Upstream Arts uses the power of the creative arts to activate and amplify the voice and choice of individuals with disabilities.
Fall Self-Advocacy
Class Registration is OPEN!
Our Self-Advocacy classes offer a fun, creative, and experiential learning environment for adults with disabilities 18+ to strengthen self-advocacy skills with and alongside Upstream Arts artists and peers.
BI, CAC, CADI and DD Waivers now accepted.
Classes Run October 2 – December 18, 2024
Details & Registration
OUR WORK
OUR VALUES
Inclusion happens in the
ordinary moments
True access can be achieved through a consistent and intentional practice of doing the little things that say “I see you. I hear you. I notice you.”
We Assume Ability
Participation looks different for everyone, but through creativity, flexibility, and choice, all can be included and find success.
Access is an Attitude
Creating physical access with automatic doors and ramps is necessary and vital, but none of that matters if you don’t feel welcome when you enter a space.
WATCH OUR 5-MIN VIDEO
“Julie and I created Upstream Arts because we recognized that at the core of engagement and communication is a give and take, an action and reaction, a listening and responding. We knew from personal experience that the arts were a perfect medium through which to practice these fundamental human skills.”
OUR BLOG
A Confluence of Skill and Creativity: Fall Training with our Teaching Artists
Every year we invest in over 30-40 hours of professional development with our Teaching Artists. As highly skilled creative agents of change, Upstream Arts' Teaching Artists are foundational in our work, and we relish the annual Fall Training when we gather together as...
Join us for Feast with Friends on October 14, 2024
Celebrate Upstream Arts with good food and great company at our in-person Feast with Friends. On October 14, 2024, Upstream Arts will receive 10% of all proceeds at The Lowbrow restaurant during their Dine Out Give Back Mondays!
In Small Moments: Holding on to Joy
Last week Julie and I, along with Teaching Artist Nora Montañez, spent three days in community with 20 Special Education and arts educators from Minnesota schools. We were invited by the MN Department of Education to facilitate Upstream Arts’ training series, The Art of Instruction: Accessibility, Inclusion, and Community in the Arts Classroom. We spent our time together reflecting on what we need as educators to be comfortable, to be our best selves as teachers.