• Ethics Center
• BRANDEIS HOME

News From the Field

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

  News and Events     |     Arts     |     Opportunities and Resources

News and Events

"Magdalena" - A New Documentary about Women in Theatre
"Magdalena" is newly-released film produced by Jill Greenhalgh and Sara Penrhyn Jones about the Magdalena Project, a network of women in theatre. This 30-minute documentary draws on footage from two Magdalena festivals in 2011 in Wales and Cuba, and aims to capture the history of the project and convey its spirit which remains is consistently relevant amidst changing environments. The film features Violeta Luna, as well as DAH Teatar (by “Acting Together” collaborator Dijana Milošević) and Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani (by “Acting Together” star Ana Correa). The full documentary is available to view online, with information available in English, Português, and Español.

Brandeis Alum Abdul Aziz Sohail Earns Raves as Curator of "Islam Contemporary" Exhibit
August 25, 2013  | The Berkshire Eagle
The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts has staged a comprehensive art exhibit, "Islam Contemporary," featuring 24 local, national and international artists. The show includes 90 works of art -- photography, prints, paintings, jewelry, sculpture and more. It the gallery’s first show to be approached about touring and has also earned a "Critic's Pick" honor in the Boston Globe. In addition to the talented artists involved, the show's success should be credited to its curator, 23-year-old Abdul Aziz Sohail, a recent art history graduate of Brandeis University and former Ethics Center Leadership Council (ECLC) member. Sohail said the idea for the exhibit formed "just after the bombing in Boston and I thought it would help with [Islamic] perspectives...I hope to continue working in a cross-cultural context... Bringing Pakistani and Afghani artists together is a really important thing to do, even if it means pushing the boundaries of their own people." Read more.

Festival Aims to Prove Art Can Directly Benefit a City’s Poorest Citizens
July 23, 2013  |  The Informal City Dialogues
The Chale Wote Street Art Festival takes place in Accra, Ghana and its name – slang for flip-flops – evokes bonds that transcend social class.  Dr. Sionne Neely, the organizer of The Chale Wote Street Art Festival in Accra, Ghana says, “we advocate that every one of us is an artist…Each of us has the capacity to change not only our own lives but that of our communities… Art can be the critical engine of transformation.” Larry Aminu, one of three co-founders of Nima Muhimanchi Art (NMA), an arts collective based out of Nima, one of Accra’s largest slums, says “Art is the only medium that can transform society. Art can bring peace. Art can bring unity. Art can bring togetherness. I do art to change society. I also do art to talk for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Read more.



INDRA Congress 2013:
First Act Youth Theatre host The Art of Cooling Conflict
By Olga Bradshaw, Londonderry Sentinel
The members of First Act Youth Theatre of Londonderry, Northern Ireland hosted an innovative arts project involving over 100 young people from the city as part of a unique gathering called INDRA, otherwise known as the International Development for Reconciliation Using the Arts. The INDRA 2013 Congress will be hosted in Londonderry and is a global network that shares a commitment to the development of the arts as a crucial resource for peace building and the non-violent transformation of conflict. The young people worked with a company of artists to explore ideas and practice together working towards a shared gathering and showcase of art work and performances... Read more.

“Voices in Transition”:
A peace-building expressive arts youth group in Fiji
June 21  |  Fiji Times
After experiencing the loss of his parents at a young age, Uate Tamanikaiyaroi "started doing random acts of kindness, every time I would catch a bus or taxi, I would leave a note on the seat with words such as love, courage, hope etc." Subsequently, he co-founded “A peace-building youth group called Voices in Transition which looks at building peace through expressive arts like music, songs and dance and is made up of Fiji's very own vocalists, musicians, and dancers. The aim of the group is to conduct peace-building awareness throughout Fiji," Uate said... Read more.

Peace and Conflict Summer Workshop -
“Drug Violence on the Border of Mexico and the United States: After 50,000 Deaths, Where is the End?”
Palmetto Center for the Arts, San Antonio, Texas

Matt Scrimgeour (left) and Aaron  Gordon (right) from the Corrymeela  Peace Center in Northern Ireland  speaking at the workshop. Photo credit: NVC Peace and Conflict Studies Program

Northwest Vista College co-sponsored a Peace and Conflict Summer Workshop on June 12 supported by the Public Education for Peacebuilding Support initiative of the U. S. Institute of Peace. The workshop welcomed two internationally-recognized speakers, including Matthew Scrimgeour, a professional peace practitioner, published poet, and staff member at the Corrymeela Peace & Reconciliation Center in Northern Ireland, and Aaron Gordon, Program Coordinator at the “Music Theater 4 Youth” in Ireland... View the event report and photos and read more about the event.

