In the course of our work, we are made aware of a growing international community of movement and music artists who are connecting across cultural, geographic and economic borders.
Here we provide a resource space for these endeavors, and encourage dialogue.
ROADWORK: cENTER FOR cULTURES IN dISPUTED TERRITORIES
Drawing inspiration from the foundation built during the civil rights and labor movements Roadwork Inc. emerged in 1978 as a national and international multi-racial, cross-cultural women’s arts organization. Over the next fifteen years, Roadwork was at the forefront of coalition efforts based on artistic collaboration among diverse communities.
In 2000, Roadwork expanded its focus to the role of culture and art in conflict zones. In keeping with its expanded mission, the organization assumed a new name, Roadwork Center for Cultures in Disputed Territory. We see disputed territory as not only encompassing geo-political conflict but also addressing issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, class, and disability. In 2018, The Smithsonian Folklife Festival joined Roadwork in celebrating its fortieth anniversary as a D.C.-based multiracial coalition that puts women artists on the road globally.
Found Sound Nation
Found Sound Nation (FSN) is a collective of artists who use music-making to connect people across cultural divides. We believe that collaborative music creation is a deeply effective way to become aware of the beauty, trauma, and hidden potential in our communities.
Our process gives voice to the underrepresented, unlocks the creative potential of youth, and supports movements for social justice.
Portal Projects
Shared_Studios™ is a multidisciplinary art, design and technology collective building an Internet you can walk through. With patented and patent-pending innovations in hardware, software, and design, Shared_Studios creates interconnected environments around the world that feel spatially continuous and through which participants can engage naturally, life-size, making eye contact. Our spaces include Shared_Portals, Shared_Playgrounds and Shared_Stages. Shared_Studios is creating a Shared_World, where we all talk, work, collaborate, debate, and play across all forms of distance as if sharing the same space.
The Federation
Performance artist Laurie Anderson and activist Tanya Selvaratnam have formed The Federation, “a coalition of individuals and organizations that believe in the power of art and are committed to combatting xenophobia and the threatened closing of physical borders.”
Sites of Passage
Sites of Passage aims to create a global network of experimental artists who can communicate and work together through this virtual performance and installation art lab. Our vision of a cooperative lab stems from the belief that art and metaphor can reach humanity on a deeper level than rhetoric, which is often times misinterpreted and/or filtered through a political agenda. The overall goal of this project is to build a language of understanding through the actions of art.
Media in Cooperation and Transition: Refugee Radio at RADIALSYSTEM V
Our START FM is designed as a radio programme for refugees and migrants in Berlin and Brandenburg: An Arabic programme for information and cultural exchange, produced by journalists with migration backgrounds.
START FM celebrated the launch of its pilot programme on the 9th of February, hosted by choreographer Sasha Waltz.
El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe
El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe is an independent, non-profit artistic organization that is volunteer-based. The company was established in 1979 by a small number of enthusiastic, talented and committed artists. Since then, El-Funoun has been crowned as the lead Palestinian dance company in Palestine, as well as among Palestinians in exile.
Bond Street Theatre
Bond Street Theatre initiates theatre-based projects for conflict resolution, education and empowerment in critical areas worldwide.
The company developed creative programming that addresses international human rights issues, educates youth, amplifies marginalized voice, and promotes the value of the arts in peacebuilding. Bond Street Theatre has initiated innovative arts and theatre-based programs in over 40 countries worldwide, reaching individuals in refugee camps, schools shelters, prisons, rural areas and urban centers through mobile theatre performances, capacity-building programs for local CSOs, media outreach, trainings and collaborations with local organizations.
Rana Choir
Rana is a women’s choir of twenty Muslim, Jewish, and Christian women, based in Jaffa. The choir has toured successfully in Israel and around the world. Its objective is to provide a space for women’s voices, with their social and aesthetic meanings. The choir operates from the belief in the power of shared creation and song to foster intercultural dialogue and to form deep human relationships.