When I thought of what to make for the potluck I never figured I would be a salad which is so simple and easy to make. I had other ideas but then found a way to run out of time so I couldn't make it. I'm not sure if anyone is interested in getting the recipe but I figured since the whole salad was devoured during the potluck somebody must have liked it. So here it is (Based on what I can remember!):
spinach
broccoli
green onions
tomatoes
zucchini
mushrooms
2-3 tbsp of olive oil
homemade italian seasoning (includes: salt, pepper, dried oregano, garlic powder, dried thyme & rosemary)
Enjoy and feel free to add whatever other vegetable you have in your fridge!
Alina
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Dec 1st - Deborah's tutorial - D&F team
What diverse roles to artists play in community arts?
Thank you to our final design and facilitation team who presented today. Snack was a variety of tasty ingredients so that we might create our own unique trail mix combination. This is representative of different artists trying to create change with uniqueness and various combinations in various contexts.
Our ritual was designed to stimulate our creativity by adding to a community drawing with pastels, markers or glitter. It was left for us to add to throughout the remainder of the presentation if we chose to. It was to assist us on reflecting on the question of role of artists in community.
Our presentation group talked about the role of an artist being risky and the fact that there is no way to anticipate how the audience will receive the expression. In the interest of bringing attention to a cause various artists, in various ways the group provided some examples. Site specific protest, using social media, is shown in this film clip:
Also the flash mob (example in link below) attracts attention; great potential if combined with a social change agenda.
The Hunts Point Fish Parade is an example of a community-building event that address a specific issue. It stimulates discussion and awareness as well as benefits of celebrating their community. The coverage begins about 1 min into this video clip.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Second last class!
We are on the eve of our last class together for ENVS 2122, and today's class provided a lot of ways to summarize all we have learned for the last few months.
Deborah started the class with a beautiful song by Rose Sanders entitled "There's a river", Deborah wanted us to focus on the journey that this life is, something that everyone can connect and identify with and how it flows, and also to think about our own value, asking "who told me in this life that I am valued?".
Some announcements: Blakka Ellis, who led the amazing Theatre of the Oppressed workshop a few weeks back will be performing at the Frankly Speaking- A Caribbean Christmas Dinner Comedy on December 10, this evening is sure to be hilarious.
http://www.afrotoronto.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91:frankly-speaking-a-caribbean-christmas-dinner-comedy&catid=54:arts&Itemid=177
Also our very own Deborah Barndt will be participating in a benefit performance with her community choir this Friday evening. Contact Deborah for more details.
As next week will be our last class we will be celebrating all of our hard work over the last twelve weeks with a potluck. Please bring something to share with the class (keeping in mind any dietary restrictions people in the class may have) and don't forget your reusable dishes! This will also be your chance to provide a more creative evaluation of the course. Please spend some time over the next week thinking about the course and what you have learned and bring some of these thoughts to share with your classmates and class facilitators.
The main theme of today's lecture focused on artist and animator, the lines and connections between them and where do you feel you stand on the line? The key to finding our place is that there is no magic formula, often the lines are blurred and multiple roles are played, as artists and animators we must learn how to adapt and shift depending on what needs to be done.
A large portion of today's class was spent watching an amazing documentary made by Maggie Hutcheson, describing the Viva project, a collaboration of eight community arts projects throughout five countries. This film was an amazing way to see the giant scope of community arts programs and gave a better understanding the processes within them. Definitely worth checking out if you missed that portion of class. The eight projects featured in the film are: The Personal Legacy Project, by Diane Roberts http://urbanink.ca/?page_id=23 , Jumblies Theatre http://www.jumbliestheatre.org/
Tianguis Cultural http://www.myspace.com/tianguisculturalac
BILWI VISION, community television, Kuna Children's Art Project http://vimeo.com/1854542
Artsbridge http://www.artsbridgeamerica.com/pressreleases.php
Telling our Stories http://vimeo.com/1534486
and the Community Mural Production http://www.vientos.info/viva/en/uam_painting_by_listening
Eight amazing projects you should check out now!
Viva documentary
Deborah also asked us to go back through the reading and think about where each of the actors within the reading could be placed, artist or animator? This sparked a great discussion that highlighted that the two are often one in the same.
