|
||
|
|
Dear Subscriber Spring Greetings
Spring has certainly arrived for us at Encounters. We have projects and possibilities shooting up around us as well as masses of wild garlic and daffodils. Our core programmes; Combatants for Peace, Young People Talking and A Little Patch of Ground are all going to be in full bloom with projects starting this spring. We also have a unique opportunity funded by Arts Council England to plant seeds for the future, build new ideas, projects and partnerships, deepen existing programme strands, build our digital work, fundraise for and strengthen our team of associates. So we have a busy and rich time ahead of us in the South West, Nationally and Internationally. The critical issues we face today aren't going away and as the narrator says in the documentary film Home 'It's too late to be a pessimist'. We hope that the work we do and the partnerships we build this year will keep inspiring creativiy, dialogue and change. A Little Patch of Ground Plymouth
A Little Patch of Ground is taking place this year in Efford, Plymouth. Local residents of all ages will meet weekly to transform concrete and grass verges along one of the main streets in Efford into a Permaculture vegetable garden. Each week the group will cook and eat together and take part in a range of creative activities including writing and drama. The project will culminate in a performance in the local school about peoples relationship with the natural world. Encounters Associates Rebeh Furze and Emilio Mula will be working with Gemma Ward from Take A Part Grow Efford, and the Heart of Efford Partnership. Riverford Farm is also supporting the project with plants and crates for growing veg in. This team will be supported by Encounters Associate Anne- Marie Culhane and Encounters Creative Director Ruth Ben-Tovim who co-designed the project. You'll be able to follow the project on its blog, or you can visit the Patch of Ground Project page Combatants For Peace Visits
Encounters Associate Ben Yeger is delivering a programme of workshops and processes in Israel/Palestine to support the personal capacity and inner resilience of Combatants for Peace (CfP) members and the movement as a whole. Working in partnership with other members of CfP and drawing upon the diverse skills within the Encounters Team of Associates, he will be using a range of creative processes to deliver the programme including; Dramatherapy, Personal Story Telling, Action Learning, Theatre of the Oppressed, Joanna Macy's Work that Reconnects and Movement Medicine. Ben will be delivering this work over three visits; December 2012, March - April 2013 and October - December 2013. Photographer Eyal Tagar will be documenting the process. The above photograph was taken at a recent bi-national workshop and is of CfP members exploring through Image theatre experiences of the Israeli Army. Combatants for Peace (CfP) is a grassroots movement of Israeli and Palestinian ex-combatants engaged in a non-violent struggle to end the Israeli occupation. This programme is supported by the Evan Cornish Foundation, the JA Clarke Charitable Trust, Totnes Peace Festival and the Movement Medicine Sponsorship fund. Ben Yeger recently delivered a TEDx Talk at Warwick University called 'Humanising the Enemy' about his journey to join Combatants for Peace that will shortly be online. Look out for it on the TEDxWarwick website Follow the blog or visit the Combatants for Peace project page Missing From Home
Missing From Home is a new project we are delivering this year with the Devon Youth Offending Service. It is part of our Young People Talking programme that is designed to respond to the needs of the Service and the Young People they engage with. Encounters Associates Ben Yeger and Emilio Mula will create a documentary film project focusing on the experience, thoughts and ideas of young people in care or at risk of going into care who run away or go missing. The project will involve working with young people currently in care who are on statutory court orders, carers, and a selection of adults who went through the care system. The process of making the film will enable Service providers to explore some of the challenges that young people face in care and what provokes them into offending behavior. Using this information Services may be able to put some preventative measures in place. Whats coming up?
We have several One-Off projects also underway including the delivery of a Totnes based Heritage Lottery project called The Atmospheric Story Laboratory. This project will gather personal stories from the past about the listed Brunel Building and the Former Dairy Crest site in Totnes as well as current stories about the campagin to bring the site into community ownership. Looking to the future the project will also work in partnership with the ATMOS project to integrate stories, and ideas generated into a masterplan and new story for the future of the site. Associates Toni Spencer, and James Engwell will be working with Creative Director Ruth Ben-Tovim on this project. Details will be coming soon. We are delighted to be involved in two book projects the first; Stories of the Great Turning focuses on people and projects that are inspired by the work of Joanna Macy. This has a case history in it about A Little Patch of Ground as well as other inspiring stories. You can order the book here. The second is Playing For Time written by Lucy Neal, edited by Charlotte Du Cann, about participatory arts practices that focus on working with communities on the journey to transitioning to a low carbon sustainable society. In this book Encounters Creative Director Ruth Ben-Tovim will be writing about her personal practice as well as co-writing case studies about the Encounters Shops and A Little Patch of Ground with associates Anne- Marie Culhane and Ruth Nutter who's independent work will also be featured in the book. Follow the books journey on Twitter #playingfortime Finally we are moving into a new office space, which is part of the Totnes Re- Economy project. Our very large wooden table has been waiting in storage to find another home and will get a spring outing very soon. Please feel free to visit us in our new space or get in touch with us if you would like to explore potential collaboration. |
|
Share:
Follow:
Encounters
specialise in designing and delivering participatory arts projects and interventions that inspire creativity, dialogue and exchange between people of all ages and culture. We offer creative processes that enable people to explore new stories to live by on individual, local, city wide and global levels. These stories are then retold to a wider community through exhibitions, public art, performance, publications and uniquely tailor made events.
|
|