Upstream Arts News | July 2014

In This Issue

The Art of Me: The Roles We Play

art i. facts: VCFSEF Conference in Las Vegas

Gratitude & The Work Ahead

The All Star Archives

Welcome

Dear Friend,

Happy Summer! We hope you're enjoying the gorgeous weather and finding some time to relax.

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 still may be receiving duplicate emails from us. Please know we're working hard to fix that glitch.

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

The Art of Me: The Roles We Play

Save the date for August 14! Valley Friendship Club and Upstream Arts are thrilled to present an original and unique theatrical experience exploring the many wonderful and complicated roles we play in our lives. Performers, who have been working together twice a week since early July, will share their stories with you through song, dance, movement, visual art, and poetry.

The Art of Me: The Roles We Play will be presented on Thursday, August 14, at 6:30pm. This performance is FREE, open to the public, and will take place at Oak-Land Jr. High School in Lake Elmo, MN. No reservations necessary (though you can let us know you're coming and invite your friends on Facebook). Plan to stick around after the show for a reception with cake! We look forward to seeing you there.

This activity is funded, in part, by appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State's general fund, and its arts and cultural heritage fund that was created by a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.
Click here
to learn more about The Art of Me on the Upstream Arts blog.

And while you're at it - also mark your calendar for September 19, November 21, and December 19! We will be presenting new iterations of The Art of Me in partnership with Midwest Special Services at three locations throughout the Twin Cities metro. Stay tuned for details!

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.

Upstream Arts teaching artists and participants at the VCFSEF Conference, Las Vegas

This summer, we've been having some wonderful adventures running arts residencies in a few locations outside the Twin Cities. In June, we were thrilled to return to the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center in Milwaukee. This past month, we spent some time with our friends at the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind in Faribeault - and we also took a trip to Las Vegas!

Yes, you read that correctly. Las Vegas! For four days, an Upstream Arts team comprised of Julie, Matt, Charles, and Haley set up shop at Circus Circus and provided multidisciplinary arts programming for attendees of the Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome Educational Foundation (VCFSEF) 2014 Conference. VCFSEF is an organization comprised of both professional and lay people whose purpose is to educate the public, the scientific community, families, and individuals with Velo-Cardio-Facial syndrome about this common genetic disorder.

Ultimately, it was a wacky and very loud weekend (have you heard those casinos?!), full of fun and great classes with some wonderfully creative risk-takers! We loved working with all the participants and their families, felt warmly welcomed into their community, and received a tremendously positive response to our work.

Click here to learn more about VCFSEF and here to see more images from our trip to Las Vegas on Facebook.

Gratitude & The Work Ahead

Painting created by participants in our current program at Valley Friendship Club

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to Upstream Arts this past month: David and Joy Baker, Tim and Becky Freeman, Thomas and Marilyn Gales, Bob Goodfellow (In honor of Jackie and Dave Guidry), Mary and Dominick Green, David and Jackie Guidry, Susan Haas and Michael Sommers, Lauren Hughes, Amy and Andy Jendrzejewski, Mary Gerry Lee and Tom Lee, Mary Ann Lippay, Chrissie and Brian Glenn Mahaffy, Marilyn Mounger, No�l Raymond and Amy Finch, Marcia and Jerry Sansby, Patricia Woolsey, Michelle Woster and Peter Quale, and one anonymous supporter.

Your gifts helped us MORE THAN EXCEED our July fundraising goal!

Right now, we're in the process of processing, analyzing, and preparing our 2013-14 evaluation data and financials to share with you, so that you can see the impact of your support at a glance. In the process, we're discovering incredible quotes from our partners, like this one from a Minneapolis Public Schools Special Education teacher for middle school students:

"One particular student who is very challenged both behaviorally and academically, really came out of his shell to be a leader in the Upstream Arts class - he was able to set aside his fear of peer criticism and dance like there was no tomorrow!"

As we launch our new fiscal year, please know that it takes just $39 per week to bring Upstream Arts to one student--to provide a safe, creative environment where he or she can discover the leader within and dance like there's no tomorrow! Just $468 covers a whole semester of high-quality arts programming for that student. Click here to make an online contribution. As ever, thank you for your belief and support!

The All Star Archives

Upstream Arts was named a Constant Contact All Star in 2013 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.

Upstream Arts, Inc.
3501 Chicago Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55407
UpstreamArts.org