Notes from the Director
October 2020
Dear friends of Peacebuilding and the Arts at Brandeis and the global IMPACT initiative,
At this particular moment in the United States, like many others I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the pace of events that both challenge existing assumptions about the world and create a sense of urgency. Topping the list are realizations about the scale of the pandemic and our government’s criminally and cruelly inadequate response. Along with direct assaults on the lives of Black people, the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on communities of color make the ugly realities of systemic racism undeniable. The unprecedented volume and ferocity of wildfires and hurricanes bring the undeniable realities of climate change to the fore. Just when we need strong and trustworthy leadership and smart and well-coordinated collective actions, the polarization of this society seems only to deepen. As the election approaches, democracy is under threat in ways previously unimaginable.
At the same time that the pandemic and the climate crisis highlight cruel and persistent inequities in global systems, they also demonstrate the profound depth of our interdependence – not only with other human beings, but with the planet and all life. It has become clear that this is a time that requires unprecedented collaborations across differences of many kinds.
The complexity of the challenges we face call for insights from multiple ways of knowing, including from artistic and cultural practices and indigenous knowledge systems (as well as from scholarly inquiries). I believe that strengthening capacities to engage respectfully across worldviews and ways of knowing might unlock creative and effective responses to the pandemic, climate change, gross inequalities, polarization, rising authoritarianism, war, the legacies of violence, and other urgent complex problems. It is in this context that I find sources of inspiration in the creativity, compassion and commitment of students, colleagues and friends.
In this issue of the newsletter, we feature artists’ initiatives to encourage voting in the US; to address the climate crisis; to prevent and respond to gender-based violence throughout Africa; and to respond to the emerging needs of local communities in the face of the pandemic. We highlight a diversity of in-depth exchanges between artists and peacebuilders, and, as always, offer links to resources and events.
The arts and other aspects of culture are prominent in several promising large-scale efforts to create a more just and vibrant, and less violent world. For instance, contributions of arts and other forms of culture to sustainable development is the focus of a new report by the British Council. The Missing Pillar recommends ways that culture can contribute more effectively to sustainable development, taking its place alongside the three acknowledged pillars (economic, social, and environmental imperatives).
Imperative 21 is a business-led network driving progressive economic system change, focusing on shared prosperity, free and fair markets, climate action, racial justice and gender equity. It seeks to drive a “reset” from shareholder primacy to an economic system designed for interdependence. It’s launch asserts that “art has the power to wake people up and create meaningful change. Art can be a compass pointing towards the future we want to live in.”
OneShared.World is a visionary movement inspired by Jamie Metzl, a member of the advisory board of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life at Brandeis University. A recent summit attracted over a million participants. Among a cornucopia of informative, inspiring and distinguished speakers, Inupiaq native Alaskan poet Joan Naviyuk Kane offered an opening invocation (“I began to accept my past, and as I accepted it/I felt, and I didn’t understand:/ I am bound to everyone”). Opera singer Renée Fleming spoke eloquently about the power of music and the arts to address the most basic of human needs and forge the connections needed for collaboration.
I would like to thank Lauren Satterlee for the calmness, efficiency, and care with which she has shepherded the production of this e-newsletter for many years, and wish her the best in her new endeavors. The current issue demonstrates how lucky we are that Armine Avetisyan, IMPACT’s program manager, has taken up the reins. Her own contribution, ‘Apricot Battlefield’ offers insights into the Azeri-Armenian conflict, as it has been waged in the diaspora communities in Moscow. We also appreciate Toni Shapiro-Phim’s many contributions to this issue and her editorial acumen as well.
Let’s take courage from each other’s efforts to create the new narratives and the new collaborations we need to carve paths towards a more just, sustainable and peaceful future.
Thank you for all you are doing.
Warmly,
Cindy
Cynthia E. Cohen, Ph.D., Director
Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts
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The Art of Getting Out the Vote in the United States
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 | Artist: Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski. planyourvote.org
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Creative approaches to climate change
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The wax panther sculpture at ZooTampa. [cnn.com]
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Compiled by Nicole Zamora Flores, Brandeis '21
How long until it’s too late to save Earth from climate disaster? This clock is counting down.
The Washington Post
How long does the world have left to act before an irreversible climate emergency alters human existence as we know it? A new digital clock unveiled in Manhattan’s Union Square … promises to tell you … [Artists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd] encouraged onlookers to reflect on their own carbon footprint and to come together to create change. ‘The world is literally counting on us … every hour, every minute, every second, counts.’