World's longest peace mural - 
Bringing Filipinos together for peace through art
GMA News  | July 2, 2013
Project EDSA in the Philippines organized thousands of peace advocates and volunteers in the call to participate in the making the longest peace mural in the world. Project EDSA features around four kilometers of colorful paintings along the country’s busiest thoroughfare, each depicting scenarios of harmony, camaraderie and, most of all, positive Filipino values. The event is spearheaded by the Asia America Initiative (AAI), a non-profit charitable and educational organization, along with a number of public offices, and is supported by the Filipino web-to-mobile communications company Chikka... Read more. Read another article about the completion of the 3.7 km world's longest peace mural.

Filipinos to come together and do their share for peace at Project EDSA: Lakbay para sa KapaYapaAn sa EDSA Photo credit: Chikka.com

Leading Saudi soldier-artist sets up peacemaking art foundation
The Art Newspaper  | July 1, 2013
Abdulnasser Gharem, 40, is a gentle, thoughtful colonel in the Saudi army and a co-founder of the artists’ collective Edge of Arabia. Gharem is now establishing an artist-run foundation in Riyadh, the deeply conservative capital of Saudi Arabia, to which he has given the ecumenical name “Amen” (so be it). Speaking about the name of The Amen Art Foundation, Gharem said “The good thing about the word ‘amen’ is that you find it in Islam, in Judaism, in Christianity. Lately, the king [Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia] has been trying to encourage that kind of dialogue between religions, so I thought, if the king wants this dialogue, I will try to handle the cultural or artistic side of this mission of my country...” Read more.

Black Sea province of Trabzon opens door to female artists
Hurriyet Daily News  | July 3, 2013
The Femin & Art International Women Artists’ Association of Turkey is an organization established in 2007 that encourages women to take their place in art and brings together female artists to participate in national and international art activities. “Art and artists are the most important things in terms of enlightening society. We will try to spread our voices to the world while staying away from violence as we aim to spread peace,” said Şükran Üst, president of organization. “When women are educated, the development of countries gets faster,” she said.... “We can say the same things for women who are interested in art.” ...Read more.

Call for Support -
Indo-Pak Theatre for Peace Project by Ajoka Theatre
Ajoka Theatre of Pakistan has been part of the struggle for a secular, democratic just, humane and egalitarian Pakistan for the last 25 years. With partners in India and Pakistan, the theatre is embarking on the new Indo-Pak Theatre for Peace Project, which will include theatre-for-peace festivals, seminars, and workshops to be held in Pakistan and India over a period of two years starting in October 2013. Project funding requests will be sent to U.S. Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, but the group is also seeking support to expand the peace objective, particularly to South Asian Americans living in the U.S. Visit Ajoka’s websiteand Facebook page. For more details on how to support the effort, email Shahid Nadeem.

Egypt's culture 'under attack' from government, claim artists
June 5, 2013 | The Guardian
The Egyptian Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI Centre) has been witnessing with increasing alarm the vicious onslaught against the defining foundations of Egyptian culture, with theatre and the performing arts at the forefront. Alaa Abdel-Aziz was appointed Minister of Culture four weeks ago, and in that time he has fired the head of the Cairo Opera House, the head of the Egyptian General Book Authority, and the head of the Fine Arts Sector. Nayer Nagi, the conductor of the Cairo Opera House, said “In a stand against a detailed plan to destroy culture and fine arts in Egypt we abstain from performing tonight’s opera.” Many report that the Egyptian government is targeting artists, intellectuals, and journalists. A Call for Action has been issued to support the ITI Centre and to call on Abdel-Aziz to protect rather than condemn the contributions artists have made to a diverse, cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious society, and to refrain from defining “Egyptian culture” in the narrowest terms. The Muslim Brotherhood has issued a relevant statement and a number of leaders globally have signed on to a letter to the media. Learn how to add your name, contact the U.S. State Department to register your concern, or read a related article on CNN.com by Ambassador Cynthia Schneider.

