artsed4all Art & the Environment, Literary Arts, poetry, STEAM, Visual Arts

The Peach Tree

On Tuesday morning, artist/poet/educator Flo Oy Wong shared her photo of these gorgeous peaches ripening on a tree in school garden near her home. Sweet Dawn, Flo’s neighborhood walking partner, wanted to bring her friends to enjoy the vibrant school garden, home of milkweed plants and more.

“From my morning exploration at the school garden behind my house. The insects – wasps, bees, ladybugs, Monarchs (big ones) – were plentiful.”

insects
pollinate now
wasps lady bug bees buzz
on sunflowers milkweed grapevines
near by

FLO OY WONG
July 28, 2021

Two days later on Thursday morning, Flo and her neighborhood walking partners, Wonderful Wendy and Sweet Dawn were so sad. They discovered that the peach tree had been cut down. Flo wrote a poem, Robust Peaches 2, about the giving volunteer tree — now a memory shared by friends.

Flo Oy Wong reads her poem, “Robust Peaches 2”
Robust Peaches 2
Robust peaches, 
kissed by the sun,  
grow by a low concrete 
wall at the neighborhood 
school.

Robust peaches.

The peach tree’s inviting 
palette, a deep reddish hue 
with gold undertones, glow 
under azure sky.
Abundance of fruit weighs
heavily on limbs limping 
towards ground, enchanting
walkers who pass by. 

Robust peaches.

One day, workers tear down
the peach tree, a volunteer one.
No one planted it.
It just grew.
Soon, when children return,
masked or double-masked,
to start the new school year,
the peach tree, pregnant with
bounty, will no longer be there.

Robust peaches.

FLO OY WONG
July 29, 2021
Unidentified Artist An Immortal on a Cloud with a Pair of Peaches, 20th century China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Leaf from an album; ink on paper; H. 9 11/16 in. (24.6 cm); W. 12 in. (30.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Fritzi and Murray Sanders, 1984 (1984.492.1) http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/51866

THE PEACH (Prunus persica, Rosaceae) is a deciduous tree native to the region of Northwest China between the Tarim Basin and the north slopes of the Kunlun Mountains, where it was first domesticated and cultivated. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others, nectarines.

The peach tree is widely thought to have origins in China, but its evolutionary history is largely unknown. The oldest evidence for the peach has been Chinese archaeological records dating to 8000–7000 BP.

Various American Indian tribes are credited with migrating the peach tree across the United States, taking seeds along with them and planting as they roved the country. Today, California produces 65 percent of the total US crop of peaches.

Peaches are not only a popular fruit, but also are symbolic in many cultural traditions, such as in art, paintings, and folk tales such as Peaches of Immortality.

The Peach Blossom Spring is a fable written by Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (365-427) in 421 CE about “the chance discovery of an ethereal utopia where people lead an ideal existence in harmony with nature, unaware of the outside world for centuries.” 

This stunning video is generated by a model which simulates complex interactions within the tree, including growth, carbon partitioning among organs and responses to environmental, management and genetic factors. The model presented here is of a peach tree but is not calibrated to a specific tree.  Developed by Mitch Allen, P. Prusinkiewicz and T. DeJong in partnership with The Virtual Tree. From the UC DAVIS Fruit & Nut Research & Information Center.

WikiHow: How to Start a Peach Tree from a Pit / How to Plant a Peach Tree

Peach (Prunus persica)

The Heirloom Project with Roots and Shoots was created by ArtsEd4All to encourage the harvesting and sharing of free seeds with friends. The project shares stories and free resources about seed saving, planting and other small acts of kindness that can be taken to help pollinators, people and the environment.

artsed4all Art & the Environment, Literary Arts, Music

Angel Island Insight: Sound Waves

A Map of Poetry and Music: Sound Waves from Angel Island to the Shore

Angel Island Immigration Station

“Angel Island Poem” sung by HUANG RUO

Chrissy Field Outlook

“Nine Poems for Angel Island” DEL SOL QUARTET

Mountain Lake

“Searching for Grub” by FLO OY WONG

Internet Archive

頭本太真外傳·頭段 (1925) by 梅蘭芳 MEI LANFANG

Clement Street

“Ode to Richmond District” by NORMA RODRIGUEZ

San Francisco Botanical Gardens

“Caterpillars” by FLO OY WONG

Japanese Tea Gardens

“Bunbuku Chagama,” as told by Brenda Wong Aoki

Argonne Community Garden

“Quince Blossoms Emerge” by MARA GRIMES

Ocean Beach

“Hope is Contagious” by VICTOR YAN

artsed4all Community, poetry

Two Poems, One Struggle

WORLD POETRY DAY celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity.

