Photo by Dave Luke.
As we hit our 20-year mark and prepare to close our doors, Upstream Arts is reflecting on the last two decades of incredible work. Today’s highlight: Upstream Arts presents…
In addition to our mission – to use the creative arts to activate and amplify the voice and choice of individuals with disabilities- Upstream Arts shares a vision for what our work does in the world. “We will change mindsets about ability and disability and promote more connected and engaged communities by increasing intentional opportunities for shared creative experiences.”
All of our programming enacts this vision, from our residencies and professional development trainings to our Art of Me performances and exhibits. But in 2017, we launched Upstream Arts presents… as a way to broaden and increase those intentional opportunities for shared creative experiences. Our first event was an intimate concert and conversation with internationally renowned musician and disability awareness advocate Gaelynn Lea.
Sponsored in part by The Bush Foundation and The Graham Smith Team at Keller Williams Realty, A Concert and Conversation with Gaelynn Lea was held in Scheid Hall at Surly Brewing Company, where 120 people gathered to listen. It was an opportunity for our community and the public at large to enjoy Gaelynn’s unique musicianship and to engage in conversation around disability, access, and the joy of music. To discover more about Gaelynn’s music and advocacy, including composing the original score for MacBeth on Broadway, go to violinscratches.com.
Photos by Dave Luke.
In 2019, we partnered with the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association and St. Paul Public libraries to screen Intelligent Lives, a documentary film featuring three young adults with intellectual disabilities- Micah, Naieer, and Naomie- who challenge perceptions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college, and the workforce. From award winning filmmaker Dan Habib, this film was a catalyst to transform the label of intellectual disability from a life sentence of isolation into a life of possibility for the most systematically segregated people in America. We followed the screenings with panel discussion with members of our community. Discover more at https://intelligentlives.org/
Images courtesy of Intelligent Lives.
We also carried out two collaborations with award-winning storytelling non-profit The Moth, first in 2018 and then again in 2020. Storytelling and listening to one another’s stories are one way to break down barriers and undermine stigma that continues to separate individuals with and without disabilities. In 2018 we invited The Moth to lead one of their Community Workshops with the Upstream Arts community. In addition to the Story Share that happened after a weekend of workshops, where the participants shared the stories they had been crafting to a small invited audience, Upstream Arts was then Special Guests at The Moth StorySLAM at the Amsterdam Bar in St. Paul. Also, two of the stories created during this workshop were shared on The Moth Radio Hour, their podcast for National Public Radio.
The experience of new narratives about disability and ability being created was so invigorating for everyone involved that the same Teaching Artists from The Moth returned in 2020 to further expand on the collaboration, thanks in part to a generous grant from Headwaters Foundation. For this second round, we explored what storytelling may look or sound like with our community members who communicate in non-traditional ways, or without words. To enhance the experience, we partnered with visual artist Julie JAO, who painted a visual representation of each story in the moment as the stories were told.
During these workshops with The Moth we heard stories about a conflicted relationship with a father, devotion to a beloved pet, trouble with household appliances, the strong bond between friends, and difficulties in doing our job. These are stories of the everyday. These are stories we all recognize. No matter who we are, no matter what we look like or how we communicate, no matter where we’re from, we all share the experience of life as a human. Everyone is made up of many stories and no one story can define who we are. The Moth community workshops allow people to determine and define their own narrative. It was a fascinating and perception-altering experience for everyone involved. Discover more about The Moth at https://themoth.org/.
All of our Upstream Arts presents… events strengthened our belief that by infusing creativity into how we share our stories and our truths, we can create strong, lasting bonds with each other and lay new pathways for more interconnected communities. To build community we need to imagine that every person in this community, including the person we meet who rides a wheelchair and speaks differently, has friends, has complicated relationships with their parents, experiences disappointment, accomplishes things, gets inspired, gets tired, and has a rich bevy of stories to tell. We must cultivate the practice of active listening. We must listen to each other’s stories. It’s empowering and validating on both sides of that connection. You recognize your own narrative in the narrative of others, and the stories of others inform your own.
Photos courtesy of Upstream Arts.