Day after Kabul attacks, 10,000 peace balloons by conceptual artist Yazmany Arboleda handed out
May 25, 2013  | Artdaily.org
After a day of explosions and gunfire, residents of Kabul woke up to be greeted by a public art project in which volunteers handed out 10,000 neon-pink "peace" balloons. Organised by Yazmany Arboleda, a 31-year-old conceptual artist from the United States, the project was an unusual attempt to bring a dose of creativity and fun to a city wrecked by decades of war. "The balloons are not worth any money but they are distributed in the cause of peace so we admire this initiative," said Waheedullah Nizami, a soldier who received a balloon. ...Read more.

Crowdfunding Campaign: Climate Justice Hub
Recently, for the first time in 2 million years, the amount heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere topped 400 parts per million. We have to act now -- and that is exactly a team of Boston area students are doing. Their aim is to launch a project called the Climate Justice Hub, a community space in Boston for student activists to live and spend 100% of their working hours organizing people to take action on the climate crisis in creating an inclusive space for the multi-issue struggle of climate justice. Their goal is to raise $12,500 by mid-June. Learn more and donate.

Video: Creative coexistence at Arab-Jewish Theatre
The Arab-Hebrew Theatre of Jaffa was created by a partnership between the Al-Saraya Theater, an Arab theater troupe, and The Local Theatre, a Jewish troupe. Together, the two companies work on independent projects as well as collaborative productions in both Hebrew and Arabic, drawing on the performances of Arab and Jewish artists, to increase understanding between people and bind the audiences and the actors in a common, fun experience... View the video, courtesy of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (The Arab-Jewish Theatre is featured in Acting Together, Volume 1.)

Artist to Watch: Morm Sokly, Cambodian Theater Artist
By Catherine Filloux (Guest Blogger) | CultureHub
The theater artist, Morm Sokly, was born in 1965 in Phnom Penh and began her studies in traditional Khmer theater as well as modern theater, in 1981 at the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA). Sokly is the author of the play “The Tooth of Buddha,” written in the traditional Cambodian (Khmer) form of Lakhaon Kamnap, and the play was featured in Khmer Voices Rising: An International Freedom-to-Write Literary Festival at Brown University... Read more and watch the interview video.

 
"The Land"
A Play by Jessica Litwak with Amir al-Azraki
May 16-18
10 Channel Center Street, Fort Point, Boston
Free Admission (donations accepted)
Fort Point Theatre Channel (FPTC) is staging a workshop production of "The Land," a new play by Jessica Litwak, an American playwright, with Amir al-Azraki, an Iraqi playwright. The story for The Land merges the fantastic and the realistic as it moves across time and geography and traverses the worlds of the living and the dead. It is a tragic-comedy about two soldiers, one from Iraq and one from the U.S. The aim of the workshop production is to create opportunities for dialogue and exchange with and within two communities: Iraqi refugees resettling in Massachusetts and U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Land is part of "Tamziq: Scattered and Connected," a multifaceted collaboration of Middle Eastern and American artists running March 17 to April 27 at Arsenal Center for Arts in Watertown, MA. Read more about The Land. Admission is free (donations accepted), reserve your tickets now.

Survival Strategies for Artists in a Modern World
April 26, 2013 | World Policy Institute Arts-Policy Nexus Blog
By Lawrence E. McCullough
Growing numbers of American government and school officials increasingly declare arts unworthy of public money as legions of savvy corporate advertisers, and millions of eager consumers and creators, utilize and reference the arts’ “value” continuously in their daily lives. You’ve probably seen the now-iconic photographs of various bewildered polar bears stranded on a small, shrinking patch of ice, a collateral casualty of Arctic ice cap melt. Take a closer look, artists, because that’s us. The coming public funding changes will affect not just individual artists but every segment of the arts eco-system, including arts education, institutions, councils, and philanthropy… Read more.

"Acting Together on the World Stage" Film Screening
April 3, 7:30pm 
The Fletcher School, Tufts University, Room: Mulgar 200
The Fletcher School is hosting a free public screening of the "Acting Together" documentary. Dr. Cynthia Cohen will give a lecture and discussion to examine the film through a gendered lens. The event is co-sponsored by Fletcher Global Women, The Tufts International Communications Club, and the Fletcher Performing Arts Club. More information.