Practiced throughout history – in every culture and on every continent – poetry speaks to our common humanity and our shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.

Yesterday, I received two poems, from two friends who struggled to find the words.

I share their poems today, in observance of WORLD POETRY DAY.

Pools of Red

Gunshots pierced the air,

then landed in bodies

of mostly Asian women

working at the spa.

One by one, the women

crashed.  

They screeched.

Crumpled to the floor,

which colored crimson. 

Moist fresh blood. 

Pools of red.

Creating shadows 

of death.

Bloody. 

No more plasma.

No more lifeblood.

To take a breath.

Killer shot them because

of his alleged sex addiction.

They were Asian women.

Targets in my homeland.

Open season it appears, 

to spit at, to harass, to tackle,

to attack.

I am Asian (american) woman.

FLO OY WONG

March 20, 2021

They’d Done Them Wrong

Six sisters linked not by birth, but death.

they were reared under the wrong signs

wrong place or time. Maybe that

the parents were at fault.

Of a skin color of the wrong choice.

Born with it. Some men didn’t care

why would they? Money

gave pleasure to their flesh.

No one wants to be down low

And miserable. I use to think

only women understand pain

like they each other could feel.

I shed a tear, and die inside.

Who dealt them the wrong deck of cards?

Money, skin, sin, and all those righteous themes.

All the wrong reasons for a killing spree.

VICTOR YAN

March 20, 2021

On the occasion of World Poetry Day 2021, Director-General AUDREY AZOULAY of UNESCO writes, “Poetry lies at the heart of who we are as women and men, living together today, drawing on the heritage of past generations, custodians of the world for our children and grandchildren.”

Deepest gratitude to Flo Oy Wong and Victor Yan for sharing their poetry and friendship.

Stop AAPI Hate

Our communities stand united against racism. Hate against Asian American Pacific Islander communities has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Together, we can stop it.

In response to the alarming escalation in xenophobia and bigotry resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University launched the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center on March 19, 2020. The center tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

Encourage those who experience or witness acts of hate towards the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities to report an incident at our website. The reporting form is available in 11 languages. Reporting incidents helps us understand what is happening and guides us in developing policies to advocate for.

https://stopaapihate.org/actnow/

artsed4all Community, Literary Arts, Philanthropy, Visual Arts

Read Across America 2021

Happy Read Across America Day!

In normal times, today is the day that we would be delivering the Blake Mini Library book donations to be enjoyed by the young readers in celebration of Read Across America Day. But as you know, the times are anything but normal.

Thanks to Christina and the fantastic team at Hamilton Families, we were able to find a way to help fill a need. The shelter was in need of Spanish language books.

Vijay knows it’s cool to know another language.
from ¡Solo Pregunta! (Just Ask!) by Sonia Sotomayor, illustrated by Rafael López

We are happy to report that thanks to the generosity of community. We received the email this afternoon from First Book confirming that our shipment of 100 Spanish Language children’s books is on its way! We would like to offer our deepest thanks to the following individuals for their generous support of the 2021 Blake Mini Library Book Drive.

Young Wong
Tony Fong
Patrick Wu
Dennis Austria
Noel Santos
Sam Hom
Victor Yan
Alan Hom
Dennis Dong
Andy Kwong
Loangle Newsome
Karl Chan
Jill Haw
Karin Rylander
Frank Bravo
Olga Kiselev
Kim Altamero

Felicia Westphal
Frank Obi
Gurneet Kaur
Edgar Cardenas
Brentyn Carder
Chris Wong
Aida Austria
Tony Miranda
Jun Merced
Mao Elma
Noel Asiatico
Jerry Poblador
Stephen Macasero
Paul Campbell
Dori Garcia Campbell
Teresa Proano & Family Ruby Roque Quan

Theng Mangabat
Ryan & Michelle Wong
Cindy Castronovo
Jon Wong
Jelin Hoh
Airene Austria
Joey Jao
Emmanuel
Alan Merced
Aldrin Austria
Todd Fong
Debbie Fong
Jan Willemse
Jamie Willemse
Olivia Hicks
Charles & Nuria Higueras
Alex Higueras

“How do you use your voice?”
Rafael López’s delightful illustrations enliven Sonia Sotomayor’s ¡Solo Pregunta! (Just Ask!)

