Program Area I:
Educational Programs & Teaching Artist Residencies
I Can Do That!
VSA arts of California brings the Arts to special and general education students through I Can Do That!, an artists-in-the-schools program utilizing the Arts to accomplish educational and developmental goals. Integrated groups of students with and without disabilities work with professional community artists to learn hip-hop dance, ceramics, improvisational theatre, drawing, painting, video production, mural-making, and/or vocal music. Each professional artists instructs the VSA students in creating their own unique performance or visual art exhibit which is then presented to the community. Learning goals adhere to the California Department of Education Standards in Language Arts and Mathematics, and students also develop self-esteem plus skills in socialization and self-direction.
Artshift
Artshift provides Visual Arts programming to youth at children’s hospitals or residential convalescence units who are receiving long-term care (e.g. bone marrow transplants, skin graphs blood transfusions, and/or treatment for cancer, diabetes, leukemia, kidney failure). Originally, the program was part of a 10-hospital pilot program in California funded by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Christensen Fund, and VSA arts of California.
The goals of Artshift are to humanize the potentially frightening hospital environment and to enhance the children’s self-esteem by assisting patients in creating artwork for display. These goals are realized with the help and direction of volunteers, hospital staff, and the Artists-in-Residence.
Artshift introduces the Arts into the hospital program where they are used to accomplish larger educational and/or healing goals:
- making the hospital environment seem less isolating and frightening;
- assisting children in creating artwork which promotes a sense of individual accomplishment and feeling of community; and
- providing access to the Arts as a tool for accomplishing the educational, vocational, and/or healing goals set by the hospital's staff.
Safe Life 2001-2006
The Safe Life Project For Children With Disabilities was designed to develop and implement an effective personal safety, abuse prevention, and reporting training program for students with developmental disabilities. The project developed and supported age-appropriate curricula and educational products while providing students with lessons on personal safety and abuse prevention. Safe Life was made possible through a five-year grant provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
View information about VSA arts of California Festivals throughout the state on the Calendar of Events