Arts

Artistic Responses to the Murder of Trayvon Martin

Art Print: Trayvon Martin - Ella Baker
by Ricardo Levins Morales - Art for Social Justice
Ricardo Levins Morales’ artistic response to the Trayvon Martin tragedy includes an image of Trayvon integrated with a quote from Ella Baker. Levins Morales states “I believe that art can contribute to changing people's perceptions, hearts and understandings of what has been, what is and what's possible. I'm enough of an organizer to understand that art can't do it alone; people getting together and acting together is the real source of social change. The dignity and possibility in all people is the underlying message of my work.” View the piece and read more about Ricardo.

12 Artistic Responses to the Trayvon Martin Verdict You Haven’t Seen
Following the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, people were angry, but many channeled their rage and grief into positive, creative, artistic expression. One example of this can be found at the Art Works Studio School, in Mount Rainier, Maryland. The founder and director Barbara Johnson said she they “knew right away that we had to do something... to support the community.” One evening, around 30 people, ranging in age from 20 to 60, went to Art Works to express their pain through silent painting and drawing. Johnson recalled: “At times different people would stop painting and walk into the gallery to cry...So many people said, ‘I feel better.’” For many, the experience was cathartic Johnson said. Read more and view some of the many pantings created by the participants.

Singer Kim Nalley's Powerful New Song About Trayvon Martin
via NPR.org
Singer Kim Nalley, known for her sophisticated blend of blues, jazz and soul, performs her original song that captures the many layers of emotional complexity in the Trayvon Martin story. View the video.

Video - Trayvon Martin Dedication: 'Little Black Boy Wonder'
by Omari Hardwick and others
Omari Hardwick added his name to the list of Trayvon Martin supporters through a viral video clip titled, “Little Black Boy Wonder.” The four-minute clip, which was written and produced by Hardwick, features an array of Hollywood notables including Eriq LaSalle, Marlon Wayans, David Oyelowo, Sugar Shane Mosely, Bill Duke, and Gary Dourdan among others, citing a dedication poem in honor of Martin. View the video.

Oakulture: Oakland’s Cultural Community Makes “Art 4 Justice”
Following the aftermath of the George Zimmerman trial, the Betti Ono Gallery in Oakland, CA opened its doors for drop-ins, so that members of the African-American community, and anyone else feeling the emotional weight of the aftermath of the trial, could have a safe place to vent, console, empathize, or express their thoughts. At the same time, Jeff Perlstein opened up his spot, Solespace, for an “Art 4 Justice” workshop. At both locations, the windows became message boards for folks to share their feelings about what was going on. “We opened up the space to the entire community,” said Anyka Barber, the owner of Betti Ono Gallery. “The whole point was just to hold a space of peace and love and solidarity, but also find ways to take action and reflect.” There were “impromptu healing sessions, there’s tears, folks who don’t know each other are hugging one another and supporting one another, [and] people are coming together to find ways to plan other engagements” to address the issues raised by the Zimmerman verdict. Read more and view artistic responses by the participants.

“Honor the Treaties" short film about the Lakota people of Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Aaron Huey traveled to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to photograph members of the Oglala Lakota Nation and to tell about about poverty and violence in the community, but ended up telling the story of genocide. Huey worked with graphic street artist Shepard Fairey to create a 60-foot mural in Los Angeles about the struggles of the people of the Pine Ridge. "The amazing thing about art is that it can hit people in the gut and affect them emotionally and remind them that they need to be intellectually rigorous about the things that make them feel," said Fairey. "We're so numb to so many things because there's so much white-noise, but art can remind people that they need to care." View the film and read and view the feature in National Geographic from 2012, which call this “A rare, intimate portrait [that] shows their resilience in the face of hardship.” Also, read a blog post and view photos in the New York Times. 

Exhibit: Peace of cake?: No ready-made recipe
Through January 5, 2014
Utrecht University Museum, The Netherlands
The Utrecht University Museum of the Netherlands has organized an art exhibition on the science behind peace. The exhibit is a collaboration with with scientists of the Interfaculty Focus Area Conflicts & Human Rights department and focuses on three former war zones: Uganda, South-Africa and Yugoslavia. The exhibit aims to demonstrate how difficult it is to restore peace once war has broken out, and translates these choices in a peace process into a game for visitors using Kinect technology. Throughout the year, school groups can add their own artistic contributions to the exhibition or participate in a drama workshop. Individual visitors can record their own peace message on a dove in the Peace Studio. Read more.

