Amplify Arts is a nonprofit arts incubator for more just and equitable futures. We support Omaha-area artists working to affect meaningful change with funding, space, and opportunities for collective learning.
As 2023 comes to a close, we are excited to gather together in celebration of the incredible artists in our community and strengthen the grid of connection between us all.
Join us on Sunday, December 17th at Slowdown from 4:00-6:00 pm for exceptional performances and experiences from ELEVATION GOSPEL BAND (formerly Umoja Choir), Sgt Leisure, & Ian Tredway, along with drinks and food from Lola's.
Two limited edition tote bags will be available for purchase for $25 each featuring art by Amanda Huckins & Ilaamen Pelshaw.
Online ticket sales close at 10am on December 17th and will also be available for purchase at the door. Each ticket is $15.00 and includes one drink. All ticket sales directly support Amplify’s work as an incubator.
Performance Schedule:
4:15 - 4:45 pm - Sgt Leisure
5:00 - 5:45 pm - ELEVATION GOSPEL BAND (formerly Umoja Choir)
People of all ages, including kids, are welcome.
Slowdown is ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible. Free parking is available in the venue’s east parking lot which faces Charles Schwab Field. Metered street parking on the west and south sides of the venue is also available.
Masks are welcome and encouraged.
About the artists:
ELEVATION GOSPEL BAND (formerly Umoja Choir) began in 2010. It was started by Dieudonne Manirakiza and Eric Esron after resettling in Omaha, Nebraska as a creative outlet for children in their community. With members from Kenya, Rwanda, Congo, Uganda and Tanzania, ELEVATION GOSPEL BAND continues to provide a network of support for refugees creating spaces of belonging as new Americans.
Sgt Leisure started as a practice of sharing song ideas between friends Ameen and Pat and Kafele, and bringing in others along the way. With inspirations spanning palm wine music, singer songwriters, slap bass, and beyond, Sgt Leisure emerges as an experimental pop band balanced between improvisation and written work.
Ian Tredway is your fellow nature-loving artist-turned-designer and nonprofit manager, combining their love for community, tech, and the arts all together. Ian believes in building strong communities using bottom-up, collaborative, and creative approaches. Utilizing his experience and education in the arts and management, he actively creates alternative solutions to unique or everyday problems -- connecting the arts to neighbors, the public, or clientele. His experience ranges all aspects of the nonprofit and design pipeline; from brainstorming and conceptualization to final production and evaluation.
Amanda Huckins is a Nebraskan poet whose work has been published in booklet form as "Trying to End the War" (merrily merrily merrily merrily, 2017) and featured in A Dozen Nothing (adozennothing.com), among other places on paper and online. In her weekday hours, Amanda is an Early Head Start educator and participates in building the brain architecture for social emotional and cognitive development in infants and toddlers. In addition to her paid work, Amanda is a grassroots organizer who works alongside fellow community members to build self-determination, forge non-transactional relationships, and create radical free spaces (such as past DIY spaces The Commons in Lincoln, NE and Media Corp. in Omaha). She is also a letterpress printer who produces posters and other ephemera in her garage print studio, where she teaches typesetting to anyone who wants to learn.
Ilaamen Pelshaw is a Latina artist and illustrator born in Guatemala, a visual storyteller who explores elements of everyday life in a colorful and cheerful way, often focused on kindness and inclusion. Pop Art and the New Contemporary Movement influence her art. She mainly works with acrylic paint, graphite and digital media.
GRID Sponsors:
Lauren Simpson & Jake Hoppe
Alex Cardon
Denise Blaya Powell & Hobson Powell
Heritage Omaha
Omaha Steaks
eCreamery
Image artwork by Ian Tredway