¿Cómo usas tu voz? (How do you use your voice?)

In celebration of Read Across America Day, we started working on a new project –  a way to safely celebrate reading together. Today, we are inviting friends to help to record a short reading from Sonia Sotomayor’s wonderfully story for young children, in both Spanish (¡Solo Pregunta!) and English (Just Ask!). 

If you would like to help to record either the Spanish or English Language text for one of the characters in the book, please reach out and let us know that you would like to help by recording a reading for this special Read Across America Day project.

Readers are using the voice memo app on their phones or downloading a free app such as Audacity to record their readings in a quiet spot. Once we receive all of the audio files, the individual readings will be used to create one community read aloud file which we will share with the shelter.

A big thank you to our community of read aloud volunteers:

Alec Hawley, Antigone Trimis, Audrey Pasillas, Charles Higueras, Charlton Lee, Joanie Juster, Kathryn Bates, Linda Higueras, Maggy Frias, Mara Grimes, Maribel Pasillas, Miriam Magaña, Norma Rodriguez, Nuria Higueras, Pat Zamora, Rosa Rodriguez Perry and Tara Cartegena.

If you are interested in joining this project, we are keeping track of the people who have volunteered to read HERE, where you can see which characters are spoken for so far.

If you know of anyone who would really enjoy reading for this project, please invite them to join us for Read Across America Day. We welcome and celebrate community participation!

“There are uses to adversity, and they don’t reveal themselves until tested. Whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths.” – Sonia Sotomayor

artsed4all Community, Literary Arts, Philanthropy

2021 Blake Mini Library Book Drive

Every year, since 2016 when the small rainbow-colored library was first built and donated by San Francisco school children to the homeless shelter, ArtsEd4All has hosted the annual Blake Mini Library Book Drive benefitting the Hamilton Families. Our connection to this philanthropic effort began in 2014, after reading a story about a 6-year old boy in New York City named Blake Ansari who began a book drive with the support of his family and friends. Our annual Blake Mini Library book drive in San Francisco is typically held from Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service to Valentine’s Day, with delivery to the shelter taking place on Read Across America Day. The project presents an opportunity for people of all ages to work together to share a love of reading through small acts of kindness that also encourage and support the philanthropic efforts of school children.

The 2020 Blake Mini Library Book Drive was one of the last in-person events of 2020 where we were able to work with children, prior to the closing of San Francisco public schools due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, thanks to the efforts of students and community at Dianne Feinstein Elementary School, we delivered 800 books with handwritten notes of encouragement to the shelter in March.

2020 was a year unlike any other, and we knew that it would be highly unlikely that we would be able to host the book drive as we usually do this year in 2021. We explored alternatives, such as direct purchase and shipment of books, but soon learned from the shelter that there are additional issues of capacity and storage to consider for organizations operating under these challenging present conditions.

¡Vámonos! Let’s Go!

This year: A new challenge for the 2021 Blake Mini Library Book Drive

In searching for a way to best help with pressing needs, we learned that there is a shortage of Spanish language books for children at the shelter. After confirming the shelter’s storage capacity, we are happy to share that we will be able to support the children at Hamilton Families with a Spanish language book drive.

For the Shelter:

  • 0-3y= 20 books
  • 3-5y= 20 books
  • 5-8y=10 books

For Transitional Housing:

  • 0-3y= 20 books
  • 3-5y= 20 books
  • 5-8y=10 books

We seek 49 sponsors who will pledge to donate $5 each towards the purchase Spanish language books for the children at the Hamilton Families.

After pricing the costs for an order of 100 Spanish Language children’s books from First Book, we have come up with this modest, but meaningful goal. While we are unable to work directly with children this year in support of their acts of kindness, we hope to continue supporting these efforts again in the future. We welcome your participation in this year’s Blake Mini Library Book Drive and thank you for sharing your love of reading with the children at Hamilton Families.