Exhibit:
“Transforming Arms Into Art:
Peace-Building in Mozambique
The Asahi Shimbun, Japan
Artwork consisting of weapons from the 1976-92 Mozambique civil war are on display at the “Transforming Arms Into Art: Peace-Building in Mozambique” exhibition, which opened July 11 at the National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) in Suita, Japan. Since about 1997, local artists have disassembled AK-47 assault rifles and other weapons and refashioned the bits into works of art. “Transforming arms into art is to take back the lives of people who might have been killed by the weapons,” said Cristovao Canhavato, one of artists who created “Cycle of Life,” a sculpture of two people on a bicycle... Read more.

Jimmy Engineer: Pakistan’s Painter for Peace
Pakistan's renowned painter and humanitarian, Jimmy Engineer hosted a new international exhibition promoting peaceful relations for the country, titled “Cultural Harmony Between People of Pakistan and Thailand” at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center of Thailand. For Jimmy, world peace is an ideal that cannot be achieved by words alone. His life has revolved around supporting troubled individuals as well as social care institutions, using his art to bring a sort of ‘creative peace’ to humanity... Read more.

“Mosaic” -
A dance-concert explores Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Maria Basile performing the solo 'The Mourning After,' about a woman who has lost a child in war, from the concert 'Mosaic.' Photo credit: Steve DiBartolomeo.

Inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, choreographer Karl Schaffer’s “Mosaic” is a dance-concert featuring Jewish Diaspora and Arab music from the women’s choral group Zambra, singer Fattah Abbou and a troupe of local dancers. “I have a kind of special connection and a responsibility as somebody brought up and raised Jewish to speak about injustices that I see in Israel's treatment of Palestinians,” said Schaffer. “I think people in the U.S. are somewhat familiar with what might be called Jewish humor, but Palestinian humor I think is very similar... To me, it shows a kind of commonality... and that can be very revealing...” Read more and read another article about this concert. 

Peace Angels Project
Lin Evola started the 'Peace Angels' project in 1992, which uses nuclear missiles and street weapons donated from various law enforcement agencies to create to Peace Angel sculptures that have been exhibited worldwide. 100,000 weapons are melted to create a 30-foot statue. "[The statues] are built from the beginning to inspire change, to inspire people to think within themselves, how they can create a better world," Evola explained. Evola also founded the Art of Peace Charitable Trust (AOPCT), a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to interrupting the cycle of violence and actualizing change on a local, regional and national basis... Read more and watch the video. Read an additional article by Evola about the project in the Huffington Post.

Franck de Las Mercedes’ The Peace Box Joins "Art Takes Times Square"
Franck de Las Mercedes’ Peace Boxes or The Priority Boxes Art Project is a public art project that seeks to initiate dialogue on peace, challenge people to reconsider their ability to influence change, and question the fragility, value, and priority given to those concepts. Franck de Las Mercedes sends abstractly painted, seemingly empty boxes to anybody, anywhere in the world, for free. The project was selected to be exhibited in one of the most iconic locations in the world on 9x12-feet LED screens, as part of "Art Takes Times Square," a massive, global art project curated by the Times Square Alliance and Chashama... Read more, or read another article about the project

 
On Equal Terms:
Women in Skilled Trades 35 Years & Still Organizing
Exhibit by Susan Eisenberg
September 29 - November 1
Opening Reception: October 3, 6:00-8:00 pm
Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center,
107 Suffolk Street #312, New York City
"On Equal Terms" is a touring mixed media art installation by Susan Eisenberg that will exhibit in New York City at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, Sunday, September 22 - Sunday, October 20, 2013, with support from the Berger-Marks Foundation. An opening reception celebrating tradeswomen will be held Thursday, September 26, 6:00-8:00 pm. "On Equal Terms" uses audio, poetry, found objects, photography, banners, historical artifacts, and 3-D mixed media –– including a plywood bathroom shack with graffiti; a “My Kids Know Which Bridges in Town Are Mine!” cake; and Stella, a life-sized figure on a ladder in a diamond hardhat –– to bring viewers into the experiences of women who work on construction sites. Read more about the exhibit and about Susan Eisenberg.

