|
Featured Articles
VSA Young Soloist Award Program
The call for arts for the Florida Young Soloist
was mailed earlier this year with an overwhelming
response.
Eleven finalists have made it to the prestigious final
jury panel consisting of Mark Francis, Director of
Education & Community Outreach for the Florida
Orchestra, John Dupuis, Director of Bands at the
Howard Blake Performing Arts High School and Dr.
Wade Weast, Director of the College of Music at the
University of South Florida.
The eleven finalists are:
Ashley Townsend and Briana Duensing. Volusia
County, Chad Gordon, Hillsborough County, Dallas
Remonda, Lashanda Campbell and Terrance Brown,
Lee County, Jessica Tomlinson, Pinellas County,
Lauren Burke, Osceola County, Lyndon White,
Alachua County, Matthew Turner, Highlands County,
Nicholas Halpin, St. Lucie County.
These jurists will now narrow this list down to the
five finalists, including the ultimate winner. All five
finalists will be asked to perform at the Tampa Bay
Performing Arts Center Ferguson Hall, October 20,
2007.
Many thanks to all of our entries and good luck to our
finalists
.
Welcome to our new artists!
VSA arts of Florida would like to welcome the following
members to the VSA arts of Florida Artist Registry:
Dana Best, Columbia County, Visual Artist
Walt Billingsley, Polk County, Performing Artist and
Musician
Jennifer Bowden, Hillsborough County, Visual
Artist
Randall Decosey, Polk County, Visual Artist
Olivia Fears, Manatee County, Visual Artist
Dwayne Johnson, Leon County, Performing Artist and
Musician
Susan Kubes, Pinellas County, Visual Artist
Rani Merens, Volusia County, Visual Artist
Roger Kelly, Volusia County, Literary Artist
Thanks to "The Way We Make a Difference"
Thanks to "The Way We Make A
Difference"organization for donating concert tickets to
VSA arts of Florida programs for the Florida tour of
Clay Aiken. Tickets were distributed through the State
office in Tampa as well through our program partners
in Palm Beach and Fort Myers.
The Way We Make a Difference began in 2004 with a
simple idea - that of fostering the cause of inclusion
with a donated concert ticket. Thanks to your support,
over 3,150 people with and without disabilities have
been able to experience the joy of attending a concert
together. For more information contact
thewaywemakeadifference.org.
Marian Winters selected for Homer Avila
Award
VSA arts of Florida is pleased to announce that
Executive Director, Marian Winters, was recently
selected to receive the 2007 Homer Avila Award given
to honor those who have taken a leadership position
in furthering the work of mixed-ability dance and
promoting inclusive performance in the arts.
VSA arts of Florida to partner with West Tampa
Center for the Arts
VSA arts of Florida is pleased to announce its new
partnership with the West Tampa Center for the Arts,
located at 1906 N. Armenia Avenue in Tampa. This
combined gallery will provide accessible exhibition
and teaching space to showcase art created by artists
with disabilities statewide, as well as provide a
welcoming space for people with disabilities to take
and/or instruct arts classes. As part of
the "mainstream", the Open Door Gallery will truly
promote respect, dignity and acceptance for people
with disabilities. This space will be ADA compliant
both within the facility and programmatically and will
be used as a teaching lab for best practices for arts
organizations. Exhibitions will change quarterly with
corresponding theme-based workshops, including
workshops for artists on strategies for successful
careers in the arts.
Funding for the Open Door Gallery came from a 2006-
2007 challenge grant from the state of Florida Division
of Cultural Affairs
|
|
| Young Playwright's Program |
| |
Congratulations to two Florida young artists from
Duval County that have won international recognition.
Aliza Goldstein, a 15-year-old from Jacksonville,
Florida has been selected as the recipient of the 2007
VSA arts Playwright Discovery Award. Her play, Izzy
Icarus Fell Off the World, was chosen from nearly 400
submissions and will be performed at the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on September
27, 2007..
