On Writing the Thesis: David Sheds Light on the Transformation

The month of April brings the signs of change in seasons... and in students. The first Arts in Transformation class will be adding the letters "M.A." to the end of their names by the end of the spring. The metamorphosis is almost complete! David sheds some light on the journey...

The thesis is coming along, but sometimes I wonder how it will all get done. I’m finding that I really love the topic I’ve chosen: “What makes Moravian hymnody and songwriting meaningful for new worship settings?” Overall, I really enjoy pouring time and energy into this question because it all contributes to my sense of call and passion. There’s a sense that everything I’m doing for the thesis is part of the artistic process: the interviews, the song recordings, readings, interview transcriptions and interpretations; it all goes into the work of art. So the final thesis document is a symbol for what has already taken place; it’s also a map for where a community of people think Moravian music should go. To have this process documented is incredibly valuable, because it makes the spirit of passion we’ve experienced tangible in a way that is accessible to anyone willing to read and listen.

However, when it comes to completing the thesis, there are some challenges. It feels like a rite of passage. The steps along the way can be painstaking and can seem trivial, but there’s a lesson even in the grunting. I get tired of looking at a computer screen. I also struggle with wanting things to be perfect, which can get in the way of doing the work. But there need to be lots of sketches before the final image takes form. There’s also the issue of balancing the academic and the artistic processes. The artistic process needs to have space, time, and freedom to experiment and ask questions. The academic process asks us to boil most of this artistic passion down into something that can be communicated in sentences and paragraphs.

In writing this thesis, I’m really trying to put in place a plan and process for my life’s work. I’m searching for my core sense of artistic call and channeling my energy into a concrete project. The Research Methodologies class encouraged us to find a very narrow focus for our project. The discipline of a narrow focus is very helpful. However, focus is still my biggest challenge. I keep thinking that I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but I’ m hopeful that it can all weave together somehow. My thesis is a combination of formal (qualitative) research, a written project, and a collection of song recordings. So, it has allowed me to think prophetically about how the Moravian Church might need to adapt its hymns. It has also given me the motivation to ask other people what they think, and to encourage other musicians and poets to join in the creative process.

And lastly, here's some advice for future Arts in Transformation students tackling the thesis: Starting early is always helpful. Focus on a topic about which you are entirely passionate. Maybe think of the thesis as a creative investment where you would like your time and life’s energy to go. We are transformed by this process, so it’s important to consider how you see yourself using your gifts down the road.

Photo: David teaches a fellow student guitar basics.

Spotlight on a First-Year Student: Talib

Talib André is a Philadelphia native. He holds an A.A. in Communications/Theatre Options from Community College of Philadelphia and a B.A. in Theatre Arts/English Concentration from Cheyney University. He is currently pursuing his graduate degree in Urban Studies as a member of Eastern University's Arts in Transformation program. Talib is an accomplished arts program coordinator and educator who has directed and taught on the middle school and high school levels. Directing credits include: "A Journey Through African Folklore," and A Dance Tribute to Michael & Janet Jackson. Acting credits include: "An Evening with Neil Simon," Tony Kushner's "The Laramie Project, "Broadway Out Way"and "Ain't Nobody Gonna Turn Me Around."

While managing the rigorous workload of graduate studies at the School for Social Change, Talib is also the Executive Director of Kaleidoscope Community Arts Collective, a new independent non-profit arts initiative. Talib and his team have been praised for their valiant attempts at introducing a different type of theater... one that evokes self reflection, promotes transformation, and alters perceptions.

On his first year as a student, Talib says: “My first year as an Urban Studies: Arts in Transformation student has been awesome. The education I have received thus far, the people I have come in contact with, both in and outside of the classroom, and the countless networking opportunities have proven themselves to be invaluable. One class that I thoroughly enjoyed was "Christ in the City" . Before taking this course, I had never been asked to exegete scripture. To be challenged in that respect was worth it.”