Peace, Love, and Baklava -
An Exhibition of Contemporary Iranian Artists in London
By Sarah Zakzouk | REORIENT Magazine 
The exhibition of contemporary Iranian art titled “Peace, from the Bottom of My Art” of was featured at London’s Opera Gallery from April 25 to May 9, 2013. Sarah Zakzouk shares her experience of the exhibit and discussions with the artists, gallery director, as well as one of the curators Vida Zaim who said, “It wasn’t an exhibition about politics; it was solely … a celebration of art and talent from today’s generation of Iranian artists, and the Iranian people’s interpretation of, and unwavering hope for peace...” Read more.

"Camel Hatred" by Adel Younesi Photo courtesy of REORIENT Magazine

Making it Better: Folk Arts in Pennsylvania Today
This exhibition explores five basic ways that folk artists are "making it better": Shaping Community, Living Creatively in Your World, Practicing Spirituality, Nurturing Well-Being and Health, and Creating Social Change and Awareness.

ArtRage: The Norton Putter Gallery
Based in Syracuse, New York, ArtRage is no ordinary gallery. Its vision for change is one that creates a community of open-minded, tolerant individuals with an appreciation for the inclusion of art in everyday life. They offer events and exhibit art that cultivate critical thinking skills; leading to question the power structures that exist in our society and to imagine other ways of life. They accept submissions of artwork at any time. Download a copy of Artist’s Call.

Arabiqa by Karim Nagi : Arab Arts for Schools
Nagi is a native Egyptian drummer, drummer, DJ, composer and folk dancer. He is well versed in the traditional styles of music, and has lead the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble since 1999. He promotes and fosters the study of Arab dance in the USA as the director of the Arab Dance Seminar. His Arabiqa program has conducted over 300 school assemblies across America, exposing young audiences to Arab traditional arts. “I don’t believe we can play a few songs and then everyone will have peace and end their conflict, but what I do believe is that familiarity helps people appreciate each other.” Watch the video.

Opportunities and Resources

Artists for Peace and Justice
Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) supports communities in Haiti through programs in education, healthcare, and dignity, and is committed to long-term, sustainable development in direct partnership with the Haitian people. APJ aims to remove the barriers that poverty poses to a future of opportunity for children in Haiti. Haiti is a nation of artists, with rhythm and music as the driving forces of Haitian culture. APJ supports independently run programs in Haiti that provide music education to thousands of underprivileged youth each year. Read more.
 

Teaching Resources: Arts and Middle Eastern Studies
The University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) hosts an online library of lesson plans for teachers including a subsection on the arts with lesson plans on topics such as “War and Remembrance.” The CMES email listserv for teachers also highlighted the resource website of a Fulbright fellow called “Arts & Identity” that features resources for teachers on arts and identity in Israel and Palestine and. The site includes portraits of artists and arts organizations and serves as a tool to look at Palestinian and Israeli identity through the lenses of these artists and art organizations.

Call For Papers:
European Peace Research Association (EuPRA) 8th Conference:
"Building Positive Peace in Europe and Its Neighborhood"
November 7-9, 2013
Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus
Abstract Deadline: September 20
Europe, after major wars which led to long-lasting peace, stands as an example of a peace-zone compared to many other places on our planet. However, within Europe, one would see increasing tensions between North and South, even East-West, and between the center and periphery within Europe and absence of sustainable peace within several European countries.So there are enough reasons to question to what extent the EU can be regarded as a “Peaceful Power” for itself as well as for its neighborhood.  The 8th EuPRA Conference welcomes all kinds of papers and presentations concerning peace in Europe and its neighborhood. Abstracts are due by September 20. Read more about conference and download the application. 

Call For Papers:
25th IPRA General Conference
“Uniting for Peace: Building Sustainable Peace Through Universal Values”

4-Day Workshop: Innovation & Renewal
in Applied and Therapeutic Theatre
August 1 - 4, 2013
Berkeley, California
The Living Arts Counseling Center and the International Institute of Applied and Therapeutic Theatre are offering this workshop/training for expressive arts therapists, life coaches, theatre workers, social activists, teachers, and more. The workshop aims to reignite the creative spark which inspires personal and professional growth, revitalize professional tool kits through deep explorations of various theatrical and therapeutic processes, and to discover bold, new approaches to individual and social change. The facilitators will challenge traditional therapeutic and theatrical roles and explore techniques such as ‘sound and movement transformations’ and ‘spontaneous self-revelatory performance.’ Read more and register.

