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With Free Arts Minnesota, your donations provide thousands of children a year with a healing creative outlet. All amounts welcome.
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Free Arts offers a comprehensive creative empowerment curriculum, to help your organization heal the lives of children and families.
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Discover the healing power of art in the most rewarding way imaginable; byteaching it! Become a Free Arts Volunteer Mentor.
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There are many ways to make enormous differences in the lives of children. Find out which way is best for you.
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Art supplies, office equipment, musical instruments, event tickets and more. There are many items that you can contribute to help children thrive. Help us expand our services by clicking here for a list of the basic supplies we need for new art cabinets! Or check out Free Arts Minnesota's Wish List at Target Lists.
Contact Courtney!
We cordially invite you to a reception and exhibit, “Identity Ink!” Partnering with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA), and award winning, local artist, Natasha Pestich, we're providing an eight week arts education experience for over 100 Free Arts Minnesota youth, focusing on the theme of "Identity." The teens from this summer screenprinting program will be showcasing their work at the MIA!
When: Thursday, August 22nd @ 6pm
Where: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
RSVP: To Courtney at 612.824.2787 or Courtney@freeartsminnesota.org
Art Heals!
Free Arts Minnesota inspires hope and builds self-esteem for youth who have experienced poverty, homelessness, abuse and mental illness, using the healing powers of artistic expression and caring adult mentors.
“Life to the Max” Features Free Arts MN
Free Arts Minnesota works to empower youth, many of whom have experienced challenges well beyond their years, by encouraging them to express themselves through art. “Life to the Max” follows a class of students as they explore the art of photography, express their creativity and experience the pride of sharing their work with others.
“Life to the Max” … brings you stories that motivate and inspire! Sponsored by Lifetouch Inc. and produced by Lifetouch Media Productions. Check us out online.
2011 Annual Report
Thanks to your help and support, in 2011, we extended our weekly mentoring partnerships from 13 agencies to 28, trained and placed over 100 new volunteers and reached 3,077 children . Read more here!
United Way
If you pledge for United Way, designate Free Arts Minnesota as your designee! It's simple, you enter, MN/Minneapolis/Free Arts Minnesota and our zip - 55401. Thanks for your support!
New blog!
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A quick go-to for all things "volunteer"! Learn more about us, find cool projects to do, meet the staff, nominate Mentor of the Month, or chat online with the Volunteer Coordinator! Check it out >>
become a mentor!
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Free Arts is looking for mentors for the 2012-2013 program year. Get involved by becoming a weekly mentor! Read more and apply >>
Events »
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A Bracelet Supporting Children’s Art Programs is Helping to Make Dreams Come True May 24ththrough July 31st, 2013
For each $58 Independence Charm Holder Bracelet and each $48 Americana I.D. Bracelet sold from May 24th through July 31st, 2013, Brighton Collectibles will contribute 50% of the retail cost to Free Arts Minnesota. Read More »
Brighton’s Americana Jewelry Campaign Empowers Kids’ Art Aspirations in Local Communities Throughout the Nation
LOS ANGELES (May 16, 2013) – For the second year in a row, this iconic accessory company – which over the past decade has supported charities with more than $8 million in donations – is turning its focus to donating to a wide range of kids’ charity programs for the arts. These programs will include ballet, orchestra, symphony and other music programs and classes as well as painting.
As adults, many of us can recall the exhilaration of giving our first live performance, or discovering the sound that a trombone makes, or the thrill of watching a ballerina stand on pointe the first time. Today, many schools across the country no longer offer children these opportunities. This campaign offers people the chance to ensure that children in their communities have the chance to experience the arts up close – giving the next generation of artists a bright future.
At Brighton Collectibles, the company doesn’t simply agree with the maxim “Be the change you wish to see in the world” – they’ve built it into their business by designing jewelry to raise money for non-profit organizations that help people in the communities near their stores, and this initiative is one that Brighton’s owner and design team feel passionate about. As Laura Young, Brighton’s President of Sales and Marketing explains, “I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without the ballet classes I took throughout my school years, the piano lessons and recitals, or learning to paint with oils. My participation in these programs not only gave me an appreciation for the arts, it gave me the confidence to become the person I am today.”