Ending today's lecture Deborah asked us again to take a look at the websites mentioned on moodle (Neighbourhoods, Artbridges, and the CAP websites), this is a way you can contribute and share your ideas and artwork to help these communities to continue to grow. Adding to this there is a CAP group in the works, a place for all of the CAP students, facilitators, administrators and friends of CAP to share ideas and information within our community. There is a sign up sheet so students can be added to a listserve once it is up and running posted in the moodle forums.
Some announcements: Blakka Ellis, who led the amazing Theatre of the Oppressed workshop a few weeks back will be performing at the Frankly Speaking- A Caribbean Christmas Dinner Comedy on December 10, this evening is sure to be hilarious.
http://www.afrotoronto.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91:frankly-speaking-a-caribbean-christmas-dinner-comedy&catid=54:arts&Itemid=177
Also our very own Deborah Barndt will be participating in a benefit performance with her community choir this Friday evening. Contact Deborah for more details.
As next week will be our last class we will be celebrating all of our hard work over the last twelve weeks with a potluck. Please bring something to share with the class (keeping in mind any dietary restrictions people in the class may have) and don't forget your reusable dishes! This will also be your chance to provide a more creative evaluation of the course. Please spend some time over the next week thinking about the course and what you have learned and bring some of these thoughts to share with your classmates and class facilitators.
The main theme of today's lecture focused on artist and animator, the lines and connections between them and where do you feel you stand on the line? The key to finding our place is that there is no magic formula, often the lines are blurred and multiple roles are played, as artists and animators we must learn how to adapt and shift depending on what needs to be done.
A large portion of today's class was spent watching an amazing documentary made by Maggie Hutcheson, describing the Viva project, a collaboration of eight community arts projects throughout five countries. This film was an amazing way to see the giant scope of community arts programs and gave a better understanding the processes within them. Definitely worth checking out if you missed that portion of class. The eight projects featured in the film are: The Personal Legacy Project, by Diane Roberts http://urbanink.ca/?page_id=23 , Jumblies Theatre http://www.jumbliestheatre.org/
Tianguis Cultural http://www.myspace.com/tianguisculturalac
BILWI VISION, community television, Kuna Children's Art Project http://vimeo.com/1854542
Artsbridge http://www.artsbridgeamerica.com/pressreleases.php
Telling our Stories http://vimeo.com/1534486
and the Community Mural Production http://www.vientos.info/viva/en/uam_painting_by_listening
Eight amazing projects you should check out now!
Viva documentary
Deborah also asked us to go back through the reading and think about where each of the actors within the reading could be placed, artist or animator? This sparked a great discussion that highlighted that the two are often one in the same.
Ending today's lecture Deborah asked us again to take a look at the websites mentioned on moodle (Neighbourhoods, Artbridges, and the CAP websites), this is a way you can contribute and share your ideas and artwork to help these communities to continue to grow. Adding to this there is a CAP group in the works, a place for all of the CAP students, facilitators, administrators and friends of CAP to share ideas and information within our community. There is a sign up sheet so students can be added to a listserve once it is up and running posted in the moodle forums.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Nov 24 - Deborah's tutorial - D&F team.
This group began by having us line up as detainees in an re-enactmactment of what happened during the G20 arrests. We were not allowed to communicate with each other and we were advised as to what we had been charged with. For food we were given a cracker and a drink, quietly we returned back to our seats. It evoked the intended reaction of uneasiness.
The group talks about how we are inundated with information and naturally we get confused and find it difficult to be critical about what information we are getting. Connecting with ourselves in order to better connect with others was a point that was made by the group. So, we participated in the bowing ritual as written out in a post below.
Many websites and groups were mentioned with regard to social justice issues and who has access. Please refer to the post below with numerous links to fantastic websites.
Community Solidarity Network
Taking it Global
SmartMeme
Vidoes to inspire:
G20
TED Talk - Ben Cameron
Also:
DIY Augmented Reality Exhibition
Red Libre Red Visible
Clay Shirky TED Talk
Peter Gabriel TED Talk
*Tech difficulties resulted in some photos being lost. Our apologies! Teodora is missing from photos above. Sorry Teo!
Nov. 24 Bowing ritual from Deborah's tutorial D & F team
“The art of meditation is deeply rooted in ancient spiritual paths, yet it is equally relevant and transforming for people today…the central message of meditation is not bound by religion, culture or time.” - Christina Feldman…
“We bow in discipline through our spiral of Five Directions to seal attention from the inner and outer worlds thus integrating awareness as intention, breathing in feeling, feet to head, one body moving but still at centre:
o We turn to the East, awakening to rising sun by feeling strength within my whole body, accepting today as my gift from all those living before me.