CEC ArtsLink -
Engaging communities through international arts partnerships
CEC ArtsLink's unique programs offer support, residencies, workshops and professional exchanges to contemporary artists and arts managers in all genres in the U.S. and 37 countries abroad. CEC ArtsLink promotes international communication and understanding through collaborative, innovative arts projects for mutual benefit and believes that the work of artists and arts administrators can help nations overcome long histories of reciprocal distrust, insularity and conflict. CEC ArtsLink offers grants and residencies for artists, arts managers, and U.S. non-profit arts organizations, as well as other programs and events... Learn more and find them on Facebook and Twitter.

 
"Acts of Activism: Human Rights as Radical Performance"
By Dr. Soyini Madison (Cambridge University Press: 2010) 
Followers of “Acting Together” will be delighted by this exquisitely written ethnography of sub-Saharan activist performances that engage communities in issues of women’s rights, human rights, tradition and modernity, all in the context of extreme poverty. In her epilogue, the author writes that “If we can imagine the power of an idea, a word, an act spinning in a direction and an order – emboldened at each turn by paths of light and indomitable human will – can we re-imagine our world?” Learn more and order your copy.

Book: “International Women Stage Directors”
Published by University of Illinois Press
(Forward written by Roberta Levitow mentioning Dijana Milošević)
A fascinating study of women in the arts, “International Women Stage Directors” is a comprehensive examination of women directors in twenty-four diverse countries. Organized by country, chapters provide historical context and emphasize how social, political, religious, and economic factors have impacted women's rise in the theatre, particularly in terms of gender equity. Contributors tell the stories of their home country's pioneering women directors and profile the most influential women directors practicing today, examining their career paths, artistry, and major achievements. Read more and pre-order your copy.

Prometheus Radio Project
The Prometheus Radio Project is a non-profit organization that builds, supports, and advocates for community radio stations which empower participatory community voices and movements for social change. Prometheus works to demystify technologies and the political process that governs access to our media system and offers free webinars on topics like how to how to apply for a community radio license. The Project values radio because it is easy to produce, free to consume, and accessible to more people across the world than any other mass media, and believes it is a proven tool for movement-building and cultural expression... Read more.

 

New York Foundation for the Art Mentoring Program for Immigrant Artists
Application Deadline: Friday, June 21, 11:59pm
The New York Foundation for the Art’s Mentoring Program pairs immigrant artists working in all disciplines with artist mentors who provide one-on-one support for their mentee, guiding them to achieve specific goals. From July - September 2013, mentors will provide their mentee with broader access to the New York cultural landscape by sharing ideas, advice, resources and experiences. The Mentoring Program provides an opportunity to connect with other immigrant artists through group meetings that include professional development workshops, events and informal gatherings. The opportunity is open to immigrant artists from all disciplines based in the New York Tri-State area and provided free of charge to accepted participants. Learn more about the opportunity and application guidelines, and for additional information email i.outreach@nyfa.org.

Panel for Peace:
Panel and Live Webcast from Rotterdam, The Netherlands
June 22, 1:00pm Eastern Time (7:00 CEST)
As part of the Grassroots Peacebuilding project, the Dutch organization Formaat is organizing “Panel for Peace,” an interactive dialogue on the use of Participatory Drama for conflict transformation and peacebuilding. The Panel for Peace will initiate and stimulate the dialogue on using wide ranging forms of interactive and participatory theatre for working in and around areas of conflict. The panel will analyze and reflect on the strengths and opportunities, and the challenges and threats to community-based work using Participatory Drama to address and transform conflict. To attend in person, email info@formaat.org to register, or if you are not able attend in Rotterdam, check the website later for the posted link to join online.

 
Call for Submissions: Creative Expressions of Diversity and Peace for the “Managing Diversity in Divided Societies” Conference
Georgetown University
Submission Deadline: November 1, 2013
Conference: January 30-31, 2014
How can the arts be used to engage diversity and enhance societal well-being?  How can they transform potentially divisionary forces of diversity and enrich peace and just relationships? This conference seeks to address this puzzle by bringing together leading researchers, practitioners, and graduate students who are engaging with issues of diversity. A call has been issued for submissions of student visual arts, creative writing, or videography that address these questions. Awards will be given for the pieces that best represent peaceful diversity management. Send a note of intent to participate and a short (250 word) description of your piece to diversityconference@georgetown.edu. View the flyer for details about the submission requirements and conference, and visit the conference Facebook page.