Arctic Culture and Climate
British Museum
October 22 - February 21
Developed in collaboration with Arctic communities, the exhibition celebrates the ingenuity and resilience of Arctic Peoples throughout history. It tells the powerful story of respectful relationships with icy worlds and how Arctic Peoples have harnessed the weather and climate to thrive. The dramatic loss of ice and erratic weather caused by climate change are putting unprecedented pressure on Arctic Peoples, testing their adaptive capacities and threatening their way of life.
A Florida panther sculpture melts before visitors' eyes to highlight the effects of climate change
CNN
The piece of "artivism" is part of the Florida Climate Crisis Campaign by The CLEO Institute, a nonprofit focusing on climate science education in Florida, and the VoLo Foundation.
Olafur Eliasson's AR Earth Speakr app lets children voice concerns about the climate
Dezeen
The app is part of a collective artwork, alongside a dedicated website, which gives a platform to those who are too young to be involved in the official political process, but who will bear the consequences of any decisions that are made today.
Matagi Mālohi: Strong Winds
350.org
Matagi Mālohi tells the story of our journey [as Pacific Climate Warriors] to uplift our people and shape a narrative that paints us not as victims of the climate crisis but as the leaders, the healers, the nurturers, the artists, the gardeners, the growers, the seafarers and the navigators we are.
Explore more resources here.
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"Thinking Partners" at the Buffer Fringe in Cyprus/A Collaboration with IMPACT (Imagining Together Platform for Arts, Culture and Conflict Transformation)
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Photo credit: Buffer Fringe Festival https://bufferfringe.org/artists/
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by Germaine Ingram
Germaine Ingram is a member of IMPACT’s Leadership Circle, and is based in the U.S.
A Mediterranean festival for socially engaged artists in a place of contested landscape, and money freed up by cancellations caused by the global health crisis, together became the impetus for the “Thinking Partners” program, a joint initiative of IMPACT (Imagining Platform for Arts, Culture and Conflict Transformation) and the Cyprus Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival. This idea for providing advice and mentoring for artists creating new work about the many faces of “displacement” is generating enthusiasm and building relationships across continents, and represents a small experiment that could become a replicable model for IMPACT as it endeavors to provide tangible support for local actors in the arts, culture and conflict transformation field/ecosystem. Here’s how the "Thinking Partners" program came about.
Read the full article here.
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Creative Responses to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Across Africa: A Learning Exchange
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‘Let it Down With Our Agonies’, by Tumisang Khalipha
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by Bonface Beti
Bonface Beti, based in Kenya, was part of the core organizing team for the Learning Exchange.
The African Virtual Learning Exchange was successfully held on September 3rd and 4th, as a collective dialogue between practitioners in the arts, culture and conflict transformation ecosystem (ACCT). The conversation focused on use of creative responses to gender-based violence in Africa; it was designed for artists, cultural workers, art and social transformation workers, practitioners of conflict transformation processes, researchers, academics, donors, officials and public policy makers working in this field.
The event was organized by IMPACT, a global initiative strengthening the contributions of arts and culture to conflict transformation. This Exchange was co-convened by 11 African organizations: Amani's People's Theater, Dafadoy Collective against Violence against Women and Children; HeForShe, Just Associates, Noon Creative Enterprise, Partners Global West Africa - Senegal, Search for Common Ground Africa, Senegalese Council of Arts, Shayisfuba Feminist Collective, The Timbuktu Center for Peace Studies and The Visual Arts Network in South Africa.
Read the full article here.
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Imagining Together/Acting Together Learning Exchange Summaries
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 | Photo credit: Acting Together on the World Stage: https://atwsresources.com/
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IMPACT (Imagining Together Platform for Arts, Culture and Conflict Transformation) at ITAC
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by Mary Ann Hunter
Mary Ann Hunter, an Australia-based member of IMPACT’s Leadership Circle, represented IMPACT at the Fifth International Teaching Artists Conference, (ITAC5), a fully online event hosted by Korea Arts and Culture Education Service. Over the three days of programming, more than 40 sessions were led by colleagues from 19 countries engaged in an array of artform practices. The title of the conference was Boundaries into New Pathways, and its key themes were unlearning, local and nomadic practices, and peace and reconciliation.
It was an honour to meet such a diversity of teaching artists working in community-based and school settings deeply enquiring about their own and each other’s practice. I was privileged to host a lunchtime Collective Gathering each day of the conference called the IMPACT Dialogues where we shared our ITAC5 learnings and unlearnings through the lens of peacebuilding. It was a place for dialogue about the ways teaching artists are transforming conflict, decolonising, and unlearning in their practice.