For each $58 Independence Charm Holder Bracelet and each $48 Americana I.D. Bracelet sold from May 24ththrough July 31st, 2013, the company’s 172 Brighton Collectibles stores and participating Brighton retailers will contribute 50% of the retail cost to children’s art charities which will be chosen by the stores in which the bracelets are sold – each store will select a 501 (C) (3) charity program or a local school, ensuring that the programs will benefit their own families, friends and neighbors and strengthen the arts in each community. To find a participating store near you, visit www.brighton.com
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Clay To Go Reception Thurday, May 30, 2013
We invite you to a free reception and pop-up exhibit, “Clay to Go.” This February, we partnered with Northern Clay Center to bring a mobile ceramics program centered on the theme of healing to 80 youth living in residential treatment settings. Read More »
Where: Northern Clay Center 2424 E Franklin Ave. Mpls
When: Thursday, May 30, 6-7:30pm. Program begins at 6:30pm
RSVP: To Courtney at 612.824.2787 or Courtney@freeartsminnesota.org
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Rock the Vine 4 Saturday, June 8, 2013
Rock the Cause at Rock the Vine 4 with Mark Mallman, Roster McCabe, Actual Wolf, The Melismatics, Van Stee, Fathom Lane, Savannah Smith , The Hounds of Finn at Saint Croix Vinyards:
Saint Croix Vinyards - 6428 Manning Avenue North, Stillwater , MN 55082
Gates at 11:30 AM music starts at noon and ends at 8PM. 21 Plus only show with I.D.
Get tickets here
$15 GA includes parking and free bottled water
$20 GA included Wine tasting, parking and free bottled water.
$35 includes (5) 16 oz pints of Summit Brewing handcrafted beer, parking and free bottled water!
Hosted by Cities 97 afternoon personality Paul Fletcher.
Read More »The event will also feature a nonprofit village showcasing the work of Free Arts Minnesota and several nonprofits that strengthen our community, through programs that offer education and career training, cultural enrichment, economic literacy, self-esteem through creative expression, and programs that help others to lead healthy productive lives. Concert attendees will be encouraged to visit the nonprofit village and discover a cause to which they can contribute their time, energy, passion and resources.
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News »
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Identity Ink June 17 – August 22, 2013
Summer art education program with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, local artist Natasha Pestich, and Free Arts Minnesota Read More »
Free Arts Minnesota, a local non-profit organization, is partnering with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) and award winning, local artist, Natasha Pestich to provide an eight week arts education experience with 100 students from several partnering social service agencies. The arts education experience will focus on nine artworks from the MIA collection to explore individual identity through the art of screen printing. The project begins with tour of the MIA where the youth will observe and learn about the nine selected works. In the following weeks the youth will participate in discussions and personal narratives on identity as well as composition and design for their final screen print project. The culmination of the program will be an exhibit of the resulting youth artwork at the MIA. Our partner agencies that will have youth displaying their work include: Perspectives, Inc, Headway Emotional Health Services, and Omegon Residential Treatment Center.
The teen exhibit and reception at the MIA will be Thursday, August 22nd at 6pm.
To RSVP for the event or for more information, contact Courtney Kupsch | Courtney@freeartsminnesota.org | 612.824.2787
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“GAME FACE” June 18 – August 12, 2012
Summer art education program with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, local photographer Wing Young Huie, and Free Arts Minnesota Read More »
Free Arts Minnesota is partnering with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) and renowned local photographer Wing Young Huie to provide a 7-week arts education experience with more than 75 students from several partnering agencies. The arts education experience is centered around the museum’s exhibit “The Sports Show: Minnesota,” which explores the role of photography and media (television, video, and digital technology) in transforming sports from a casual leisure activity into a spectacle of mass participation. The culmination of the program will be an exhibit of the resulting youth artwork at the MIA. Our partner agencies that had youth displaying their work included: Perspectives, Inc, Boys and Girls Club Eastside, People Inc, Kaleidoscope Place, and Headway.
The goal of the project is to offer access to an arts learning experience to young people for whom the cost of enrollment in art education would be prohibitive. Free Arts wants these young people to gain the experience of touring and thoughtfully reviewing an arts exhibit at a major museum. But even more important, they will realize that they have the capability to respond creatively to what they see. The Free Arts youth exhibit will occur during one of the MIA’s family days that are attended by an average of 500 people.
Visit www.wingyounghuie.com to learn more about the artist and www.artsmia.org to learn more about the museum.
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Healthy Minds and Bodies at Free Arts! Kicks off October 1, 2012!
The Healthy Minds and Bodies Program at Free Arts MN is a six week program designed to provide underserved youth the tools necessary to make healthy lifestyle choices. Read More »
Youth will learn the importance of an active lifestyle, discover how food is grown, and be inspired to create their own meals and snacks with a variety of good-for-you foods. If you are interested in participating by working as a guest chef or guest movement instructor, please contact Randa at support@freeartsminnesota.org.