RegularlyScheduled Activities |
Art Explore
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Art Camp |
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Global Play Day |
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| We are looking for a new facilitator for the Poetry Jam. If you have a passion for spoken word poetry, if you are a poet or want to work with poets, contact the SOCACT Director via e-mail (dbryant@iusb.edu ) or by telephone (574) 520-4447. |
The Poetry Jams are an open forum for poets -- who have been reciting for a long
time and who are performing for the first time -- to share work. The goal of the
Poetry Jam is to expose people to the power of "spoken art of poetry" as a way
to encourage community living, conflict resolution, and self-expression and
healing.
The Jams are open mike venues. Anyone who wishes to read signs the open mike
sheet. The host for the evening will call poets to the mike to read in that
order.
Poets at the Jams come from all walks of life, are different ages, and bring
many different styles. Youths from area high schools, colleges and service agencies as well as friends,
faculty, and staff are invited to attend and to participate in the open mike
Poetry Jams.
This is an on-going collaboration between the Youth Community Theater and Umcebo Trust (formerly the A4 Online Project housed at the Ningizimu School for the Severely Mentally Retarded) in Durban, South Africa. The first Art Explore was implemented in 2000 as a collaboration with Redbud Community Retreat in South Bend, IN and Buss Housing Complex in Benton Harbor, MI. The current partnership is with the Center for the Homeless in South Bend, IN.
In previous Art Explore sessions participants have gotten a disposable camera, iron-on transfers, some fabric, paint, markers, beads, and miscellaneous sparklies and shiny things. The objective was to create visual images of the people and things that are the most important in their lives. They took photos of the places and spaces, and people they value. These photos were transferred to fabric, and the banners followed.
Each participant created an individual banner. Then images from all the kids were integrated into a collective banner which was exchanged with the school in Durban.
Throughout the process, kids on both sides of the ocean remain in touch using the Internet. Pictures are posted on the project website and e-mail provides a way to keep in touch as the banners unfold.
Annual week-long art camp, the culmination of the summer program. The different segments of the youth community theater come together for a week of activities (and rehearsals!) the first week in August. The Art Camp is held at Camp Geneva, in Rochester, IN. Family, friends, and anyone else who wants to come are invited to the final performance at the end of the week. The art camp was first offered in 2000 and had to be suspended because the major funder identified other priorities. When a new source is identified, the Art Camp will resume.
Global Play Day: a day-long immersion into cultures from around the world to find the ways we are all alike as well as how different we are. This year's activities will be a collaboration between SOCACT and Redbud Community Retreat, a ten-county youth serving organization. Representatives will join us from the Potowatami; from South America, Mexico, France; and from Ghana in Africa. The play day was first offered in 2000 and had to be suspended because the major funder identified other priorities. When a new source is identified, Global Play Day will resume.
Contact:
Dr. Dé Bryant,
Director
Social Action Project
Psychology Department, Indiana University South Bend
1700 Mishawaka Avenue, South Bend, IN 46634
(574) 520-4447 -- tel (574) 520-4538 -- fax
dbryant@iusb.edu