Patti Pogodzinski (Jacksonville, FL) One of ten runner-
ups in "Driven" A National Juried Exhibition for Young
Artists with Disabilities,
Ages 16 - 25 sponsored by Volkswagen. The
exhibition will debut at the S. Dillon Ripley Center's
Concourse, Smithsonian Institution, as well as the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The
exhibition then tours to college and university galleries
for two years.
|
| |
|
| |
| Arts in Healthcare Residency Program |
| |
This summer VSAFL provided the artist in residence
program to 23 children in summer camp at the Art
League of Daytona Beach in Volusia County. Children
with developmental disabilities were identified and
recruited by the Volusia County VSA from ESE classes
in 3 elementary schools. They attended the 10 day
camp for two consecutive weeks. The award winning
visual artist, Amelie Rogers, provided a variety of art
materials and art forms for the children to create their
own art work. These included: an illustration of a story;
painting a still life with their fingers as a brush;
creating and glazing a piece of pottery; sketching each
other in different poses . The goals of introducing the
students to new art forms and skills as well as
building self-esteem through art were certainly met
and enjoyed by all!
|
| |
|
| |
| Baker Co. Residency - Comprehensive Community Services |
| |
A visual arts residency was held at the
Comprehensive Community Services - Adult Day
Training facility in Baker County. A visual artist visited
the site and worked on a variety of art projects with the
11 clients for a total of 10 hours. She shared
examples of her work as well as those of master
artists. The artist also provided numerous adaptive
materials and alternative solutions which enabled all
participants to benefit from the arts experiences. The
artist was successful in enabling the clients that are
vision and hearing impaired to create works.
VSAFL provides residencies in schools with ESE
classes; adults in ARC facilities; teens at risk in
Juvenile Justice Facilities and pediatric patients in
health care settings. Residencies range from 6 to 10
hours total per site.
|
| |
|
| |
| Art on the Move |
| |
On June 16, 2007, "Art on the Move," VSA arts of
Florida's accessible, multisensory traveling art exhibit
opened at the Miami-Dade Public Library's Main
Library Auditorium in conjunction with The Talking
Books 30 th Anniversary Celebration. With
approximately 80 people in attendance, the exhibit,
which features braille, large print and cell phone audio
description of the 24 artworks, was enjoyed by all who
attended . "Art on the Move" at the Miami-Dade Main
Library was also the site of a collaborative program
between VSAFL, the library's art services department
and the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually
Impaired. On July 18, 2007, 20 students and 10
chaperones from the Miami Lighthouse Summer
Camp Program visited the exhibit, participated in a
Scavenger Hunt through the art and worked with
VSAFL sponsored resident artist, Michelle Weinberg
to create tactile collages. All the students took their
completed projects back to the Lighthouse as well as
certificates for their participation in the Scavenger
Hunt. A great time was had by all!
|
| |
|
| |
| Contact Us |
| |
Marian Winters
Executive Director
(813) 558-5095,
E-mail: mwinters@tempest.coedu.usf.edu
Jan Beals
Finance Coordinator
(813) 558-5091,
E-mail: Beals@tempest.coedu.usf.edu
Lee Moniz
Education Coordinator
(813) 558-5094,
E-mail: lmoniz@tempest.coedu.usf.edu
Marilyn Farber
Professional Development Coordinator
(813) 558-1144,
E-mail: mfarber@tempest.coedu.usf.edu
Jenn Bade
Adult Program Coordinator
(813) 558-5093,
E-mail: bade@coedu.usf.edu
Karen Belsole
Media Coordinator
(813) 558-5092,
E-mail: belsole@coedu.usf.edu
Beth Gordon
Cultural Access Coordinator
(786) 261-6021
E-mail: bgordonvsa@gmail.com
|
| |
|
| |
| |
The content of this informational piece was developed
in part through funding provided by the central office of
VSA arts, under an award from the U.S. Department of
Education. the content, however, does not necessarily
reflect the policy of the U.S. Department of Education
and endorsement should not be assumed. VSA arts
of Florida is funded in part by VSA arts; Florida State,
Division of Cutural Affairs, Kurt S. Browning, Secretary
of State; The Florida Arts council, the National
Endowment for the Arts; and the University of South
Florida.
|
| |
|
| |
|
