BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report

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

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report - Page 2

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

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report - Page 3

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.

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report - Page 4

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.

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report - Page 5

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

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report - Page 6

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

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report - Page 7

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.

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report - Page 8

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

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Report - Page 9

BuildaBridge Institute 2011 Poster