2013 was fantastic for DACP!

Our Inclusive Arts Vibe program has never been so active.

This year, Rachel Esteve, IAV Dance Company member, worked as an Assistant Dance Teacher. IAV also continued its dance classes at Alder Creek Middle School for a second year, and the Middle School students performed at the end of their school year! The Alder Creek Middle School principal called it “a model of inclusion,” and we look forward to many successful collaborations in the future!

Inclusive Arts Vibe Dance Company, DACP’s integrated youth dance company, put on their second solo show, Home/Unrestrained. In addition to our weekend shows, IAVDC added a free Friday matinee for school and community groups.  IAVDC were featured performers at a Colored Pencils event.

IAVDC also performed at Portland Community College after DACP got a grant to showcase disability arts there; IAVDC was joined by two fantastic Portland artists, Tess Raunig and Ivan Cauldwell, who danced and sang, as well as a showing of Cheryl Green’s film “Friending with Brain Injury,” and Alexis Jewell and Max McDonnell’s film “A Heart’s Beat.”

IAVDC dancers at Glitter! Groove! Grow!

April saw Glitter! Groove! Grow!, a family-friendly fundraiser for Inclusive Arts Vibe Dance Company.  We were honored by an afternoon of performances by Native American drummer and singer John Edmo, the luminous storyteller Ed Edmo, popular folksinger and longtime DACP supporter Jana Losey, storyteller and artist Joy Corcoran, singer Sarah Doherty, and a preview performance by IAVDC!

This year is a big one for growth and change!

DACP is transitioning. Oregon Cultural Access (ORCA), will become DACP.    Our current board is supporting the nonprofit’s transition, and we will be recruiting new board members!

DACP was also accepted into the Regional Arts and Culture Council’s Cultural Leadership Program. DACP staff have the opportunity to work on long-term strategic planning with a nonprofit consultant to secure our sustainability and growth.

DACP hired volunteer Sarah Doherty to work quarter time on Development, to write grant applications and reports, help organize fundraisers, and seek sponsorships.

From January to June, DACP hosted an accessible, low-cost life drawing group at the Gallery at Port City. We featured live models who were Disabled and nondisabled, young and old, LGBTQ and straight, fat and thin, and our artists created beautiful artistic representations of diverse bodies and subjects. Check out photos of some of the artwork on our facebook page!

DACP received a grant from Oregon Humanities for our reading group, Dis/Representation: Reading into Disability.  DACP partnered with Portland Community College Disability Services, Gimp Girl, and Portland State University Disability Resource Center to present a disability justice literature program, PCC provided space, technology, and real-time captioning to hold reading groups every month.  People attended groups in person, and called and wrote in from their homes ll over the state! We read fiction and nonfiction by leading thinkers on disability justice and studies. You can find a list of readings on our webpage, http://disrepresentation.com.

In addition to the reading group, we presented a poetry reading and chapbook-signing with poet and long-time DACP supporter, William Alton. We also worked with Willamette University to bring feminist Disability Studies scholar Ann Fox to lecture on Toni Morrison’s book, Home.

William Alton reading poetry

In the summer and fall, DACP also piloted a community organizing/outreach internship program. We worked with five interns to publicize our Dis/Representation events, build new connections with statewide disability, arts, social justice, and people of color organizations, and further develop existing relationships between DACP and other organizations and communities. Our interns also learned about organizing, disability rights and disability justice, and dynamics of oppression and resistance across different communities. Your donation will help us continue to develop new leaders and build our disability arts programing and sustainability of DACP.

We have a lot to look forward to in 2014:

We are planning a winter Disability Movie Night. Watch for an announcement about that event!

We are planning our third Sex, Love, and Disability adult fundraiser for early March. We are always looking for volunteers to help us seek sponsorships and items for donation and auction, coordinate event details, and organize entertainment.

