Linda Frye Burnham
12-05-2003, 01:35 PM
Here's a message from The Organizing Committee for the January 2004 congress of artists, organizers and educators. --LB
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To All Artists, Organizers, Educators -
At certain moments in history, an idea catches on that transforms how social change is thought about, discussed and practiced. At the National Exchange on Art & Civic Dialogue convened by Animating Democracy recently in Flint, Michigan, many of us -- artists, organizers and educators from diverse backgrounds and places throughout the United States -- agreed that we are at one such moment. The energy produced at that gathering was so dynamic that some of us began a conversation about continuing to share our many gifts, skills, talents and resources.
The idea that sparked us was this, as articulated in Flint by Grace Lee Boggs of the Boggs Center in Detroit: “Working within our separate arenas, progressive artists, educators and organizers have hit a wall in our ability to move society towards a vision of a healthier, more equitable world. No longer can we think about social change as a revolution of only the body (organizing), the mind (education) or the spirit (art). It is all three at once in concert, and this calls for nothing less than a revolution in how we think about and practice social change.”
For this reason, we are organizing a national convergence of artists, organizers and educators in New Orleans, Louisiana, from dinnertime on Friday, January 23, through lunchtime on Sunday, January 25, 2004. Fourteen of us from around the country have taken primary responsibility for organizing registration, promotion, travel subsidies, agenda-setting and logistics. But in order to succeed everyone who participates will have to consider themselves a leader.
Realizing that who attends the congress will be as important as what takes place, we have agreed to pursue some specific proportional recruitment goals: (a) 50% people of color, (b) 50% women, (c) 50% organizers and educators, and (d) 50% people under 30. For this reason, we ask everyone who can attend to consider bringing 1 or 2 people from their community from these priority groups. We have established a Travel Fund to help low-income youth, teachers, community organizers and people of color to participate.
No funding is being sought for this project from granting agencies. No registration is being charged. Instead, we ask each participant to pay their own travel costs and donate their expertise to our shared project. Home hospitality, in-kind food and space, and discount hotels and airfare are being researched by a local site team. Whether or not you can come; consider contributing to the Travel Fund.
There is no pre-determined outcome to this event other than forging closer ties between those who do, teach and study the various forms of social change. Some potential outcomes include a new coalition or organization, a continuing series of gatherings hosted by different formations, intensive organizing around upcoming electoral campaigns, and new ideas that will emerge once we meet. We view the gathering as an opportunity to (1) discuss and demonstrate our work with each other, and (2) decide what (if any) next steps we need to take together.
Time is now of the essence. If you want to attend or make a contribution to our travel fund, information is available at this site:
<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=95110332905>
If you want more information that’s not found on the registration site, email Lisa Mount at lqmount@earthlink.net If you want to inform others of the event, feel free to forward this email to them.
Yours in the continuing struggle for justice,
The Organizing Committee for the January 2004 congress of artists, organizers and educators
Sandy Agustin – Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis
Andrea Assaf – Animating Democracy, New York, NY
Caron Atlas – Independent Consultant, Brooklyn, NY
Lee Bell – Neighborhood Roundtable, Flint, MI
Amy Koritz –Tulane University, New Orleans
Alice Lovelace – Atlanta Partnership for Arts in Learning, Atlanta, GA
Lisa Mount –Artistic Logistics, Sautee Nacoochee, GA
Curtis Muhammad –Color Line Project and Community Labor United, New Orleans
John O’Neal – Color Line Project and Junebug Productions, New Orleans
Jim Randels –Color Line Project and Douglass High School, New Orleans
Graciela Sanchez – Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, San Antonio
Mat Schwarzman – National Performance Network, New Orleans
MK Wegmann – National Performance Network, New Orleans
Talvin Wilks – New World Theater, Amherst, MA
SPECIAL THANKS to Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Pam Korza and the staff of the Animating Democracy Initiative, without whom this “Flint” would never have been sparked.
-------------------
To All Artists, Organizers, Educators -
At certain moments in history, an idea catches on that transforms how social change is thought about, discussed and practiced. At the National Exchange on Art & Civic Dialogue convened by Animating Democracy recently in Flint, Michigan, many of us -- artists, organizers and educators from diverse backgrounds and places throughout the United States -- agreed that we are at one such moment. The energy produced at that gathering was so dynamic that some of us began a conversation about continuing to share our many gifts, skills, talents and resources.
The idea that sparked us was this, as articulated in Flint by Grace Lee Boggs of the Boggs Center in Detroit: “Working within our separate arenas, progressive artists, educators and organizers have hit a wall in our ability to move society towards a vision of a healthier, more equitable world. No longer can we think about social change as a revolution of only the body (organizing), the mind (education) or the spirit (art). It is all three at once in concert, and this calls for nothing less than a revolution in how we think about and practice social change.”
For this reason, we are organizing a national convergence of artists, organizers and educators in New Orleans, Louisiana, from dinnertime on Friday, January 23, through lunchtime on Sunday, January 25, 2004. Fourteen of us from around the country have taken primary responsibility for organizing registration, promotion, travel subsidies, agenda-setting and logistics. But in order to succeed everyone who participates will have to consider themselves a leader.
Realizing that who attends the congress will be as important as what takes place, we have agreed to pursue some specific proportional recruitment goals: (a) 50% people of color, (b) 50% women, (c) 50% organizers and educators, and (d) 50% people under 30. For this reason, we ask everyone who can attend to consider bringing 1 or 2 people from their community from these priority groups. We have established a Travel Fund to help low-income youth, teachers, community organizers and people of color to participate.
No funding is being sought for this project from granting agencies. No registration is being charged. Instead, we ask each participant to pay their own travel costs and donate their expertise to our shared project. Home hospitality, in-kind food and space, and discount hotels and airfare are being researched by a local site team. Whether or not you can come; consider contributing to the Travel Fund.
There is no pre-determined outcome to this event other than forging closer ties between those who do, teach and study the various forms of social change. Some potential outcomes include a new coalition or organization, a continuing series of gatherings hosted by different formations, intensive organizing around upcoming electoral campaigns, and new ideas that will emerge once we meet. We view the gathering as an opportunity to (1) discuss and demonstrate our work with each other, and (2) decide what (if any) next steps we need to take together.
Time is now of the essence. If you want to attend or make a contribution to our travel fund, information is available at this site:
<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=95110332905>
If you want more information that’s not found on the registration site, email Lisa Mount at lqmount@earthlink.net If you want to inform others of the event, feel free to forward this email to them.
Yours in the continuing struggle for justice,
The Organizing Committee for the January 2004 congress of artists, organizers and educators
Sandy Agustin – Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis
Andrea Assaf – Animating Democracy, New York, NY
Caron Atlas – Independent Consultant, Brooklyn, NY
Lee Bell – Neighborhood Roundtable, Flint, MI
Amy Koritz –Tulane University, New Orleans
Alice Lovelace – Atlanta Partnership for Arts in Learning, Atlanta, GA
Lisa Mount –Artistic Logistics, Sautee Nacoochee, GA
Curtis Muhammad –Color Line Project and Community Labor United, New Orleans
John O’Neal – Color Line Project and Junebug Productions, New Orleans
Jim Randels –Color Line Project and Douglass High School, New Orleans
Graciela Sanchez – Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, San Antonio
Mat Schwarzman – National Performance Network, New Orleans
MK Wegmann – National Performance Network, New Orleans
Talvin Wilks – New World Theater, Amherst, MA
SPECIAL THANKS to Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Pam Korza and the staff of the Animating Democracy Initiative, without whom this “Flint” would never have been sparked.