For more, visit the Blake Mini Library at Hamilton Families project page.

artsed4all Community, poetry

Slow Street Art

Over the years, the ArtsEd4All crew has enjoyed supporting Sunday Streets events. We really get excited about Poetry and All Things Slow, and are always happy to contribute some Cheap Art. Special thanks to Joanie Juster for the connection and to Alec Hawley for the invitation to participate in the Slow Street Art Hunt! The Slow Streets event is also fun lead in to Total SF Movie Night #8 – a virtual screening of Always Be My Maybe, so be sure to grab some popcorn-to-go to enjoy with the film at home.

Ride N’ Roll Slow Street Art Hunt

We are looking forward to the Ride N’ Roll Slow Street Art Hunt on Saturday, February 13 in the Richmond District. The event will start at 1 pm at Green Apple Books with poetry by Mark J. Mitchell and end with Norton the It’s It at the Balboa Theater at 3pm. Come out and support local businesses and participate in an art hunt highlighting artwork and poetry. You will have a great time, come rain or shine!

Slow Art Hunt: A4All Memory Cards

For the Slow Art Hunt, we have created a set of twelve cards that are inspired by the places in the Richmond District that we love.

Each ArtsEd4All notecard features art and poetry that is inspired by the Slow Streets Art movement in the Richmond District. The cards share stories and and things that we have learned as we have explored the neighborhood over the years.

We are really grateful that this event gave us an opportunity to reflect on the wonderful times spent in the Richmond District. We are excited to share some love for our favorite places — Argonne Community Garden, Balboa Theater, C: Landing Arts, California Academy of Sciences, De Young Museum, E.Y. Lee Kung Fu School, Four Star Theatre with pre-film dim sum and post-film noodle houses, Healing Arts Studio, Internet Archive, Japanese Tea Gardens, Land’s End, Mountain Lake, Ocean Beach, Presidio Middle School and the San Francisco Botanical Gardens.

Look on the back of each card for a QR code that launches to a poetry reading, a song or a film. Scan the QR code with a code reader app or use your iPhone camera to access this special content.

If you find one of our art memory cards inside a pre-stamped envelope on Slow Streets, we hope that you will enjoy the art, poems and our memories of good times in the Richmond District. When you are ready, please use the card to send love and poetry to a friend.

The ArtsEd4All crew of contributors to this project include Andi Wong, Flo Oy Wong, Janice Fong, Judy Toupin, Mara Grimes, Mary Ann Cruz, Norma Diana Rodriguez, Victor Yan, featuring audio contributions by the 4th grade poets at Diane Feinstein Elementary and the Del Sol String Quartet, Brenda Wong Aoki of First Voice, and Blake Ansari and the Open Library readers at the Internet Archive.

“If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can transform one million realities.” — Maya Angelou

Since 2016, ArtsEd4All has organized an annual book drive for the Blake Mini Library in the Hamilton Families shelter. School children are invited to help fill the rainbow-colored shelves from MLK Day of Service through Valentine’s Day. With our first book drive, we started a tradition of writing and hiding “Notes of Encouragement.” Book donors and children were invited to contribute special surprise messages that were hidden inside the books to be discovered by a future reader. The reading and writing of these notes helped create a special bond between two people who might never ever meet — the donor and the recipient. Over the years, lovely notes of encouragement have been written at special author signings at Green Apple Books.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, space and capacity at the shelter is a concern, and school is not in session, so we will not be able to have the book drive as usual this year. Sharing these Memory Cards on Slow Streets helps us to hold onto this ritual of kindness in a time of change.

However, Hamilton Families confirmed that we can be a great help with a Spanish language children’s book drive for the shelter and Transitional Housing Program. Please get in touch, if you would like to recommend Spanish Language book titles or you are interested in purchasing a book.

Here’s a book that we’d really like to include in this year’s delivery:

Milo imagina el mundo
By MATT DE LA PEÑA
Illustrated by CHRISTIAN ROBINSON

artsed4all Arts Education, Community, Literary Arts, poetry

For There is Always Light

Today, January 21st is National Angel Island Day.