We bow to the East!
o We turn to the South, seeing not walls but touching the intense roots of self as vibrant energy, recognizing life as the spark igniting the fire within.
We bow to the South!
o We turn to the West, gazing on setting sun: daily promise of our certain future death which marks the final pouring of all our actions, breath and energy into those lives coming after us. We bow to the West!
o We turn to the North, sensing our world beyond words both within and without time, under stars, sun, moon, dark matter spiralling overhead. My flaming spirit refuses to give up on anyone (including me) and faces challenge at any time.
We bow to the North!
o We separate down the Centre circling into our symmetrical whole, seeing the mirror of our attention balancing in each other’s eyes, while breathing life and our best energies into our companions to encourage us together toward exercising our best efforts as a team.
o I dare you to awaken your whole self and to challenge me to do so now. I bow to my Others at the Centre from my centre!
My body is light! I am light! You are light! She is light! He is light! We are light! I’m alive, we’re alive! We can change the world!
We chart our path to happiness with this light compass, training ourselves to face life as it is in all its forms with open heart, calm breath, clear mind, awake spirit, and alive body igniting the fire within. Let us move now to create our best destiny in real peace. May our healing deeds illuminate the lives of all others and end suffering to create awakening as true peace! Calm, ready and sharing light, let us exit laughing.
“In silence lies the ability to listen; to listen to ourselves, to others and to the One. Listening is a lost art. Without it we cannot communicate, we cannot relate to each other and so we cannot live life meaningfully. We need to learn to listen. Sitting in silence allows us to listen to ourselves and to understand. This silence can heal. The worries, the pain can be healed when we listen. Spiritual medicine is ever-present in the soul. Whenever we need it, to whatever extent we need it, we can find it within.” - Innerspace
“We bow in discipline through our spiral of Five Directions to seal attention from the inner and outer worlds thus integrating awareness as intention, breathing in feeling, feet to head, one body moving but still at centre:
o We turn to the East, awakening to rising sun by feeling strength within my whole body, accepting today as my gift from all those living before me.
We bow to the East!
o We turn to the South, seeing not walls but touching the intense roots of self as vibrant energy, recognizing life as the spark igniting the fire within.
We bow to the South!
o We turn to the West, gazing on setting sun: daily promise of our certain future death which marks the final pouring of all our actions, breath and energy into those lives coming after us. We bow to the West!
o We turn to the North, sensing our world beyond words both within and without time, under stars, sun, moon, dark matter spiralling overhead. My flaming spirit refuses to give up on anyone (including me) and faces challenge at any time.
We bow to the North!
o We separate down the Centre circling into our symmetrical whole, seeing the mirror of our attention balancing in each other’s eyes, while breathing life and our best energies into our companions to encourage us together toward exercising our best efforts as a team.
o I dare you to awaken your whole self and to challenge me to do so now. I bow to my Others at the Centre from my centre!
My body is light! I am light! You are light! She is light! He is light! We are light! I’m alive, we’re alive! We can change the world!
We chart our path to happiness with this light compass, training ourselves to face life as it is in all its forms with open heart, calm breath, clear mind, awake spirit, and alive body igniting the fire within. Let us move now to create our best destiny in real peace. May our healing deeds illuminate the lives of all others and end suffering to create awakening as true peace! Calm, ready and sharing light, let us exit laughing.
“In silence lies the ability to listen; to listen to ourselves, to others and to the One. Listening is a lost art. Without it we cannot communicate, we cannot relate to each other and so we cannot live life meaningfully. We need to learn to listen. Sitting in silence allows us to listen to ourselves and to understand. This silence can heal. The worries, the pain can be healed when we listen. Spiritual medicine is ever-present in the soul. Whenever we need it, to whatever extent we need it, we can find it within.” - Innerspace
Friday, November 26, 2010
November 24 - New Social Media and the G20: The Revolution Online - Maggie's Tutorial
The lecture opened with a samba squad YouTube video, a prime example of one of the many ways in which social media can be used to spread a message. The lecture continued with a brief look at some of the main themes brought up in the readings and YouTube videos for the week. We explored the use of new social media in building community and social movements (Shirky) and considered the difference between alternative media and autonomous media (Uzelman).
