Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

Thank you to the Little/Abeln, Moench, Symchych/Flint families for their generous combined $16,000 matching grant!

A Letter from Board Chair Mary Kay Kennedy:

I have been Interact's biggest fan for decades. 

Since its inception, Interact’s mission is to radically change perceptions of disability and help people see themselves in new ways: as artists, performers, singers, and creative people participating in the arts. Founder, Jeanne Calvit, believes art is for everyone and it's the cornerstone of Interact's mission. People with disabilities who historically have had little access are now center stage with both performing and visual arts, creating a more diverse theater and arts community in Minnesota. 

While we are witnessing changing roles of people with disabilities in Minnesota in terms of opportunity and freedom, it takes significant resources of time, talent, and money to keep this movement flourishing. Here at Interact, without the extremely talented professional artists who mentor artists with disabilities and collaborate with them as actors, writers, sculptors, song writers, weavers, painters, dancers, comedians and more... Interact would be just another "day program," offering a range of services to keep folks safe and busy, but with no vision of supporting them in their quest to become professional performing and visual artists. 

Thank you, Interact Center staff and artists, and for all you do to make Interact a local, state, national, and international leader in supporting people with disabilities to achieve their dreams and make their best contribution to society.

Mary Kay Kennedy

Board Chair