During one of our sessions, we engaged creativity with the inquiry, What is Peacebuilding Teaching Artistry?
Based in our own online spaces of connection, we drew body outlines and wrote or drew three words or images that we saw as being in the head, in the heart and in the hands of a Peacebuilding Teaching Artist. We shared and discussed these. (See a selection of participants’ sharings below.) Then we closed our time together by sharing what grounds us on the left foot, and what’s next on the right. We look forward to continuing connections between IMPACT and ITAC for, as you can see, what we enable with our heads, our hearts and our hands have great synergy.
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Source: EVN report https://www.evnreport.com/
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by Armine Avetisyan
October 7, 2020
Beyond being a primary need for life, food has multiple cultural and social meanings. We celebrate holidays and express our joy by sharing food, we mourn our losses, seek comfort and healing when in pain by sharing food. Away from home, we seek familiar tastes to comfort ourselves, trying to recreate home through the familiar flavors and products. There are multiple examples from different parts of the world showing how food helps bridge divides and reconcile communities in conflict. Recipes for Peace, an initiative run by International Alert, a UK-based peacebuilding organization, olive oil production with the “taste of peace” uniting Cyprus, an Israeli cafe offering a discount to the Jews and Palestinians sitting at one table, Chefs for Peace, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit founded by Jewish, Muslim and Christian chefs to explore diversity and multiculturalism through food, and Haven’t We Shared Much Salt and Bread, a movie exploring the intersection of food, reconciliation and women’s role in grassroots peacebuilding efforts in the Turkish-Armenian context, are just a few examples.
Read the full article here.
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Credit: MOHA. In picture: Olivia Reschofsky, photo by Alice Pons
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The importance of asking the question
by Jasmina Ibrahimovic
Jasmina Ibrahimovic, based in the Netherlands, is a member of IMPACT’s Leadership Circle.
Once every three years, with the International Community Arts Festival (ICAF), we welcome community artists, scholars and participants from all over the world to Rotterdam. Despite the large-scale of our international event, the headquarters of ICAF is located in a suburb called IJsselmonde, one of the poorest districts of the poorest city in the Netherlands.
Situated right in front of the entrance to the local theater – Islemunda – is an open-air office: a desk with a typewriter, a carpet, a lamp, a plant, a painting and a yellow sofa. Above the antique brown desk hangs a banner with the question "Who cares" in large letters. A question free for any interpretation. Who cares about what? For whom? Why? Who do I care for? And who cares about these questions and about what's happening here, anyway? Exactly the point. The question is posed by fellow artists of the MOHA collective consisting of the Hungarian Olivia Reschofsky and the French Alice Pons. Both have been working and living in the Netherlands for several years now. Through a collaboration with us, they’ve created an open-air office in front of the theater for three weeks, four days a week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., pushing this question on unsuspecting passers-by. A few days ago, around 3 in the afternoon, once Olivia and Alice closed up for the day and drove their stuff in carts back to my office, they told me about a meeting with an elderly gentleman earlier that day. Involved in a conversation about care, this gentleman asked if Olivia could also come and vacuum his house once every week. That is what caring means for him: someone who helps him with something that he cannot do himself. Olivia replied that she might come and vacuum once, but that she can't do that every week. Her answer sounded almost apologetic to me. Our conversation soon turned to the topic of usefulness of ‘the question,’ and thus the usefulness of art in times of need. What's the point of posing the question if you can't do anything about the answer? Is there a point to art or the aesthetic for people who are in lack of basic human needs?
Read the full article here.
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'Navigating the nexus of Art and Peace' -
a book
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by Carmen Olaechea
Carmen Olaechea, based in Argentina, is a member of IMPACT’s Leadership Circle.
Book: Navigating the nexus of Art and Peace.
John Paul Lederach said about this book: We have few books that stitch these worlds together so seamlessly and fewer yet that do so by building the bridge between the practice, the reflection, and the imagination.
And that is not the only bridge the authors have created. They offer their reflections and learnings as a work in progress, inviting conflict transformation practitioners and artists to take the next step in order to dive deeper in the understanding of this unique nexus. And with this decision, they also built a bridge for collaboration, co-creation and generosity.
Let’s cross these bridges. We are presenting here the English and Spanish versions of the book, along with a video of the authors explaining their journey.
Libro: Navegando los vínculos entre el Arte y la Paz
John Paul Lederach dijo sobre este libro: Tenemos pocos libros que unan estos mundos de manera tan perfecta y menos aún que lo hagan construyendo el puente entre la práctica, la reflexión y la imaginación.
