The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.
At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green†while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.
The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.
Scottish Government grant funding to national voluntary organisations which provide, promote or publicise health or health-related services. The list of previous grants includes several arts organisations as well as a number working in the environment.
The deadline for applications is Friday February 21, 2014.
ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.
It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology. Go to EcoArtScotland
Mull is a multi-disciplinary weekend-long residency which explores the question, ‘What would it mean to be an artist working in a sustainable Scotland in 50 years’ time?’ through artistic practice and conversation. We’re looking for up to ten artists to apply their curiosity and unique skills to imagining what being an artist in a sustainable Scotland might look like in the future – what that would mean, how it would affect artistic content, what infrastructure it would require in order to function and how artists and the arts will have shaped a sustainable Scotland.  Creative Carbon Scotland is partnering with Comar on the beautiful Isle of Mull to mull over these complex questions with artists who may or may not have previously thought about environmental sustainability in relation to their work.
Background and context
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe artists and cultural organisations have a significant role to play in envisioning, inspiring and influencing a more sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
Over the past year Creative Carbon Scotland has initiated a number of artistically-led projects including the CO2 Edenburgh exhibition in partnership with Edinburgh Art Festival; a workshop with Imaginate and children’s theatre makers imagining and developing a sustainable children’s theatre network; and more recently Glasgow Green Teas(e).
Building on this, Mull will invite artists to imagine what it would mean to marry creativity and environmental sustainability in their practice. The weekend will be led by facilitators – composer Dave Fennessy and producer Suzy Glass – but will also be steered by those taking part, recognising the relatively untrodden grounds of the questions we’re asking.
The residency has a number of objectives:
To provide artists who may or may not have previously thought about environmental sustainability in their practice with the space and stimuli to consider how it might drive new ways of working;
To create a ‘greenprint’ of the skills and ways of working that might constitute a sustainable artistic practice;
To use this ‘greenprint’ as the starting point for thinking about how Creative Carbon Scotland and the cultural sector can best support and work with artists in this capacity;
To nurture a creative network which embeds environmental sustainability at its core.
What will it involve?
Mull takes the disrupted and changing climate as the starting point for thinking about how artists might do things differently. It asks how the world might look in 50 years’ time and what role artists might play in the changes to come as well as what unique skills they can bring to this new context. Considering approaches to making art, as well the actual content and the infrastructure it lives within, we’ll work to imagine the future and understand the necessary steps towards it to stimulate some initial responses to these questions.  By the end of the weekend we’ll open up our ‘greenprint’ and ideas to a wider public discussion.
What we’re looking for
We’re looking for inquisitive artists who can bring big ideas to a group setting and who are keen to ask questions of themselves and established ways of working. The residency is open to artists from any discipline, whether or not they have previously considered environmental sustainability in their approach to working.
What to expect
Artists should expect a relatively open-format two days with facilitation by the group as well as Dave and Suzy. There may be the opportunity for some artists to lead a ‘session’ during the weekend, bringing a particular response or angle to theme of environmental sustainability and artistic practice. Artists will not be expected to develop or produce anything specific during the two days– the residency is about being thoughtful. On the final evening, we’ll open the doors to a public conversation with the opportunity for presentation of a ‘greenprint’ and further discussion.
The residency will take place from Friday 28th – Monday 31st March 2014 at Comar on Isle of Mull, leaving Edinburgh or Glasgow midday on 28th and returning early afternoon on 31st March. Participants will be paid £100 for their attendance and travel expenses from within Scotland, accommodation and catering will be covered by Creative Carbon Scotland.
Application
Please read this section carefully and make sure you send the right information with your application.
Applications should include the following information:
Name and contact details (including email address)
An outline of your experience to date (no more than 500 words) and a CV
Some examples of your works or links to them online or related material (for example reviews etc. if your work is not able to be distributed online)
A short outline of why you would like to take part and what you hope to gain from taking part
A short proposal of a ‘session’ you might lead during the residency  in response to the question ‘What would it mean to be an environmentally sustainable artist working in Scotland in 2050?’ or a future artwork/project which engages with this question
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
The Cotabato Sessions, a film and music album featuring the Kalanduyan family legacy from Cotabato City,Mindanao, Philippines
Susie Ibarro posted this project on Kickstarter and as of February 20th she announced it has been fully funded. For information about the project from the Kickstarter page, read on or visit the original posting.
The Cotabato Sessions is a full length music album and 30 minute short music film that features the music legacy of one family, the Kalanduyans, in Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines.
Who are the Kalanduyans and what is the music legacy?