On this day, we take time to remember the stories, events, and people from the Immigration Station’s 111-year history.

“An Island Light” Angel Island, in sight; January 21, 2021

The light of San Francisco
is a sea light
an island light

— from The Changing Light, by LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI

In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation declaring January 21st as National Angel Island Day.

“From the cities, villages, and farms of their birth, they journeyed across the Pacific, seeking better lives for themselves and their children. Many arrived at Angel Island, weary but hopeful, only to be unjustly confined for months or, in some cases, years. As we remember their struggle, we honor all who have been drawn to America by dreams of limitless opportunity.

Unlike immigrants who marveled at the Statue of Liberty upon arrival at Ellis Island, those who came to Angel Island were greeted by an intake facility that was sometimes called the “Guardian of the Western Gate.” Racially prejudiced immigration laws of the time subjected many to rigorous exams and interrogations, as well as detention in crowded, unsanitary barracks. Some expressed themselves by carving poetry and  inscriptions into the walls in their native language — from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean to Russian, German, and Urdu. These etchings remain on Angel Island today as poignant reminders of the immigrant experience and an unjust time in our history.

If there is any vindication for the Angel Island immigrants who endured so many hardships, it is the success achieved by those who were allowed entry, and the many who, at long last, gained citizenship. They have contributed immeasurably to our Nation as leaders in every sector of American life. The children of Angel Island have seized the opportunities their ancestors saw from across an ocean. By demonstrating that all things are possible in America, this vibrant community has created a beacon of hope for future generations of immigrants.”

The History That We Stand On, and The Future We Stand For

22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman, America’s first Youth Poet Laureate

On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet, at age twenty-two, to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. She was invited to write a poem inspired by the theme, “America United.” Amanda wanted to write about a new chapter in our country, while acknowledging the dark chapter in American history that we are living through. “Now more than ever, the United States needs an inaugural poem,” Gorman said. “Poetry is typically the touchstone that we go back to when we have to remind ourselves of the history that we stand on, and the future that we stand for.” 

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

— from The Hill We Climb, by AMANDA GORMAN

“A Sea We Must Wade” Angel Island, in sight; January 21, 2021

In response to the Inauguration Day, poet Flo Oy Wong wrote this new poem, inspired by Amanda Gorman, America’s first National Youth Poet Laureate, and Kamala Harris, the first woman, as well as the first African American and first Asian American, to serve as Vice President of the United States. Kamala means “lotus flower” in Sanskrit.

As a Petal of Hope Takes Shape

In brackish water, hope emerges
from a cracked seed like the lotus.
In search of light, hope wends itself,
stretches towards illumination,
waits to dance with dreams.
As a petal of hope takes shape
it tastes like delectable kindness.
It smells sweet like heartfelt compassion.
It feels like golden silk stitched
to goodness of humankind.

FLO OY WONG, January 5 – 19, 2021

Dancing with Dreams: Angel Island, in sight; January 21, 2021

The world premiere performance of Huang Ruo’s “Your Wall is Our Canvas: The Angel Island” with The Del Sol String Quartet is currently planned for October 2021 on Angel Island.

artsed4all Arts Education, Community, Literary Arts, Music

Healdsburg Jazz Festival presents “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Through the Eyes of Children”

HEALDSBURG JAZZ is proud to present a FREE family concert titled “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Through the Eyes of Children” on the birthdate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Friday, January 15 at 7-8 pm PST and again on Saturday, January 16 at 12-1 pm PST. 

The concert is a 1-hour music and spoken word performance inspired by and dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the music of the Civil Rights Movement, presented in collaboration with Stanford‘s King Research & Education Institute, led by Professor Clayborne Carson who was selected in 1985 by Coretta Scott King to edit and publish the papers of her late husband.

Artistic Director of Healdsburg Jazz Festival Marcus Shelby has put together a wonderful lineup of performers for the virtual program — vocalists Kim Nalley and Tiffany Austin, Tammy Hall on piano, Genius Wesley on drums, with Healdsburg Jazz Poet Laureate Enid Pickett and youth poet Selma Arapa. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Through the Eyes of Children” was filmed at The Sound Room in Oakland, CA, directed by filmmaker Kevin Johnson.

