California Building 2nd Saturday Gallery
Reception and Thursday Night Painting Pouring
 
Candy Kuehn and Deborah Foutch now have a mixed media show hanging in the On2 Gallery in the California Building …..( second floor by elevator)  We invite you to play with materials in this wet paint and pour onto fabrics and papers with found objects for texture…
 
 The pour with instructions will be Thursday evening Feb 9. 6:30 -7:30

Harvesting materials will happen Saturday, Feb. 11, from 2 pm to 4 pm

After Candy and Deborah‘s talk about materials, subjects, and artistic choices @ 1:30 Saturday the 11th before opening the pour packets of joy.

Fundraiser on your Birthday with Facebook

Have you seen your friends on Facebook raising money for non-profits on their birthdays?  Well did you know Art to Change the World is set up to receive these kinds of donations too?  This is a great way to not only fundraise for ACW but also get the word out to your friends and family about this amazing organization!
If you've got a birthday coming up just go to this link to get the step-by-step instructions about how to do a Facebook Birthday Fundraiser:
https://www.facebook.com/help/1910205189301966 

You are Invited to Join Club Critique 2023

The ACW Climate Change Action Affinity Group


Meet via Zoom on Monday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. Contact Margo@MargoAshmore.com for the link. To read more about the group’s initial activities and homework, go to the project page: https://www.arttochangetheworld.org/acw-climate-change-action-affinity-group

Inspired by the Collaborative MWMO project, Mississippi River Pearl. Read More: https://www.arttochangetheworld.org/mississippi-management-and-watershed-project

Call For Art
 
Hey all, I’m the writer of the article below on being nonverbal. Do you also have accessibility needs? Perhaps a need for more online activities? Well, if you like making art and sharing your experience in a supportive group, consider joining the program Paint to Process! 
 
We will be meeting on Discord on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm starting on February 21st. During the first meeting, we can discuss if that schedule will work for everyone. There are four spots available. A free care package of art supplies will be mailed to participants. All you need to do is register, show up, create, and support!
 
If you are interested please send an email to: Alkemyfrost@gmail.com
Screenshots may be taken for ACW but will only be shared publicly if all members consent.
 
Best wishes,
Alkemy Frost
(Ne/Nir/Nem)

Being Nonverbal 

By Alkemy

As a kid, I'd often think "I'll never speak again" and "I wonder if I can make my own sign language..." at the time it was probably chalked up to drama. The times I absolutely couldn't speak were taken as something like stubbornness or some other undesirable mentality. Now I know that I have selective mutism and that is what causes me to have trouble talking.

Selective mutism is when a person can't talk sometimes and is more commonly referred to under the less specific term nonverbal. Someone may be nonverbal some of the time or all of the time. There are a variety of reasons a person may be nonverbal, including but not limited to being Deaf, Autistic, having social anxiety, trauma, a problem with the vocal cords, or a stroke. In my case, I'm Autistic and have social anxiety as well as a vocal cord issue.

So can I talk? Most of the time yes. Do I want to? Not really and in some instances, I absolutely can't. Talking takes a lot more mental work than most people give it credit for. Similar to taking for granted how easy it is to walk when other people have to work really hard at it or can't walk at all.
 

Art Speaks: Another way to experience Twin Cities Culture and History

Art WILL change the world and it starts with US! “Art Speaks” is written by Kelly Frankenberg and represents her personal viewpoint, not the policies of ACW. For more info about Kelly and her art, go to http://www.kellyfrankenberg.com
 
 Could online art tours be the next thing?
 
Writers are artists, too, portraying culture in their work. Writers collaborated on an anthology titled, Queer Voices, in which I was included, that was commissioned by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.
 
What’s unique is that the book is included in a new online history tour focusing on LGBTQ+ history in the Twin Cities created by the Minnesota Historical Society in partnership with Twin Cities Pride.
 
The tours comprise fifty-eight sites across the Twin Cities (thirty-eight in Minneapolis, including Loring Park, and twenty in St. Paul).
The sites can be explored from anywhere, via tablet, desktop computer, or smartphone. They are organized loosely in neighborhood clusters across both cities so that people on foot can realistically visit them without cars. Users can enable location services on their smart devices to understand their current location in proximity to any given site listed on the map. Users can explore beyond the maps by following the external links to MNopedia, online essays, and newspaper articles.

Although these sites are not the only ones associated with LGBTQ+ history in the Twin Cities, they were chosen by researchers to represent diverse locations, eras, people, and stories. The themes that emerge are equally diverse and cover protest/activism, legislation (anti- and pro-LGBTQ+), public sex, community resources, bars and nightlife, arts and culture, anti-LGBTQ+ violence, and HIV/AIDS, among others.

TC Pride and MNHS welcome suggestions for future sites and have included a suggestion form with the maps for community members to make their voices heard.
 
The QR code links to the map of locations, and then people can select a location to visit or learn more about.
 
The Twin Cities LGBTQ+ History Tours