Programs > Arts in Education

VSA arts Tennessee is committed to providing quality arts experiences for children with disabilities. For more information about any of the following arts in education programs, please contact VSA arts Tennessee at (615) 210-8819 or userk7706@aol.com.

Art Institute

For the past 5 years, VSA arts Tennessee has offered a summer Art Institute for children with and without disabilities at Volunteer State Community College in late July. The focus of the Art Institute is to expose children to other cultures through dance, drama, literature, music and the visual arts. Each day, the children rotate between the 5 art activities and then provide a final performance of their own at the end of the week.

The Art Institute has focused on the Hispanic, African, Native American, Asian and Appalachian cultures. The 2008 Art Institute will take place July 21-25 and focus on the Italian culture.

The Art Institute is open to children going into grades 3 – grades 7 with or without a disability and it costs $20 for the week. The Art Institute is limited to the first 100 registrants.

The program is supported by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Department of Developmental Disabilities.

View the News Section for the latest information on new events.

ArtLink

Artlink is an international art exchange between a school in Tennessee and a selected school from another country. This program is a project of VSA arts International that is run through the affiliate offices.

VSA arts Tennessee selects a classroom in Tennessee to participate in the program. VSA arts International sends that classroom materials on the selected theme of the year, examples from past programs, art activity ideas, etc. The international office also selects the overseas partner school. Both the Tennessee and the international partner school create art based on the selected theme. The art, along with photos and or video, is then exchanged and the two schools learn more about each other through their art.

VSA arts International selects one piece of art from each participating school to be part of an international children’s art exhibition.

If your school is interested in being considered for this program, please contact VSA arts Tennessee. Schools are selected each spring.

Artist Residencies

Through a grant from the Tennessee Dept of Education, Division of Special Education, VSA arts Tennessee is able to offer 3 in-depth artist residency experiences each year. The residencies allow special education teachers, artist teachers and a visiting teaching artist to collaborate on a project. If your school is interested in participating or getting more information on this program, please contact VSA arts Tennessee.

Playwright Discovery Competition

The Playwright Discovery Competition is open to any middle or high school student with or without a disability. The plays can be written by an individual or be part of a group project. However, the play must contain a theme of disability or a main character with a disability. VSA arts Tennessee selects 2 winners and provides them with a plaque and small monetary award. The plays are then sent to Washington, DC to compete in a national competition for Scholarship awards and a chance to have the play produced at the Kennedy Center. (Here are the application for the Playwright Discovery Competition and the submission rules and procedures.)

The Playwright Discovery Competition is provided through support from KPMG CPA Firm.

The Tennessee Dulcimer Choir

VSA arts Tennessee is in the process of forming the Tennessee Dulcimer Choir. This will consist of youth with Autism or Williams Syndrome. Currently, the Department of Developmental Disabilities and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee have provided grants to allow dulcimer instructors to go into schools and to camps to work with youth in teaching them about the history of the dulcimer and how to perform the instrument. In addition, John Deane provided funds to purchase instruments on which the youth can learn to play. The entire project is free of charge for the youth who are interested in learning to play this instrument.

The dulcimer instructors will be selecting up to 10 youth who will comprise the new Tennessee Dulcimer Choir. These individuals will receive a free instrument and continued instruction on the instrument with the understanding that they will be part of a performance group that will perform throughout Tennessee.

VSA arts Tennessee does have a group of youth that are already part of this program. However, if you are interested in the program, please let us know.

Young Soloist Competition

The Young Soloist Competition is open to any vocalist or musician under the age of 25 with any form of disability. In addition, bands and musical groups can apply as long as one of the members of the group has a disability. All musical genre are encouraged to apply.

The winners at the state level receive a small monetary award, a plaque and performance opportunities. VSA is currently working on also offering a recording session as a prize for this award. The top two winners will have recordings of their performance sent to the national level. Winners at the national level receive $5000 scholarships and the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. (Click here for an application for the Young Soloist Program and view the News Section for the latest information on new events).

Other

Each year, VSA arts Tennessee supports at least one educational project that is brought to our attention. Sample projects in the past have included:

1. Scouts on creating a video on how to communicate with people with disabilities
2. Scouts to create a touchable art exhibition representing the old highway 66.
3. An inner-city after school community program that created their own book based on the Dr. Seuss book of “Oh, the Places You Could Go”.
4. The Tennessee School for the Blind creating clay sculptures
5. Beech High School running a pilot program on creating yard art
6. Several dulcimer exposure experiences in schools

The list goes on. In early 2008, VSA worked with Westmoreland High School through a grant from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the Tennessee Arts Commission’s ABC grant. The students created a 6’ painting of the historic “Little Tunnel” that exists within their community. This “Little Tunnel” is the smallest tunnel in the world. The students presented the painting in the Tennessee Senate Chambers as a thank-you to the legislators that helped provide funds to restore the Little Tunnel.

In addition, VSA will be working with Beech High School through funds provided by GAP. The Special Education Department wants to form a small business in which the students create and market their own yard art. The students will be provided training in creation of the art, marketing and communication skills.

If your school or organization has a special project that you would like to coordinate with VSA arts Tennessee, please let us know. We are always open and interested in new creative ideas.