Y ese no fue el único puente que crearon los autores. Ofrecieron sus reflexiones y aprendizajes como un trabajo en progreso, invitando a profesionales de la transformación de conflictos y artistas a dar el siguiente paso para profundizar en la comprensión de este nexo único. Y con esta decisión, construyeron, también, un puente para la colaboración, la co-creación y la generosidad.
Crucemos estos puentes. Presentamos aquí la versión en inglés y español del libro y un video de los autores explicando su viaje.
Read the book in English.
Leer el libro en español.
Watch the video with comments from the authors (with Spanish subtitles).
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$#!THOLE COUNTRY CLAPBACK, a new play by Pascale Armand
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Award-winning actor and first-time playwright Pascale Armand visited with students in Brandeis University's "Introduction to Creativity, Arts and Social Transformation" class in September, offering insights into her creative process and the inspiration for her new endeavor. One student's immediate reaction to the conversation was: "She was funny, animated and so engaging, while sharing deeply meaningful, difficult and honest stories." Others said they'd love to emulate her approach as they figure out how to be creative in the face of the injustices all around them.
In her new play, $#!THOLE COUNTRY CLAPBACK, Armand repudiates Donald Trump’s January 2018 widely-reported comment bemoaning the fact that people from “shithole countries,” including Haiti, are allowed into the United States. To be presented through an online reading on Saturday, October 24th, this one-woman show chronicles the playwright’s family’s journey to American citizenship. A story of Haitians and of immigrants in the U.S., $#!THOLE COUNTRY CLAPBACK invites us to meet Armand’s grandmother, uncle and other relatives in all their multi-dimensionality, and to recognize the battles they face against egregious stereotyping in their new home -- a country they love. Ticket purchases support projects in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora in the United States.
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By Lauren Satterlee
October 7, 2020
I began working for the Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts in the Fall of 2011, just before I started in the Master’s program in Sustainable International Development at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. I remember feeling humbled to find a position doing something I loved - designing, editing, and managing websites - with an organization whose focus was so close to my own interests at the intersection of the arts and social change. When I met Cindy and Naoe - the program manager at the time - I remember feeling an equal connection of kindred spirits. I continued working with Peacebuilding and the Arts as I traveled to Colombia for my work practicum, and onward through other changes in my life, including changes in my full time work. I have been so grateful to be linked to this global network of creative changemakers and to help in some way to facilitate connections and feature their work. Particularly during challenging times in our world, doing my work to track the efforts of these changemakers in every corner of the world has been a source of great solace and inspiration. Coming up on my 9th anniversary of work, and now starting my own family, my priorities have shifted and I know it is time for me to step aside. Thank you to Cindy, Naoe, Toni, Barbara, Armine, Emily, Allison, Mary Ann, Catherine, Dijana, Lee, Roberto, Polly, students, contributors, and others for being such dedicated comrades!
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Creative Approaches to Transitional Justice
Conversation Series
September 2020-February 2021
The Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts and IMPACT in partnership with Acts of Listening Lab, and Center for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University invite you to explore the contributions of arts, oral history, and culture to communities and societies in transition, based on the March 2020 special issue of the International Journal of Transitional Justice. Discuss implications of examples from many regions for transitional justice processes and possibilities. We will focus on Colombia, the legacy of slavery in the United States, and the Rohingya people of Myanmar.
See the flyer for details.
Stay tuned for the next conversation: Bodymaps and Women’s Agency on November 12!
Ubumuntu Festival
July 16-18, 2021
Ubumuntu Festival’s team is excited to announce that online applications for next year's Ubumuntu Festival in July 2021, which is themed Rebirth; I can, I must, I will, will open soon.
If you're an artist and want to participate in the 2021 festival, be sure to follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and check out the website for more information on how to apply.
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Resources and Announcements
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Artist: Lmnopi -https://lmnopi.com/
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Imperative 21
Imperative 21 is a business-led network driving progressive economic system change, focusing on shared prosperity, free and fair markets, climate action, racial justice and gender equity. It seeks to drive a “reset” from shareholder primacy to an economic system designed for interdependence. It’s launch asserts that “art has the power to wake people up and create meaningful change. Art can be a compass pointing towards the future we want to live in.”
The Missing Pillar: Culture’s Contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
British Council
The report recommends ways that culture can contribute more effectively to sustainable development, taking its place alongside the three acknowledged pillars (economic, social, and environmental imperatives.)