Talib is most excited about his role in the upcoming movie, “Law Abiding Citizen,” starring Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, Academy Award Nominee Viola Davis, and Gerard Butler. He says "I am deeply grateful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and humbled by the same to have been a part of this project. Shout out to Diane Heery and the staff at Heery Casting, LLC for casting me in my 1st major film. I play a Philadelphia Police Officer, and although this is not a speaking role, it was very physical and did require to put my training as an actor in practice. I did however, get the opportunity to interact with a few of the principal actors. The film is slated for a first quarter release in 2010. I pray that it does well at the box office and that this will be the beginning of a long - storied career."

Theology of the City: A Creative Twist

Every student in the MA in Urban Studies Program at the School for Social Change is required to complete a Theology of the City paper. This assignment requires them to develop a theological response to key factors impacting an urban community . The average student would tackle this feat by pulling an all-nighter. But creative students are going about it in a different way...

Erica Brown, a first-year Arts in Transformation student, decided to use drama and dance to speak on HIV/AIDS. Here's what she had to say:

"Having the option to express myself through dance/drama elevates the pressure of conforming my thoughts, ideas, and expressions to someone else's method of writing. Although I love writing, and appreciate the challenge of making myself more of a universal artist, I am a visual person and enjoy bringing text to life. I believe Richard Kamler said it best... 'Art is our one true global language. It knows no nation, it favors no race, and it acknowledges no class. It speaks to our need to reveal, heal, and transform. It transcends our ordinary lives and lets us imagine what is possible.'"
Click to see video of Erica's assignment.

Bekah's Journey

Rebekah Wilcox hasn't spent her first year in the Arts in Transformation Program just sitting around... While others stuffed their faces on Thanksgiving, she was trekking the slums of Nairobi, living out the hope-building power of the arts. Here is her account of the journey, before, during, and after her travel. Won't you come along for the experience?

Before the Journey…
For a long time, art has been an important and necessary part of my life. My mother encouraged me in visual art, and both my parents instilled in me a love and appreciation for music and theater. Learning to use the gifts and passions in my life to help other people is my favorite part of the Arts in Transformation Program. I am excited to be leaving for Kenya in a few days as part of the Diaspora of Hope through BuildaBridge International. I think it is incredible that, in my first year in the program, I am already traveling abroad and implementing what I have learned in the program. It is my hope that I will be able to use my art to provide opportunities for hope and spread blessings to children throughout the world.

During the Journey…
Today was another incredible day of class. The students are learning the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou and making up movements to go with it. We gave our students an assignment to tell us a struggle they had and then follow it with the words, “And still I rise.”One small boy got up in front of the class and said, “Last night I looked for dinner, but didn’t get any. I went to bed hungry, but still I rise!” We found out later that the boy hadn’t eaten since we gave him lunch the day before, so Dorette and Said (Teaching Artists) took him outside the classroom and gave him some food.The boy came back to class very excited and active and thanked Dorette several times. When we read the students’ journals we found that several talked about going without food and not being able to study. I told Brenda, one of the local teachers, that although some children in the US go to bed hungry, most actually overeat and would not be able to relate to the feeling of hunger at all.

After the Journey…
Three days after I returned from Mathare Valley, I was standing in the grocery store, just watching people. The carts were loaded, mostly with junk, and most of the people I saw were clearly well fed. I thought about the children in Mathare Valley. I wondered how they might react to this scene that was so familiar to me. The amount of food, especially the entire aisle of food for animals was overwhelming to me now. I wonder how many of us have really ever felt hunger. All twenty of the students in my class in Mathare told stories about times they had gone days without food. At times I have said, "there is no food in my house" when my cupboards were full and there were cans of food on my shelf. In the matter of one week, I was so touched by a group of people that my world view has changed. Now, my hope is that I continue to keep their stories in my heart so that I can share them with people and bring about change.

Read more students' transformation stories of at http://diasporaofhope.blogspot.com/

The Spiritual Significance of Music

by Dr. J. Nathan Corbitt. This article appears in the Spiritual Significance of Music.

What is the spiritual significance of music? Music has the power to transcend the mundane. Through the musical experience one enters into the presence of Otherness--A presence that unifies outside of the boundaries of self, race, class, and difference.

