Resources2025-04-29T16:19:24-07:00

ARTS FOR ALL NEVADA RESOURCES

As the community’s center for the exploration of arts and culture, we believe in the importance of connecting community members to the information they need to live a more inclusive, accessible life. Explore our list of resources below to learn more about how arts, education, and ability overlap.

Please note that the views expressed by outside resources are not always shared by Arts For All Nevada. Learn more about our values and goals.

We are fostering creativity and exploration in children and adults alike through quality programs led by talented teaching artists.

In-School Programming

Artist In Residency

Arts for All Nevada offers up to 10 hours of free, high-quality art instruction for Pre-K through 12th-grade special education classrooms. An experienced Teaching Artist is paired with your class to develop and lead custom art lessons aligned with both State and National Arts Standards. Lessons are tailored in collaboration with classroom teachers to support students’ socio-emotional development and individualized learning goals. This program is provided at no cost to qualifying special education classrooms.

The Artist in Residency Program is generously supported by ArtsHERE, the City of Reno’s Arts and Culture Commission, the John Ben Snow Memorial Foundation, the Hawkins Foundation, the Redfield Foundation, NV Energy Foundation, the Marshal R. Matley Foundation, Wood Rogers, the Northern Nevada Community Foundation of Northern Nevada, Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation, Teichert Foundation and the Nevada Arts Council. Additional funding comes from the statewide sale of the “Rich in Art” License Plates Program.

Workshops in Title I Schools

Beginning in October 2024, through a two-year grant from ArtsHERE, Arts for All Nevada will provide art workshops to students in five Title 1, disadvantaged, and at-risk schools. The project aims to serve grades K-5, integrates literacy and language arts components and includes 5 hours of instruction per student. Arts for All Nevada is dedicated to ensuring equitable access to arts education, enhancing educational outcomes for underserved students, and fostering community engagement through the arts. ArtsHERE is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with South Arts and in collaboration with the other five U.S. Regional Arts Organizations.

Art Instruction in General Education Classrooms

Arts for All Nevada offers engaging, grade-level appropriate art workshops right in your general education classroom for $70 per one-hour session. We provide subject-specific lessons tailored to your curriculum, seasonal or topical art activities, multi-lesson series covering the foundations of art, and more.  All materials are included, and art workshops will take place in your classroom. General Education workshops are typically funded by a school’s PTA/PTO.

If you have any questions on how to get Arts for All Nevada into your classroom, please contact Francesca Fradianni, Arts for All Nevada’s Program Manager. Francesca can be reached by email at [email protected]g or by phone at (775)826-6100 2#.

Resources for Individuals with disabilities

FREE WEEKLY WONDERS ART PROGRAMS

for teens and adults with intellectual disabilities

Additional Resources for Individuals with Disabilities

Professional/Emerging artists who have a disability2021-08-16T21:37:52-07:00

Arts for All Nevada plays an active role in the promotion and cultivation of emerging and established artists with disabilities by curating exhibitions for off-site spaces..

The Kennedy Center’s Artists’ Resources includes an extensive listing of links for art supply stores, adaptive tools, music resources, resources for performers, magazines, and advocacy organizations.

Cerebral Palsy Group2021-10-20T20:53:36-07:00
Language Matters2021-08-16T21:36:31-07:00

Summarized from an article written by Patti Digh.

Use the people-first rule: “the man who is blind” not “the blind man.”

Avoid terminology like “suffers from,” “afflicted with” or “victim of,” all of which cast disabilities as a negative. “Suffers from” indicates ongoing pain and torment, which is no more the case for most people with disabilities as it is for most people without disabilities. “Afflicted with” denotes a disease, which most disabilities are not. “Victim of” implies a crime is being committed on the person who has a disability.

Do not use “wheelchair-bound” or “confined to a wheelchair.” People see their wheelchairs as convenient modes of transportation, not prisons, and the “bound/confined” phrase belies the fact that many people with motor disabilities engage in activities without their wheelchairs, including driving and sleeping. The proper phrase is “uses a wheelchair.”

Use “disability” not “handicap.” The word “handicap” derives from the phrase “cap in hand,” referring to a beggar, and is despised by most people with disabilities. Other terms to avoid: “physically/mentally challenged” (who isn’t?) “cripple” and “crippled.”

Use “nondisabled” or “people without disabilities.” The terms “normal” and “whole” are inappropriate and inaccurate. Most disabilities are not a disease. Do not call a person with a disability a “patient” unless referring to a hospital setting. In an occupational and physical therapy context, “client” is preferred.

