Events
Original music, theatre, visual arts and dance.
Recent Events:
The Dream Reborn Conference
In 2008, Art in Action delegates went to Memphis in connection with Green For All’s "The Dream Reborn" conference in conjunction with the 40-year anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We were able to bring core members and offer scholarships for key youth leaders to join us in performances and facilitating workshops.
Democratic National Convention
We offered workshops as part of the Sustainable Living Road Show at the Democratic National Convention.
Skills Share Retreat
In August, at Mayacamas Ranch in California, we gathered for the first time, 24 dedicated multi-generational arts activist facilitators aged from 19-52 years. The group, like our youth summer camp, consisted of a racially and culturally diverse group of people.
The retreat was structured around music recording, dance, theater, media, and visual arts workshops, but for the purposes of creative collaboration and networking amongst seasoned activists. We engaged in deep healing work, facilitated intergenerational dialogue, and met several times throughout the week to share information about our respective projects and strategies. This format facilitated possibilities for new collaborations and identification of new leverage points, while also creating a unified voice for producing sustainable and healthy communities across the nation.
Central issues to nationwide arts activists were raised, while shared challenges and strategies were presented. Most of all, the gathering created an expansive sense of care and connection between like-minded community leaders who rarely get a chance to just “be” with each other and reflect on mutual world commitments as lifelong change-makers.
Alaska Camp with Alaska Youth
for Environmental Action
Art in Action took our training on the road in September! One of the many commitments we identified for 2008 was to share our model in areas outside of the resource-rich San Francisco Bay Area. We partnered with Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA), to bring our arts programs to their annual youth training, September 10-14, 2008. AYEA is a high school environmental education and leadership program of the National Wildlife Federation that inspires and educates youth to take action on environmental issues facing their communities.
Five of our core facilitators traveled to Anchorage, AK from September 10-15th, to bring our art tracks of Music, Spoken word, Dance, Theater, and Digital Storytelling to 20 Alaskan youth participants. The participants ranged in age from 15-18.
The theme of the training, "Telling Our Stories," focused on using art and media as a way to raise our voices and take action on important issues affecting the participants' communities, including environmental, social, economic, as well as sustaining traditional practices. The group was a diverse mix of native and non-native youth, which created space for powerful cross-cultural exchange. They traveled from communities across Alaska from the Arctic Circle to the Bering Sea to its southern shores, like Akiak, Chefornak, Anchorage, Homer, Palmer, Anderson, Healy, Bethel, Emmonak, Kotlik, and Kasilof. Some of the ethnic groups represented were Yupik, Eskimo, Haida, African American, Latino and White.
This was Art in Action's first time to the the Alaska region. Our skilled facilitation team adapted our curriculum and community building techniques to the youths' needs. We built strong leadership and community skills among the group, as we worked together to create art pieces for the "Telling Our Stories Performance" held on the last day of the training at the Out North community theater in Anchorage.
The youth produced dances and theater pieces that looked at environmental issues like erosion, pollution, and toxic waste dumping. They produced songs that told the stories of pressures and stress of doing well in school staying focused on their dreams, as well as shared visions of the solutions we can create with alternative energy and the power of community. We screened Digital Stories about culture and life in rural Alaska-native villages, courageous survival stories, and tributes honoring family and community. The youth worked successfully as a team, and received an enthusiastic and inspired response from the crowd!
The power of sharing their personal and cultural stories helped the participants to form effective visions and solutions to the many environmental and social issues facing their communities. Art in Action's valuable contribution of the arts to the established AYEA network built leadership, community, healing and inspiration. Art in Action is looking forward to continuing to build our partnership with AYEA to continue to bring needed resources to Alaska.
Green Jobs Now
Art in Action members participated in Green For All’s Day of Action on Sept. 27th, 2008
Upcoming Events:
This list is updated periodically, so check back from time to time. Or, you can sign up for our email updates.
Community Workshops and Trainings:
San Francisco Green Festival November 2008
Silence the Violence Weekend Healing Retreat for Urban Youth: January 2009
Turf Unity Music Project 3: January-June 2009
Art in Action Youth Leadership Summer Camp 2009
Art in Action Skills Share for Adult Organizers: Summer 2009
Digital Storytelling Weekend Workshops
Bioneers Conference (October 2008)
Community Performances: Weekend Wake-Up Monthly Events