The Current
Upstream Arts News | June 2014
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In This Issue
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Welcome
Dear Friend, 
 
Big thanks once again to those who came out for our Annual Meeting and Fundraiser a couple weeks ago - what an incredible evening! If you couldn't join us, this issue of The Current will give you a peek into the fun. We also hope to see you this weekend at an exciting array of free arts events! Keep reading for details.

If you're receiving The Current for the first time, welcome! This is our monthly e-newsletter, always chock full of updates from our programs, opportunities for you to get involved with our work, events happening around town, and more. We look forward to staying connected with you through our online community.

If you're a regular subscriber, thanks as always for reading! We apologize that some of you may be receiving duplicate emails from us lately. We're navigating a technology glitch, but hope to have it fixed ASAP.

We're so grateful for the enthusiasm, energy, and generosity of our community. Thank you for all that you do.

Julie, Matt, Bree, and everyone at Upstream Arts
art i. facts
art i. facts are stories, poems, artwork, and other behind-the-scenes highlights from Upstream Arts programs, connecting you directly to the work that we do.

 

Transition + Poem Dance -  Upstream Arts' Annual Meeting and Fundraiser  May 17th, 2014
Click here to take a dance break with us!

 

 

At the Upstream Arts Annual Meeting and Fundraiser on May 17, several of our teaching artists and students from Transition Plus performed a dance that they created during their spring Upstream Arts residency. The movement was inspired by poetry that the group had written and was accompanied by the premiere of Upstream Animated, a unique quartet of short movies by interdisciplinary artist David Luke (keep reading to find out where you can find Upstream Animated over the next few days). 

 

Following the performance, Upstream Arts Program Director Matt Guidry and the Transition Plus students taught the dance to the entire crowd! We performed it all together over three different styles of music, exploring how each piece of music informed and influenced the movement. We captured the whole thing on video, above - turn up the volume and take a dance break with us! Then click here to learn more about how the dance was developed.

 
Also that evening, we announced our new disability is not a four-letter word campaign, which we will be pursuing over the next year to generate artistic reflection and public conversation about stigma associated with disability. Click here to learn all about it, and be sure to follow our blog, Facebook, and Twitter (@UpstreamArts #movingupstream) to join the conversation.   
 
Upstream Animated
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We're so excited that Upstream Animated, the quartet of Upstream Arts poetry-inspired animated movies by David Luke mentioned above, will be projected large-scale in the plaza outside the Minneapolis Convention Center as part of Northern Spark, the massive all-night arts festival coming up this Saturday, June 14! Dave's works make visual the vibrant voices of our program participants, expanding the creative process from the programs into a new realm of public engagement. Viewers are invited to choose, by way of assistive technology often used by Upstream Arts participants, which poem/movie they would like to watch. 
 
Catch Upstream Animated early in South Minneapolis over the next few days - the movies will be projected in the windows of Pillsbury House + Theater after dusk tonight through Saturday. You can also enjoy other Arts on Chicago projects and rev up for Northern Spark with free food and music at the 9th Annual 38th and Chicago BBQ and Music Festival this Saturday from 11AM-3PM.
 
All of these showings are free and fully accessible. See you there? Click here to learn more!
 
Gratitude & The Work Ahead
Upstream Arts teaching artists and participants
We have so many donor superheroes to celebrate this month!!

 

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to: Kim Adams, Julia Anderson, Kate Barr, Carla Bates and Susan Pollock, Jaimie Bennett and Bret Hesla, Alan Berks and Leah Cooper, Mindy Bolton, Doris and Gary Braley, Sarah Brown, John Brust, Rob and Leah Brzezinski, Patrick Burns and Sharon Powell, Debra Busch, John and Jane Cacich, Jeanne Calvit, Susan and Allan Carneol, Joselyn Caton, Joe and Jane Cavanaugh, Jeff Cords and Amy Scheller, Patrick and Kristi Curme, Michelle Dickerson, Janice and Gerald Downing, Katherine Evans and Ryan Walquist, Kevin Evers, Jessica Finney, Chris and Wendy Gennaula, Robin Gillette, Alvin Goeser, Lorissa Gottschalk, Joe and Janet Green, Jean Greenwood, Susan Haas and Michael Sommers, Jane Hagen, Tim Harincar and Elisabeth Pletcher-Harincar, Bridget Harrington and Graham Smith, John Hebig, Mike Hoyt, Lori Jacobwith, Masanari Kawahara and Elizabeth Garvey, Gabriel Keller and Emily Sohn, Mark Kenneback, Sherry Kempf and Ethan Bleifuss, Steven Kiwus and Liza Leigh-Kiwus, Alyssa Klein, Beverly Kuenzli, John Kuenzli, Brad Little, Thomas McDonagh, Patricia Milbrath, Jeff and Sarah Milligan-Toffler, Marilyn Mounger, Dipankar Mukherjee and Meena Natarajan, Jean Ness, Rebecca Orman, Julie Panger, Warren Park, Sarah Peters, Marthena Peterson-Brust and Erica Beth Peterson, Katie Piehl and Richard Knowlton, John and Nancy Quinlan, Maggie Quinlan and Robert Frawley, Jewell Reichenberger, Iyana Rice, The Robbins/Hooper Families, Thomas Robinson, Christian and Karen Lee Salter, Patricia Samples, Chris Satterlie, Matt Sciple, Shari Seelig and Richard Schwartz, Reid and Ann Shaw, Drew Sieplinga and Alec Shaw, Robin Silverman, Joseph Simmons and Karen Ballor, Fred and Michelle Spence, Gillian Spence, Juliana Tillema and Chad Lauber, Carlos Vazquez, Peter Vitale and Stephen Nelson, Kelly Waterman, Peggy Wilcox-Browning and Steven Kramer, Lucia Yess, and six generous anonymous supporters.

 

Your gifts moved us closer to closing our funding gap for this fiscal year. In fact, they helped us MORE THAN EXCEED our May fundraising goal!

 

Remember what "funding gap" means? It's where we must get to financially to deliver our multidisciplinary arts programs to nearly 300 adults and children with disabilities every month. This spring, one Special Education teacher told us that, because of Upstream Arts"One of my students was able to display emotions that we hadn't seen before."

 

As we close out our fiscal year on June 30, please know that it takes just $39 per week to bring the arts to one student--to provide a safe, creative environment in which she can freely explore her abilities and express her emotions. $468 covers a whole semester of Upstream Arts programming for that student. Click here to make an online contribution. Thank you for your belief and support!

 

The All Star Archives
 
Last year, Upstream Arts was named a Constant Contact All Star for this monthly e-newsletter! Huge thanks to our regular readers and a great big "Welcome!" to all receiving The Current for the first time. To read past issues, check out the growing archive on our website. Please rest assured we will never share your information and that you can always opt out, or invite new friends to opt in, using the links below.
 
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Upstream Arts, Inc.
3501 Chicago Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55407
UpstreamArts.org 

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