The Kalanduyans are several generations of musicians from the Maguindanaon tribe in the Philippines who perform a beautiful Indigenous art form known as kulintang, gong ensemble music as well as lute string music, the kutyapi. Alongside the music there is always dance.
With master kutyapi /lute string player and flautist, Ismail Akmad, we are reminded that the origins of blues are far reaching and that the virtuosity inside 8 notes is endless.
The Cotabato Sessions was recorded and filmed in Cotabato City, Mindanao in the southern island of the Philippines. Â It was a rare moment to be able to get together these generations of musicians in the family.
The Kalanduyans are part of a minority Islamic tribe, the Maguindanaons in the Philippines who have been entirely relocated to Cotabato City and elsewhere after many decades of civil unrest in the south.
Who will be the next generation to follow in their footsteps?
This album and film capture the generations of men, women, and youth performing ritual music and its variations in the home of master artist Danongan Kalanduyan, in a procession, Â in the courtyard of a mosque and in the recording session of a concert hall.
Why pledge to this project?
The Cotabato Sessions is the first album and short film in a series for the company Song of the Bird King LLC (http://songofthebirdking.com/) that will feature digital download album recordings of Indigenous, world music with digital short films that share the stories and culture through the music. Â We are working to promote the collaboration of traditional and contemporary music with sustainable practices and offer platforms for the musical communities such as the Maguindanaons to grow.
Alongside Indigenous tribes in the Philippines, Song of the Bird King also works with Indigenous and traditional artists in the New York Seneca Nations, Egypt, U.A.E, Lebanon, Israel, Canada, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Guinea, Cuba, India and will be releasing with its digital music company digital download releases of artists as well as distribute catalogue. Song of the Bird King will continue to partner with independent film companies to create short music films for several of the digital albums.
What are future goals for this project? Â
The Cotabato Sessions is the first album and short film in a series for the company Song of the Bird King LLC (http://songofthebirdking.com/) that will feature digital download album recordings of Indigenous, world music with digital short films that share the stories and culture through the music. Â We are working to promote the collaboration of traditional and contemporary music with sustainable practices and offer platforms for the musical communities such as the Maguindanaons to grow.
Alongside Indigenous tribes in the Philippines, Song of the Bird King also works with Indigenous and traditional artists in the New York Seneca Nations, Egypt, U.A.E, Lebanon, Israel, Canada, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Guinea, Cuba, India and will be releasing with its digital music company digital download releases of artists as well as distribute catalogue. Song of the Bird King will continue to partner with independent film companies to create short music films for several of the digital albums.
The conference ‘The Future Is Not What It Used To Be’ aims to develop a range of practical strategies and tactics for the future sustainability of European culture organisations.
‘The Future Is Not What It Used To Be’ is a three-day, interdisciplinary working conference on 2-4 April 2014, presented by Trans Europe Halles, Melkweg and P60, taking place in Amsterdam and Amstelveen, The Netherlands.
Key issues and questions will form the basis for in-depth discussions, workshops and presentations at the conference. For instance, one of the conference-workshops entitled ‘Big Change – Towards a Sustainable Cultural Organisation’ will be a hands-on workshop about introducing sustainable methods into a cultural centre.
The host organisation P60 and its adjacent cultural organisations will be used as examples. By identifying areas requiring improvement, diagnostics and developing strategies, this workshop builds on the Sustainability Charter and the expertise developed by Trans Europe Halles.
The idea of the conference is to explore how cultural organisations can meet the needs of the future: What are the prospects are cultural organisations operating in a future of reduced resources and a changing European society?
‘The Future Is Not What It Used To Be’ is for anyone employed in or connected to the cultural sector. It will also offer the opportunity for policy makers and politicians to engage in discussions with culture practitioners on work-related topics and issues.
‘The Future Is Not What It Used To Be’ is organised in partnership with Culture Action Europe, European Cultural Foundation, GALA, IETM, Kunsten ’92, On The Move, Res Artis, Trans Artists and VNPF.
Until 14 February 2014, registration as an early bird with a reduced price will be available. More information on the programme will be available on the conference website from 7 February.Â
Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.
The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.
Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
In 2009, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that “Broadway was turning greenâ€. Now the Natural Resources Defense Council has teamed up with the Broadway Green Alliance and created the ‘NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor’ – a guide to help theatres across the country implement similar eco-intelligent practices as the Broadway theatres successfully have been implementing.
“If you had the pleasure of taking in a Broadway performance in the past five years, you also witnessed sustainability taking center stage,†wrote Brandon Baker in Ecowatch as the Broadway Green Alliance celebrated five years of greening productions in January 2014.
