BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report Open Institute June 1-6 Graduate Residency in partnership with Eastern University June 1-9 Eastern University | Philadelphia, Falls Center, Philadelphia, PA
BuildaBridge Institute: Transforming Lives through the Creative Arts BuildaBridge Institute is a training and applied research academy that prepares artists, community and congregational leaders, social service professionals, and nonprofit organization personnel to integrate the arts effectively in education and community development. From June 1-5, twenty-nine participants, twenty -two faculty and one staff gathered at Eastern University’s Falls Center Campus for the 2011 10th Anniversary Institute. Participants came from eight states and two countries: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, California, and Canada. Among them, ten master students attended the Graduate Residency (June 1-9), part of the Master of Arts in Urban Studies: Arts in Transformation Concentration of Eastern University in Philadelphia. (BuildaBridge Institute is Eastern’s instructional partner in providing the Arts in Transformation Concentration of the MA in Urban Studies Program.)
Participants learned about effective arts based tools for healing and empowerment with a special focus on vulnerable populations. BuildaBridge celebrated the Institute’s 10th anniversary this year, incorporating a formal Alumni Symposium and Exhibit to showcase the work of past alumni. The Institute offered tas normal the two simultaneous tracks in addition to Skills Development Workshops in drumming, maskmaking, transformational drama, and writing. Methods Lab Practicums took participants out of the classroom to observe master teachers in direct arts service with youth and seniors in local shelters and retirement homes. Methods Lab classes included visual arts, mixed-media storytelling, weaving and dancing.
Track 1 Courses
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Foundations for Arts in Transformation Dr. J. Nathan Corbitt, President and Co- Founder of BuildaBridge International, presented an overview and foundation for arts in transformation. An artist typology was explored as part of an individual arts in transformation and social change model. Considerations were given to the power of the arts and basic principles for effective arts engagement. These foundational principles set the stage for the fields of arts-based community development, cultural community development and commoditization, and arts-based community mission. Practical applications of theory and theology were considered for holistic community development, program planning and evaluation and standards for community arts programming.
Arts in Education Dr. Vivian Nix-Early, COO and Co– Founder of BuildaBridge International, introduced students to the basic principles of curriculumdevelopment in the Arts in Education courses. Students broke into teams, brainstorming major objectives and measurable outcomes of an artsintegrated curriculum that were then assessed as a class. Dr. Nix-Early also led the students into an exploration of "Your Brain on Music," identifying the developmental and healing effects of music on lower and higher brain functioning and communication. After emphasizing the important, positive impact music may have on a developing mind, she left the class with a thought-provoking comparison of the impact of violence on that same mind.
Arts and Spiritual Development Lynne Farrow, artist and professional counselor led the Arts and Spirituality course. She explored a variety of hands-on art making activities that can be used with different at-risk populations as they relate to different aspects of spirituality including relationship development, personal expression, healing and wholeness. Dr. Randolph Walters introduced self regulation, character development and resilience in youth while Dr. Joseph Modica approached basic faith development theories. Participants engaged in Farrow’s experiential art activity “the broken pot” - where they broke and put back together a clay pot as a metaphor of healing and transformation.
Arts, Creativity and Human Development Michele Rattigan walked students through Lowenfeld's stages of artistic development, providing a thorough analysis of his research, and art examples to elucidate his conclusions. She then demonstrated the intimate connection between a child's artistic and academic development level through narratives from her own professional experience. Gayle Gates discussed the bodymind connection through movement and dance and its relationship to expressing and positively changing body image. She cited the work of theorists like Erickson ...experiential elements of in identifying the two ma- presentations were espejor life stages for solidify- cially fun and helpful in ing that body image and illustrating concepts. attitude.
Arts in Healing James Borling, Mindy JacobsonLevy and Ellen Schelly-Hill focused on trauma and the healing power of music, visual arts, and movement, respectively. Participants explored the effects of trauma on children's connection to self and to others. These courses demonstrated the value of art-making in therapeutic settings and addressed the difficulties of communication with children who have endured trauma. In the Neurology of Trauma course, Dr. Gene Ann Behrens broadened and deepened students understanding of trauma beyond PTSD.
She explained how trauma slows down the brain's processing, adding that this research has led to the recent shift away from talk therapy. Finally, she pointed students towards the arts as a key way to help children move through and beyond trauma.
Arts in Social Services Trapeta Mayson (Social Worker and Therapist), one of the faculty for this course, stressed the need to work with children from a strength based perspective and to recognize their abilities to develop a strong sense of resiliency. Children are often underserved due to their age and limited resources. Focusing on their strengths and not on their weaknesses can be the best social service model. The course outlined systems and organizations working to meet social needs around the world. Dr. David Bronkema, Director of Development Programs at Eastern University (School of Leadership and Development) gave an overview of organizations engaging in the social service sector. He identified the types of organizations (grassroots, NGOs, government, bilateral, multilateral, and private sector), their motivations, the systems and networks created, the types of issues they address, their varying approaches and the relationships with each other.
James Borling gave very good examples of how to use music for healing and I am thankful that he actually put the methods he taught us into practice with the class so we could experience what our clients experience.
Track 2 Courses
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Arts Relief Training Participants attended three distinct interactive seminars, in which they were instructed how to use the arts to effectively respond to trauma-affected communities, as well as how to practice self-care techniques in order to avoid burn-out. Dr. Hoskins taught Psychological First Aid on behalf of the Red Cross, delineating the history and response of traumatology, the power and limitations as artists and healers coupled with role-playing as responders. Each participant received a Red Cross Certificate in Psychological First-Aid. Ms. Christine Wineberg delivered a scientifically attuned yet accessible lecture on the neurology of trauma, and the use of music therapy in alleviating and processing the neurobiological effects of trauma. Dr. Gene Ann Behrens conducted an interactive workshop that feaNever before have I been tured activities she conducted at the receiving end of while working in Gaza. This such collaborative trust demonstration supported her and respect from a pre- discussion of music therapy’s senter. ability to transcend language and cultural barriers.
Leadership Practicum Dr. Corbitt equipped participants with fundamental tools for program planning, funding, evaluation and assessment, working with each student in planning for their upcoming program and projects theses. Participants also had the opportunity to listen, learn from, and critique the plans of their peers.
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Conscious Group Drumming Drumming has been used throughout history as a method of community building, spirito-emotional development, and ritual. Music therapists and other artists are applying drum methodology to many clinical populations, including at-risk youth, substance abuse recovery groups, trauma and PTSD survivors, and geriatrics.
stitute taking part together. Doing so allowed participants and faculty from all tracks to come together and recharge as a whole.
James Borling taught the Institute participants basic drumming techniques, simple models of group facilitation and the model of “Conscious Drumming.” Conscious Drumming is a specific model of group drumming designed to facilitate individual expression in the context of a group setting. Participants also used the Native American tradition of the “talking stick” to share insight, purpose, and spirituali“Working with Leah and others on the mural gave me time to ty at both the opening and closing drum cirprocess. I absorbed the calls to action, as the canvas absorbed cles. This was the first year that drumming my paint. I felt the freedom to go in life where I would, just as was done in a large group, with the entire Inmy patterns turned and twisted where they would. I could finally breathe.
Collaborative Mural-Making
Leah Samuelson returned with the 2010 Institute mural, and inspired participants to see new visions and take new freedoms in the work. She provided a unique framework, meshing together Matisse's exploration of pairing reds and greens with the Australian indigenous method of documenting journeys through dots and mysterious symbols. Matisse felt that reds and greens, when near together, emitted their own light. Participants returned to the mural as he himself returned to his work: like it were a comfortable arm chair, but also a new emotional interaction and response each time a new layer was added. Participants contemplated the path of their snake-like journey dots, just as the Australian indigenous people intentionally allowed their journeys to often come full circle, like their cyclical view of history. Participants took part in the history of these traditions as they added a new layer to the mural. Participants grew increasingly confident in the art as their depth of understanding of the freedom and safety both traditions offered grew throughout the week. Discussions waxed and waned over the mural, its paints and palettes, as relationships grew and deepened.
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Skills Development Workshops
Mask-Making Maria Carlini, Co-Founder and Director of Creative Therapies Enterprises in Pittsburgh, PA, led twelve participants into an exploration of identity through music and mask-making. Participants were given the opportunity to decorate, name, and write a short reflective haiku about their mask. During a busy week of learning and doing, Maria created an environment for playful giggles, as participants nervously applied the casting material to their partners' faces. Later, the atmosphere turned thoughtful, as participants meditated on who they were and how they communicate that to the world. In the final skills celebration, participants shared their final masks and descriptive haikus with the rest of the Institute.
Writing Workshop A few participants joined Lynne Farrow to develop their writing skills individually and communally. They read and analyzed a poem, and then created individual poems with a parallel structure. Lynne engaged them in a final group poetry exercise, exploring their reflections and experiences of the Institute. Participants presented their final work at the Skills Celebrations, sharing about the impact of the Institute on their future endeavors.
Transformational Drama Lisa Jo Epstein, Founder and Director of Gas and Electric Arts, introduced the techniques and theories of Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) created by Brazilian theatre innovator and social activist Augusto Boal. Participants learned the basics of core TO techniques Image Theatre and Forum Theatre, and ways TO enables a group to grapple with pressing personal and/or public concerns through non-competitive, playful theatre techniques. TO work can raise awareness, offer a space for the stories of those who have been silent or silenced, stimulate discussion, lead to self and social reflection and generate both personal and group ideas for working towards change.
Methods Lab Practicum Classes
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Methods Lab Practicums gave participants an opportunity to observe and assist a Master teacher in a direct urban-based arts service program with youth/seniors in a local shelter/ retirement home
African Dance Master Teacher and Community Programs Coordinator Magira Ross led both Discovery Program students and Institute participants in African dance skills at a BuildaBridge community partner site. Jim Borling, the Institute's drumming teacher, provided musical accompaniment. Geography lessons weaved into the curriculum provided an arts-integrated program, revealing Discovery's theme this year of finding home in one's heart and what home means to students living in transitional sites. Institute participants experienced firsthand the transforming power of the arts on students actively involved in the Discovery Program, illustrating the very theory they learned at the Institute.
Visual Arts Sarah Thompson conducted a class that dovetailed history, geography, and identity through discussions of heraldry and symbolism. The students created their own badges in the shape of a shield, and then partook in a discussion on standing up for one’s beliefs to the tune of Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up.” The kids also wrote their own mottos, delineating what values and beliefs were important to them individually, and then sharing them with the class.
Mixed Media Storytelling Participants joined Jesse White in a sharing of histories and stories, through poetry, paint, collage, and spoken word. The diversity of the media reflected the diversity of retirement home residents, allowing each to express their stories through a comfortable medium. The time ended in mutual celebration of one another's works, particularly as several symbols reappeared in different individuals’ works. One woman shared a poem recalling all of their different stories, reflecting on how when brought together, reveals the real spice of life.
Textiles: A Woven Journey of Hope For the in-house methods lab, Kathryn Pannepacker led participants through a journey of self and other. Participants created “word weave” artwork, just as homeless participants did during a year plus mural project Kathryn led. Strips of paper were filled with personal narratives, prayers, hopes and secrets, before being weaved into other strips to form a mat. The process of weaving these strips up and down to create the work illustrated the larger metaphor of life’s ups and downs. Students worked on their own time to complete the pieces and the reflections it stirred.
10th Anniversary Celebrations
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Symposium Past Institute participants shared their memories and experiences at a formal dinner celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Institute. Presentations were given by local alumni, and internationally-based artists presented via Skype. The dinner was followed by Skills Workshop presentations, and the closing drum circle celebrating reflections and the sense of community shared by all attendees. The stories of people using arts in their communities were inspiring and one of the things that will stick with me for a long time.
Dr. Joseph B. Modica, Eastern University’s Chaplain and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, presented Drs. Corbitt and Nix-Early with an award from the University, celebrating their visionary work with BuildaBridge and commemorating the Institute’s 10th Anniversary.
Exhibit Institute alumni and one local ministry presented their art and their community work, from group mural-making among artists and a church-based homeless ministry, to a child-focused arts program in its tenth year. Presenters and participants dialogued about issues ranging from marred racial and sexual identity, to communities’ need for longterm commitment. At every table, participants found realworld examples of how to use arts in transformation.
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Sponsors and Alliances Poised at the historic Falls Center campus entrance, the Gatehouse Café offers the area's only bistro-style breakfast and lunch in a truly unique setting. Breakfast and Lunch for the BuildaBridge Institute Provided by the Gatehouse Cafe Philadelphia University is a private institution of higher learning committed to providing an experiential education and is recognized as a leader in the architecture, design, engineering, business, textiles, and health and sciences fields. Housing for Institute attendees provided by Philadelphia University. Eastern University is a co-educational Christian University of the arts that includes undergraduate, graduate, seminary and accelerated adult programs. Eastern University has locations in St. David’s, Philadelphia, Harrisburg and satellite campuses around the world. The BuildaBridge Institute gained accreditation from Eastern University in 2008, at which time it added a second advanced track to its foundation courses. Institute classroom space provided by Eastern University for BuildaBridge’s 2011 Institute. School District of Philadelphia: Office of Specialized Services – Homeless Children’s Initiative The main objectives of the Homeless Children’s Initiative are to inform the School District of Philadelphia of its responsibilities to homeless children and youth, to increase awareness about the needs of homeless children, to reveal and overcome possible educational barriers, to explain current legislation and policies, and to provide practical advice to those working within the system. Philadelphia Cultural Fund Youth Initiative Grant
Dinners Provided by: Touch of Elegance Catering & Wedding Planning, Kuttyscatering & Honey Restaurant
Announcing BuildaBridge’s 2012 Institute! Open Institute June 6-10 Arts Relief June 11
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BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Poster
Selected BuildaBridge Institute Faculty Barbara Price Davis, worked for ten years as the Executive Director of YouthCAN!, a non-profit community arts organization that provided empowering art education programs for all. Barbara’s background as a social psychologist and artist led the organization to being nationally recognized. At the 2006 Breaking Down the Walls Conference at Rutgers University, Barbara was awarded the “Arts in Prevention Achievement Award” and in 2007, YouthCAN! was named a “Model Arts as Prevention” organization by the National Initiative for Arts as Prevention. In March 2009, Delta Kappa Gamma, an international association for women in education recognized Barbara Price Davis as the 2009 Outstanding Arts Educator for Arkansas. Today, Barbara works leading transformational arts programs with youth in a substance abuse treatment facility and with adults suffering from severe mental illness. Christine C. Wineberg, MA, MT-BC, LPC is the Director of Clinical Training at the Kardon Institute for Arts Therapy in Philadelphia, PA. She has music therapy degrees from Masfield University and Drexel University and has been a board certified music therapist since 1995. She was credentialed as a licensed professional counselor in 2010. She has worked at the Kardon Institute for Arts Therapy since 1996 and developed a number of programs including a chorale group for adults and teens with intellectual disabilities and a music and movement therapy program for children with autism and their families. She has volunteered in both Honduras, Central America and Ghana, West Africa to teach about the use of music with children with special needs. She has written and presented on a number of topics including autism, trauma and parent/child interaction in music and continues to research these areas of interest. Course: Arts Relief & Development Ellen Schelly Hill, MMT, ADTR, LP, is Director of Dance/Movement Therapy Graduate Education in the Hahnemann Creative Arts in Therapy Program at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She teaches dance/movement therapy group skills, supervision, and ethics courses. Ellen has practiced as a dance/movem ent therapist for more than 20 years with a wide range of clinical populations. She has presented workshops regionally and nationally with regard to both clinical work and program design. Her initial entry into the field of dance/movement therapy many years ago was through her work in improvisational theater (Karma Pie) and teaching creative dramatics for children. Course: Arts in Healing Panel, Dance/Movement Therapy Section: Cultivating resilience resources through the therapeutic relationship and creative movement process. Gene Ann Behrens, PhD, MT-BC, is Professor of Music and directs the music therapy program at Elizabethtown College, PA. She has over 13 years of teaching experience and over 36 years of clinical experience. She has published in several journals and proceedings and is active in presenting at regional, national, and international conferences. In 2010, she was invited to present at a NATO Security Workshop on trauma and music therapy in Ankara, Turkey. Gene will be taking over the Global Crisis Commissioner position on the World Federation of Music Therapy executive board in July and is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Region of Music Therapy research committee. Her research area is music to develop emotional skills and stress trauma along with a strong interest in research design and statistics. Besides other international travel, Gene spent two-months working in Bethlehem as a music therapist to develop the emotional coping skills of the children traumatized by war. Her passion for photography has resulted in two showings of her digital pictures from Bethlehem. Courses: Application of Recent Research and Theory on Trauma Stress to the Arts; Arts Relief: The Unique Needs of Children in On-going Conflicts Jim Borling (M M, MT-BC, FAMI), Professor of Music, Director of Music Therapy at Radford University, Board Certified Music Therapist and a Fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and his Master of Music degree in Music Therapy from the University of Miami in Coral Gables,
Florida. Currently, Jim provides music therapy services for 'Avenues to Recovery', an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for both adults and adolescents recovering from addictions. His professional involvement with the field of music therapy includes positions within the American Music Therapy Association as well as extensive work with the Certification Board for Music Therapists. Along with his wife Nannette, Jim is co-founder of MusicVisions, LLC, where he maintains a clinical private practice in his hometown of Roanoke, Virginia. . Course: Skills Development Workshop (conscious drumming), Arts in Healing (panelist) Jesse White is an Expressionistic painter, writer and altered book artist. She finds creating to be cathartic, restorative and spiritual. Educated in Pyschology and in Creative and Spiritual Process at Guilford College, she also has an MBA in Health Care Adminsitration from American Intercontinental University. Jesse is the Founder and Director of Pigeon Arts, a transformative arts organization that provides customtailored creative and cathartic programs to communities, organizations and the general public. She has facilitated her programs with a variety of special communities: the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, teen writing groups, faith communities, families living in the shelter system, groups with mental health diagnoses/developmental disabilities, victims of hate violence, youth witnesses of domestic violence and murder, and adults with chronic illnesses. Course: Honoring Our Histories: Mixed-Media Storytelling Kathryn Pannepacker is a textile/visual artist living in Philadelphia, PA. She graduated from Penn State University with a major in English and a minor in art. Afterwards, back in the late 80's, for 4 years in Berkeley, CA., she apprenticed with 3rd generation French tapestry weaver, Jean Pierre Larochette and his partner, Yael Lurie, a painter and designer for tapestry. Kathryn then went to Aubusson, France to continue weaving as an artist-in-resident. She also had the opportunity to be an artist-in-resident in Hachioji, Japan, through the Japan Foundation. She is the former director of the DaVinci Art Alliance, and a rostered teaching artist for the PA Council On the Arts/ Artists and Education, Young Audiences of PA., and BuildaBridge. Through the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, Kathryn painted a 7' x 500ft wide mural called Wall of Rugs: the global language of textiles at Girard and Belmont Avenues featuring the textiles of 42 countries. Part 2 (another 18 panels) was completed at Broad and Lehigh Streets. She was the lead artist with Josh Sarantitis, orchestrating weaving workshops at homeless shelters around Philadelphia for FINDING HOME, a textile mural project via the Mural Arts Program, that is at 13th & Ludlow Streets in Philadelphia. Along with colleagues, she’s continued the weaving studio that grew out of this project, now called Arts Street Textile Studio: handmade with the homeless. Course: Finding Home: a woven journey of hope Lynne Farrow, MFT, is an artist, spiritual director and marriage and family therapist. While her favorite art forms are mixed media acrylics, watercolors, bookmaking, quilting and wearable arts, Lynne specializes in developing arts-integrated experiences and curriculum for a variety of settings. She travels both nationally and internationally presenting workshops and retreats. Lynne is the former creative director of Reckoning, a social initiative headquartered in Amsterdam that develops arts-integrated workshops teaching character education and everyday leadership. She currently leads weekly therapeutic art classes and open studio opportunities at The Lighthouse, a year-long residential treatment program for women recovering from substance abuse. Lynne is the author/compiler of two arts-integrated resource books: Art & Soul and Art-Making & Metaphor. Course: Arts and Spiritual Development Magi Ross originally of Denver, Colorado, graduated with honors from the University of Maryland with a degree in dance and she recently earned a Master of Dance Education from Temple University. She taught extensively in Baltimore in schools, studios and community-building venues for nearly thirty years. She studies, performs and choreographs with an eclectic mix of styles informed by African Diasporic dance, modern, funk, Capoeira and black vernacular dances. She has studied with the late Dr. Pearl Primus, Dr. Sherrill Johnson of Howard University, The Phoenix Repertory Dance Company,
Ronald K. Brown/Evidence and Vincent Mansoe of South Africa. Her current work engages the minds and bodies of populations who would otherwise not dance—senior citizens and students living with disabilities. Magi is currently Shelter Relations and Community Programs Coordinator for BuildaBridge International, a Philadelphia based arts-intervention organization that engages the arts to bring hope and healing to those in greatest need. Her greatest gift to date however, is her love for her three children, Marianna, Simone and Kodi and for her twin grandboys, Mikhaily and Jonah! Course: Methods Lab Instructor Maria T. Carlini, MSOL, MT-BC, FAMI Co-Founder and Director of Creative Therapies Enterprises in Pittsburgh, PA; Adjunct professor, Seton Hill University, music therapy program; Workshop instructor, BuildaBridge Institute. Clinician specializing in provision of music therapy and guided imagery and music (GIM) services, regional and national workshops and presentations with a focus on music and recovery from addictions. Served on the CBMT Board of Directors; Past-president of the Pittsburgh Association for the Arts in Education and Therapy. Course: Music and Masks as Metaphors of Transcendence Michele Rattigan is an artist, art therapist, guest lecturer, national presenter, student supervisor, ATR and LPC supervisor, and clinical instructor of art therapy. She received her Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Painting & Drawing and Certificate of Concentration in Art Therapy from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA in 1994. In 1996 she graduated from MCP-Hahnemann University (now Drexel University) with her Master's of Art in Art Therapy. Michele has over a decade of experience providing individual and group psychotherapy for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. In 2002, Michele Rattigan co-founded The Center: Art, Play, and Traditional Therapy, an outpatient mental health cooperative where creative arts therapists and psychology professionals provide creative, individual and group psychotherapy. She currently practices in Woodstown, New Jersey and teaches at Drexel/Hahnemann’s Creative Arts in Therapy Program. Course: Arts, Creativity and Human Development (panelist) Mindy Jacobson-Levy, MCAT, ATR-BC, LPC, DVATA-HLM is a board certified, registered art psychotherapist, and licensed professional counselor specializing in trauma, body image, and eating disorders. In private practice since 1980, she has numerous audiotape and written publications including The Art Therapy Workbook for Disordered Eating: Finding Your Voice through Creativity (Gϋrze Books, 2010). She was also invited to author the experiential therapies section of the 2005 & 2011 “Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults,” both published in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. Mindy is a clinical supervisor for the graduate art therapy program at Drexel University, and supervises professional art therapists for their credentials/licensure. Professional memberships include: American Art Therapy Association, International Society for the Study of Trauma/Dissociation, Delaware Valley Art Therapy Association (Honorary Life Member since 1996), National Eating Disorder Association, and International Association for Eating Disorder Professionals. Mindy’s creative passions include painting, knitting, music, and especially tribal belly dancing! Course: ARTB4WORDS™ : Healing Trauma and Body Shame through Art Ruth Hoskins, Ph.D., H.H.S., LCSW, is the Director of Relaxation International, licensed psychotherapist, grief counselor, stress management and disaster mental health consultant. She has been teaching stress management for over thirty years. Ruth is an adjunct professor at Chestnut Hill College teaching Health Psychology, Mind-Body Connection. She is a certified relationships counselor, approved critical incident stress trainer for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and Co-captain and trainer for the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Team and VOAD. She is a national speaker presenting information on the integration of body, mind, and spirit, end of life care, and disaster mental health response. She is the author of several books and products to enhance one's mood. Ruth is available to speak nationwide. Course: Arts Relief: Psychological First Aid