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Announcing our first online photo exhibit celebrating our community
Announcing our first online photo exhibit celebrating our community
Dear Friend, 
Cindy, one of our Milwaukee program participants and long-time disability advocate, smiles with her head cocked to the side. Photo by Jeff Cords
Cindy, one of our Milwaukee program participants and long-time disability advocate, smiles with her head cocked to the side. Photo by Jeff Cords

It's time to Re·Focus


When the pandemic reached undeniable levels and the lockdowns began, questions of access  –  consistently championed by generations of disability advocates  –  finally entered mainstream discourse. Now one year and, for many of us, a whole lot of Zoom fatigue later, we’d like to ask: who is still missing from our daily consideration? And why?

In this spirit, we invite you to Re·Focus, our upcoming online photo exhibit centering the self-expression and stories of our disability community. A beautiful retrospective spanning ten years of portrait photography with Upstream Arts participants, Re·Focus will feature some of our favorite diptychs with accompanying stories told through many forms of creative expression. Join us as we playfully confront ableist social isolation with the unapologetically joyful art of the selfie.

Re·Focus

A Photo Exhibit
April 29 - June 30
Online at upstreamarts.org
Free!
Contribute any amount to help us reach our $35,000 goal to make our online classes a sustainable part of our programming.
Riva Lehrer, a short silver-haired woman with large geometric earrings, closes her eyes as she stretches in her home in front of one of her original large paintings.
Photo by Chris Sweda

Excited? Read more


If you - like us - can't wait to delve into Re·Focus, we recommend checking out this recent Chicago Tribune feature about Riva Lehrer, an artist with disabilities whose deeply human portraits have forever changed the visual culture of disability.
Warm hands for all you do,
Julie, Matt, Bree and all of us at Upstream Arts
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