Week 4: The Art of Sustainability
Like we mentioned last week, the National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation is a collaboration between Pangea World Theater and Art2Action Inc. It’s a place for theater artists to collaborate and share methodologies of directing and ensemble creation in an environment with special emphasis on non-Western techniques and social justice.
Over the years, there have been countless breathtaking pieces of art created and wise words spoken at the directing institutes– like the Manifesto Towards Imagining an Underground Artist Echo-System, created by Vicki Grise and Dipankar Mukherjee at the 2015 gathering, which was in part inspired by Gandhi Mahal’s aquaponics garden.
This manifesto, like everything else we have discussed this week, dreams of a world where the arts are an equitable and sustainable place for all. That is why we are sharing it with you today, as we near the end of our #25DaysFor25Years celebration.
Imagining an Underground Artist Echo-System
1. Arts institutions that are not diverse should not receive government monies to diversify. In fact they should lose all funding until they do. Diversify is a verb. Just do it. As my brother and comrade Ricardo A. Bracho says, “The only social body in this country that should be 80-90% white cis male should be the Klan.”
2. Those monies earmarked for diversity should then be given to visionaries of color, in particular women and queer people over 50 because we are losing our visionaries too early to mental illness and illnesses caused by the toxicity of capitalism, like cancer.
3. Eliminate intermediaries that allocate arts funding based on what they think is or is not of value. In their place, we should demand the conditions that allow us to do our work unmediated, such as free universal healthcare recognized across all 50 states, free education, affordable housing for artists. In this country, we should ALL have access to health, food, education, & housing.
4. Theaters, who don’t already, should collaborate with eco-visionaries to turn their practice and space green, by for example, eliminating the use of all plastic and Styrofoam and other materials harmful to the environment, and creating underground echo-systems and rooftop gardens in order to feed their artists and their community. I, in fact, will work for food.
5. Instead of theaters buying buildings that often sit empty they should buy land and create co-operative artist living spaces. No theater should ever go black.
One More Day to Bid!
Our #25DaysFor25Years celebration and fundraiser ends tomorrow at 11:59PM CST. So, there’s still time to join us as we look towards another 25 years by making a financial contribution or bidding on one of our silent auction items!
We have original paintings, handmade plates, coffee table books… and everything in between, all donated by the generous members of this community that make Pangea World Theater what it is today. Every time you bid, not only do you get the chance to win something special, you also directly support the work that we do at Pangea.
There’s Still Time To Make An Impact
Last weekend, Pangea's donors raised $1,635 with the added impact of a Matching Fund pooled together by Pangea's Board of Directors, which made the total impact $3,270 for all donations made June 24-26!
If any of our work over the last 25 years has made a difference to you, you can show your support by making a gift today.
Tune In Tomorrow
Tune into our Facebook Live tomorrow at 6PM CST for the final live event of our #25DaysFor25Years campaign- invite a friend and make an evening out of it, because this is a vital conversation and a really exciting way for us to finish out nearly a month of celebrating virtually with you every day.
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