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News From the Field

A listing of news and events related to the field of peacebuilding and the arts.

Spring to experience the Arts!

John O’Neal receiving the 14^th Annual Otto René Castillo Awards for Political Theatre
May 20
New York, NY
Congratulations to John O’Neal for receiving the Otto René Castillo Awards for Political Theatre! The Otto René Castillo Awards for Political Theatre were established in 1998 to recognize and support theatre companies and artists engaged in creating political theatre. The survival and development of these political theatres is vital to the maintenance of a democratic environment in which dissenting views and political options are included in the cultural/political discourse of a society. Over the past thirteen years, the Ottos have helped to create connections and build a political theatre community of diverse theatres and theatre artists from around the world. Read more.

Poetry reading by Dave Connolly and Christopher Millis
May 10
Medicine Wheel Productions, Boston, MA
A Vietnam War Combat Veteran, Dave is the author of the prose and poetry collection entitled “Lost In America.” He is one of the featured poets in the documentary “Voices In Wartime”, an educational project which illuminates how poets have viewed and commented on war from the time of Homer through present day conflicts. Christopher Millis’s writing has been published, produced and broadcast widely in the United States and Europe for the last twenty years. The first of his acclaimed translations of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, “Requiem for Mohammed Al-Dura,” was published in The London Review of Books in 2000. Read more.

 
The Glass Wall:
Documentary Project by Mahmood Karimi-Hakak
In 2009 Iranian-American theatre artist and educator, Mahmood Karimi-Hakak spent a year in Israel & Palestine on a mission to create a theatrical collaboration with participants on both sides of the decades-old conflict in that region. He discovered the 760 km concrete wall made such an artistic collaboration almost impossible. He asked theatre artists from both sides to express their thoughts towards The Wall. They are also asked to imagine The Wall as transparent and comment on what they see on the other side. Learn more.

Xchange Perspectives (XCP): Arts, Culture, and Peacebuilding
Xchange Perspectives (XCP) has been involved in the field of arts and peacebuilding since its initiation, mainly in South Sudan. The artistic creations resulting from the collaboration of Xchange Perspectives with South Sudanese youth all revolve around creating a reality of peaceful coexistence within communities in conflict.Be it through music, movies or drama, XCP's work has touched upon issues of social justice, unity in diversity, participation and representation, gender equity and equality to only cite a few. The organization is using a Peacebuilding and the Arts report to support their work in South Sudan. Read more and watch the video.

A group of musicians who opened their own recording studio after being trained by Xchange Perspectives in Yei (September 2009/Dominik Lehnert).

Opportunities and Resources

UNESCO International Theatre Institute (ITI)
Festival and Conferences
September 3-12
The UNESCO Chair of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and the Global Alliance of Theatre Schools (GATS) are collaborating to host seven events including a festival and various conferences in Sinaia and Bucharest, Romania during September 3-12, 2012. The events include the World Festival of Theatre Schools, the World Conference of Theatre School Directors for various regions, and the GATS Symposium on the theme “Ancient Theatre Masks in Europe and Asia.” Read more details or complete an application.

 

Pathways to Healing
April 25
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Dorchester, MA
This free event is open to community members of all ages living in the aftermath of homicide. The event will feature a variety of self care and healing activities including yoga, art therapy, massage, acupuncture, Sand Tray World Play, spoken word, music and guest performances. Learn more.

Democracy School: Building Power Together: Organize and Win!
May 18–19
SEIU 1199,150 Mt. Vernon Street, Suite 300
Dorchester, MA, 02125
Two day intensive advanced Days Training, co-presented by MIRA Coalition & Wellstone Action. Space is limited. For additional information and to register, contact Renato Castelo at rcastelo@miracoalition.org or 617-350-5480 ext 217.

Open Engagement Conference
May 18–20, 2012
Portland State University, OR
Open Engagement is a free international conference that sets out to explore various perspectives on art and social practice and expand the dialogue around socially engaged art making. This year’s conference features keynote presenters Tania Bruguera, Shannon Jackson, and Paul Ramirez Jonas. The work by these artists and scholars touch on subjects including politics, economies, education, and representation. Attendees are invited to sign up to present during the conference in the open presentation area. Registration is required. Read more about the conference schedule and details.

Layers of Learning: School Connections for Your Teaching Artist Practice
A Professional Development Workshop for Teaching Artists
May 23 & 30 
The workshop, focusing on the intersection of artistic goals with school agendas and requirements, is for both new teaching artists and those who have been in the field for many years. The workshop will help teaching artists frame their work to connect with school curricula, goals and culture, see their work with students through the lens of school administrators, and develop communication tools. Professional development certificates will be provided. Preregistration is required. Read more about the workshop and register to attend.

Theory in Action: Research to Results & 26th Annual Awards
May 24
Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
On May 24, 2012, at the MA State House's Gardner Auditorium, Arts|Learning is hosting a day-long celebration of the arts in education through its 26^th Annual Champion of Arts Education Advocacy Awards (17 awardees this year) plus Theory in Action:  Research to Results conversations about best practices in arts education. View the schedule and learn more.



