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Private company

VSA

US-based non-profit organization

VSA is an international organization on arts, education and disability, which was founded in 1974 by former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith, and is headquartered in Washington, DC. In 2011, VSA became the Office of Accessibility and VSA at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The purpose of VSA – which started out as Very Special Arts – is "to provide people of all ages living with disabilities the opportunity to learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1974Founded1

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A view of Kennedy Center in the evening.
Photo: Anita Mishra, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

VSA is an international organization on arts, education and disability, which was founded in 1974 by former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith, and is headquartered in Washington, DC. In 2011, VSA became the Office of Accessibility and VSA at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The purpose of VSA – which started out as Very Special Arts – is "to provide people of all ages living with disabilities the opportunity to learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts." A primary focus is on arts education opportunities for young people with disabilities and to "promote t2

The story

Founded by Jean Kennedy Smith in 1974, in Washington, D.C..1

Leadership

Who has led VSA, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

  • John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1974Founded Founded in Washington, D.C.1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
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