Re/Generations: Bridging the Centuries of Art & Activism

Re/Generations: Bridging the Centuries of Art & Activism    Part of a Greater Whole: Reflections on Intersection IV: Re/Generations by Caron Atlas (Part 1)    Reflections on Convergence: A Youth Perspective on Intersection IV by Jacqueline Johnson with Raul Matta (Part 2)    I Was Singing You by Alice Lovelace (Part 3)    more essays on the way

An introduction to a series of responses to INTERSECTION IV: Re/Generations, an intergenerational, cross-cultural gathering investigating historical models and new directions in multicultural performing arts and activism. The conference/festival was organized by New WORLD Theater and took place at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, April 7-9, 2006.

New WORLD Theater describes INTERSECTION in this way:

Intersection is New WORLD Theater's biennial conference and festival examining new work practices by artists of color and showcasing multidisciplinary theater pieces on the cutting edge of new aesthetics. Begun in 1998, the conference is a diverse national gathering of artists, educators, organizers, activists, scholars, theater professionals and presenters. As an organization that bridges the worlds of creativity and scholarship, community activism and professional performance, NWT is committed to furthering national conversations on cultural equity, emerging aesthetics and activism through the arts.

These essays were written by conference participants of different generations in response to the keynote addresses they heard, the discussions in which they participated, the workshops they took and the performances they witnessed, which included:

Youth Convergence pre-conference events for youth and those working with youth

Keynote speaker Suheir Hammad

Conference keynote addresses:

• New Orleans activist Curtis Muhammad
• Palestinian-American poet Suheir Hammad

Intergenerational plenary: "Bridging the Centuries of Art & Activism"

Panels & roundtables:

• Multicultural Theater in the 21st Century
• Vigilance at the Borders: Chicano and Mexican Artist-Activists
• Asian American Women Playwrights Archive
• Leadership Transition Case Studies
• Embodying Multiplicity: Multiracial Identities and Performance
• In/Visibilities:  Political Interventions
• Future Aesthetics: Diversity Within Hip-Hop

Artist workshops:

• Rituals of Vigilance: a dance-theater workshop with Dora Arreola of Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro
• The Art of Weaving Faiths: an interfaith practice & workshop on Spiritual Activism with Nobuko Miyamoto and Kamau Ayubbi
• Urban Voice: Unorthodox Chants with Akim Funk Buddha
• Tracing Our Bodies' Power with Ananya Chatterjea of Ananya Dance Theater
• The Break Down: Hip Hop Movement workshop with Kwikstep of Full Circle Productions

Performances:

• Project 2050, "On The Frontlines: Sex, War & Lies"
• Junebug Productions Inc., "Trying to Find My Way Back Home" with William O'Neal
• Continuity and Movement: A Future Aesthetics Showcase featuring Baba and Steve Ben Israel, Mango Tribe, and Olive Dance Theatre with Paula Larke

The New WORLD Theater Web site offers a full complement of session reports, as well as a networking list of "progressive resources" generated by conference participants at the closing session as a part of the "Next Steps" from a session called "Re/Generating a National Movement."  The list includes organizations and agencies nationwide.

Linda Frye Burnham is co-director of Art in the Public Interest and the Community Arts Network.

Original CAN/API publication: November 2006