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VSA arts 
of New Mexico
4904 4th N.W.
Albuquerque, NM 87107
Phone 505-345-2872
Fax: 505-345-2896
NM Relay Network:
1-800-659-8331
[email protected]

History  |  Staff & Board  |  FAQ

I. Mission Statement
II. Organizational Structure
III. Guiding Principles
IV. Organizational Practices

I. Mission Statement
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The mission of VSA arts of New Mexico is to celebrate the creative power of individuals with disabilities and educate through the arts.

VSA arts of New Mexico strives to fulfill this mission by providing arts programs and services that are accessible to individuals with disabilities.

II. Organizational Structure
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VSA arts of New Mexico is an arts education and advocacy organization, dedicated to making the arts accessible to persons with disabilities. VSA arts of NM provides programs and services which enable individuals of all ages who have disabilities to take part in cultural life throughout the state of New Mexico.

Persons with disabilities often encounter physical, architectural, educational, vocational or social barriers to participating in the arts. To assist in the process of cultural inclusion, VSA arts of NM offers three core programs:

Enabled Studio Arts is the hub of VSA arts of NM programming. The Center offers vocational and pre-vocational training in the arts for youth and adults with developmental and acquired disabilities and their non-disabled peers. The daily program includes a continuum of services, based in the visual, performing, media and literary arts, which focus on career development and apprenticeship opportunities. An on-site gallery, permanent exhibition sites, and performing arts studio provide venues for the promotion of artists' work. The Center serves as a model of arts accessibility in action.

The Buen Viaje Dancers is a troupe of modern dancers with and without disabilities who perform and present workshops in dance accessibility statewide and throughout the country. The Dancers are artists-in-residence at the Enabled Arts Center and provide a model for the development of performing arts programs.

Arts For All provides leadership by offering technical assistance and training and maintaining an informational network to assist local communities in developing accessible arts programs. Arts Accessibility Initiatives use national and local model programs, Very Special Arts Festivals, special events, newsletters and communication networks, resource materials, and training opportunities to raise public awareness.

VSA arts of NM is a non-profit organization. The organization is accredited by VSA arts, an international organization focusing on arts education and accessibility for persons with disabilities and an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., to coordinate programs and services in the state of New Mexico.

III. Guiding Principles
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•Every individual, regardless of the cause, severity, or label placed on their disability, has the potential for creative growth.

•Disability does not mean inability.

•All cultures, as well as the creative potential in each individual, have inherent value.

•Education is a lifelong process, and every individual should have access to lifelong learning opportunities.

•Persons with disabilities have the right to realize their creative potential, attain freedom of expression, experience meaningful communication, know the joy of creating, and achieve fair and equitable inclusion in community cultural life.

•The arts provide an avenue for expressing the experience of having a disability and provide one of the most important articulations of the lives of persons with disabilities.

•All individuals, including those with disabilities, should have access to viable career options and the economic, cultural, and social resources offered by the arts in New Mexico.

•Arts programs, activities and presentations for persons with disabilities require settings which are accessible and reflect the principles of "least restrictive environment" and inclusion in community life.

•Optimum settings for creative endeavors model the concepts of artfulness, ecological responsibility, and safety necessary for the risk-taking which is integral to the arts.

IV. Organizational Practices
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The practices of VSA arts of New Mexico are based on our Guiding Principles. Our aim is to provide programs and services which:

•Expand the definition of a worthwhile life.
•Engender respect for and delight in the gifts of others.
•Increase awareness of the wide variety of choices available in life for all- particularly students of all ages and abilities.
•Encourage each individual to build upon his/her own special knowledge and inner strengths.
•Promote the use of innate intelligences, self-exploration, and creative self-reliance.
•Confirm the great hunger for discovering what each of us can do best, in our own voice, at any age.
•Enable the individual to choose to do something really, really well.
•Recognize, acknowledge and celebrate creativity.
•Develop models which reflect excellence in process and products.
•Develop access to economic, cultural and social resources for all individuals.
•Create safe, accessible, and environmentally responsible settings that optimize creativity.

While persons with disabilities have always participated in the arts and have often been artistic leaders, the study of arts in relation to disability is an emerging field. It is a multidisciplinary field open to many new inquiries. VSA arts of NM provides a forum for investigating questions such as:

- What is quality in the arts?
- How is inclusion best achieved in the arts?
- How do the arts contribute to a lifetime of growth and self-renewal?

The long-range goal of VSA arts of New Mexico is to motivate the community to make all cultural programs and services accessible to all individuals, including individuals with disabilities. The organization works toward the day when its goals are achieved and its special services are no longer needed.