A nonprofit organization for people with disabilities with sole aim, their right to artistic expression and participation in cultural events of the country, was established 20 years ago for the first in Greece. Very Special Arts – Greek Organization of Art Programs for Persons with Disabilities constituted the Greek member of VSA The International Organization on Arts and Disability with numerous members in every corner of the world.
After 20 years of continuous action it remains one of the most active members of the global organization implementing high quality art programs that seek to enrich the lives of people with disabilities and provide opportunities to create and participate in the cultural community.
So far VSA Hellas has managed to set the foundations for the relationship between disabled people and art through a simple but new perspective: the essential preoccupation for authentic artistic creation, personal pleasure and development beyond the boundaries of treatment or mere occupation in leisure time.
The organization was able to offer the opportunity to people of all ages with any type of disability to discover their diverse talents, some of whom nowadays continue their artistic activity as amateurs or as distinguished professionals. At the same time it opened another important path to the recognition of artists with disabilities from the general public but also from their peers artists. To reinforce this effort, at every opportunity, VSA Hellas promotes to bring together all artists, encouraging artists without disabilities to broaden the scope of their work in collaboration with artists with disabilities and has established a program in schools to raise awareness of students in disabilities through shared artistic experiential activities.
Since 1990 VSA Hellas implements art workshops for theater - music - dance and visual arts, organizes exhibitions, trains artists, takes part in festivals and informs / raises awareness on disability issues. Significant role towards equal participation of people with disabilities in cultural events have played three major programs: research and consulting on accessibility of cultural sites and programs, tours for people with disabilities in museums and cultural sites and the audio description of theatrical performances for viewers with visual impairments. Finally, the website of the organization has been operating since September 2010, meeting the standards of accessibility for users with disabilities.
VSA Hellas continues its action despite the critical situation of the economy thanks to a very important moral support of volunteers in all areas. The constant presence and keen participation of artists, volunteers and of public in our programs shows in practice that art breaks barriers and brings people together.
Information: Dafnis 8, Zografou 157-72 – tel. 210 7710847 & 210 7487905
Email: CLOAKING "> CLOAKING , Website: www.vsahellas.gr