We will also be seeking submissions for a ‘zine on disability, sex, and love! We’ll assemble the ‘zine and sell it as a fundraiser for DACP.

May 17-24, DACP will present the 6^th Disability Pride Art and Culture Festival! We are very excited to announce that our featured guest artist is Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, who is currently a featured artist with Sins Invalid,  founded the traveling queer and trans* people of color performance group Mangos with Chili, and won a Lambda Literary Award for her poetry book, Love Cake. Piepzna-Samarasinha will hold a performance intensive for any interested artists.  We are also planning a panel on Revolutionary Arts, a poetry reading by Piepzna-Samarasinha, and of course the Festival performances!

We would like to ask you to consider making a personally significant year-end gift  to Disability Art and Culture Project to kick off a spectacular new year. To those of you who have given your time and resources, thank you. We accomplished so much this year with volunteer time, donations, and the determination and creative flair from our disability arts community. We couldn’t have done it without you. All of us at the Disability Art and Culture Project want to thank you for a fantastic 2013, and we look forward to building vibrant disability art and culture with you in 2014 and beyond!

Sincerely,

Kathy Coleman, Artistic Director

Sarah Doherty, Development Director

Daric, Sam, and Sam’s PA dancing in the studio

Angela Blessing!

(a.k.a. Onya or Anya!)

Onya twirling with dance ribbon

Angela Blessing has danced twice with IAVDC. She likes arts and crafts, singing, dancing, and reading books. She enjoys eating Mexican food.  She is thinking of getting a pet hamster and naming it Chowder.

Onya doing floor work

Onya contributed papercut art, flower pins, and bookmarks to the fundraiser. Catch her solo ribbon dance at Home/Unrestrained this May 3, 4, and 5!

We made most of what we needed to cover videography for the IAVDC performance, Home/Unrestrained, which means that we’ll have a nice professional video of the whole performance and will also be able to make a promotional video for IAVDC!

And now let us show you some of the excellent things that happened at the fundraiser!

Fun at the craft table. (Thanks to Lavaun and Alyson and their helpers for running the show there!)

Native American singer and drummer John Edmo open the event with an honor song and a round dance. We were too busy participating in the dance to take any pictures! But you can hear John performing a few songs on a local radio station a few years ago, on the Tillicum Wawa: Voices of the People show, here.

Longtime friend of DACP, singer/songwriter Jana Losey, performed a few songs!

In addition to donating a painting for the auction, Joy Corcoran told the story of Iris (the girl in the tactile sculpture) and Aurora the seeing eye dragon (also part of the sculpture). Joy wrote a blog post about her performance, and reprinted the text of her story, here!

After we closed round one of the auction, John’s father, the inimitable Ed Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock)–poet, storyteller, playwright, historian, longtime activist, and Native American consultant, not to mention the Vice President of the board of the National Indian Parent Information Center–gave an impromptu performance of the legend of Snake.

Roll, Snake!

Then Sarah Doherty, DACP  Development Director, dusted off her a cappella folk singing skills for a rendition of James Taylor’s “Millworker” and her own version of “Low Bridge, Everybody Down.” More than a few audience members sang along!

Mules named Sal=awesome (best on the Erie Canal). Photo by Kathy Coleman.

And Inclusive Arts Vibe Dance Company performed two pieces before the close of the auction, at the end of the afternoon! They previewed a new piece that will be debuted at Home/Unrestrained, an homage to Artistic Director Kathy Coleman’s father:

Monique, Daric, and Ali dancing with a basketball. Photo by Kathy Coleman.

Chloe and Addie dance with basketball midair! Photo by Kathy Coleman.

Group shot of IAVDC dancers performing with basketballs: Rachel W & PA, Rachel E, Monique, Daric, & Addie’s arm and toes. Photo by Kathy Coleman

Monique and Chloe dancing

Rachel W dancing with PA; they made intricate circles on the dance floor. Photo by Cheryl Green

IAVDC dancers also reprised their popular Lady Gaga piece.

