The LISTEN/™ Project
In 2016, Gilda’s Club Minnesota launched an arts-based initiative that provides creative opportunities and platforms to elevate and share our members’ voices and stories. Through a dance performance, documentary and teen essay contest, The LISTEN/™ Project explores new ways to experience the stories of those impacted by cancer.
LISTEN/™ Stories of Cancer told through Movement, Music and Voice
The LISTEN/™ journey started with a performance by members of Gilda’s Club, created in partnership with Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater (SPDT) and directed by SPDT Artistic Co-Director Suzanne Costello. (Thanks to V. Paul Virtucio for the photography)
LISTEN/™ Stories of Cancer and Resilience
Twin Cities Public Television documented the process of creating the performance and produced a 26-minute documentary called LISTEN/Stories of Cancer and Resilience – that aired in February 2018 and was nominated for an Upper Midwest EMMY. Watch the documentary here.
LISTEN/™ Dear Cancer Teen Essay Contest
In the fall of 2018, Gilda’s Club Minnesota launched the LISTEN/™ Dear Cancer Teen Essay Contest to amplify the voices of teens impacted by cancer. Middle and high-school teens (ages 13-18) impacted by cancer, either through their own diagnosis or through a friend or family member, submitted essays written in their own voices that reflected their personal experiences with cancer: insights, musings and lessons learned.
Each year, middle and high school teens (ages 13-18) impacted by cancer, either through their own diagnosis or through a friend or family member, are once again invited to share their story by entering the LISTEN/™ Dear Cancer Teen Essay Contest!
Grace Wethor, past first place winner in the High School Living with Cancer category, shared her story and you can watch this powerful performance below: