The Key Role of Socially Engaged Art in Transforming Society
The essential role of the arts in social movements is as powerful today as it’s ever been. From murals that launch national political resistance movements to anthems that power activist marches, the spark of human creativity has always supported the burning desire for justice, peace, environmental sanity and human rights. Join some extraordinary artists and change-makers for a conversation about how art and human creativity are essential in efforts to transform and rebuild today’s deeply troubled and intensely complicated world. Hosted by Sarah Crowell, Artistic Director Emerita of the legendary dance troupe Destiny Arts. With: David Solnit, activist visual artist extraordinaire; Samara Gaev, founder and Artistic Director of Truthworker Theater Company.
Bay Room
May 13th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm
Panelists
Samara Gaev
Founder and Artistic Director
Truthworker Theatre Company
Samara Gaev, founder and Artistic Director of Truthworker Theatre Company, is a New York based but widely traveled (nationally and internationally) activist, educator, theater director and performer with 16 years’ experience using performance for cross-cultural healing and social change, including working with formerly incarcerated, gang affiliated and pregnant youth. Samara has studied with choreographic luminaries, including Bill T. Jones, Garth Fagan and Urban Bush Women; been an artist-in-residence and/or teaching artist at prestigious venues; served as an anti-oppression trainer for severak major institutions; and lectured and performed widely, including at the UN, Yale and NYU.
Sarah Crowell
Artistic Director Emeritus
Destiny Arts Center
Sarah Crowell, a dancer and choreographer who has taught dance, theater, mindfulness and violence prevention for 35+ years, recently left her position as Artistic Director at Destiny Arts Center in Oakland, CA, where she served in different capacities, including Executive Director, for 30 years, and where she founded and co-directed the renowned, award-winning Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company. The recipient of many honors, including the KPFA Peace and KQED Women’s History Local Hero awards, Sarah was also a four-time finalist for a Tony Award for Excellence in Theater Education.
David Solnit
Artist and Organizer
David Solnit, a longtime mass direct action organizer, puppeteer and arts organizer with the Climate Justice Arts Project, is renowned for using the arts in movements and campaigns to win positive change. He is the author of the Street Mural Manual and editor/co-author of GlobalizeLiberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World.
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