Teaching Artists make statues during a training.

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 a full staff to hone our skills, refresh best practices, and finesse curriculum.

This year we are thrilled to extend our training throughout the season as we hold weekly trainings with our Teaching Artists. We’re excited for these regular opportunities to share knowledge and strengthen relationships.

Fall Training Recap

Our Fall Training included a mix of different activities and skillsets. In addition to hands-on curriculum development, we had a session on giving and receiving feedback with Operations Manager Nicki Jones, a synopsis of the past year of work in the form of the “State of the Stream” address from Executive Director Julie Guidry, and conversations around privilege and equity as part of an Inclusion/Diversity/Equity/Access (IDEA) activity led by Teaching Artist Akiko Ostlund. 

Practicing Play: Curriculum Iterations

One of the most powerful elements of Upstream Arts’ curriculum is the opportunity for joy and play. As we explored twists on various classic Upstream Arts’ activities, we were able not only to finesse activities for specific programs (including our Art of Relationships programming) but also foster the connections and sense of “groupiness” amongst our Teaching Artists that we cultivate with our participants in every residency.
Teaching Artists use scarves during the Fall Training.
Teaching Artists make stop-action-statues in a training.

Creative Construction: Flag-making for our programs

As one of the creative investigations during our Fall Training, we used the ancient art of vexillology (or study of flags) to explore the heart and expression of four of our core program offerings. We separated into smaller groups and collaboratively created flags to represent the Art of Social Skills, Self-Advocacy Classes, the Art of Relationships, and The Art of Me performance residencies. Using colors, symbology, and a healthy dose of skepticism for the “rules” of flag-making, we articulated some of the most important principles and practices in our programs. Enjoy the wild and wonderful results!

Art of Social Skills Flag
Flag for Self-Advocacy Classes

Art of Social Skills

Self-Advocacy Classes

Flag for Art of Relationships
Flag for Art of Me program

Art of Relationships

The Art of Me