Can a film help prevent AIDS? Can a painting engender social reform? Can music lead to sustainable development? A conference on combining arts and activism to affect change in the community will take place this weekend on the Tufts campus. Entitled "Convergence: A Conference on the Intersection of Arts and Activism," the conference is the first of its kind to actively encourage student involvement and participation. Over three days, Tufts will host numerous professors, artists and activists who try to use art to change the world. Converging on the Tufts campus
"Convergence" will begin with a short welcome from the coordinators and then transition into the first plenary session, Performance as Protest. Moderated by Tufts associate professor Barbara Grossman, who is also the head of the Department of Drama and Dance, the panel will examine the different ways performance can be a form of protest for political and social reform.
Following a small dinner, there will be a film screening of Jane Gillooly's documentary "Today the Hawk Takes One Chick" (2007). The film focuses on three Swaziland grandmothers whose lives have been affected by the AIDS epidemic sweeping the continent. Gillooly will be available after the film for an artist talk. The film screening is open to anyone, including those who have not registered for the entire conference, for just $4.
On Saturday, after another quick introduction, the first keynote speaker, graphic designer Chaz Maviyane-Davies will speak about his work and activism in the community. Maviyane-Davies is an old colleague and friend of Mindy Nierenberg, a senior program manager with the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, who oversaw and advised the event's student organizers, seniors Jennifer Bailey and Nora Chovanec, throughout their planning process.
"[Maviyane-Davies] has tackled issues from climate change to HIV/AIDS, from racism to globalization," Nierenberg said. "His work stands alone as fine art, but each is a call to action for people who view them."
Following Maviyane-Davies' speech are three workshop sessions, each an hour and a half long, in which organizations that utilize the arts to involve themselves in the community will be presenting their work. Students from Tufts and other universities will present their research while artists discuss how to make a living by creating art.
Topics such as sustainable fashion, art in prisons, documentary filmmaking, puppetry, the Green Line expansion and the HONK! Festival are just a few of the topics that the workshops will cover. They promise to offer many options for students who want to learn about new avenues for promoting social justice through the arts.
As part of the conference, a gallery installation of works by Maviyane-Davies, Favianna Rodriguez and Think Again, an artist-activist collaborative, will be displayed in the Remis Sculpture Court until April 26. All the artists work in the medium of posters. There will also be a community response wall for students to come and either comment on the art in the installation or create their own work in conversation with the posters.
On Sunday, the conference will conclude with the last workshop session and a second plenary session, Community Through Music. This panel, moderated by Tufts associate professor of Child Development Kathleen Camara, will discuss different organizations where music is used in at-risk communities. The last event will be a speech by the second keynote speaker, Pam Korza. As the co-director of Animating Democracy, Korza has striven to combine arts and activism for years.
"Korza looks at the intersection of arts and activism from a public policy perspective," Nierenberg said. "She looks at how the U.S. can do a better job of bringing to the forefront the arts organizations that are doing work for social justice." Beating unsustainability
Saturday night at 8 p.m., the Words, Rhythm, Action concert will be held in Cohen Auditorium. This event, like the film screening, is open to the public with a $5 donation that will go to the Heifer International charity. The charity focuses on sustainable development by donating livestock to families in need who live in rural areas of the world. The concert will take place in conjunction with Live Campus 2009, an organization that runs concerts in order to achieve the millennium development goals.
Senior Debbie Neigher was a co-coordinator of the concert alongside Bailey. Neigher thought the concert was yet another way to channel creative energy toward accomplishing good.
"It's rare to see so many musicians speaking about social issues candidly and passionately all together on one stage," Neigher said. "All of the acts are very organic and unique. The musicians are all honest about their passions and very talented."
The concert will combine music, performance art and spoken word. Tufts senior Alexi Paraschos will perform alongside spoken word poet James Caroline, percussionist ensemble AfroBrazil and the Berklee School of Music Slam Team. All artists have incorporated social issues into their music and performance. Coordinating convergence
Coordinating the event for their Senior Scholars project, Bailey and Chovanec have been working on the conference since last year. The idea for the event came out of a conversation between the two students about interesting work that used art as a means to achieve social justice. Through the Tisch Citizenship Scholars Program, both Bailey and Chovanec have used their passion for the arts to help those around them.
Bailey, who is majoring in political science, is familiar with the importance of art in society. When she worked with Teen Empowerment, discussing the importance of peace in spite of differences in race, class or gender, she often used music and spoken word performance art to enhance the message of peace. She also came to this conference with practical expertise, having helped to organize the fourth Annual Emerging Black Leaders Symposium last year.
Chovanec has a completely different background, as she is a visual artist in the five-year combined degree program with the School of the Museum School of Fine Arts. Even though both of her parents are artists, it wasn't until she took a class with Nierenberg through the Experimental College that she realized how the arts could affect social change. After being accepted as a Tisch Scholar, she worked with Groundworks Somerville, designing and implementing garden mural projects, and last summer was given the opportunity to work with the Somerville Arts Council.
Despite their different backgrounds, both share a passion for using art as a means to change lives. The importance of convergence
Virginia Anderson, the graduate student advisor for Bailey and Chovanec's project, emphasized the arts' important role in everyone's lives.
"It's easier to see the direct connection when doctors save lives or people lobby for human rights," Anderson said. "People don't necessarily remember that artists contribute to an understanding of life and an understanding of each other. Hopefully, this conference will allow artists to learn from one another."
Bailey also cited the universal appeal of the arts in society.
"Everybody responds to a picture or music," Bailey said. "The arts [are] a uniting force across cultures. To use [the arts] as a tool to promote social activism is something that is so unique."
Chovanec commented on the challenges the fine arts face in light of the economic recession, and hopes that the conference will remind everyone involved that the arts are just as important as healthcare or education.
"When so many people are trying to cut corners and figure out what is really essential in terms of how to push through these hard times we're going through, we can't forget about the arts," Chovanec said. "One of the first things that people say is important to them are the arts."
"Convergence" begins this Friday afternoon and will continue until Sunday evening. Tufts students get a discounted registration price of $20, while other students will pay $45. Everyone else will have to pay $150. These tickets cover every event of the conference, including the film screening and the concert. However, anyone who volunteers to work a four or five hour shift will be granted free access to "Convergence."
Bailey and Chovanec hope that students will find something that interests them in the conference. Both underlined the broad scope of this conference, hitting every aspect of the arts world as well as the world of social justice.
"Tufts focuses so much on promoting active citizenship," Bailey said. "The arts are interesting and necessary for any student interested in civic engagement. They can tie different interests together."
Anyone interested can pre-register for the conference at www.convergence-art.com. It will also be possible to register the day of the conference on its first day, this Friday, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Hall of Flags at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
