
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We make Kennedy Center performances and facilities accessible to all audiences, and manage the VSA International Network, Â providing resources, programs, and opportunities for educators, cultural administrators, emerging and professional artists and performers with disabilities.
CREATE
COMMUNITY
Become part of our transformative creative community! Share your passion for access to the arts with peers around the globe, collaborate with colleagues who face the same challenges, and learn from experts in the arts, accessibility, and special education fields.
EXCHANGE BEST
PRACTICES
By connecting with colleagues via our network listservs, you’ll discover what’s working, what’s not, and what exciting innovations are on the horizon. Contribute to thought-leadership, trade ideas, ask questions, or submit your news to our monthly e-newsletter.
ACCESS OPPORTUNITIES,
EDUCATION, AND RESOURCES
Your one-stop shop for arts access information, the Access/VSA International Network posts grant and career opportunities, offers one-of-a-kind conferences and online learning, and provides the resources and information you need, tailored to your interests.
