About
To provide individuals with disabilities opportunities for lifelong learning through the arts, fostering skill development, self-esteem and integration into mainstream society.
Very Special Arts India (VSAI) is a New Delhi-based non-profit organisation established in 1986, affiliated with VSA (formerly Very Special Arts, an affiliate of the Kennedy Center, USA). VSAI works with differently-abled and economically marginalised children and youth, using the performing and creative arts as therapeutic, educational and vocational tools. Its activity centre at Vasant Kunj regularly offers classes in art, pottery, craft, dance and drama, complemented by functional education and vocational skills development. VSAI's Art Foundation runs an annual All India Art Competition for children with disabilities, collecting entries across age groups and disability types from schools nationwide; the winning paintings are used to create New Year calendars, with proceeds funding the Foundation. The programme has run for over 16 years. All VSAI services are provided free of charge.
VSAI was established in 1986, drawing on the VSA model developed in the USA in 1974 under Jean Kennedy Smith's leadership -- a model premised on the conviction that all individuals with disabilities deserve access to arts education, cultural facilities and career development in the arts. India's VSAI has operated for nearly four decades from its Vasant Kunj campus, providing a consistent, free-of-charge arts and education environment for children and youth who would otherwise have no access to creative arts programming. Its longevity -- 40 years in 2026 -- is its most important characteristic: arts organisations serving disability communities are among the most difficult to sustain financially, and VSAI's four-decade track record reflects both institutional commitment and community need.
Visit & Access
Initiatives & Portfolio
Regular classes in art, pottery, craft, dance and drama for differently-abled children and youth. Functional education and vocational skills development. Free of charge.
Annual art competition for children with all types of disabilities across age groups. Run for 16+ years. Entries invited through schools nationwide in January; winning paintings used for New Year calendars.
Computer skills training to bridge the digital divide for differently-abled youth.
VSAI's significance is at the intersection of cultural access and disability rights. Its premise -- that differently-abled individuals have the right to arts education, arts participation and arts-based vocational development -- was radical in 1986 and remains underprovided in 2026. Its annual Art Competition, now covering almost all of India through school participation, is the largest organised arts platform specifically for children with disabilities in the country. The therapeutic and educational use of dance, drama, music, visual arts and crafts reflects a well-documented approach to disability empowerment through creative practice.
[Atlas Perspective] CultureAtlas profiles VSAI as one of India's most enduring arts-and-disability organisations. Its 40-year track record and free-of-charge service model represent a significant institutional commitment. The annual All India Art Competition for children with disabilities is a genuinely national platform with no equivalent elsewhere in India's arts ecosystem. CultureAtlas notes VSAI as a strong partner for institutions seeking to include disability access in their cultural programming mandates.