2018: VSA Minnesota closing a loss to arts community
Access Press
12/10/2018 by Jane McClure
Very Special Arts Minnesota (VSA Minnesota), which has served Minnesota artists and audience with disabilities for more than three decades, is shutting down at the end of September 2019. The closing was announced in early December 2018.
Over the next several months, the nonprofit will be handing off its programs to other arts agencies. Executive Director Craig Dunn and Accessibility and Grants Coordinator Jon Skaalen will retire. They are VSA Minnesota’s only two full-time employees.
The decision to shut down was made by VSA Minnesota’s Board of Directors in October 2018 following nearly a year of community inquiry, financial analysis and organization examination. Decreasing financial resources to support its work and the pending retirements of Dunn and Skaalen are two primary factors.
But a third is the January 1, 2020, loss of rights to the name, VSA Minnesota. That is due to trademark issues with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which manages the international VSA affiliate network.
"None of us are happy that the organization that began as Very Special Arts Minnesota and grew to the entity now known as VSA Minnesota is to be no more," said Board Chair Maggie Karli. "However, we are proud to have been part of its many triumphs over the years and we each look forward to the many ways new individuals and organizations will step forward to enliven the mission that has served Minnesota so well."
Photo by VSA Minnesota
Dunn said that “mission accomplished” was not one of the factors leading to closing. That is why there is a push to find new homes for existing VSA Minnesota programs. Some programs are in the process of being handed off. Others face an uncertain future.
“We have indeed created strong inroads to our mission ‘to create a community where people with disabilities learn through, participate in and access the arts.’ And more Minnesotans have access to arts programming and arts education than before our founding in 1986,” said Dunn. “In fact, it would not be wrong to say that Minnesotans with disabilities have greater access to the arts than do individuals with disabilities in the 49 other states. However, we cannot say that every person with a disability in this state has full and equitable access to the arts in all its forms.”
As of December 3, 2018, VSA Minnesota’s website has a recorded statement by Dunn, an FAQ document with more information about its closing process and a listing of some of the organization’s highlights over 33 years.