VSA arts
VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in more than 60 countries around the world. VSA arts is an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a presidential memorial mandated by Congress to present and produce the finest performing arts from this country and abroad. Since its opening in 1971, performances of every imaginable kind have enlivened its halls...and millions of people's lives. As the national center for the performing arts, the Kennedy Center is committed to increased opportunities for all people to participate in and understand the arts. To fulfill that mission, the Kennedy Center strives to commission, produce, and present performances reflecting the highest standards of excellence and diversity indicative of the world in which we live and to make those performances accessible to the broadest possible audience through arts education.
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VSA arts of Hawaii-Pacific
VSA arts of Hawaii-Pacific is the local affiliate of the national VSA arts out of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., whose core funding is by the U.S. Department of Education, Hawaii Department of Health, the University of Hawaii, and the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant. VSA arts was originally established in Hawaii in 1984, and was recently reestablished as a 501(c)(3) corporation in 2002 in Honolulu. It is governed by a volunteer board of directors, administered by an executive director and consultants who are self-employed.
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