Vision of the Artist’s Soul (VAS) Program

“Vision of the Artist’s Soul (VAS)” is an after-school Tactile Art program for students who are blind or have low vision across different school districts in Colorado. This program rolled out in 3 phases between April 2020 - Sep 2021,  providing students an outlet to learn, express themselves and create accessible art. The program was hugely successful with 67 different tactile art workshops and student participation from across the country. Our belief is that an Arts education that is tailored to special needs will foster a sense of self-esteem, confidence and belonging.

Total Tactile Art Workshops conducted so far - 67
Total Participation of Students who are blind or have low vision for the various Tactile Art Workshops - 936

Please review the blogs to review all the fun projects students have worked on during the VAS workshops. Here are a few examples:
VAS Art Workshop 27 - Tactile Collage Landscape with Mt. Fuji with Guest Artist Erin Schalk
VAS Art Workshop 28 - Multi-Sensory Tactile Painting Workshop with Guest Artist John Bramblitt
VAS Art Workshop 51 - Abstract String Art
VAS Art Workshop 59 - From Old to New: Book Sculptures

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“I was beyond thrilled to receive this prestigious Arts in Society grant and honored to be named as one of the awardees for 2020. My commitment is to bring positive change, for visually impaired students, by introducing a program that incorporates and promotes tactile Art education into their school curriculum. I am filled with gratitude for such an incredible opportunity and I cannot express how much this funding means to me. With this grant, my dream becomes a reality and I can’t wait to get started.”
— Rishika Kartik