Access/VSA International Network

The Access/VSA International Network is an active global community that shares best practices in arts access, brainstorms solutions to common (and uncommon) issues, and blazes an accessible path to the world of arts and culture. The arts and culture accessibility movement has always been strong, led by passionate and innovative administrators, teachers, artmakers, and organizations. But for years those leaders lacked the connection to share challenges and successes and the opportunity to build and improve on each other’s work. There was no center of learning, no coordinated “arts access field,” no standard for access. The disability rights movement and advent of federal disability rights laws helped change that situation, propelling arts and disability supporters to connect and learn from each other. The Access/VSA International Network is built on the shoulders of those pioneers. We offer the opportunity to support and learn from each other through in-person convenings, online learning, and lively listservs. We cross-pollinate new ideas. We illuminate the work of artists with disabilities and exemplify arts access—and the need for it—to the larger world. We provide a space where small grassroots organizations can connect with large established institutions, and experienced experts can mentor people new to the field of arts access. We organize, drive, and bring credibility to that field by innovating, creating shared resources, exploring and establishing global practices. We harness our collective experience, knowledge, and passion for access to arts and culture to shape the arts access movement, and to move it forward from access to inclusion.