VSA Arts of Missouri

About Us

Michael "Blindcat" McIntire and Victoria Wright at the St. Louis History Museum

View our promotional video created by filmmaker Aaron Coffman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3z3-5AqAfI

Mission Statement:

VSA Missouri is a statewide organization promoting access to the arts for people with disabilities.

Vision:

VSA Missouri envisions a truly inclusive community where people with disabilities participate in the same professional development, educational, and leisure opportunities in the arts as people without disabilities.

VSA Missouri,the state organization on arts and disability, was incorporated in August 2009. We are one of a network of VSA affiliates throughout the United States and in 51 countries around the world, affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.

VSA and its name have evolved since the organization was founded. The organization was and continues to be a pioneer in the field of arts and disability. VSA has played a significant role over the years in changing society’s attitudes toward people with disabilities. With that change, the organization has regularly looked at its own identity to ensure it is consistent with current attitudes and language used by the disability community.

The Evolution of the VSA name:
1974: National Committee – Arts for the Handicapped
1985: Very Special Arts
1999: VSA arts
2009: VSA

VSA was long known as Very Special Arts. Words such as ‘special’ and ‘handicapped’ do not reflect current language trends in the United States and many other countries. Therefore, we are now just VSA—The International Organization on Arts and Disability.

Your support is vital in helping us to ensure that children and adults with disabilities have access to the same opportunities in the arts as those without disabilities. Contributing to VSA Missouri is easy using our secure paypal link or your credit card. Visit: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr