S Vision

Join the CSPA in discussing the Future of The Dance World at DanceUSA (un)Conference June 15th

Conference-Logo-for-Home-PageDance/USA’s vision is to lead the professional dance industry by providing value to a strong, diverse membership base and encouraging the membership to be responsive to current economic, demographic and participation realities. But, with limited time at the Annual Conference, sometimes we are unable to have all the conversations we’d like. So, this year we’re adding something new: a UN-Conference! This special block of time is dedicated to discussing the topics which are important to you, proposed by you, and not offered in other Conference programming. We welcome you and your voice at the professional dance table!

Click here to make and vote on suggestions for topics and/or questions you’d like to see discussed in our mini UN-Conference. Your suggestions will determine the conversation during this engaging afternoon!

Click here to see the full conference program.

Call for nominations: “AWEInspiring” Arts & Environment Award

This post comes to you from Cultura21

ciwem_612-300x139The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management´s (CIWEM) Art and Environment Network (AEN) is calling for nominations for their annual Arts and the Environment Award, carried out in association with the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World (CCANW), to recognise innovation and excellence in work by arts practitioners or environmentalists engaging with arts practices.

2013 sees the fourth year of the award, details of the award and previous winners can be found athttp://www.ciwem.org/competition-and-awards/aweinspiring.aspx

The eligibility criteria are as follows:

  • Nominations may consist of an artwork, arts project or body of work by a living artist (or group) that is contributing innovatively to CIWEM’s vision of “putting creativity at the heart of environmental policy and action”.
  • The nomination must demonstrate innovation and excellence; whether in ideas, execution or impact.
  • The award is open to arts practitioners, environmentalists engaging with arts practices, or persons/initiatives that integrate these disciplines.
  • The focus is on rewarding identified work, not simply a person.
  • All forms and modes of arts practice, and geographical locations, may be considered.
  • Special emphasis will be given to inspiring examples of young and/or emerging talent.

The deadline for nominations is 31st January 2013. The winner will be announced in the press and a presentation will be made at a high-profile event (in previous years this has been the CIWEM Annual Dinner).

You can consider putting forward a project, body of work, organisation, person or group you would like to see given special recognition in this way, by sending a short description, and your reasons, to Laura Grant at lgrant [at] ciwem [dot] org.

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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London Global Teacher Network event

Arcola is hosting the London Global Teacher Network event on Tuesday 8th February from 5-7pm. 

The London Global Teacher Network (LGTN) is an opportunity for London teachers to share experience, opinions and resources around global learning – online and through meetings and events hosted at various London venues. Membership and events are free.

At the event, as well as exploring the role of sustainability within education, participants will find out more about Arcola’s vision to become the world’s first carbon neutral theatre, the research work of ‘Arcola Energy’, and get a tour of the theatre. Participants will also hear about Arcola’s ‘Sustainability for Schools programme’, through which it offers workshops to schools around renewable energy. To sign up to come to the event go to: www.lgtn.org.uk

Go to Arcola Energy

SMMoA Pairing Art & Social Action

The Santa Monica Museum of Art will be hosting two remarkable events this month which pair art making with social action.  Taking place this Thursday, June 3, artist Mel Chin will be will make a special visit to SMMoA and participate in one of our signature programs, A Collection of Ideas…, to discuss his projects Operation Paydirt and The Fundred Dollar Bill Project.  Over the past several years Chin has brought national attention to the serious issue of high lead content in water, particularly in New Orleans, through the collaboration of hundreds of thousands of art participants across the US (more information below). Next Saturday, June 12, SMMoA will also be dedicating our quarterly education workshop Cause for Creativity to Chin’s vision. In this workshop participants will have the opportunity to create their own Fundred Dollar Bills and become part of this country-wide collaborative art project.

Thursday, June 3, 7 pm
A Collection of Ideas… 
Mel Chin: So I guess it has to be this way… Refraction, response to crisis, reframing a few dreams, and more on the delivery of a 300 million dollar difference
 
In 2006, artist Mel Chin was profoundly affected by post-Katrina New Orleans and developed, alongside scientists, an initiative called Operation Paydirt to help remediate the alarming levels of lead content in the soil there. The estimated cost of treating New Orleans soil is $300,000,000. Chin will discuss the Fundred Dollar Bill Project which supports Operation Paydirt through contemporary art, engagement, and action. TheFundred Dollar Bill Project is a way to become involved in monumental advocacy to inspire and enact change through a process of collecting hand-drawn Fundreds – $100 bill templates that allow for personal expression. Chin needs 3 million Fundreds by July 2010 when he will go to the steps of Congress and ask for $300 million to fund the soil remediation project in New Orleans and ultimately in all major U.S. cities. SMMoA will host its own Fundred Dollar Bill Drawing Party on Saturday, June 12 (see below)


                   

Saturday, June 12, 2-5 pm
Cause for Creativity: Fundred Dollar Bill Drawing Party
 
In collaboration with artist Mel Chin’s Fundred Dollar Bill Project, described above, participants will hand-draw Fundreds that will be collected and presented to Congress as a unique testament of civic engagement through art. Joining us at Cause for Creativity is Daybreak Designs – an arts and crafts business which empowers homeless women recovering from mental illness to rebuild their lives through creative, personal and financial growth. Daybreak Designs will have lovely hand-made goods for sale during the Fundred Dollar Drawing Party. 

Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches van on site

FREE
RSVP: rsvp@smmoa.org or 310.586.6488 x125

Genetically Modified Music: Mixed Feelings.

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We’re at that point now. We can talk about growing music. Artist David Benqué’s piece Acoustic Botany is a series of models and diagrams for a genetically engineered music and sound garden. It envisions insects created to chew in rhythm, flower pods designed to explode at certain intervals, and Lily Pads that amplify the death throes of bugs in a vascular speaker structure.

I gotta say this makes me just the slightest bit nauseous, and not for the obvious old-lady-with-a-clipboard reasons (nature is nature! etc). It’s because of the roles and responsibilities of the artist inherent in the work. Here I was all excited about environmental art because it’s such a great example of the logistical application of the aesthetic, of an artist’s capacity to engage and care, a unity of practical and aesthetic reason. Now, again, sing the the memes of art trumping reason, or at least twisting it severely to achieve its goals.

A genetically modified art installation, with no comment to make on genetic modification itself, no analysis really of the human/nature relationship, really just an artistic exploration of the fun and pretty things we could do with plants if given the opportunity to play with their DNA. And I bet it would be stunning.Bugs designed to chew in rhythm! What kind of glorious aesthetic high would visitors to this installation get? Awe and wonder of science, with a little bit of nature, maybe.

Benqué’s vision is far from being realized, but it’s ready to start some serious conversations now.

Go to the Green Museum