Allow me to give an example. Several years ago, BuildaBridge, an arts-education and intervention organization I co-founded in 1997, was providing a summer concert series in a local homeless shelter in Philadelphia. We asked a local concert pianist to provide the music. And here I begin to show my bias. Not that he was a bad pianist. He wasn't, but I learned that his concerts where mostly in nursing homes.

The shelter where he was performing is the largest in Philadelphia with nearly 150 homeless children and their parents in residence. The location is depressing enough. The former mental hospital is in very poor repair with one wing closed because of broken floors and ceilings. Only the resident rats call it home. The once stately gates now provide a façade of safety in one of the toughest areas of the city surrounded by vacant houses often home to equally menacing drug dealers and gunshots.

In this shelter is an ancient 200-seat auditorium with a stage that supports an equally ancient grand piano. The auditorium is frequently used for community meetings and an Alcoholics Anonymous group lays claim to the schedule with religious dedication. They are a rough looking lot with persistent frowns that reveal their past and mark their territory.

As we waited I watched with surprise as little girls with bows in their hair and neatly pressed dresses began to fill the room. Little boys in their Sunday best joined them as they consumed the front two rows. Mothers sat nervously behind them, eying every move. The AA folks looked on from the back, still with their frowns. A group of "thug" looking teens sauntered about upward grabbing their pants that hung precariously well below their waists.

The "concert pianist" arrived decked out in a full tuxedo carrying trays of potted plants. He arranged them neatly at the edge of the stage adding color to the drab canvas.

The director of the shelter became concerned about the old piano. It was still covered with a tarp. A few men rolled it across the stage, one lifting a piano leg that was very loosely connected as they scooted across the floor--it needed a crutch. Once in place, no one seemed to be able to open the lid and so the director left to find a screwdriver. He returned and removed the hinges and propped the grand piano lid open. This was disturbing to him and so he announced that this would not do. He took another fifteen minutes to set up a PA system and a small electronic keyboard. All the while the growing crowd became noisier and the mothers more nervous that their children would take flight.

Our concert pianist was not alarmed. Once the electronic keyboard was in place--against his constant protest--he plucked at the fake electronic sounds. In his most professional voice he announced, " This fake instrument will not do. I am going to play the classics. Even an old grand is the only suitable instrument!" The director of the shelter acquiesced and moved the electric piano aside.

The "concert pianist" then lay his fingers to the grand keyboard and ran a scale. Clearly a dozen keys were not working or severely out of tune. He was unconcerned and breathed deeply as if the grand piano had just come from the showroom.

The audience had been enjoying this pre concert drama and could barely control their laughter when he turned around. 'What good could come out of this instrument?' I thought. 'This is going to be a disaster. We made a mistake inviting a "concert pianist", we should have brought back the Brazilian dance group that performed last week.'

"Good evening" he began. No one responded; they didn't hear him. "GOOD EVENING!" he tried again over the noise of the audience now beginning to settle. I AM GOING TO PLAY A PIECE BY RACHMANINOFF." He shouted.

He flipped his tails, sat comfortably on the bench that rocked back and forth, and lifted his hands in a motion to attack the keys.

Blistering. Just blistering. His fingers flew over the keys from one end to another in a tirade of sound that filled every corner of the old auditorium. It was a marvel to see his technique, but it was transcending to experience the soundscape.

I looked around the room. Children with cherub smiles on their faces had moved forward in their seats, leaning over straining to see and drink in the sound. Parents were frozen in place no longer worried about their children. The frowning AA people had closed their eyes in thoughtful reflection. And the "thug-looking" teens--they stood still in a salute of respect. We were one. Not white or black, not rich or poor, not novice or expert, not homeless…we were one…in the state of Otherness. It was spiritual moment.

We were transported into Otherness: a place of peace and hope. We experienced a oneness within ourselves, each other, our artificial and accidental community, and the Creator. Children weren't worried about abuse, moms weren't burdened about their next house. AA members let their guard down about their space, young thugs became children again, and I didn't care about the 12 broken keys played by a nursing home concert pianist. In the moment, these things were not really important.

