Posted Saturday October 21 2017 at 4:48 pm
It is with bittersweet excitement that we announce the departure of Aysha Upchurch from VSA Massachusetts after three and a half years of service, laughter, creation and innovation within our COOL Schools programming, and across the organization. Aysha started with VSA in September 2014 as an Education Intern, and found that the internship was an invaluable complement to her coursework while in school at the Harvard Graduate School of Education -- it allowed her to ground the theoretical frameworks around school-community partnerships, inclusion, and arts integration strategies. She was delighted to join the staff full time in 2015 after her graduate studies to explore and implement coaching supports and professional development programming, also while bolstering the organization's framing of the intersectional and social justice nature of its work and mission.
Aysha took a moment to write her own words of gratitude:
My time at this organization, this family, has been invaluable to me as it has afforded me the opportunity to advance and support work I care about, all while becoming more plugged in to the Boston arts and education communities. When I came to the Boston area three years ago and survived the most evil winter I have ever experienced, I was certain that I would not stay. (I hate the winter.) However, weathering tundra-like temperatures became possible largely in part to the fantastic people I had the privilege to work with and learn from at VSA and the network of local community arts organizations. I believe deeply in the work that is being done for arts and inclusion in schools and the larger community. I also believe that teaching artists and community arts organizations have an indelible role in advancing truly progressive and equitable school reform, and it has been a pleasure to work for an organization that brings those voices into the conversation.
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Posted Monday October 09 2017 at 11:27 pm
Join us at HUBweek to explore the future being built in Boston at the intersections of art, science, and technology. HUBweek will kick off with events taking place all across the city, and land on Boston's City Hall Plaza as it transforms into The HUB presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Filled with 80 shipping containers and 6 geodesic domes, The HUB will feature a multi-day ideas festival, live arts experiences, a massive startup showcase, exhibits, parties, and more.
VSA Massachusetts is working with HUBweek to introduce several area artists with disabilities to the event. These will be multi-art and multi-sensory performances that will engage the audience in a creative experience of shared humanity through the prism of the experience of disability. The VSA performances at HUBweek are part of the Immersion Art Program, sponsored by Union Point, a new city rising 12 miles south of Boston.
Jon Sarkin is a visual artist and a spoken word performance artist. He will work with videographer and drummer Emile Doucette and lead guitarist Dan King. Their performance, Unchained Brain, is a multi-media exploration of the visual art Jon Sarkin produces in the endless creative flow created by damage to his brain caused by a stroke. Jon will tell his story in a free form rap accompanied by a collection of images ranging from Jon's studio work, to his brain scans, and Jon's performance with indie band Guster.
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Posted Sunday October 08 2017 at 9:34 pm
Hey there! I'm Elli. I spent my early years in the pink mountains of New Mexico, searching the sky for double rainbows and breaking open rocks in search of fossils. Most of my childhood days were passed in Southern California, however, where I learned as much as I could in school, played soccer, and enjoyed time passed with friends and family. I spent four years studying art history and integrative medicine at UC Berkeley, except my junior year where I lived and learned in Bologna, Italy. I taught moviemaking in New Orleans schools for a few years, after which I relocated to the Pacific Northwest where I took up circus arts and mentoring Native American youth with equal zest. My greatest artistic feat to date is a documentary film I made on the healing process of Native youth on a tribal canoe journey. Now I'm grateful to be in the Arts in Education Master's program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where Iām learning things I never knew I never knew.
What are your favorite pastimes?
"I love to laugh, which means I spend a great deal of time with my friends and family. I love to wander in nature, hike, run, dance, do yoga, sing and play music."
If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be?
"My old boss and kids I used to mentor saw Wreck it Ralph and told me 'the main character is you!' I watched to movie and thought, 'yep, that's pretty much me.'"
You are trapped on an island. What three items do you want to have with you?
"A boat, a chart and a musical instrument. I'm gettin' off this island! (And gotta have some tunes, of course.)"
Do you have any uncommon talents or quirks?
"I have a compulsion to combine words to make puns. Say two words and my brain will find a way to smash them together. I should probably work for an advertising agency."
What brings you to VSA?
"My love of kids! Making art with young ones is one of my favorite things. I love their unbridled creativity, helping them through the process, and ultimately, seeing the end product. I have a collection of kid art I've saved over the years; it is some of my favorite art to date!"
What are you doing during your internship?
"I will be assisting Teaching Artists in the classroom, helping with teacher professional development and creating media content for the website."