Visit the Healdsburg Jazz Festival website to register for the concert:
https://healdsburgjazz.org/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-through-the-eyes-of-children/

For Educators, Families, Students: Healdsburg Jazz has also created free downloadable resources, including an independent study guide and fact sheet, a timeline, a playlist of songs, a playlist of speeches, and suggested books and poems about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the music of the Civil Rights era.

The Freedom Singers – “Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Set On Freedom” (1964)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on The Soul of The Movement

“An important part of the mass meetings was the freedom songs. In a sense the freedom songs are THE SOUL OF THE MOVEMENT.

They are more than just incantations of clever phrases designed to invigorate a campaign; they are as old as the history of the Negro in America. They are adaptations of songs the slaves sang-the sorrow songs, the shouts for joy, the battle hymns, and the anthems of our movement. I have heard people talk of their beat and rhythm, but we in the movement are as inspired by their words. “Woke Up This Morning with My Mind Stayed on Freedom” is a sentence that needs no music to make its point. We sing the freedom songs for the same reason the slaves sang them, because we too are in bondage and the songs add hope to our determination that “We shall overcome, Black and white together, we shall overcome someday.” These songs bound us together, gave us courage together, helped us march together. We could walk toward any Gestapo force. We had cosmic companionship, for we were singing, “Come By Me, Lord, Come By Me.”

With this music, a rich heritage from our ancestors who had the stamina and the moral fiber to be able to find beauty in broken fragments of music, whose illiterate minds were able to compose eloquently simple expressions of faith and hope and idealism, we can articulate our deepest groans and passionate yearnings-and end always on a note of hope that God is going to help us work it out, right here in the South where evil stalks the life of a Negro from the time he is placed in his cradle. Through this music, the Negro is able to dip down into wells of a deeply pessimistic situation and danger-fraught circumstances and to bring forth a marvelous, sparkling, fluid optimism. He knows it is still dark in his world, but somehow, he finds a ray of light.” 

— from The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. by CLAYBORNE CARSON.

“FIGURES OF DISCORD SPRING FROM SOUL, reminding us that neither artist nor citizen nor believer ought ever concede their truth in the face of rule or custom…

Ralph Ellison famously claimed for Black music power to curve mind and sense, helping the willing listener to see around corners. Jim Crow, Klan violence, government vacillation and the persistence of war and poverty successively placed hard-angled obstacles before the Movement, demanding an arc of vision that called upon the utmost of imagination and love. The genius of Marcus Shelby, composer, performer, student and citizen, is to teach through artistry, so that we might bend our own sight, and make the worlds we seek to live for.”

— DR. ADAM GREEN, University of Chicago on Marcus Shelby’s Soul of The Movement (2011)

Soul of the Movement: Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a 12 part musical suite that honors the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others who marched and protested for freedom. After 3 years of research, artist residencies, and traveling throughout the south Marcus Shelby composed and orchestrated the music for “Soul of the Movement” for his 15 piece big band orchestra with guest vocalists Faye Carol, Kenny Washington, and Jeannine Anderson and guest instrumentalists Howard Wiley (soprano and tenor sax), Matt Clark (B3 Organ), and Sistah Kee (piano). Soul of the Movement was released in 2011 and has become part of school presentations in and around the San Francisco Bay Area on an annual basis.

artsed4all Arts Education, Dance, Drama / Theatre

Into The Light: A Tale of Hope

Start the New Year with a holiday journey that can be shared with friends and loved ones anywhere in the world.

Arts educator, theater director and dramaturg Antigone Trimis shares her thoughts about Vanaver Caravan & Arm of the Sea Theater‘s online theatrical event, Into the Light: A Tale of Hope, which is available for the public to view online through the month of January.

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Peter Schumann, founder of the Bread & Puppet Theatre is known for saying: “Art is food. You can’t eat it, but it feeds you.” I chose to reference Bread & Puppet because I had the great pleasure of experiencing just this, the nourishment of art on the longest night of a long dark year.

Winter Solstice somehow had extra weight this time around and its observance led me on an online journey discovering poetry, music and dances from around the world that filled me with hope. The excitement around the visibility of the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn added to the winds of hope that I felt despite the continued escalation of the Covid cases in California and beyond.