Addie prepares to pirouette during her dance solo. Photo by Cheryl Green.

Monique, Rachel E, Daric, and Chloe spin and hold monster claw poses. Photo by Cheryl Green.

Rachel E’s dance solo. Photo by Cheryl Green.

IAVDC Gaga group shot. Photo by Cheryl Green.

Stefanie Snider (our visual arts coordinator who runs the open art sessions) ran the food table with Cheryl Green, who, in addition to taking pictures, acted as the Master of Ceremonies. with help from new volunteer Marcella. Our longtime volunteer Barbara H worked with accessibility and auction coordinator Kelley Schaperjahn to run the auction, dance company members contributed artwork and sold flowers, donated truffles from Missionary Chocolates, and kid-friendly necklaces donated by Sarah, and a dozen other volunteers helped us to set up, transfer unsold round one auction items to the round two auction tables, and clean up. We had refreshments donated by fundraiser coordinating committee members, as well as Dovetail Bakery, Fred Meyer (Hawthorne), Grand Central Baking Company (Beaumont), New Seasons (Division), and Whole Foods (Hollywood). In addition, volunteers donated their artwork, and helped us find other donations to auction off (see the full, amazing list of donors here!). We could not have had this event, and our youth dancers can’t succeed, without support from our whole community–and you all came through. Thank you!

And don’t forget–the youth performance we all worked so hard to support, Home/Unrestrained, is this weekend! May 3, 4, and 5–see you there!

Join us for an all-ages paper cutout art workshop with emerging local artist, longtime diversity facilitator, and friend to DACP, Lavaun Heaster! Join us to make bright, tactile, inclusive, and accessible paper cutout folk art. All materials and tools will be provided. Don’t worry if you’ve never made visual art before, or if you don’t think you have the skills! Lavaun’s workshops are inclusive, for all ages and abilities, we’ll have some shapes already cut out for you to design and arrange, and DACP will also have some volunteers to assist with art-making.

All participants will receive an electronic image of the art piece(s) they create, and the original artwork will be donated to DACP for fundraising purposes. Inclusive Arts Vibe Dance Company’s spring performance is coming up, and DACP is working on a family friendly fundraiser to cover the expenses. This workshop is for people who would like to create art to donate for auction at DACP’s fundraiser!

WHEN AND WHERE:

SCRAP Education Annex, Standard Dairy Building, Suite J, 2808 NE MLK, Jr. Blvd, 97212
Saturday, March 2, 3:30-5:30pm

ACCESSIBILITY:

• The SCRAP Education Annex is on the #6 bus line, and there is some on-street parking on the surrounding side streets.
• The building is ADA accessible.
• There are two large, accessible single-stall gender-neutral restrooms.
• Although DACP gladly accepts donations to cover our costs, there is no charge for this workshop.
• Please refrain from wearing scented products. This event takes place in a rented community space that is not consistently fragrance free.
• This workshop is all ages. Children 6 and under with adult supervision only.
• Volunteer art assistants will be available.
• Contact disabilityartculture@gmail.com with further accessibility questions.

TO REGISTER:

Space is limited! Please register directly with DACP by e-mailing disabilityartculture@gmail.com or calling 503-238-0723 (voice) by 5pm on Friday, March 1.

Visit our facebook event page here, but please do register by e-mailing or calling.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Lavaun Heaster is an emerging local low vision artist who creates inclusive tactile art. Lavaun’s work depicts diverse people connecting. She is curious about varying cultural practices and beliefs, having grown up in a multiethnic family and currently living with a multiethnic partner. Inspired by the vibrant art, ethnic communities and disability scene in Portland, OR, Lavaun has combined her passions in creating original art which you can see at http://accesibleart.webs.com/.

Thank you for being part of our most successful year yet! You can help us jump-start our work for 2013 by making a tax-deductible gift to DACP before 11:59pm on December 31!

