Working the Margins of Community-Based Adult Learning : The Power of Arts-Making in Finding Voice and Creating Conditions for Seeing/Listening

"This volume gathers stories about how various art and creative forms of expression are used to enable voices from the margins, that is, of underrepresented individuals and communities, to take shape and form. Voice is not enough; stories and truths must be heard, must be listened to. And so the stories gathered here also speak to how creative processes enable conditions for listening and the development of empathy for other perspectives, which is essential for democracy. The chapters, including some that describe international projects, illustrate a variety of art-making practices such as poetry, visual art, film, theatre, music, and dance, and how they can support individuals and groups at the edges of mainstream society to tell their story and speak their truths, often the first steps to valuing one's identity and organizing for change. Some of the authors are community-based artists who share stories thus bringing these creative endeavors into the wider conversation about the power of arts-making to open up spaces for dialogue across differences. Art practices outlined in this book can expand our visions by encouraging critical thinking and broadening our worldview. At this time on the earth when we face many serious challenges, the arts can stimulate hope, openness, and individual and collective imaginations for preferred futures. Inspiration comes from people who, at the edges of their community, communicate their experience."--Publisher's description TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8 INTRODUCTION 10 OUR ORIENTATION AND INTENTIONS 10 ADDING TO THE CONVERSATION 11 AND NOW... 12 IN CONCLUSION 14 REFERENCES 14 SECTION 1: TELLING OUR STORY THROUGH VISUAL ARTS 16 1. FEMINIST ARTS-BASED ADULT EDUCATION WITH HOMELESS AND STREET-INVOLVED WOMEN 17 LOCATING MYSELF; CONTEXTUALISING THE PROJECT 18 THE STRUCTURE AND ARTS OF THE PROJECT 20 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND ACTIVIST ART 22 SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED 24 FINAL THOUGHTS 26 REFERENCES 27 2. “I STILL HAVE MY HANDS”: Rural Women, Depression, and Zines 29 INTRODUCTION 29 BACKGROUND 29 Creating Counter-Narratives through Zines 31 The Firebird and Other Stories 32 Mongrel Mag 33 My Shade of Blue 34 SEAMFULNESS: UNRAVELLING REFLECTIONS 35 Naming One’s “Social Bath” 36 Aesthetic Openness as a Formal Strength 36 Zinemaking as Agency 37 ADULT LEARNING AT THE SEAMS 37 REFERENCES 38 3. WEAVING COMMUNITY TOGETHER: Learning at the Loom 40 INTRODUCTION 40 SERVICE LEARNING 41 L’ARCHE IN ANTIGONISH 42 THE THREE COMMUNITY ART PROJECTS 43 Noah’s Ark: 2008–09 43 The Peaceable Kingdom: 2009–10 46 Chapel Cross: 2011–12 47 REFLECTIONS 49 NOTES 50 4. A PSYCHOTHERAPIST BRINGS ART-MAKING TO PATIENTS IN ZIMBABWE: The Gift of Presence 52 INTRODUCTION 52 ABOUT ME 52 ZIMBABWE AND HOSPITAL SETTINGS 53 THE ART OF PRESENCE 54 The Arts 54 Photography 56 Films 57 Schools 57 Massage and Listening 58 REFLECTIONS 59 SECTION 2: CREATIVE EXPRESSION: INCREASING UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN COMMUNITIES 62 5. AMPLIFYING VOICES: Film Festivals, New Perspectives, Critical Reflection, and Inspiration 63 INTRODUCTION 63 AUTHOR 63 DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVALS 64 NEW PERSPECTIVES 65 Dispelling Myths of Homelessness 65 PROVOKING CRITICAL REFLECTION 66 New Ideas about Health Education and about Cuba 67 Challenging Perspective on Education and One’s Career 67 INSPIRING HOPE, ENGAGEMENT, AND COLLECTIVE DREAMS 68 Engaging Music: Social Development, Healing, and Activism 69 CLOSING REFLECTIONS 71 REFERENCES 72 6. THROUGH THE LENS OF TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING: A Photovoice Pilot Project with Persons with Diverse Abilities in Belize 73 INTRODUCTION 73 PHOTOVOICE 74 CAPTURING THE AHA! MOMENTS 75 Accessibility 75 Exclusion 76 Identity 77 Voice 78 Services 78 THE PHOTOVOICE EXHIBITION LAUNCH 79 TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING 81 REFLECTIONS 82 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 84 REFERENCES 84 7. MEETING ON THE RIVER OF LIFE: Fostering Loyalist and Mohawk Exchanges through the Arts 86 INTRODUCTION 86 BACKGROUND 87 Dying for Change – Telling a Story 87 The Six-Mile Divide – Telling Truths 88 Another Conflict, a New Approach: Organizing for Change 89 My Part: Marrying Various Art Forms in Ways That Support Marginalized Individuals and Groups 90 