CVS Caremark 'All Kids Can' Brings Children Together from Across the Country to Experience 'State of the Art' Exhibition in Washington D.C.

WOONSOCKET, R.I., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark's All Kids Can, a philanthropic program to enrich the lives of children with disabilities, and VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, announce the official ribbon cutting tomorrow of the "State of the Art" exhibition at Union Station in Washington, D.C. as part of the 2010 International VSA Festival. The exhibit is a collection of impressive artwork ranging from oil paintings to paper art to photographs that were created by young students ages 5-15, all of whom live with a disability.  

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090226/NE75914LOGO )

As part of "All Kids Can….CREATE!" a joint program between CVS Caremark and VSA, one artist from each state was selected from more than 5,500 entries, to display their artwork at the "State of the Art" exhibition.  CVS Caremark invited each artist and their families to travel to D.C. to experience the exhibit, meet their states dignitary and participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the event.

"The 'State of the Art' exhibition truly captures the spirit of our festival, which is a celebration of the arts by people with disabilities," said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA. "We are grateful to CVS Caremark for partnering with us on this unique program to create the opportunity for the students and their families to see the exhibition themselves, meet one another, attend the festival, and tour the nation's capital – many for their first time. The students are very excited and I know this means so much to them."

"Our partnership with VSA extends the All Kids Can mission to ensure that children of ALL abilities can learn, play and succeed in life," said Eileen Howard Dunn, senior vice president, Corporate Communications and Community Relations for CVS Caremark. "Art therapy has helped many children living with a disability to find new ways to achieve success and we couldn't be more proud to bring together these student artists from across the country to celebrate their achievements at the 2010 International VSA Festival."

While in D.C., the young artists will have the opportunity to attend performances and view artwork by professional artists with disabilities. The 2010 International VSA Festival is the largest arts and disability event to take place in Washington, D.C., to date and will feature artists with disabilities in venues citywide from June 6-12.  More information can be found at www.vsartsfestival.org.

All 5,500 entries to the call will be included in an online art gallery at www.vsarts.org and in an interactive digital kiosk at the exhibition. "State of the Art" will be showcased at Union Station from now until June 12, before touring nationally.

The 51 children whose artwork will be displayed are:

• Margaret, age 9 (Mountain, Alabama)
• Lukas, age 6 (Delta Junction, Alaska)
• Victor, age 12 (Phoenix, Arizona)
• Chad, age 9 (Monticello, Arkansas)
• Sebastian, age 15 (Chula Vista, California)
• Amino, age 10 (Denver, Colorado)
• Shardia, age 14 (Hamden, Connecticut)
• Ryan, age 5 (Dover, Delaware)
• Khadijah, age 12 (Washington, District of Columbia)
• Jack, age 6 (Venice, Florida)
• Alexis, age 11 (Newnan, Georgia)
• Kiana, age 8 (Honolulu, Hawaii)
• Justin, age 15 (Post Falls, Idaho)
• Danny, age 10 (Glen Ellyn, Illinois)
• Austin, age 12 (Indianapolis, Indiana)
• Thomas, age 13 (Ames, Iowa)
• Josh, age 12 (Kansas City, Kansas)
• Elizabeth, age 13 (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
• Derrick, age 12 (Opelousas, Louisiana)
• Colby, age 13 (Brunswick, Maine)
• Anthony, age 8 (Millersville, Maryland)
• Marcellus, age 9 (Dorchester, Massachusetts)
• Kelsey, age 12 (Detroit, Michigan)
• Phoenix, age 10 (Prior Lake, Minnesota)
• Vallye, age 13 (Brandon, Mississippi)
• Victoria, age 12 (Chesterfield, Missouri)
• Christopher, age 10 (Ballatine, Montana)
• Nefertiti, age 11 (Omaha, Nebraska)
• Yuri, age 12 (Reno, Nevada)
• Donaman, age 5 (Rumney, New Hampshire)
• Alex, age 8 (Bordentown, New Jersey)
• Yonathan, age 12 (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
• Maurice, age 13 (Bronx, New York)
• Alexis, age 12 (Pineville, North Carolina)
• Michael, age 14 (Bismarck, North Dakota)
• Adrian, age 9 (Donnelsville, Ohio)
• Amanda, age 14 (Enid, Oklahoma)
• Billie, age 9 (North Bend, Oregon)
• Joseph, age 8 (Hawley, Pennsylvania)
• Ryan, age 15 (Pawtucket, Rhode Island)
• Keona, age 12 (Spartanburg, South Carolina)
• Shawna, age 14 (North Sioux, South Dakota)
• Jalyn, age 7 (Sweetwater, Tennessee)
• Joseph, age 9 (Dallas, Texas)
• Raquelle, age 10 (Pleasant View, Utah)
• Tyler, age 9 (Isle La Motte, Vermont)
• Taylor, age 8 (Glen Allen, Virginia)
• Anna, age 13 (Bellevue, Washington)
• Cody, age 12 (Wheeling, West Virginia)
• Dakota, age 13 (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)
• Mary, age 8 (Laramie, Wyoming)

Union Station is located at 50 Massachusetts Ave, N.E. To find out more, please visit www.vsarts.org/allkidscancreate or call (202) 628-2800.

About VSA

VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, was founded more than 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to provide arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and increase access to the arts for all. With 52 international affiliates and a network of nationwide affiliates, VSA is changing perceptions about people with disabilities around the world. Each year, 7 million people of all ages and abilities participate in VSA programs, which cover all artistic genres. VSA is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, visit www.vsarts.org.

About CVS Caremark All Kids Can

CVS Caremark All Kids Can is a five-year, $25 million commitment to support children with disabilities. The goals of CVS Caremark All Kids Can are to support children with disabilities by raising awareness in schools and in local communities about the importance of inclusion, creating greater opportunities for physical activity and play, and providing access to medical rehabilitation. CVS Caremark and its more than 215,000 employees help children with disabilities learn, play and succeed through partnerships with leading local and national nonprofit organizations such as VSA and many others across the country. For more information, visit www.cvscaremarkallkidscan.com.

SOURCE CVS Caremark