Moving Forward, One Story at a Time

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/vashon/vib/opinion/104361143.html

The formal approval of the orchard site is still on HOLD and may be for weeks to come, but that doesn't mean that I have to be on HOLD. I put the above article in the local newspaper and it will hopefully bring in some participants as part of the community "animation" of the project. Community cultural animation is a term used to describe a particular kind of community art where the participants become self-determining creators of the project, and the artist(s) facilitate that process, bringing tools, structure and organization to assist in what unfolds. In this case, the forms (story hives) will become "envelopes" for the poetry of the community's stories. Since I have only gotten one response to my call for stories so far, I will have to do a poster campaign and some phoning around when I get back to town on the 29th of October.

I leave for the Bay Area on the 12th and will give a talk at Laney College in Oakland on the morning of the 13th, in Andree Singer Thompson's Ecoart Matters Class at 10am in the Art Center room 130. Free. All are welcome. This is on 10th St. across from the Oakland Museum & Convention Center.

I'll be moderating the Bioneers Panel called: Teaching Art as a Subversive Activity: Eco-Art Meets Cultural Democracy in San Rafael, CA on October 17th. See this link for more information: http://www.bioneers.org/conference/2010-conference-sessions-and-events/teaching-art-as-a-subversive-activity

Finally I will also be speaking at the Gentle Actions conference in Oslo, Norway on Oct 23rd and 24th. My topic will be Stirring the Compost: Eco-art Strategies for Resistance and Resilience. http://gentleactions.wordpress.com/about/

I'm waiting to hear whether I'll be speaking at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn on the 26th of October. I will post an announcement when I know for certain.