But the story does not end here, because there was still something missing. At the cadence we sat silent in awe… and then applause erupted. "Bravo. Bravo." The homeless people shouted. 'How did they know that word?' I thought.

The pianist came to the audience and said, "I am going to play any piece of music you want to hear. What will it be?"

"The Lion King" one boy shouted. And he played it. "Frank Sinatra" a mother shouted and he played a selection. And then one of the converted thug teenagers shouted from the back, "I want to hear something by Beethoven!" Request after request he played. For an hour he dialogued with the kids and shared about the hard work to succeed, and the years of commitment to practice.

And then, he reflected on the beauty of life and his gratitude for their kindness to him. He had brought a gift. For everyone there he offered a live plant to brighten their rooms. Within minutes, every person rushed to the front to receive the gift of living beauty.

Living beauty--that is the spirituality of music. A living beauty that is artistically created in special relationships, empowered by music that transcends the mundane, and is nurtured with compassion. We experience the Otherness of the Creator most acutely when we enter the experience from the most basic of the human condition, add the power of music, and it is spiritually significant indeed. I was delighted to have a concert pianist.

To view a great video on the power of music see Bill Moyer's Vodcast and Playing4Change.

Why the Arts?

Why the Arts?

Most people’s concept of the arts is that of passive enjoyment. They think the arts are a luxury only available to the wealthy.

But for the rest of us, art is something different. For those of us who dance to feel liberated, or write poetry in order to live... For those of us who have smeared paint with children who speak a language different from our own... and for those of us who have witnessed people overcome addictions through the rhythmic beating of drums... we know art is more. We know art transforms.

If you’ve never thought of the arts as being quite important, perhaps it is time to reconsider. Here are a few truths about the arts and their redemptive qualities that may change your mind:

-The arts are statements of the human experience. They enlist all of the senses, elicit strong feelings, and engender rigorous activity of the mind.

-The arts demand active participation, concentration, and discipline. They ignite ideas, ingenuity, and imagination.

-The arts cultivate a sense of self-esteem, confidence, and self-worth.

-The arts are a process, not a product. They incorporate multiple learning styles and foster healing from emotional and physical trauma.

-The arts draw people together. They encourage cooperation, group work, and helpfulness. They build relationships and promote a deeper understanding of others (Smith, Sally. The Power of the Arts: Creative Strategies for Teaching Exceptional Learners, 2001).

-The arts bypass our natural defenses and allow our internal state to be expressed externally in a non-violent way.

-Wherever art is, change will come. The arts build and improve, educate and inform, inspire and mobilize, and they nurture and heal (Cleveland, William. Mapping the Field: Arts Based Community Development. 2002. http://www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archivefiles/2002/05/mapping_the_fie.php)

-The arts help us see God's creativity. They help us find our purpose and incite our creativity too. The arts also release stress and most importantly, the arts are fun! (Joshua Cooper, 1st Year AIT Student).

So why the arts? Because they are an innate power within us all, waiting to be freed.

-Celmali Jaime

Reflections from a First-Year Student

Reflections from a First-Year Student

It has been my experience that the individuals facilitating this program are passionate about urban communities and are keenly aware of the pressing needs they face. I truly respect their innovation to formalize the technique of using the arts as a way to engage, inspire, and release the human spirit. It has been my experience that they are committed and passionate about developing and equipping dynamic and savvy individuals to lead within the urban context.

I am a person who is passionately committed to personal and professional development in the arts and to develop young minds and leaders within my surrounding community. It is my assessment that this program will prepare me with the comprehensive knowledge and skills to serve as an agent of social change in my community. I can also see that this program will provide invaluable mentoring as I move forward in my career and as I seek to be a catalyst for change in my community on behalf of arts education.

My favorite experience thus far in the program was participating in the breakout sessions at the Summer 2008 Residency. It was so thrilling to be exposed to a new art experience and to share that experience with others!

Jill Osielski
First-Year Arts in Transformation Student