2003 Governors Arts Awards

Distinguished Arts Leadership Award Recipient
Janice Hastings, VSA arts, Washington, D.C., formerly VSA arts New Hampshire

Janice Hastings has spent 10 years working with arts, disability, education, business, and civic organizations in New Hampshire to promote universal access to cultural and creative opportunities for all. Under her leadership, VSA arts of New Hampshire's annual budget quadrupled, and its programs expanded substantially in scope and size, and include collaborations in arts and education programs with major cultural organizations in New Hampshire. As a result, VSA arts of NH won a national award for leadership in excellence of community partnerships as a VSA arts affiliate. Hastings forged a network throughout New Hampshire that has the capacity to profoundly redefine the value of the arts for all persons.

During her tenure, the NH Charitable Foundation awarded VSA arts of NH an Entrepreneurial Investing Partnership, enabling the organization to promote the vision of an inclusive society. Hastings undertook the Cultural Access Initiative (CAI) to help cultural organizations identify and implement physical and programmatic improvements. She worked actively to encourage educators and schools to integrate the arts more fully into all curricula as an effective learning tool, particularly for children with different learning styles. VSA arts of NH is the only NH organization providing consistent artist residencies in alternative school programs for students with severe special needs. In addition, she employed a national VSA arts program entitled "Start with the Arts," to connect specific children's literature with music, dance, visual art, and theatre, thereby promoting an enthusiasm for reading that might not otherwise happen.

Last updated: January 15, 2015