ARTS ACCESS
LOCAL RESOURCES
Act Out in Marlboro, NJ provides theater for kids, teens, adults with special needs.
The mission of The Arc of Monmouth is to improve the lives of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. This is accomplished through advocacy, services and supports, collaboration with community partners and community education.
Ballet Company of the Performing Arts Ensemble
Ballet Company of the Performing Arts Ensemble in Red Bank includes children with disabilities.
For older adults, Creative Aging Arts provides art workshops that stimulate connections between the visual arts and the creative process. The art activities celebrate individual expression, are meaningful, and provide pleasurable experiences connecting the individual to the larger group. Karen Starrett, founder of Creative Aging Arts, is a certified art teacher and dementia practitioner. She received a BA in art education and Certification in Gerontology from Rutgers University. She was trained at The Creative Center: Arts in Healthcare and through The National Center for Creative Aging. For the past five years, Karen has been bringing her art workshops to senior centers and assisted living facilities. She is also a working artist who exhibits frequently in the NY/NJ area including the Johnson & Johnson Gallery and the Noyes Museum. If you'd like to learn more about Creative Aging Arts, click here.
Guild of Creative Art Docent Program
Guild of Creative Art Docent Program caters to the developmental and cognitive needs of any population, but especially reaches out to those who would not ordinarily visit an art gallery or non-profit artistic cooperative, namely elementary school aged students, adults and children with special needs, and seniors with cognitive or physical disabilities.
Middletown Arts Center has been awarded the Ruth Hughes Award for Accessible Recreation Facility by the New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association. Programs include Visual Arts and Dance Programs for children with special needs; Inclusive Summer Arts Camp programs that provide opportunities for children with special needs; Camp Jinka – a specialized camp for children affected by brain tumors; programs with the Arc of Monmouth for adults with special needs; and discounted Senior Citizen programs.
The Monmouth County Library is committed to making services and collections available to all. For those with special needs the Library has a large collection of printed materials and a wide variety of services and resources to make the library accessible to people with disabilities, their families, and caretakers.
Monmouth County Park System’s Therapeutic Recreation Programs
The mission of the Therapeutic Recreation Division is to provide access to recreational opportunities for Monmouth County residents with disabilities in order to enhance physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning, as well as a sense of belonging to the community.
Monmouth Museum often offers tactile exhibits. Check their current exhibitions online!
Oasis TLC in Middletown created its first Transitional Residential Adult Independent Learning (T.R.A.I.L.) Center designed to provide residential, vocational, social and educational experiences for young adults with autism in a highly supportive, home community farm setting. Over the course of the program, students will focus on the development of life skills that will help prepare them for employment and independent living.
Social Communities Activities Network (SCAN)
Social Communities Activities Network (SCAN) in Eatontown is NJ's premier provider of continuing education for adults since 1988 and is located in the basement level of the Monmouth Mall. Courses include: Art, Computers, Technology, Digital Photography, Fitness, Health, Languages, History, Music, TV Production, Finance, and much more.
Special People United to Ride (SPUR)
Working in conjunction with the Monmouth County Park System, Special People United to Ride (SPUR) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides individuals with disabilities the opportunity to achieve personal goals through therapeutic horsemanship. Sunnyside Equestrian Center offers Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies, including therapeutic horseback riding lessons and Horses for Heroes: Programs & workshops for veterans.
REGIONAL & NATIONAL RESOURCES
Arts Unbound, founded in 2000, is a studio and gallery in Orange, NJ specializing in the visual arts for youth and adults with mental, physical and developmental disabilities.
The Council for Exceptional Children
The Council for Exceptional Children offers Webinars, Workshops and Summits in the area of special education. The organization is active in local, state and federal issues, as exemplified by their arts advocacy letters earlier this year opposing the ESEA bill for several reasons. This is an excellent website for professional development and also special education news and policy information.
Deaf West Theatre
Deaf West Theatre engages artists and audiences in unparalleled theater experiences inspired by Deaf culture and the expressive power of sign language, weaving ASL with spoken English to create a seamless ballet of movement and voice. Located in New York City.
Kids Included Together (KIT)
Kids Included Together (KIT) provides best practices training to help communities, businesses, and child care/recreation programs include children with all kinds of disabilities and special needs. Viewing disability as a form of diversity rather than a deficiency enables positive outcomes for all children.
Matheny’s Arts Access program empowers individuals with disabilities to create art without boundaries. Through the use of innovative systems and techniques, participants can take part in the visual, performing and literary arts. Regardless of their disability, clients are provided with the tools and materials needed to produce complete pieces of work. Located in Peapack, NJ.
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Accessibility - Grants and Resources
Pure Vision Arts is New York’s first specialized art studio and exhibition space for people with developmental disabilities. PVA is staffed by trained professionals with backgrounds in art education, fine arts, and art therapy who provide mentoring and support to the artists who attend the studio.
The Art Center’s community engagement programs deliver engaging and educational visual arts experiences to under-served, economically disadvantaged, marginalized audiences or communities with barriers.
VSA New Jersey - State Organization on Arts and Disability
VSA New Jersey is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the creative power of people with disabilities. The organization offers artist residencies, workshops, mentoring, parent/child workshops in the arts for children with autism, and arts achievement awards.