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 | In photo: Calbert Beck. Photo credit: Robert Holman
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‘White Savior’ Premieres at Pygmalion Productions
Pygmalion Productions will be opening its 2020/21 season with the world premiere of ‘White Savior’ by internationally acclaimed playwright Catherine Filloux. The play will be filmed and will be available to view online before the election. Actors will not wear masks for the recording. Read the press release for details.
Theatre Relief Fund for Lebanon
A fundraiser by a group of theater practitioners in Lebanon who came together during a state of emergency after the explosion in Beirut's port on August 4, 2020. Their aim is to offer immediate and rapid aid to the affected theater community, including spaces.
OneShared.World
OneShared.World is a visionary movement inspired by Jamie Metzl, a member of the advisory board of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life at Brandeis University. A recent summit attracted over a million participants. Among a cornucopia of informative, inspiring and distinguished speakers, Inupiaq native Alaskan poet Joan Naviyuk Kane offered an opening invocation (“I began to accept my past, and as I accepted it/I felt, and I didn’t understand:/ I am bound to everyone”). Opera singer Renée Fleming spoke eloquently about the power of music and the arts to address the most basic of human needs and forge the connections needed for collaboration.
The Modern Endangered Archives Program's second cohort broadens its global reach, including preservation of cultural heritage in conflict zones
The Modern Endangered Archives Program is dedicated to digitizing and making accessible endangered archival materials from the 20th and 21st centuries, including print, photographic, film, audio, ephemeral, and born-digital objects. This year’s projects include activism around human rights, ecological justice and women's movements; visual history of public space and indigeneity; and memory of displaced peoples and lost spaces. One grant recipient, Preserving Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis: The Role of Social Media, is directed by Kristin Parker, Boston Public Library (USA) and Rasha Kanjarawi, Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin (Germany). This project will identify and survey virtual cultural heritage collections, seen as commemorative community archives, created by Aleppians and other Syrians who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Kristin Parker is an affiliate of Brandeis University’s Creativity, Arts and Social Transformation program.
Imagine: Reflections on Peace, an exhibition
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, Geneva
In Imagine. Reflections on Peace, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum has teamed up with the VII Foundation to explore the peace-building process and its outcome in Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia and Colombia: all places that have experienced drawn-out conflicts. Renowned photojournalists who have explored these places reflect on how peace is built day to day. On exhibit through January 10, 2021.
Listen Courageously
A transformative virtual experience on the power of empathic listening
LIST(e)N, award-winning film that recently made its debut in film festivals across the U.S., brings together three sets of individuals with opposing viewpoints, to listen to each other and transcend their differences.
Now, Listen Courageously empathy-inducing virtual experience is on a mission to make people more aware of their listening blocks and better able to engage in heart-centered conversations that lead to understanding.
Collaborating in Fragile Contexts and Processes of Peacebuilding Degree Program
Arts And International Cooperation
Apply by October 31, 2020
The CAS Arts and International Cooperation in partnership with artasfoundation brings together artists and members of internationally cooperating organizations from the Global South and North. What they share is an interest in the potential of the arts to support processes of social transformations and peacebuilding and an engagement for fair and sensitive international collaboration. Through a study-trip with field visits, they gain insight into actual art projects in fragile contexts and reflect upon them on the basis of tools and concepts from current literature. They conclude with a mentored diploma thesis that relates to an individual project or work-context. Please consult the course website for all dates and more precise information: CAS Arts and International Cooperation | ZHdK.ch
Change the Story / Change the World
Change the Story/Change the World is a first-of-a-kind weekly podcast that shares stories of artists and community transformation across the globe. Join Bill Cleveland as he explores the stories of artists helping communities navigate a world turning inside out and upside down. Each episode will introduce you to creative change agents working to re-imagine and recreate the social, political, and cultural narratives that define their communities. This short TRAILER invites you to tune in to Change the Story / Change the World - a project of the Center for the Study of Art & Community.
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Songs of Resistance and Hope by Jane Wilburn Sapp
Encouraging voting
Instagram | Facebook
In the vodcast, Jane Sapp offers specific songs to the current demands for racial justice and explores how songs can energize the movement. #votedeis
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Creative Approaches to Transitional Justice Conversation Series
September 2020-February 2021
Join us to explore the contributions of arts, oral history, and culture to communities and societies in transition. Discuss implications of examples from many regions for transitional justice processes and possibilities. We will focus on Colombia, the legacy of slavery in the United States, and the Rohingya people of Myanmar.
Stay tuned for the next conversation, Bodymaps and Women’s Agency, on November 12!
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