MEETING ON THE RIVER OF LIFE EXHIBITION 91 Historical Treaty Artefacts: Two Row Wampum Treaty Belt and Silver Covenant Chain 91 The OPP: Providing Engaging Ways for Necessary Exchanges 92 Planning and Holding the Exhibition 93 Artworks in the Exhibition 95 CONCLUSION 97 Unintended Outcomes 97 Personal Reflections 98 REFERENCES 99 8. VOICE, IDENTITY, AND COMMUNITY: The Possibilities and Challenges of Facilitating Arts-Based Engagement 100 FAMILY AND SCHOOL MATTERS 100 GROWING POLITICIZATION 101 ARTS CREATES AN OASIS 102 ABANTE BABAE – GO FORWARD WOMEN 106 ARTQUAKE: SPOKEN WORD 108 RAP WORKSHOP AT A YOUTH DETENTION CENTER 109 THE ART AND POLITICS OF FACILITATION: REFLECTIONS 111 9. THE ART PEACE PROJECT 113 BACKGROUND AND MY ROLE 113 PLAYING ON FAULT LINES 114 ACADEMIC SPACE 118 SELF-EMPOWERMENT 120 NOTE 123 REFERENCES 123 SECTION 3: ENACTING & EMBODYING 125 10. SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: The Political Fashion Shows of Filipino Activists 126 INTRODUCTION 126 IN THE BEGINNING... 126 THE ARTS-BASED ACTIVISM OF THE PWCBC 127 THE POLITICAL FASHION SHOWS 128 SPANISH COLONIZATION 129 EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 132 SO FAR AWAY 133 THE FAMILY SEPARATION DRESS 135 REFLECTIONS ON POLITICAL FASHION SHOWS AS FEMINIST POPULAR EDUCATION 136 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 138 NOTES 138 REFERENCES 138 11. FRACTURED FABLES: A Prison Puppet Project 141 INTRODUCTION 141 THE PROJECT 142 THE CHALLENGE 143 THE EARLY PROCESS 144 THE BODY OF WORK 146 THE SEAL BOY 147 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 148 THE FINAL STRETCH 148 SOME NOTES ON PUPPETRY 150 CLOSING REFLECTIONS 151 NOTES 151 REFERENCE 151 12. THE PARK BENCH PLAYERS: Telling Stories of Living with Mental Illness with Sincerity, Humour, and Respect 153 INTRODUCTION 153 About the Author 154 THE PROJECT 155 The Development of the Play 157 The Premiere 158 THE IMPACT 158 Expansion: School Performances and the Teacher Resource Tool 161 Keeping the Show on the Road—A Journey of Hope and Recovery 162 CONCLUSION 163 13. TELLING OLD STORIES IN NEW WAYS: Popular Theatre in Western Kenya 164 INTRODUCTION 164 FOUNDATIONS 165 TURNING STORY INSIDE OUT 166 THE FIRST WORKSHOP: ASKING QUESTIONS THROUGH THEATRE 169 THEORY INFORMING PRACTICE 172 MOVING FORWARD 174 NOTES 174 REFERENCES 175 14. A MOTHER/DAUGHTER DISTANCE DANCE: Virtually Connecting Incarcerated Mothers and Their Daughters through Choreography 176 INTRODUCTION 176 CONTEXT AND NEED 176 Incarceration of Women in the United States 176 Incarcerated Mothers and the Effects on Families 177 COLLABORATIVE VISION 178 Beginnings 178 The Pearl 179 BEAUTY, CHANGE, AND VALUES 179 Structure and Process 179 Building Trust 179 Generating Movement 181 Resistance and Loss 182 VIRTUALLY CONNECT WORKSHOP 183 Connection Lost 184 CONCLUSION 185 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 186 REFERENCES 186 CONCLUSION: The Strands and The Braid 187 SELF-AWARENESS 188 Reduction of Stigma 188 Claiming One’s Own Identity 188 Increased Agency and Empowerment 188 Envisioning New Realities 189 Facilitator Self-Awareness 189 EMBODIMENT 189 Spontaneity and Play 189 Recalling Trauma and Providing a Means of Communication 189 Fictionalizing Reality 190 COLLABORATION/RELATIONSHIPS 190 Fostering a Collaborative Spirit 190 Art as Equalizer 190 Giving up Control 190 Art as Language for Creating Relationships 191 COLLECTIVE ACTION 191 Promote Difficult Conversations 191 Promote Dialogues across Difference 191 Public Pedagogy 191 TRANSFORMATION 192 Disorienting Dilemma or Catalyst 192 Critical Self-Reflection 192 Identity Shifts 192 THE BRAID 193 REFERENCES 193 CONTRIBUTORS 194 Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Feminist Arts-Based Adult Education with Homeless and Street-Involved Women....Pages 3-14 “I Still have My Hands”....Pages 15-25 Weaving Community Together....Pages 27-38 A Psychotherapist Brings Art-Making to Patients in Zimbabwe....Pages 39-48 Front Matter....Pages 49-49 Amplifying Voices....Pages 51-60 Through the Lens of Transformative Learning....Pages 61-73 Meeting on the River of Life....Pages 75-88 Voice, Identity, and Community....Pages 89-101 The Art Peace Project....Pages 103-114 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 Speaking Truth to Power....Pages 117-131 Fractured Fables....Pages 133-144 The Park Bench Players....Pages 145-155 Telling Old Stories in New Ways....Pages 157-168 A Mother/Daughter Distance Dance....Pages 169-179 Conclusion....Pages 181-187 Back Matter....Pages 189-191