Culture for Change

CfC pilot evaluation report & videos are here!

Christine L. Weinberg — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:06:31 +0000

For a full copy of the CfC pilot evaluation report, click the link below the image. Also, you can find the highlight videos in the Gallery section of this blog. Please share this link. Great to see you all at the Sept. 14 grantee convening!

cfc-report-final

The projects in motion

wissac — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:32:30 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to visit a few of the sites involved in Culture for Change project; this gave me an opportunity to look at how some of the projects that were performed on stage last month came together. I have to say as an artist my opinion about exposing anyone to arts or teaching someone to communicate through art is a loaded one. I think it’s a wonderful thing, and these projects were proof of that. I’ve had the opportunity to see approximately 5 sites that collectively represent spoken word poetry, sculpture with found glass, drama (acting), and music and video. The projects have a lot in common not just the youth aspects, or the arts but in the opening up part. I saw youth who may or may not have had thoughts of the arts or performance but they all in some capacity took their ability to the next level. There’s a certain beauty in seeing what it takes to create an artistic piece of work, but for these projects the beauty was not just in the finished work but in the effort put into it. I saw students not just going through the motions but actually giving there all in practice, plus when asked their perspectives on the project they were insightful and honest. 10 weeks is not a whole lot of time, but I believe that when each youth participant really sits down and analyzes what they’ve just produced and experienced they’ll be satisfied with the experience. They’ll have better understanding of a style of art, a style of communicating and a method of coping with and potentially helping or healing the environments from which they come.

JOIN US AT HYCC’s FASHION FLAIR CELEBRATION!

Samantha Sadd — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:36:42 +0000

Excitement is building and sewing machines are going full blast as our Teen Designers get ready to showcase their work at HYCC’s Fashion Flair Celebration from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Parker Hill Branch Library, 1497 Tremont Street in Mission Hill on Thursday, December 11. Bring your youth and join us for presentations, conversations with teens, Dianne Zimbabwe, Allentza Michel, and Special Guests, recognitions, refreshments, and surprises!

wesley from project think different

wissac — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:19:07 +0000

Seeing all of the group’s projects in progress was wonderful; there was so much talent upon the stage and a lot passion from the teachers of the programs. I could definitely tell each group worked very hard and though I did not see the youth in their beginning phases I could tell that each groups’ performance represented a point of progression. It was also great to see positive representation from the youth communities of Boston, overall it was a great event and I can’t wait to see the footage that I taped.

Wesley

Invitation to join us for AfroDZak Concert?

David Jenkins — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:45:02 +0000

Hi CfC Crew!

During the training Christine gave us the Project Think Different cd… the 2nd track on that cd is by AfroDZak… he’s a Boston-based hip hop & jazz artist… http://www.afrodzak.com/

We’re taking the DNCC CfC crew to an AfroDZak show in Foxboro at Patriot Place (Gillette Stadium) on Sunday, November 16th, at 2:00pm. Afro said he’s going to try to get free stuff for the youth. Would any groups like to join us? If you’re interested, hit me up over email… davidvictorjenkins@gmail.com

this dude is part of the culture for change =)

Peace&Community,

Dave

Speaker Project Presentation 11/5/08

Hernando Buitrago — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:52:41 +0000

This Wednesday November 5, 6-8PM

Do not miss the young musicians and artists from Sociedad Latina performing at the Speaker Project exhibition in the Paine Gallery, Mass Art.

There will be lot’s of activities going on. Please let us know if you know any young people interested in performing, so that we may fit them in the agenda. We are inviting all CFC sites to take advantage of this opportunity.
This is a great opportunity to create connections between aspiring young artists and more stablished ones. (Everyone is an artist, remember?)

Thanks,

Hernando Buitrago

What do you need for the culminating event?

Christine L. Weinberg — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:51:30 +0000

Please let me know what you need for the culminating event and email me your pix by Wednesday! Thanks,

–Christine

Date: Monday November 10, 5-8pm
Location: Hibernian Hall, 182-186 Dudley Street, Roxbury, MA 02119

What is the purpose of this event?
This event intends to celebrate the “aha” moments learned while working with the CfC team and by student participants during the pilot. It will be an opportunity for teams to present to each other the projects that were developed during the residency and to show the “status” of the work.