They used the occation to launch an initiative to bring sustainable practices to theaters across the country. In collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the alliance says its new online Theatre Greening Advisor is the most comprehensive theater greening information database available.
The Greening Advisor provides resources allowing theaters to embrace sustainability at all times.
Greener lighting
The alliance also launched the BGA Greener Lighting Guide, in partnership with the Professional Lighting and Sound Association. This online tool will help designers and technicians alike make greener choices in lighting instruments from some of the biggest brands.
The Broadway Green Alliance helped bring energy efficient lighting throughout the Great White Way and now hopes to do the same at theaters all over the nation.
“Theatre and the environment are inextricably linked. Without clean air, clean water and a healthy climate, our enjoyment of most productions–indoor or outdoor–would not be possible. In fact, nature is the ultimate source of all economic value. No commerce or culture is possible without clean air and water; fertile topsoil; a chemically stable atmosphere; raw materials for food, energy and medicine; or the natural processing of waste by the millions of species inhabiting our soil, water and air.â€
“By promoting energy efficiency, recycling programs, waste reduction, water conservation and other smart operations, theatres and productions will help keep our nation’s air and water clean, reduce their contribution to global warming and see cost saving benefits.†Quote from the guide.
Change cultural assumptions
“The single most important thing we can do to help save the planet is to change cultural assumptions and attitudes about how we should relate to Planet Earth,â€Â Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the NRDC who helped to co-found the Broadway Green Alliance, told Ecowatch:
“By promoting energy efficiency, recycling programs, waste reduction, water conservation and other smart operations, theaters and productions will help keep our nation’s air and water clean, reduce their contribution to global warming and achieve cost saving benefits at the same time.â€
From Broadway to the rest of the U.S.
The organisations want to provide environmentally preferable options to producers, theater owners, designers, managers and design shops in the same way that the Broadway Green Alliance brought them to Broadway in New York City.
Here are some of the green achievements made to date on Broadway:
• Broadway theaters have replaced all their marquee and outside lighting with more than 10,000 energy-efficient bulbs, saving about 700 tons of carbon emissions per year.
• Theaters switched to greener cleaning products, appliances, recycling, water filtration and energy efficiency programs.
• Broadway shows now have a BGA liaison, or ‘Green Captain’, at nearly all shows, bringing greener practices backstage.  Green Captains come from all aspects of productions, and sometimes even the star of the show participates in this important role. Bryan Cranston, Alan Cumming, Hugh Dancy, Montego Glover, Harriet Harris and Carol Kane have all served as Green Captains.
• Shows are saving money through reduced waste. Many now use rechargeable batteries in microphones and flashlights, keeping thousands of toxic disposable batteries from the waste stream every month. Wicked went from using 38 batteries every performance to using only 96 rechargeable batteries in a year.  Many shows also print their own cast-change stuffers on recycled paper, saving reams of paper as well as money.
• Over the last five years, the Broadway Green Alliance has collected over 15 tons or 31,000 pounds of e-waste and nearly 10,000 pounds of textiles.
Broadway Green Alliance has also participated in outreach programs with colleges, off-Broadway and regional and touring venues.
The guide provides information for all six of the Broadway Green Alliance’s committees: Pre/Post Production, Production, Venues, Touring, Education and Outreach.
Each of the sections in this menu bar, starting with “Why Be Greenâ€, includes a variety of subsections that appear in the lower turquoise menu bar. Use your cursor to explore the dropdown menus of content available for these subsections and click items to open pages on the different topics to learn more.
Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.
The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.
Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
From 26 February to 9 March 2014, the Paradigm Shift Festival in New York will be focusing on environmental films and new music, indigenous cultures and Western science.
“For people in today’s world who are deeply and passionately concerned about the urgent needs of our planet, the festival discussions after each screening explore opportunities for action to save Mother Earth,†writes the organisers, EEF and Encompass New Opera Theatre.
Below is a trailer for one of the films, ‘Aluna’, which will be shown in the festival on 8 March. The screening will be the United States premiere of the film.
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Programme
26 February: Opening Celebration:
Native American drumming, Once Beauty, previews of film, reception
Thursday 27 February at 7 PM: Heart of the World
Friday 28 February at 7 PM: Peaceable Kingdom
Saturday 1 March at 7 PM: Bidder 70
Sunday 2 March at 3 PM: Plastic Family Matinee
Wednesday 5 March at 7 PM: Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai
Thursday 6 March at 7 PM: The City Dark
Friday 7 March at 7 PM: Shellshocked: Saving Oysters to Save Ourselves
Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.
The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.
Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
Originally posted on 
