Can you believe it!? Inverted Arts is celebrating FIVE YEARS! A lot has happened since we launched in September 2010 and you can see some of the amazing creativity, stories, relationships and results below!
To all the youth we’ve had the pleasure of working with: thank you for having the courage to exercise your creative voices and make something beautiful in this world!
To all our partner organizations and staff friends: it is such a pleasure to serve and collaborate with you and to learn from you. Thank you for welcoming us and trusting us to work with your talented and remarkable students!
To all our Artist Mentors who pour their lives, love, time and talent into the students: you are amazing and we are grateful!
To all our partners who generously financially support, cheer on, encourage, volunteer and pray for the work of Inverted Arts: you have made this possible and you are the reason these first five years have been such a success! THANK YOU!
Here’s to the next five exciting years of helping disadvantaged youth discover their creative voices and create “art that changes the heart.”
1,320+
disadvantaged youth have discovered their value, worth and creative potential in this world! Students like Stewart who was part of our Film-Making Exploration Program in Santo Domingo, DR this past August.
or Tynisha and Sahur from EastSide Neighborhood Services.
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Students have received month-long (several longer or ongoing internships) internships with our Artist Mentors at the IA Studios. Interns like Richard who worked with Visual Artist Mentor Sarah Albinson to create his first exhibit;
Binh who is creating an original video about his life story;
or singer-songwriter Savannah who comes in weekly to record her original songs.
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scholarships have been awarded to students in Mathare, Santo Domingo and Minneapolis; students like Stephanie Aquino who is attending University of Northwestern in St. Paul,
or Adriel Santos who is attending Estudio Dina – a music school in Santo Domingo.
5,000+
family, friends and neighbors have witnessed and celebrated the creative accomplishments of these young people; audiences like this one at the Art Exploration Showcase at Hope Academy in S. Minneapolis.
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Art Exploration Programs and Art Camps; like the annual Art Exploration Program at Hope Academy;
or our first Song-writing Exploration Program at Venture Academy in Minneapolis,
or the second film-making program at The Lift in St. Paul.
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student-led documentary films including “Home: Mogadishu to Mary’s Place;” a short film that explores the meaning of “home” among Somali refugees experiencing homelessness.
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Christmas card and greeting card projects and
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CD Projects, including the MN Teen Challenge Choir release “I am New”
or “Sauti Ya Watoto, Kariobangi” from the Kariobangi Children’s Choir in Kenya.
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local partnerships in the Twin Cities: EastSide Neighborhood Services, Venture Academy, Hope Academy, Sojourner Truth Academy, The Lift, People Serving People, Urban Ventures, Mary’s Place and MN Teen Challenge.
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international partnerships in the Mathare Valley, Kenya,
Santo Domingo, DR,
and in Tijuana Mexico; with incredible partners and organizations like Mathare Community Outreach.
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Artist Mentors who use their creative talents and heart to serve others to mentor disadvantaged young people; Artist Mentors like the amazing and talented visual artist Sarah Albinson.
In January 2014 we opened IA Studios in the Grainbelt warehouse building in N.E. Minneapolis as a safe and collaborative creative space for disadvantaged youth, interns and Artist Mentors. To date we have hosted
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student interns,
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visual art exhibits; 2 during the Art-A-Whirl event in N.E. Minneapolis that annually brings crowds of 500+ through the IA Studios to see student and Artist Mentor creative work.
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Film screenings.