What exactly do I have to present?
Each organization will have up to15 minutes to make a presentation of the CfC project. The presentation must include:

A brief summary of the residency project presented by a CfC team member (including project description, main goal, social justice issue/s addressed, challenges, successes, etc).
5-10 digital images showing the evolution of project activities and status of final work. (Make sure you include photo captions). These images must be sent by email to Christine L. Weinberg no later than Wednesday November 5 to be included in the master power point presentation
A brief explanation of the images (based on own experience) presented by one or two youth participants
If applicable, a demonstration of the work in progress to the group (e.g.: a draft of a poetry piece, the first verse of a song, an excerpt of a theater piece, a draft video, etc).

What do I have to bring?
We will have the space and equipment required for the presentation and exhibition of your work (stage with lights, DVD player and screen, microphones, panels for visuals, etc). Project Manager Christine Lamas Weinberg will contact you to coordinate specific needs for the presentation of your project.

OPTIONAL: You may bring any materials that you would like to share with the audience on the day of the event (we will have a couple of tables available for groups to distribute flyers, drafts of work in progress, photographs, etc). Please bring this with you on November 10.

What if the work has not been finished by November 10?
It is ok. We don’t expect to see a finished piece at the culminating event. We would like to see the process and understand the evolution of ideas and how they were implemented.

When and where will the event take place?
The event will take place on Monday November 10, from 5pm to 8pm at Hibernian Hall, 182-186 Dudley Street, Roxbury, MA 02119. Doors will open at 2pm for set up and rehearsal.

Who is invited?
CfC teams, participating youth, family, and friends.

Is November 10^th the last day of the CfC residency?
No, it is not. The last official day of the residency is Friday November 21^st. However, if your project started late and/or your budget allows it, you may extend the residency beyond November 21^st.

What do I do after November 21 if my project has ended?
Three focus groups will be held at Cloud Place in December to gather information on your experience working in this project (Dec. 2 (for youth workers), Dec. 5 (for artists), and Dec.10 (for artists, youth workers, and OST representatives), from 10:00am-12:00noon). Your participation is important as it will help define the future of the CfC pilot.

When will we know if the pilot has been extended?
The CfC Pilot program will conclude November 21st, with evaluation and assessments taking place through December. We will probably have knowledge of the outcome of the pilot by the end of March 2009.

While we wait to hear back from the CfC team, may I organize a final event for our community?
Yes, you may if your budget allows it.

Music an advocacy tools

Rev. Pierre Louis Zephir — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:41:03 +0000

This society is searching intensely to find ways to address issues that affect youth for generations. It continues to go down blind alleys and run into dead end. The question often asked is whether Arts, Musics and poetry can bring about social change and justice. As programs Director at the DNCC on many occasions students discussed with the issues that have a profound effect on their lives, ie, gang, Violence, insecurity, unemployment, unsafe neigborhood, housing, police brutality to name a few. To address these issues, the Theater Arts program was created. Since its inception, the program has tackled several issues for example Teen violence, Unhelathy relationship, Love, Unity and Self respect. The program gave the students a channel of communication to address these issues in a way that promotes social change and justice. This year, the program takes a new direction for the better, through the support of the BARR Foundation program culture for change. As a result, I begin to appreciate the the Theater Arts program much more, because I see , first hand the impact it has on several students already. The program also reminds me of the the impact music has in social change and social Justice. As a child growing in Haiti, under a dictatorship regine for 29 years. Students could not expresss themselves. The freedom of press was abolished and students were not free to advocate for changes. Thanks to a few brave musicians and groups , such as Scorpio fever with song like ” Ti moune yo” little children, they addressed the issue of poverty and lack of access to education, song like ” Ke makak” the monkey tail, adressed , the notion of a lifetime president ( president for life) as being unconstitutional, Ti manno “Travay se libete”, addressed the concern of teen unemployment and Bob Marley, songs regarding injustice and Wealth disparity . The Students were able to mobolize and used such songs to create a movement which eventually got rid of the Duvalier regine. It is clear that the students at DCNCC have several issues that they want to tackle through music and poetry to advocate social change and social justice. I read from a recent blog that music is part of civilization and music lessons teach us to how to teach ourselves. It develps communication and listening skills. But for their musics and the courgage of many Haitian musicians Haiti would continue to be governed by a dictator; although things look almost the same. There is no question in my view that music is power . It can change the way we fuction and see ourselves . It can be used a lens through through which we see the injustice in this world.