Alternative media attempts to change mainstream media content. An example would be independent broadcasters.
Autonomous media tries to create more democratic forms of communication media. An example would be the creation of an open forum.
New media is a different tool which can be used to challenge power relations which focus on the professional expert and exclude the everyday person from contributing. This challenge can be at a local, provincial, national or even global scale.
Breaking into smaller groups we looked up social media coverage of the G20. Each group had one of three social media tools, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
A panel comprised of Farah, Tim and Hassan, all organizers in different capacities of G20 protest facilitation, and documentation addressed some of the finer points of different social media.
Leading up to G20 social media was used to build new relationship, and make new connections, even as Toronto police were using media to create fear, telling people to stay out of Toronto and to frame the potential protests as police versus protestors. Toronto Mobilization, one of the organizations involved in the protests attempted to reframe the potential protests as the G20 versus the people and build hype around the event with the use of social media.
The draw backs of the type of reframing that was done was that it lacked a singular message which means very few people responded to it. The use of social media helped to raise awareness of the movement involving people superficially but failing to inspire action in many. Social media like twitter and Facebook are powerful because they allow almost anyone to have a voice to communicate with a broad public the risk in this is the spread of misinformation and in the case of the G20 the spread of paranoia. The panellists identified the use of social media leading up to, during, and following the G20 as only the tip of the iceberg.
In Maggie’s tutorial the presenting group brought fruits and vegetables for the snack, red and green peppers, broccoli, grapes, carrots and cucumbers, and asked each of us to use toothpicks to create a veggie protestor complete with an issue we feel strongly about on a paper sign.
Meanwhile the group wrote quotes from a variety of media sources on the board and asked us to identify the ones we thought came from mainstream media, alternative media and autonomous media.
As a group we identified problems with mainstream media as well as alternative and autonomous media. Some of the questions which came up were:
Does a synthesis of different media types offer better context?
Social media too offers a biased perspective of issues. Can any media ever be unbiased if all people have inherent biases?
Alternative media attempts to change mainstream media content. An example would be independent broadcasters.
Autonomous media tries to create more democratic forms of communication media. An example would be the creation of an open forum.
New media is a different tool which can be used to challenge power relations which focus on the professional expert and exclude the everyday person from contributing. This challenge can be at a local, provincial, national or even global scale.
Breaking into smaller groups we looked up social media coverage of the G20. Each group had one of three social media tools, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
A panel comprised of Farah, Tim and Hassan, all organizers in different capacities of G20 protest facilitation, and documentation addressed some of the finer points of different social media.
Leading up to G20 social media was used to build new relationship, and make new connections, even as Toronto police were using media to create fear, telling people to stay out of Toronto and to frame the potential protests as police versus protestors. Toronto Mobilization, one of the organizations involved in the protests attempted to reframe the potential protests as the G20 versus the people and build hype around the event with the use of social media.
The draw backs of the type of reframing that was done was that it lacked a singular message which means very few people responded to it. The use of social media helped to raise awareness of the movement involving people superficially but failing to inspire action in many. Social media like twitter and Facebook are powerful because they allow almost anyone to have a voice to communicate with a broad public the risk in this is the spread of misinformation and in the case of the G20 the spread of paranoia. The panellists identified the use of social media leading up to, during, and following the G20 as only the tip of the iceberg.
Meanwhile the group wrote quotes from a variety of media sources on the board and asked us to identify the ones we thought came from mainstream media, alternative media and autonomous media.
As a group we identified problems with mainstream media as well as alternative and autonomous media. Some of the questions which came up were:
Mainstream media often lacks context. Does YouTube give context?
Does a synthesis of different media types offer better context?Social media too offers a biased perspective of issues. Can any media ever be unbiased if all people have inherent biases?
Following our discussion of social media we broke up into our peer reviewing triads and went over the feedback and review of the final paper drafts.
Friday, November 19, 2010
November 17th - Deborah's Tutorial
With no design and facilitating group this week Deborah had the group participate in an interesting activity. We were split into groups, three each, and told to have a silent conversation using only a piece of paper and a marker. There was also one interpreter set to each group to attempt to disect and translate this silent conversation. The topic up for discussion surrounded the lecture themes and more specifically our relationship to animals and the dynamics and confinments birthed by this relationship. Salmon was the main topic. The ReAction Paper Questions were intended to stimulate and focus the conversation.
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