What a Year It Has Been!

 

The year—and the decade!—are coming to a close, and we’re taking some time to reflect on what an amazing year it has been. We feel so fortunate to be a part of a vibrant, generous, and creative community that truly values art as a human right. Not just for some people, but for everyone.

Here are a few of the things that made 2019 great:

  • We shook off our sparkles and introduced PHAMEtastic, our new and improved party of the year. It was groovy and fresh, and the Rock Ensemble’s rendition of Dancing Queen made dancers out of all of us.

  • We revamped our One Community event, re-situating it as a breakfast affair, and had countless fantastic conversations about the importance—the necessity—of inclusive employment.

  • We were blown away when Portland City Hall proclaimed that July 31 was PHAME Day. When Chloe Eudaly read the proclamation aloud, our hearts were aflutter!

  • We rode the radio waves, with features on both All Classical and OPB’s Think Out Loud.

  • We presented The Poet’s Shadow: an original rock opera written, designed, and performed by artists with developmental disabilities, and it was fantastic. We were blown away by the beauty of the show, and we weren’t the only ones. The show got write ups in Oregon Arts Watch, Wilamette Week, The Oregonian, Portland Tribune, and Portland Monthly.

  • We turned 35 and celebrated our birthday with a karaoke party featuring sensational renditions of songs by Celine Dion, Queen, Journey, and Disney’s Frozen. Our community truly knows how to party, and 35 is feeling pretty great.

  • We served more than 130 students, a whopping 40 of which were new to PHAME this year.

This year, we continued our work of giving our students the tools, knowledge, and experience to empower themselves through the arts. We provide the opportunity, but they do the work. We’re following their lead as they guide us into 2020—into the new decade!—and we can’t wait to see what comes next.

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Check out these great pics from 2019!

Big thanks for the amazing support we received from the following foundations this year!

Regional Arts & Culture Council
Oregon Arts Commission
Oregon Community Foundation
James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation
Starseed Foundation
City of Portland, Oregon
Multnomah County Cultural Coalition
HMF Beaudoin Foundation
The Autzen Foundation
Oregon Cultural Trust
Jackson Foundation
US Bank Foundation
BP Lester & Regina John Foundation
Ralph J Huiras Foundation

 
Anya Roberts