Rev. Dr. Ricardo Telemaque

Youth Programs Director

Bonachy@Dcncc.org

UPdate on DNCC & Q’s 4 the Network

David Jenkins — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:10:22 +0000

Hey hey network–

It was PHENOM to hear about all the projects this morning! I’ve been meaning to add to the blog for a minute, but finally hopping to it…

Our project at Dorchester Nazarene (DNCC) is going great. So far we’ve been combining introductory music lessons (in trumpet & saxaphone) with poetry/spoken word. We started by doing activities to build community in the group while looking at the role of music in social movements (with examples from Hip Hop in Senegal–where rappers put out electoral mix-tapes in 2000 and changed the political landscape of the country, Favela Rising (Brazil), Amandla! (South Africa), and Hip Hop in the US. And I’m personally really excited to continue that convo next week when Hip Hop Media Lab (H2ML) will join us to talk about “Hip Hop as a Weapon.”

The DNCC youth chose to work on Youth Violence (close competitors were disproportionate School Funding and rising Costs of Living), and since then have been looking at the affects (e.g. deaths, injuries, trauma, depression, fear, prison, separated families, police escalation, lost dreams), the causes (drug trade/crime, people need money, jealousy in relationships, disrespect, presence of guns/weapons, demons/straying from God, etc.) and the deeper root causes of those causes (1. joblessness/poverty, 2. systemic/government racism, 3. people need dignity & respect in their own lives, and 4) gun companies & justice system profit from the crisis).

I wasn’t in the first training, but from looking at the materials, there were three main youth development goals for the CfC project… 1) Increase youth participation, 2) Develop youth’s skills/interests, and 3) Impact a social issue. To me, it’s really important that the third one doesn’t get lost. I want the youth to feel that they’ve tangibly affected the problem of Youth Violence. I want them to feel their own power. (To that end, we’ve been incorporating some activities around Youth Power, Youth Movements, and Adultism.)

The next thing that we did was to research groups who are explicitly working on Youth Violence in Boston (United Youth and Youth Workers, GBIO, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Street Worker Program of BCYF, and Boston Gun Buy Back). We developed a list of strategies that people are working on so that we could support the strategies that we like. We’re going to incorporate all these things–Affects of Youth Violence, Causes & Root Causes of Youth Violence, and Solutions to Youth Violence–into our poetry/spoken word.

Our next huge task is to figure out what exactly the final project will sound like and look like, where we’ll present it, and how we’ll use it to target specific people or groups who can help implement the Solutions to Youth Violence that we like.

I have a few questions for the folks out there in the network…

Do you have good spoken word activities to get people writing on specific topics?

Do you have specific hip hop (or otherwise) tracks that discuss violence in a progressive way? (e.g. Pharoahe Monch’s “Hello my name’s Mr. Bullet” or Akrobatik’s “Remind my soul”)

What ways do you suggest we get our music onto the Ipod/computer of local policy-makers?

Peace,
Dave
davidvictorjenkins@gmail.com

p.s. sorry 4 long post

REMINDER!! Workshop with Toni Blackman

Christine L. Weinberg — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:59:21 +0000

Tomorrow Tuesday October 28 from 9am-2.30pm, workshop with hip-hop artist Toni Blackman (www.toniblackman.com) at Cloud Place!

“Thinking on one’s feet can be a challenge, but with the right training one can acquire the confidence necessary to be a more effective communicator. The Toni Blackman process combines the fundamentals of a public speaking workshop along with freestyle rap techniques and improvisational poetry exercises to guide participants to a new space of creativity and communication power.”

Date and time: Tuesday October 28, 9:00am-2:30pm

Location: Cloud Place, 647 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116