Saturday Apr 9, 2016: REGENERATIVE PRACTICES

How can we make the arts more sustainable? What can we do as individuals to renew our energy and passion? What can we do as a network to support each other? What can we do as leaders of programs and organizations to encourage a healthier arts ecosystem? Each project team will be encouraged to connect with members of the EAP network at large who have contributed to the ongoing work of advancing each of these issues. Fellows will be expected to take an active role in assessing the work achieved to date on their issue, and to initiate creative, relevant and impactful responses.

Guest Speakers

ASHARA EKUNDAYO
Impact Hub Oakland, LLC , Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer Omi Gallery, Director/Curator

 Ashara Ekundayo is a cultural strategist and convener who consults with start-ups and organizations to assess and build capacity for increased community engagement in their ventures through the uses of permaculture design, mindfulness, creative arts practice, exhibition, and project management. Her combined passions for media, food, art and technology also inspire her to produce events such as Pecha Kucha Night Oakland and “Grits & Greens” while hosting a monthly segment on KPOO Radio featuring women creatives committed to racial and environmental justice.

Considered a thought leader on social constructs such as cultural intersectionality and creative placemaking, she was tapped by the Ashoka Foundation as a social innovator “stimulating the green economy,“ and continues to work as a sustainability consultant crafting programming to support transformative healing in communities around the world. Ashara’s voice is often heard presenting as keynote or panelist at conferences such as IONS, SXSW, Dreamforce, Net Impact, the World Social Forum, and SOCAP.

Currently, Ashara serves as Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Impact Hub Oakland, an inspiring co-working space that connects and supports socially engaged changemakers and entrepreneurs in manifesting “what makes them come alive.” She is also the Director of Omi Gallery, a social practice art space located in both Oakland and San Francisco, CA and is a member of the “Urban Futures Think Tank” at YBCA and holds Advisory Board positions with KQED Arts and Our City. Additionally, Ashara is an Emerging Arts Professional Fellow, an Institute For the Future “Fellow4Good,” and the “Curator in Residence” with Schools Without Borders where she presents “Collaboratorium” – a methodology amplifying the intersections of social permaculture/social entrepreneurship/social justice. | LinkedIn: Ashara Ekundayo

KIRTHI NATH
Founder, Creative Director and Lead Filmmaker, Cinemagical Media

Kirthi Nath is a filmmaker, yogini and sacred activist who believes that ordinary people ripple extraordinary change.  Kirthi weaves trails of light that find form as films, meditations, writing and creative presence coaching. As founder, creative director and lead filmmaker at Cinemagical Media, Kirthi works with social entrepreneurs, nonprofits and values based companies to create films that support individuals and communities to ‘be the cause that creates the effect’. Kirthi’s films have featured cultural visionaries such as Jack Kornfield, Tara Sophia Mohr, Eve Ensler and Alice Walker, and tell stories with bravery, courage and heart that bring messages alive and inspire social change.

In addition to filmmaking, Kirthi offers experiential workshops, talks, meditations  and coaching that help people connect with their inner wisdom, foster loving presence and awaken wonder. Current and past themes (in person/online) include: Creative Presence, Sacred Presence, Uncertainty and Intention, Modern Day Mindfulness, Heart Gladdening Practices and Storytelling. Kirthi has also developed visualizations shared in context of live art performance projects (San Francisco Asian Art Museum, Southern Exposure, SomArts) and uses wisdom practices in the creation and process of her own filmmaking and sacred activist work.  In Summer 2016, in association with Cinemagical Media, Kirthi will officially launch the Modern Day Mindfulness Initiative – a portal for wisdom course offerings, meditations, talks and artistic inspirations, offered online and in person. | LinkedIn: Kirthi Nath

Readings

Required Readings:

  1. The Busy Trap by Tim Kreider
  2. Music to my Ears by Akaya Windwood

Assignment:

Start with two boxes. On one box, write rejuvenation/balance/ongoing commitment to living and working, or whatever else strikes you fancy on the outside. On the other, pick a keyword or phrase from your mission statement. cover them in great fabric, paint, collage…etc in order to make these boxes yours.

  • Grab some cards (repurposed Christmas cards work great!)
  • Write on one card an intention for rejuvenation and any related goals
  • Over the course of the month:
    • In box 1, put ideas or items that remind you to have balance in your life, or things that you do (or represent what you do) in order to maintain balance.
    • In box 2, put all the things that align with your personal mission statement. Again, it can be any items as long as they are related to your mission and the direction of that mission.
  • What you put into your boxes might be concert tix, small statues, snippets of fabric, letters from loved ones, music scores, cds, paintings, wine corks, books, journal pages, research, piece of history, demolished building…etc
  • This box is the holding place for your dreams, your place to put in time for thinking and research, but it is not the “thing” itself.

Please reflect on the readings and consider these questions prior to the session: 

  • What are some key themes that emerged from the articles? How does that play out in your own professional or personal life?
  • What are the biggest stumbling blocks to balance in the arts?
  • How might artists and arts organizations participate in ongoing rejuvenation practices?

If you’d like to read further:

Group Notes