Fall 2019
Partnership News
Front Feature
Front feature image from west side public community art
Beginnings
By Jennifer Mayer-Glenn
My first months at UNP have been full of welcoming, kindness, openness and passion by staff, community members, partners and University faculty & staff. What a privilege it is to be part of this important work.
I am particularly energized by the recently completed Long-Range Plan. Over the past two years, UNP Board members and staff interviewed nearly 200 west side residents, community leaders, and university faculty & staff to identify priorities for the next five years. The four strategic priorities are Interweaving for Deeper Impact, Resident Leadership, Education Pathways, and Engagement & Understanding. Please visit our webpage for more details about the long range plan.
Now our responsibility is to implement what west side residents, community leaders and university faculty & staff -- a community coming together -- decided is important. We will align outcomes and indicators to the strategic priorities, work with the Utah Education Policy Center to establish a baseline from which we can grow, and identify goals that are aligned to the strategic priorities. But most importantly, we will be human together, listen to each other, laugh together, learn together, and take care of each other.
A Study in Social Interventions at Hartland
With Kelby McIntyre-Martinez
Districts and after school programs grapple with ways to best serve their students. Growth and progress come through various school and after school experiences. Community-based arts education programs can have a significant and positive impact on participating youth and on community development. Research proves the arts can have a positive effect on academic, cognitive, and social skills development for all students.
This spring, Kelby McIntyre-Martinez and the Hartland Youth Center staff observed that youth could benefit from targeted social interventions that supported opportunities to engage in sustained and consistent pro-social behavior activities at the center. She and Youth Center Coordinators, Abdullah Mberwa and Jasmine Montoya, established the language and prosocial interventions they would implement for 28 weeks at the Center. The interventions tracked student consistency and growth in their abilities to make and engage in pro-social decisions. The theatre and dance education program functioned as the focus for this study.
Intervention language included:
- Be in control of bodies and voices
- Give 100% try (homework, listening, sharing, creating, leading, and participating)
- Have fun
Participants identified areas they would like to grow in: student focus on the task at hand; following directions the first time given; volume control; and personal spatial awareness. Accomplishments were a healthy increase in peer-to-peer accountability, and the participants increased their sustained attention to tasks when working in small groups significantly over time. More awareness of volume control was apparent to observers, staff, and program leaders as the study progressed.
Participants took on prompted and unprompted leadership roles within the theatre and dance program. When lessons were designed specifically as group projects that culminated in collaborative theatre and dance sharing, prosocial peer-to-peer collaboration seemed to be more successful. When the staff and program leaders were implementing consistent language, promoting pro -social behaviors explicitly between programs, more youth were successful for longer, sustained periods throughout the study.
See more details about this study on the UNP blog at partners.utah.edu/news-events/unp-blog
Casa Quetzalcoatl's Imaginemos Utah
By Joel-Lehi Organista
The story of Casa Quetzalcoatl begins with the Organista familia. Teresa Organista
is the mother of five kids. By the time her two oldest boys graduated from West High
school, she had gained a lot of wisdom in navigating the education system as a parent.
As a member of the Community Advocate Network,Teresa mentored and organized Latinx parents on the west side for a couple of years before deciding to continue her work through an official nonprofit organization. She took the Startup Incubator course and founded Casa Quetzalcoatl in 2015 with her husband and children. The purpose of Casa Quetzalcoatl is to expand the precious knowledge of families -- expanding formal knowledge by obtaining a higher education, expanding cultural knowledge by becoming culturally sustaining individuals, and expanding civic knowledge by becoming empathic leaders in the community.
This past summer, Casa Quetzalcoatl held its inaugural Imaginemos Latinx Summit. This summit brought together Latinx young adults, aged 18-35, who are leaders in various fields. The purpose of the summit was to create a 5 to 10 year collective vision of what the Latinx community needs to do in terms of leading in Utah. This vision is based on what Casa Quetzalcoatl calls a "decolonized Aztec/Mexica framework. "
People who want to increase leadership from marginalized communities often talk of
building "pipelines" into prominent leadership positions. Casa Quetzalcoatl uses a
different metaphor: the chinampa. A chinampa - sometimes called a "floating garden"
- is a form of Aztec agriculture. It is a multilayered, interdependent, sustainable
ecosystem that's usually 300 feet long by 30 feet wide, resting on water. Rather than
building pipelines, Casa Quetzalcoatl is nurturing leaders in their chinampas, each
focused on a different area: Arts, Business, Education, Elected & Public Servants,
Environmental, Legal & Law Enforcement, Media, Medical & Health, Science & Engineering,
and Technology.
Creating a collective vision is only the first step. Now we need Latinx leaders to step up to make it happen. Each chinampa needs young Latinx "co-leads" to help organize the collective efforts that already are happening across Utah, and start new efforts that need to happen. Each chinampa also needs Latinx leaders that have been in positions of power who can serve as mentors. Additionally, the chinampas need partners. Partners can be Latinx led or non-Latinx led organizations.
