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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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| Exhibit at MPS Davis Center
Upstream Arts is thrilled to present a new iteration of The Art of Me at the Minneapolis Public Schools district headquarters, the John B. Davis Education and Service Center, December 17 through January 12! The exhibition features portraits of students from Roosevelt High School, currently participating in a 12-week Upstream Arts residency. Click to read more.
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Join the Conversation
This month, we're loving this thoughtful piece by Lamar Hardwick, "When People Say 'You Look Tired,'" relating his daily experience of living with Autism Spectrum Disorder to the exhausting-yet-gratifying work of performing in a Broadway show or Hollywood movie. "I don’t look tired, I am tired," he writes. "But that’s good because I’m doing the heavy lifting. I’m tired because I choose to engage rather than retreat. I’m tired because I know I have something to offer the world, and to bless the world with my gifts I have to give it everything I have." How does this perspective speak to or depart from your own experience? Have a read, then let us know what you think.
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| Dear Friend, Season's Greetings! This month in The Current, we're excited to share:
- Gratitude for recent contributions and the latest on our year-end goals
- A new exhibit at the MPS district headquarters
- An Upstream Arts winter camp in Eden Prairie
- Two 10th Anniversary celebrations coming up in the new year
- A beautiful article relating life with autism to acting
As always, this email only scratches the surface of all that is happening in the world of Upstream Arts. Keep tabs on our website and social media for more!
We're so thrilled to have you in our community. Thank you for all that you do.
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|  | Upstream Arts participant and teaching artist drumming (photo: Theo Goodell) |
| Gratitude and the Work Ahead
Huge thanks to the 100+ supporters who donated to Upstream Arts on Give to the Max Day and over the past month!
As you know, we're celebrating our 10th Anniversary and have a big goal of raising $100,000 by June 30. That's what it will take to keep the amazing momentum of our work in Minneapolis Public Schools and public programs like The Art of Me moving upstream over the next year. Support from individuals allows us to bring interactive arts residencies to schools with the least resources and hardest-to-reach students. We have a goal of raising another $5,000 before the end of this month. Can you make a tax-deductible year-end gift of $100 or $1000? Any amount ripples out to have a significant impact on individuals with disabilities at every stage of life. Click here to make a secure online gift right now. Thank you for your support!
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|  | Upstream Arts participants rehearsing a dance |
| 3-Day Winter Camp Get your creative energy flowing! From December 28-30, Upstream Arts is delighted to be offering a winter camp for teens and young adults of all abilities, ages 12-22, in partnership with Eden Prairie Parks & Recreation. Experience theater, dance, visual arts, and poetry activities led by professional artists from Upstream Arts in a fun, interactive environment. Participants will come together to act, write, dance, paint, create, experience, socialize, and learn! Registration deadline: 12/18. Click here to learn more.
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|  | A past VocalPoint concert (photo courtesy of VocalPoint) |
| Mark Your Calendar
As you probably know by now, we're celebrating our 10th Anniversary - and we have some exciting events coming up in the new year that you won't want to miss! First up, on February 27 and 28, you're invited to the 2016 VocalPoint Concert at Central Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. VocalPoint is an intense choral experience that challenges people through music to build a better world, donating 100% of concert proceeds to a worthy cause; and this year, that cause is Upstream Arts! Then on May 19, we're hosting our 3rd Annual Meeting and Fundraiser, aka the big 10th Anniversary bash, at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis! We are cooking up so much fun for this FREE, family-friendly, arts-infused party. Please save the dates and plan to join us for both events. Click to read more.
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