Some diseases, by legal definition, are considered disabilities. Victimization imagery (“AIDS victims”) or defining the person by the disease (“she is a diabetic”) is still inappropriate. Use “person with diabetes” or “people living with AIDS.”

“Blind” refers to a total loss of eyesight; “low vision” or “visual disability” is more accurate for people who have some degree of sight. Avoid “non-sighted.”

People who consider themselves part of Deaf culture refer to themselves as “Deaf” with a capital “D.” Because their culture derives from their language, they may be identified as you would other cultural entities, i.e. “Asian-Americans,” “people with disabilities.”

For people with speech disabilities, avoid “mute,” “dumb,” or “speech impediment.” Avoid “deformed,” “deformity” and “birth defect.” A person may be “born without arms” or “has a congenital disability,” but is not defective.

Down syndrome is a chromosomal condition that causes developmental disability. Use “person with Down syndrome.” Avoid “mongol” or “mongoloid.”

Mental disabilities include cognitive, psychiatric and learning disabilities and physical head trauma. Avoid “mentally retarded,” “insane,” “slow learner,” “learning disabled” and “brain-damaged.”

Cerebral palsy is a disability resulting from damage to the brain during birth that causes muscle coordination issues. Avoid “palsied” and “spastic.”

Avoid “dwarf” or “midget.” Some groups prefer “little people,” but it’s best to use “person of short stature.”

A seizure is an episode caused by a sudden disturbance in the brain. If seizures are recurrent, it is called a seizure disorder. Use “person with epilepsy” or “child with a seizure disorder.” Avoid “epileptic,” either as a noun or adjective.

Quadriplegia is a substantial loss of function in all four extremities. Paraplegia is a substantial loss of function in the lower part of the body. Use “man with paraplegia” or “she has quadriplegia.” Avoid “paraplegic” or “quadriplegic” as either a noun or adjective.

These suggestions may be helpful in planning arts activities, events or special programs for people with the following disabilities:

General Disability
Attention Deficit Disorder
Blindness
Deafness
Mental Illness
Intellectual Disability
Mobility Limitations
Traumatic Brain Injury

Other Resources2021-10-20T20:53:10-07:00
VSA2021-10-20T20:54:31-07:00

VSA, an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is the international organization on arts and disabilities with a wealth of information concerning the arts, disability and more. Arts for All Nevada is the Nevada state affiliate of VSA.

The VSA resources listed here are designed to give educators and parents greater access to information on the relationship of arts, education, and disabilities, especially for children with disabilities.

Educator resource: The Artistry of Water (PDF)

Visual Arts Teacher Resources Guide

Including Samuel2021-08-16T21:31:59-07:00

Including Samuel: The Including Samuel project is built on the nationally acclaimed documentary film by Dan Habib about his son, Samuel. The project builds more inclusive schools and communities through curriculum, training, and outreach.

Resources for Teachers, Parents and Caregivers

VSA Educator Resource2021-11-12T10:39:35-08:00
50 Safety Tips for Seniors2021-10-20T20:37:14-07:00
Whole Child Education2021-10-20T20:34:13-07:00

Whole Child Education: Members of the Whole Child community make a difference by advocating to ensure that every child is healthy, safe, engaged in learning and their community, supported by caring adults, and exposed to a challenging curriculum that includes arts, music, and other essential courses.

VSA2021-10-20T20:54:31-07:00

VSA, an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is the international organization on arts and disabilities with a wealth of information concerning the arts, disability and more. Arts for All Nevada is the Nevada state affiliate of VSA.

The VSA resources listed here are designed to give educators and parents greater access to information on the relationship of arts, education, and disabilities, especially for children with disabilities.

Educator resource: The Artistry of Water (PDF)

Visual Arts Teacher Resources Guide

Resources for Artists

Careers in the Arts2021-10-20T20:38:26-07:00

Careers in the Arts: An online guide to practical art degrees.

Arts Education Partnership (AEP)2021-10-20T20:38:56-07:00

Arts Education Partnership (AEP): A national coalition of over 150 arts and education organizations that demonstrate and promote the improvement of America’s schools and the essential role of the arts in the learning and development of every child.

language matters

The words you use and the way you portray individuals with disabilities matters. This factsheet provides guidelines for portraying individuals with disabilities in a respectful and balanced way by using language that is accurate, neutral and objective.

support the arts

We envision a world unified by the arts, where communities engage, create, and grow together.

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