St. John's News

Students from throughout Queens proudly displayed their artwork at the Very Special Arts Festival, held at St. John’s University by the Department of Fine Arts on May 20.  Nearly 2,000 of the artists’ peers visited the Queens campus to admire the work and participate in the annual festival, which has been held at the University for 17 years. 

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The Very Special Arts Festival celebrates the artistic achievements of students with disabilities, along with their mainstream peers and features performances and workshops in the visual and performing arts.  This year’s theme: “Live and Learn Through the Arts” was expressed in unique ways through the various pieces of art. 

M.S. 72 exhibited a piece on global warming, showing the detrimental effect that factory pollution, forest fires and other careless acts have on our environment.  Other displays included students’ personal visions of New York City in a piece titled “I am NYC” and an exhibit by P.S. 814 titled “Learning through our Families” showed family trees, community outreach programs and historical images and data researched by the students.  Another display detailed the class trips to the museums of New York City, with art representing the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Queens Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art, while P.S. 118 featured drawings of traditional Chinese art and dress in its piece that honored Chinese immigrants titled “A Taste of China in NYC!”

“This is something that is so simple to accomplish, yet it means so much to these students,” said one teacher from District 75, the Special Education District of the New York City Department of Education that services children citywide.  “The children just love to be involved, and this is a wonderful opportunity that St. John’s helps to provide them with.”

Workshops took place throughout the morning where students designed their own mosaics alongside the St. John’s University Fine Arts students, or designed a miniature replica of a New York City Subway car with volunteers from the Queens Museum of Art.  Karen Beckles, a Speech Therapist at P.S. 43, who had choreographed dances to songs in different genres of music, taught interpretive dance movements for the students at her station.   Outside, the Silver Stars performed popular hits, while children’s faces were painted like cats and clowns.
VSA arts of New York City provides art, educational and creative expression experiences to thousands of children, youth, and adults with disabilities who reside in the five boroughs of New York City. It provides opportunities for people with disabilities to demonstrate their accomplishments in the arts and foster increased understanding and acceptance.  VSA arts of New York City is a partner of VSA arts, an international, nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts.