Peace Tiles Artist-Educator Exchanges

Bringing the Arts to Coffee-growing Communities

Lars Hasselblad Torres — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:46:14 GMT

Over the coming months, the Global Peace Tiles Project may have the opportunity to send an artist trained in the Peace Tiles process to run a workshop in a coffee-growing community.

The aim of this pilot project is to create a way for children who's lives are directly affected by the coffee industry to speak directly to consumers in the United States.

So the concept is to work with a local partner organization to convene the workshop. The artwork produced will be digitally reproduced and exhibited at a select number of test locations of a national company.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a "coffee table" book about the community and the children, as well as "feedback" forms which will enable customers to write back to the children in response to the artwork.

At this stage, the Global Peace Tiles Project would like to expand its contacts in major coffee producing regions, including Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia. If anyone has solid leads to youth, education, and arts organizations in these regions, could you please share them? Email peacetiles@gmail.com

Thanks!

Dennis-to-Cabot Update :: 09/13/07

Lars Hasselblad Torres — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:23:43 GMT

Hey everybody -

Dennis and I have our first "event" on the books: Rory Turner, a professor in the departments of sociology and anthropology (who we will hear more from I am sure) has invited us to make a presentation to his students, possibly others, at Gaucher College on the 25 October.

Working backward from this date, I think we will plan to be in Washington, DC on the evening of the 23 October to meet with the Womens Collective, the organization my wife works for; the Booker T. Washington high school; a group using the Play Back theater methodology to raise awareness about AIDS among youth in the District; and some other groups to be determined (perhaps One World?).

After DC we'll head to Baltimore and then New York City to try and meet with Global Kids, the Play Back Theater school crew there, see a Broadway play and have some good food :)

Stay tuned - and let us know some of your great ideas - we'd love to try and build them in!

Dennis to Cabot

Lars Hasselblad Torres — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:56:52 GMT

Hey Everybody, I just wanted to give a shout out to Kenyan educator Dennis Kimambo who has been able to successfully raise airfare to come to the US this Fall. HUGE thanks to Linda Nowakowski, O.net member who successfully helped direct community funds to this effort.

We are currently working on his itinerary while here, a big part of which will turn on Peace Tiles activities and another on strengthening his network for REPACTED, an NGO some of you will know.

If you'd like to support this effort, you still can by making a donation toward his local transportation and incidental expenses and also by passing along any contact information you might have for groups and individuals that you think Dennis should meet with while here. Please send your donations via PayPal to: lars@mixedmedia.us - you can send along your contacts to me as well, though I'd ask that you cc Dennis at: kimambodenis@yahoo.com

So a quick shout out of thanks to everyone who has helped to make Dennis' trip possible, and kudos Dennis - this is going to be fun!

lars
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Lars Hasselblad Torres
www.mixedmedia.us + www.peacetiles.net