By Mike Lawler
ARTS for ALL Wisconsin
In response to the COVID 19 pandemic, ARTS for ALL Wisconsin (AFA), a statewide organization that works with people with disabilities, has installed a new webcast production studio in its art center and administrative headquarters on the Northside of Madison. The studio, complete with audio/video equipment and a green screen, is already in use and will begin full production of both live and recorded content for children and adults with disabilities by September.
Utilizing a music and movement classroom in the organization’s facility, the studio will allow AFA to continue offering arts programming to children and adults with disabilities throughout the state while keeping both staff and participants safe.
“The webcast production studio is our key to moving forward with quality accessible programming,” said ARTS for ALL Wisconsin Director of Arts Education Jill Jaworski. “With people staying home and special education suffering, it gives us a bridge to engagement with the arts that will help reach more people than ever.”
On June 26 the studio went live for the first time, serving as the host for a Memory Arts Café, a program of the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin. The program, which has three more virtual cafés scheduled in the coming months, is a partnership with Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Aging and Disability Resource Center of Dodge County and Brookdale Senior Living.
Funding for the AFA webcast production studio and virtual programming has been provided in part by Susan Tirschel in memory of Duane Tirschel, the Capital Times Kids Fund, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
To find out more about AFA virtual programs visit artsforallwi.org/programs/virtual-arts.
ARTS for ALL Wisconsin was founded in 1985 as Very Special Arts Wisconsin with the mission to expand the capabilities, confidence and quality of life for children and adults with disabilities throughout Wisconsin by providing programs in dance, drama, creative writing, music and visual art. More information can be found at artsforallwi.org.