The Vera List Center for Art and Politics
at The New School of New York
Vera List Center was founded in 1992 and named in honor of the late philanthropist Vera G. List. The Center is dedicated to serving as a catalyst for the discourse on the role of the arts in society and their relationship to the sociopolitical climate in which they are created. It seeks to achieve this goal by organizing public programs that respond to the pressing social and political issues of our time as they are articulated by the academic community and by visual and performing artists... Learn more about the Vera List Center.

Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute (NARPI)
2013 Summer Training
August 5-20, 2013
DMZ Peace-Life Valley, Inje, South Korea
The Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute (NARPI) works to strengthen and empower people in Northeast Asia, a region of historical, territorial, military and nuclear tensions, by providing peacebuilding training and building cross-cultural networks. NARPI is hosting its annual Summer Training on August 5-20 at DMZ Peace-Life Valley education center in Inje, South Korea. During the summer peacebuilding institute, participants from Northeast Asia receive training in the areas of peacebuilding, conflict transformation, restorative justice, and mediation. Within these training programs we also seek to build relationships between people from different parts of Asia and to practice transformative approaches to conflict and cultural differences. Read the 2013 Summer Training information package, view the webpage, or apply now.

Department of Public Imagination - 
A new residency and training program for socially engaged artists
The Design Studio for Social Intervention and Community Labor United are excited to announce the Dept. of Public Imagination, a new interdisciplinary residency and training program for socially engaged artists in Boston that aims to build creative partnerships between artists and member-led community groups in the Greater Boston area. The program will select three artists for the 2013-2014 pilot year and each artist will receive a stipend, shared workspace, and will participate in a weekly training colloquium. The cornerstone of the program will be a seven-month partnership with a community-based organization, where each artist will work collaboratively to initiate cultural organizing projects that address the specific challenges and aspirations of their group’s community base. Application materials will be available the week of April 29, 2013. In the meantime, interested applicants can email the program coordinators at residency@ds4si.org to be added to the email list, or read more about the opportunity.

Call for Artists:
ARTEM (ARt TEchnology Management)
Nancy, France
Deadline: June 3, 2013, 12:00pm
The city of Nancy, France, invites artists to submit a site-specific project/piece of artwork as design and installation commission for ARTEM (ARt TEchnology Management). ARTEM is a unique university concept and network throughout Europe, founded by Ecole Supérieure Nationale des Mines, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Art and ICN Business School, with the primary aim of fostering interdisciplinary education, based on creating and exchanging knowledge. All contemporary art forms will be considered. The proposal should reflect this groundbreaking initiative to produce and disseminate new forms of intelligence and culture. Read more about the call for artists. View ARTEM website (in French). 

The 2013 International Symposium on the African Union & Cultural Diplomacy -
"African Perspectives: An African Vision for Positive Developments in Africa"
June 4–7, 2013
Pretoria, South Africa
The focus of this conference will be on the role and successes of the African Union (AU) as an intergovernmental regional organization seeking to combat political, social and economic inequalities, and will consider the AU’s past achievements as well as future challenges. The conference seeks to highlight Africa´s self-attained achievements as well as it´s increasing emancipation from the often assumed dependency on the Western world. The three conference themes include “The rise of corporate Africa,” “African solutions for African challenges (human development),” and “Community development through arts, culture and sports.” Participation is open to governmental and diplomatic officials, civil society practitioners, young professionals, students and scholars, private sector representatives, journalists, and other interested stakeholders from across the world. Participants are welcome to submit a paper about issues related to the goals of the conference. Learn more about the conference or apply now.

The ArtReach Foundation
Since 1999, The ArtReach Foundation’s mission has been to influence and assist, through creative expressive arts therapies, the growth and development of children and adults who have experienced the traumatic effects of war, violence, and/or natural disaster. Research has shown that expressive art is an enormously effective means of helping traumatized children and adults cope with their traumas. It also gives them the tools necessary to lead productive lives. ArtReach Teams begin their preparation with a careful study of the cultural ideologies and economic characteristics of the country, region or community that form the backdrop for the experience of trauma. There was an emphasis on creating a safe and supportive environment that encouraged and enabled mutual respect, good listening, sharing, and meaningful self-expression. Children and teachers, in turn, become catalysts for change within their own families. Learn more about the Foundation’s work.  

Archive:

• 2013

• 2012

• 2011

• 2010

• 2009