The U.S. Department of Education will host the opening of an exhibit of art works from the Office of VSA and Accessibility, a Jean Kennedy Smith Arts and Disability Program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The opening, along with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, will take place in the Department’s headquarters auditorium in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 11 a.m. ET.
The exhibit, titled Yo Soy Je Suis I Am The World, will showcase artwork from two dozen students from the U.S., Egypt, United Kingdom, South Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. A panel discussion with parents, teachers and students with disabilities, titled Changing Lives Through Arts Education, will be facilitated by Senior Vice President of Education for the Kennedy Center Mario R. Rossero.
Sue Swenson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, along with Rossero, will deliver remarks.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Student Art Exhibit Program, now in its 13th year, features visual, literary and performing art created by students in U.S. and international schools, from pre-K through professional art school. The program provides students and teachers an opportunity to display creative work from the classroom in a highly public place that honors their work as an effective path to learning and knowledge for all. The program features two exhibits at all times: the year-round exhibit of works by winners of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition; and exhibits, rotated every two months, that accommodate the many educators who want to exhibit their students’ work. The program is currently booked through mid-2020.
VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, was founded more than 40 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to provide arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and increase access to the arts for all.