Another fundamental aspect of the Imaginemos Utah network is our set of norms for engaging with one another. The norms align to the 20 days within the Aztec calendar. Each norm is purposefully crafted in order to make sure we keep all the young leaders,mentors, and partners of Imaginemos Utah accountable. Any violation of the norms will result in us using restorative practices to address the harm.
Come join the Imaginemos Utah network!
Sugar Space Arts Warehouse
By Brittany Reese
Sugar Space Arts Warehouse is described as a "mixed use" arts and events center - but it's more than that. They've hosted many partner events, and Brittany Reese offered to share more about this west side organization.
The Foundation
The Sugar Space Foundation is our resident nonprofit that works with the venue to provide support and outreach programs. Their mission is to provide space and opportunities for artists of all disciplines; support the creation and presentation of visual and live performance works with a focus on experimentation and innovation, present local and visiting artists, and engage the community and further appreciation of the arts through audience and artist exchange and outreach.
With funding from ZAP and other grants, we host an artist in residency and presenting program for local artists. We also present touring artists alone or in collaboration with other local Sugar Space Play Cafe organizations. Partners have included the U of U, UMFA, SB Dance, UVU, Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts (MICA), and more. Touring artists include Maria Correa, Jose Torres-Tama, Julian Gargiulio, Neta Pulvermacher, Keith Johnson, and many others.
Anchor Tenants
Sugar Space provides rental space to some anchor tenants such as Salt Lake Aikido, Crowdsourced Comedy, Flamenco Dellago, and Elle Marketing and Events. We also act as a commissary kitchen for local vendors including, Buzzed Coffee Truck, Flourish Bakery, Maille's Mixx, Udder Rivals Ice Cream, and others. Our resident non-profit for our art gallery is MICA who curates gallery exhibits and events.
Sugar Space Play Cafe
Sugar Space Play Cafe is among the newest offerings at the warehouse. Created with goals of community, inclusiveness, connection, and fun, the cafe has been well received and we hope to increase hours and offerings as it grows.
The Cafe's Founders
Brittany Reese owns and operates Sugar Space. As a female entrepreneur and mom of 3, she has been raising the bar for what women have accomplished in the business world over the last 12 years. She's been the recipient of numerous awards, and her goal is to create an inclusive community regardless of gender, race, orientation, age, or religious beliefs. She believes the addition of the play cafe creates that safe space for all.
Michaela Velarde is a teacher, and has her own photography and design business. As a stay-at-home mom, she knew how difficult and isolating parenting can be! Michaela imagined a space where families and their kids could relax and socialize in a judgement-free zone. The play cafe has been just that. She hopes every parent and caregiver that walks into the cafe feels a sense of ownership in knowing they've helped create this with us.
Staff Spotlight
Abdulkhaliq Barbaar
Paul is UNP's Associate Director. Originally from the Boston area, he now lives in
Glendale with his wife, their nine year old son, and their dog Honey.
Paul earned his undergraduate in Michigan, majoring in both social science and theater, before he completed masters and doctorate degrees at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Paul is passionate about community and the possibilities that emerge when groups of people come together to do something collectively, whether they're making art, playing games, taking political action, making decisions, or just trying to understand one another better. Paul speaks both English and Spanish and lived in many places including Chicago, Chile, and Nicaragua before coming to Utah for a fellowship. His background led him to connect with UNP where he has been for the past six years.
He loves reading and enjoys going to restaurants and stand-up comedy shows. Paul and his son have recently developed an interest in rock climbing. When you see him, be sure to ask about his arts background, which ranges from graphic design and playwriting to hip-hop and slam poetry.
Community Corner
Sugar Space Play Cafe
Sugar Space Play Cafe operates inside Sugar Space Arts Warehouse, Sun - Thurs, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and
offers a variety of drinks and light food menu items in a place where families can
laugh, explore, and make friends. The goal of the cafe is to provide a fun play space
for kids while parents can catch up on work, socialize with other parents, or simply
take a break while their children explore and play. Play is an important part of development
so they include creative arts, music and performance activities to encourage creative
and independent thought from a young age. They are working with a local kitchen incubator
to provide a lunch buffet featuring local chefs as part of a pop-up kitchen experience.
The cafe is also available for party rentals. The mission is to bring people together
in an inclusive space that strengthens our community. Sugar Space is located at 132
S. 800 W.
Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
University Neighborhood Partners brings together University and west side people and resources in reciprocal learning, action, and benefit-a community coming together.
Vision
The University and west side neighborhoods share a vision of a community woven together through partnerships based on mutual empowerment, discovery and learning rooted in diverse life experiences. By addressing systemic barriers to educational success, these collaborative partnerships foster increased access to higher education for community members, a University enriched by its involvement in the community, and an enhanced quality of life for all involved.
Values
- UNP is committed to mutual respect, empowerment, and learning rooted in diverse life experiences.
- Understanding and knowledge are furthered by the open, active and mutual sharing of information and resources.
- Multiple kinds of knowledge and life experiences are central to address social, community, and University issues.
- Knowledge is power and must be available to everyone.
- It is the right of all people to have access to the greatest range of opportunities; it is the choice of each individual how to utilize these opportunities.