The journey began with an invitation to watch the online performance of Into the Light, a collaborative production by the Vanaver Caravan and Arm of the Sea Theater, companies that have been creating work since the 70s and 80s fostering cultural understanding; the first through world music and dance the second through soft mask and puppet theater.

Vanaver Caravan & Arm of the Sea Theater’s Into The Light: A Tale of Hope

The production performed by the Youth Company of the Vanaver Caravan was inspiring to watch, not only because I delighted in the story, the dances and the theatricality of the production, but also because it was rehearsed and produced during a pandemic. According to the program notes, all precautions were taken to keep everyone safe, making it possible for these young people to express themselves and share space with their peers. All this during a time that was metaphorically mirroring the story of Into the Light, a “fairytale-like story” that follows a young girl as she struggles to find joy and hope in a winter with no sunlight.

The piece first premiered in 2007 and was conceived by Patrick Wadden, Livia Vanaver, Miranda ten Broeke and Isabel Cottingham. The 2020 version of the show was rechoreographed and filmed as a social dis(DANCE) virtual performance and masks were central to the production. Not only because of the giant puppets that have always been a part of the show, but because of the face masks worn to keep everyone safe due to the pandemic. The creators took extra precautions filming with doors and windows open in the theatre space, and filmed dances in the open air as well. The young dancers were also given an opportunity to experience not only an internal and communal journey, but empathized with fellow humans around the globe who are all experiencing these dark times. From the program notes: “…as we filmed this year’s masked journey around the globe, we were humbly reminded that everyone, everywhere, is in the same position. Whether you are celebrating Christmas in Italy, Kwanzaa in Brooklyn, or Sankta Lucia in Sweden, people everywhere are wearing masks to keep each other safe.”

These young dancers were given an extra challenge to express themselves not only through movement, but also through their eyes. And it is true that they managed to “smile through [their] eyes and shine [their] light from [their] bodies.” They were able to do this through the added obstacle of sharing their light across the computer screen and this is why I am sharing the performance with you here to experience this beautiful journey from darkness to light with your family during the holiday break.

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine” was what I hummed to myself during a dark and gray week during which human beings around the world found ways to connect and be reminded that the light is always shining even in the darkest of days.

— ANTIGONE TRIMIS, January 1, 2021

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WATCH NOW: Into the Light: A Tale of Home

YouTube Premiere link: https://youtu.be/yQ2fNJ8coR4

Available online to the public, through the month of January 2021.

Ticket Donations: https://app.moonclerk.com/pay/5vfo3reuyc0j

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Over 30 years ago, folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, reached out to The Vanaver Caravan’s founders, Bill and Livia Vanaver with an idea to bring their diverse and expansive dance encyclopedia into schools.

“The arts, “ he said “will save the world”

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Vanaver Caravan

https://vanavercaravan.org/ | @VanaraCaravan

The Vanaver Caravan is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1972 by Artistic Directors, Livia and Bill Vanaver. The internationally renowned company continues its mission to foster cultural understanding through an interplay of world dance, music and song. The Vanaver Caravan offers concerts, classes, workshops and art education programs.

In Miranda ten Broeke’s words, the soul of The Vanaver Caravan’s mission is found in their education programs as much as it is found in their performances, such as Into the Light and Turn! Turn! Turn! (The Story of Pete Seeger in Dance and Music). 2020 was challenging, but opened a pathway to broader connections across the country. The Arts Education programs are now available online and The Vanaver Caravan can be a viable resource for schools this winter across the country, including the Bay Area! https://vanavercaravan.org/arts-education

Dance is life and young ones have an opportunity to explore creative movement and choreography. Older dancers can experiment with percussive movement, Hip-Hop and Afro Caribbean and swing and the whole family has a chance to dance together as well! https://vanavercaravan.org/registration/winterdance

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Arm of the Sea Theater

www.armofthesea.org | @armoftheseatheater

Arm of the Sea Theater fuses visual storytelling with live music in contemporary works of mask and puppet theater. Founded in 1982 by Marlena Marallo and Patrick Wadden, the company tours original shows throughout the eastern US, conducts community based artist residency projects and host their annual outdoor spectacle, The Esopus Creek Puppet Suite each summer in Saugerties, NY.