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Welcome, New Subscribers!
We hope you'll enjoy this monthly update on our work, events, ways to get involved, and more. We only include highlights here, so be sure to visit our website to learn more about our multidisciplinary arts programs for people with disabilities at every stage of life.
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New Website Design
In honor of our 10th Anniversary season (which runs now through June 30, 2016), we have refreshed our website with a whole new design! Check it out, let us know what you think, and stay tuned for many more exciting additions and features, to be rolled out in the coming months. Click here to learn more.
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New Videos on YouTube
We just added a bunch of new videos to the Upstream Arts channel on YouTube, including recent performances of The Art of Me at Opportunity Partners and Partnership Resources, Inc.! If you weren't able to attend these events, enjoy them online - we guarantee they'll bring joy to your day. Click here to learn more. Pictured above: Teaching Artist Tena May Gallivan, center, with two Upstream Arts participants at PRI. (photo: Matt Guidry)
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Join the Conversation
Each month, we share a related video, article, or other resource. We invite you to respond by sharing thoughts via email, our blog, Facebook, Twitter, or in any creative form you like! This month, we're excited to be getting to know Words I Wheel By, a super smart, insightful blog by disability advocate and writer Emily Ladau. Have a look, let us know what you think, and then be sure to follow her on your favorite social media outlets for more goodness.
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| Dear Friend, Happy August! This issue of The Current is chock full of NEWNESS that we're so excited to share with you: - Two new Reports to the Community
- One new Staff Member and six new Teaching Artists
- A new look for our website
- Not-to-be-missed new videos on YouTube
- A hub of smart writing from a blogger we've newly discovered
- One new reason to support our work
As always, this email only scratches the surface; stay tuned to our website and social media for more.
We're grateful to have you in our community!
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Teaching Artist Matt Sciple and Upstream Arts participant (photo: Theo Goodell) |
| New Reports to the Community Following each school year, Upstream Arts compiles evaluation data from our programs in Minneapolis Public Schools; and, together with quotes, artwork, and photos, paints a picture of our work's impact. We distribute this report to teachers, district staff, families, supporters, and anybody else who is interested. This month, we finished our 2014-15 MPS Report to the Community; and if we do say so ourselves, it's a pretty amazing read! Also, for the first time ever, we created a second Report to the Community focused on our growing work in Saint Paul Public Schools. This one features a smaller batch of participants, but shows similarly awesome results. PDFs of both reports can be downloaded from our website. Click here to learn more.
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|  | (L) Chris Garza; (Clockwise from top L) Leslye Orr, Jen Wang, Abigail Magalee, Canae Weiss, Aaron Fiskradatz, Tracey Maloney |
| New Faces in the Mix
Change is afoot in the Upstream Arts office! In July, Jessica Finney, who has worked wtih Upstream Arts since 2010 as a Teaching Artist and, more recently, on staff as the Program and Client Liaison, launched her new career as a Mental Health Practitioner; and Lindsey Samples, Teaching Artist and Administrative Associate, is shifting to focus exclusively on teaching. Both will be deeply missed in the office, but we're excited about all that lies ahead for them - and we're delighted to announce that the marvelous Chris Garza has stepped in as our new Program and Administrative Assistant!
Furthermore, we've been in the process of expanding our teaching roster; and out of 100+ brilliant applicants, we recently hired six incredible new Teaching Apprentices. Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Aaron Fiskradatz, Abigail Magalee, Tracey Maloney, Leslye Orr, Jen Wang, and Canae Weiss!
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|  | Upstream Arts Teaching Artists workshopping curriculum at last year's Fall Training |
| Gratitude and the Work Ahead Big thanks to Emelia Carroll/JAMF Software, David and Jackie Guidry, Steven Malham, Marilyn Mounger, NEW monthly donor Gillian Spence, and two anonymous supporters for recent gifts!
Did you know Upstream Arts strives to be a model of how to value, employ, and support working artists? That's because we believe artists are essential agents of inclusion and social change, both in our programs and out in the community. Among other things, we provide paid professional development for our artists year-round; and in turn, clients tell us that our artists’ ability to meaningfully engage and skillfully teach groups with diverse abilities is rare and one of our greatest assets. Next month, our artists will come together for our annual Fall Training. This year, session topics include Early Childhood Special Education, the relationship between play and speech-language pathology, and arts participation for seniors with developmental/cognitive disabilities. We're so grateful to VSA Minnesota for a grant that significantly offsets the cost; but we rely on another $4,050 from individual supporters like you to compensate artists for their time. Can you give $50, $500, or $1,000 today, to equip artists with best practices for teaching people of all ages and abilities? Click here to donate now. Your tax-deductible investment, which counts toward our 10th Anniversary goal of raising $100,000 by June 30, will ripple out to impact 2,500+ individuals through 100+ programs this year. Thank you in advance for your belief and support!
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