FIGMENT BOSTON 2012
June 2-3
Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston
FIGMENT is a free, annual celebration of participatory art and culture. Its mission is to remove the barriers of museum and gallery walls and entrance fees and blurring the lines between those who create and those who enjoy art. For two days this summer, it will transform the Rose Kennedy Greenway into a large-scale collaborative artwork. Last year’s FIGMENT Boston 2011 was an amazing success, with approximately 6,000 participants interacting with nearly 100 art projects. FIGMENT is now open for art project submissions. Read more about the event and submission process. Artists planning to submit large structural pieces should contact BOSTONcuratorial@figmentproject.org early to review permitting requirements.

 

The Center for Cultural Diplomacy Studies summer semester
June 4–30, 2012
Berlin, Germany
The Center for Cultural Diplomacy Studies (CCDS) is accepting applications for enrollment to the summer semester. The CCDS (of the ICD Academy for Cultural Diplomacy) is the world’s leading center for the study of cultural diplomacy, offering educational opportunities ranging from week-long seminars for undergraduate students and interested professionals. CCDS offers Master's and Doctoral programs as well as distance learning programs for graduates pursuing careers in academia, diplomacy, government, and/or the private sector, dedicated either wholly or in part to the field of cultural diplomacy. Read more about CCDS programs. For more information, please contact academy@culturaldiplomacy.org.


Theatre Communications Group (TCG) National Conference: Model the Movement
June 21–23
Boston, MA
How can we transform our theatre field into a movement for the digital age? We can do it by changing the system of how we share, measure and adapt what works! Leading up to Boston, TCG will begin hosting a year-round conference community. This platform will allow attendees to share resources, best practices and achieve measurable progress together before, during and after the Conference. Read more about the conference.


 The Hague Symposium on Post-Conflict Transitions & International Justice
July 21–August 18
The Hague, The Netherlands
This conference will bring together 60-80 of the world’s brightest minds from top law schools, graduate schools, international organizations, judiciaries, grassroots justice movements and the military. Applications are now being accepted. More information.

Forum Theater in Movement Building & Creating Community
4-day Workshop
June 27–July 1
This 4-day workshop focuses on exercises, games, and improvised scene work of Forum Theater, one of the forms in the Theater of the Oppressed developed by Brazilian director, popular educator and activist Augusto Boal. Boal's interactive approach to theatrical expression emphasizes physical dialogues, non-verbal imagery, consensus-building and problem-solving processes, and techniques for developing awareness of both external and internalized forms of oppression, and is a tool for mobilizing people and organizing movements. The aim of the forum is not to find an ideal solution, but to invent new ways of confronting oppression. Learn more about the workshop.


Workshops and Residencies opportunities at NKA Foundation
There are multiple workshops and residencies opportunities being offered by the NKA Foundation. A few opportunities include:

• 2^nd Kumasi Biennial Symposium, Ghana, July 16–August 6. A three-week event focusing on community arts practice, as a response to the growing problem of widening gap between contemporary African artist and the rural community.
• Bamako Symposium on the Arts: Tapping Local Resources for Sustainable
  Development in the 21st Century, Mali, July 22–30. Practical acts and theoretical presentations to promote critical dialogues on the best practices around the world on how the arts feed civilizations and boost human capital development.
• 2012 International Land Art Workshop, Ghana, October 5–19. A two-week residency open to artists, architects, and interested others. Please contact Professor Frost at stuart.i.frost@hit.no if interested in the project.

Read the full list of workshops and residencies opportunities. Proposals for workshops are also accepted. Free accommodation is provided in an Arts Village setting or homestay for cultural immersion. Each participant is responsible for raising funds for their own travel costs.


Sri Lanka: The Role Of Arts And Culture In Reconciliation – Analysis
The arts, whether it is through music, painting, poetry, prose, song, dance, film, photography, theatre, or puppetry, can be a vehicle for truth, dialogue, and inter-cultural understanding for communities who speak different languages in nations where communal relations have been battered by the circumstances of war. Sri Lanka has seen several outstanding examples of how the arts have a great part to play in the national reconciliation process. For one, the Aru Sri Art Theatre troupe founded by Mrs. Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan to promote inter-ethnic harmony rendered a captivating performance of the dance drama Sri Ram at the International Ramayana Festival in Bintaan, Indonesia on April 12–13 and in Singapore on April 14. Read more about arts and peacebuilding initiatives in Sri Lanka.

Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project
Nonprofits in youth arts collaborating with national leaders to research, design, implement, and share innovative evaluation methods and tools to measure progress and outcomes in the field of youth arts. Learn more.

Performance as/is Civic Engagement: Advocate, Collaborate, Educate
ATHE Conference 2012
August 2–5
Washington, D.C.
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) is a comprehensive non-profit professional membership organization. ATHE serves the interests of its diverse individual and organizational members, including college and university theatre departments and administrators, educators, graduate students, and theatre practitioners. The theme for this year’s conference is “Performance as/is Civic Engagement: Advocate, Collaborate, Educate.” Registration is now being accepted. More information.

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