Regional News

	David C. Webster, new State Representative, District 106.

Mr. Webster goes to Augusta

After 20 years as both a performing artist and an executive director, David C. Webster is ready for something new. He has left his post at VSA arts of Maine to devote more time to a new job with a new title. Representative Webster is a newly elected Democrat in District 106 representing the people of Freeport and Pownal in the 122nd Legislature in Augusta. But he says he will remain committed to the arts, education and disability issues. His story is unique and celebratory and as an artist himself, his role has been integral to the success of VSA arts of Maine.

Webster learned early on in his career the power the arts can have on people.

“Although I had performed theater for years, my career track was as a counselor for youth at risk and young people with challenging issues in the 1970s,” says Webster. “Many of these young people were not interested in talk therapy yet were really struggling. Using theater games and circus arts was a good way to open a door to a workable relationship.”

But Webster decided that a counseling career was not for him. It was his growing love for theater and vaudeville that led to an audition for a touring theater company and ultimately a career change. A pivotal moment came when Webster attended a workshop sponsored by the Very Special Arts Festival.

“At the time I got involved, it was called the Very Special Arts Festival. It was really unique.” Webster says, “It was like a Christmas cactus, blossoming at one part of the year and then laying dormant for the rest.”

Each year the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Department of Education would work together to get funding for the project from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Perfoming Arts. It would begin with artist residencies for children with disabilities in schools throughout the state. It culminated in a community festival celebrating all of the art-making.

	David Webster At Vsa Arts Of Maine Booth At The Maine Festival.

In the early years, the festivals were primarily for children with disabilities and held in somewhat segregated classrooms and programs. But very quickly Webster, the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Department of Education and other advocates of inclusion decided that the project should be more mainstream. They wanted to ensure that children with and without disabilities would attend the programs together, both as an art-making and as a community event.

Eventually the Very Special Arts Festival programs took on a broader scope, including on-going residencies throughout the year and teacher and artist trainings. Other programs promoted and provided access to the arts for children and adults with disabilities. And as the funding grew, so did the goals of the program, including the need for matching funds.

The organization needed to grow and find someone to take the lead. In 1985, Webster, then a long-time steering committee member, helped to incorporate the Very Special Arts of Maine. Webster was hired as the new part-time executive director. (Eventually the organization would be renamed VSA arts of Maine to eliminate the use of the word “special” and honor the progress made in the disability community.)

In the early days of VSA arts of Maine, Webster remembers piecing many different jobs together to make a living. He continued to perform in theater companies and do artist residencies in musical theater in Maine and out of state. He and his wife, dancer Nancy Salmon, also created their own theater company called Moving Theater. But as his track record shows, his primary commitment was always to the mission of VSA arts of Maine.

“What made David unique in this role was his genuine love of taking time for people,” says Sarah Haskell, visual artist and long-time teaching artist for VSA arts of Maine. “I always felt that David had a really deep respect for the artists he employed. And when I think of VSA arts of Maine, this has been a really important quality.”

It may also be Webster’s commitment to quality arts that has helped make VSA arts of Maine so successful. Webster recalls one event that helped shape many decisions in the years that followed.

“I remember going to a workshop once for kids with chronic illnesses where everything was pre-made and pre-cut and all the kids had to do was assemble this thing. It was just this assemblage activity. And at the end they were told they had to put it on the shelf and let it dry. And one of the kids turned to the teacher and asked, ‘How will I know which one is mine?’ At that moment I said, ‘I never want to hear anyone ask that question at a VSA arts in Maine event.’ No one should ever have to ask that question.”

For Webster, the highlight of the job was seeing changes take place statewide. Other organizations, groups and schools were beginning to incorporate more of the arts into their programs while also doing more to engage children with disabilities. He calls that a “critical” change.

“When people started calling us to help them incorporate inclusion, access and arts into their programs, or wanting to get help finding an American Sign Language interpreter for their event, that was very exciting,” Webster says. The disability culture in Maine and the nation was changing. Webster calls it “social justice.”

	Senator John Kerry And Friends At The Vsa Arts National Children’s Art Exhibition, June, 2005.

Under Webster’s stewardship, VSA arts of Maine initiated programs to train teachers and artists in techniques for using arts in integrated classrooms. The organization provided artist residencies for schools and helped create the annual exhibition A Matter of Perception, which brings work by Maine artists with disabilities to galleries and arts venues throughout the state. Webster spearheaded a program called Accessible Maine, which is designed to provide information about the accessibility of leading arts institutions in Maine to visitors with disabilities, thereby helping to ensure a successful experience while in the audience. Webster has also worked on creative economy initiatives and accessibility issues for Maine’s aging population.

While Maine has seen tremendous positive change in the last 20 years, Webster says helping people understand the importance of the arts and the role they play in our communities will remain a constant challenge. Education and inclusion will remain two of his major goals as this artist and advocate takes on a new job with new responsibilities. Representative Webster is a committee member of the Health and Human Services Committee.

VSA arts of Maine continues to receive funding from the national office of VSA arts (a direct program of the Kennedy Center), the Maine Department of Education, Special Services and the Maine Arts Commission as well as foundations, business and public support. The organization currently provides artist residencies in over eight counties across the state, leads artist visits at community events and festivals and provides opportunities for children and adults with disabilities to exhibit their artwork around the state.

For more information about the work of VSA arts of Maine, go to www.vsartsmaine.org or contact 207/761-3861 voice/TTY.