Arts Activities Support

As noted above, 100% of those surveyed indicated that the project had a positive impact. Much of the credit goes to the teaching artists from Upstream Arts as they, with support from PRI staffers, were able to draw each participant into the activities while respecting their choice to do so at the level most comfortable for them. Each participant gained skills for success they can use every day. The goals of the project were to remove barriers to access for 15 adults with disabilities so they could participate in a high quality artistic experience, in a safe and accessible venue, that employed multidisciplinary activities providing engaging ways to practice appropriate communications (body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, etc.) and “rehearse” workplace interactions while developing the soft skills that can increase employability and work readiness. The artistic goals of Partnership Resources service recipients, staff participants, and teaching artists were reached over the 8 week project period. Reaching goals such as self-awareness, ability to focus, cooperation, effective communication, positive attitude, being a team player, flexibility, and accepting feedback were different for everyone. Goals were achieved to varying degrees, but the overall assessment was that the project was both enjoyable and successful. The variances related to each individual's goal achievement is attributable more to the person's abilities than any shortcoming of the artistic process. While the scale of improvement achieved ranged from slight to significant, all answered "yes" to the question "Do you think the program has a positive impact on this individual?" One of the most significant strengths of the artistic process relating to "The Art of Working" program was the support of the teaching artists along with Partnership Resources staff support, which gave participants the confidence to go outside their comfort zone and participate in front of their peers. The only thing that would be changed, should the opportunity to repeat the same or similar project occur, would be to have at least two more sessions in order to give participants either more time to get comfortable or to improve skills at an even higher level. It seemed that those who were inclined to participate in group activities experienced more success than those who tended to be a bit more shy and the additional sessions might be enough to get the more reticent participants to get to the next level of success or skill improvement. The community served by this project and the population benefitting was consistent with what was described in the proposal as submitted. Having the project activities at the Hopkins Pavilion brought diverse groups of people together as it included Upstream Arts teaching artists, a group of adults with disabilities, and Partnership Resources Direct Support Professionals in the increasingly diverse community of Hopkins, Minnesota. The Pavilion staff and members of the public who shared the community resource with these groups during the project period fostered diversity through their daily interactions. The goal of making the project open and accessible, while considering the safety and welfare of Partnership Resources' service recipients as we are committed to do, was achieved primarily through the Regional Arts Council funding as it removed the financial barriers to access for project participants. The project being open and accessible was also achieved through Partnership Resources' ability to choose its community arts partner, Upstream Arts, and a venue that was easily accessed by project participants. This allowed Partnership Resources to design and execute the project so that it made for a safe, productive, and fun way to gain skills that can help the individuals engaged be confident contributing members of the community.