2012 was fantastic for DACP!

We had our second annual Sex, Love, and Disability fundraiser and the fifth Disability Pride Art and Culture Festival since our founding in 2005. The Festival’s theme was the power of art to cultivate social change. We had live performance, panel discussion and a Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop with The-TREE Institute. We are proud to have worked with incredible writers and performers in our community, and with Antoine Hunter, the Oakland-based African American Deaf and Hard of Hearing Choreographer, Dancer, and founder of the Urban Jazz Dance Company. Hunter performed solo dances and worked with local dancers to choreograph and premiere a collaborative piece at the Festival.

In 2012, Aireen Joven was hired as our first ever organizer. She built relationships with individuals and organizations, developed and recruited volunteers, and helped DACP set the stage to run more smoothly. She brought an invaluable artistic and racial justice perspective to her work. Your donation will help us develop new leaders and continue our racial justice work!

Since 2008, Inclusive Arts Vibe has had dance classes at Lynch View Elementary School. This year, Rachel Esteve, IAV Dance Company member, is interning there as an Assistant Dance Teacher. IAV also added dance classes at Alder Creek Middle School, perfomed in the Festival, and were featured performers at the disability-themed Colored Pencils in August. IAVDC welcomed three new dancers this fall, and the company is in rehearsal for their upcoming May performance.

This summer, we organized an online community survey and Community Listening Session at Portland Community College’s Cascade campus. DACP wanted—wants!—to hear from our community. We used what we learned to determine the direction of DACP—regular arts programming, opportunities for cross-cultural listening, continued work on anti-racism, more space for disability art and culture, education within our various diverse communities on racial justice and disability justice and their intersections. We have had rich discussions about art and social justice. The Community Listening Session also featured a presentation by artist Rupert Kinnard on race, disability, sexuality, gender, and art.

In the fall, DACP analyzed survey data, applied for and received partial funding to continue the IAV dance classes, and in November partnered with Story Minders to host Disability Comedy Movie Night. Cheryl Green premiered her film “Friending with Brain Injury!” We had an incredible conversation about disability culture, dark humor, insider/outsider dynamics, and the role of comedy in social justice work. Over fifty people got together for food, conversation, and fun!

We have a lot to look forward to in 2013:

Starting on January 11, 2013, DACP will host an accessible, low-cost life drawing group  every second Friday of the month, at Project Grow. We will break down barriers to disability art and culture making one art session at a time!

In the spring, DACP will partner with GimpGirl, In Other Words, and local and national humanities experts and Disability Studies scholars to launch a Disability Studies reading group! Expect to read academic and non-academic, fiction and nonfiction, works on intersectional disability justice and diverse disability cultures. We’ll have lectures by local and national Disability Studies scholars, and both in-person and online discussions.

We’ve started to plan a springtime art-auction fundraiser for the Inclusive Arts Vibe Dance Company performance with youth art classes facilitated by local artist Lavaun Heaster. And, of course, IAVDC’s recital will be in May!

We’re also tentatively planning a symposium on the intersections of race and disability in visual culture, and a book launch/poetry reading with local poet William Alton. With every event, we further the artistic expression of people with both non-apparent and apparent disabilities, support our communities in understanding disability culture and pride, and help the wider culture reimagine the definition of disability, art, and culture.

We would like to ask you to consider making a personally significant year-end gift to Disability Art and Culture Project to kick off a spectacular new year. To those of you who have given your time and resources, thank you. We accomplished so much this year with volunteer time, donations, and the determination and creative flair that our disability arts community is famous for. We couldn’t have done it without you. All of us at the Disability Art and Culture Project want to thank you for a fantastic 2012, and we look forward to building vibrant disability art and culture with you in 2013 and beyond!

Sincerely,

Kathy Coleman, Artistic Director
Sarah Doherty and Cheryl Green, DACP planning committee