How was the concept born? The concept for OneVoice was born out of an urge. I have great faith in that feeling of being moved toward something, and that is what I felt when I first encountered Samite. Samite is a Ugandan musician living in New York, and when I first heard his music I was spellbound. I also discovered that he made occasional trips back to East Africa to play music for children in refugee camps and orphanages and I lit up like a light bulb. At that time, I didn’t know how or when, but I knew with absolute certainty that this was what I wanted to do and how I wanted to put music to use in the world. Flash forward two years and I was sitting in a cubicle at Sirius XM Radio where I am the music director on the children’s channel. My boss asked what I wanted to create in the coming year (yes, he’s a good boss!) and I mentioned Samite and his work. My boss slammed the table and said, “that’s it! we should send you to Africa!”. We needed to come up with a more complete concept, and what came to me almost right away, was the beauty of connecting children from around the world through the language they so intuitively understand–music. Three weeks later, I was in Uganda, sharing music with the children at the Brain Tree Primary School.

How were you introduced to music and what impact has it made in your life?

I can’t remember a time when music was not in my life. My 92-year-old grandmother likes to tell a story about when I was 18 months old and would take out all the pots and pans from her kitchen cabinets and bang away. I’ve asked her why she didn’t just move the pots and pans to a higher cabinet where I couldn’t reach them. She shrugged and said, “you were making music”. That freedom to create without expectations is easily lost as we get older, and is therefore at the core of OneVoice. We want to remind children of their innate power and creativity. Anyway, when I was 7, I asked my parents for a guitar and it’s been my companion ever since. Soon after I started writing songs and even formed a band in elementary school. Most of our songs were called “Girl” or some variation thereof. We rocked the talent show like no one before or since.

How do you chose and find your sister schools?

For our first project, we found the Brain Tree School in Uganda through Samite. He had visited there before, and when I told him I was planning on a trip to Uganda, he insisted that I go there. They already had a sister school in Bryn Mawr, PA. The Shipley School had been pen pals with Brain Tree and had raised some money for them as well, helping them to build a library, among other things. So, I thought that a beautiful way to deepen that relationship would be through music. As for our upcoming project in 2011, things will work a little differently. We came into contact with the Shepherds Jr. School in Arusha, Tanzania though another non-profit called Epic Change, which will be partnering with us this Fall. We will be visiting and sharing music with them in September, but instead of connecting them with just one school in the U.S., our intention is to connect them with many. We will launch a project-specific website to contain all the music and videos from Tanzania, and then invite schools from all over the U.S. and beyond to contribute their own songs and videos of gratitude and love. We may even connect some of the schools one-on-one via skype! Then we will invite the U.S. schools to create fundraisers around their songs of gratitude in order to help build a secondary school for the children in Arusha. The beauty for me is that these children–all over the world–will be creating a school through the power of their own voices.

What have you learned so far in this journey?

Humility. I have learned not to assume that I know what the world needs or how our work will get done. Ask (every day) how I can serve and then devote myself to that. OneVoice, at it’s core, is not about me or our team or even our donors. It is about children and the truth and beauty found in their creative sparkle.

What are your future goals and how do you define success?

Wow. I have no idea (I’m sure that’s not an approved answer in the non-profit President’s handbook). But truly, as I said earlier–to assume I know how this is going to go is just hubris. Our plan is to embark on two projects for 2012–one in the Spring and one in the Fall. There are things I can see, such as the potential to include technology partners such as Skype or Cisco, and we have had some preliminary discussions about that. But my guess is what actually ends up happening next will be more exciting than any plans I can make. As far as success is concerned,  a writing from the Talmud occurs to me: “to save one life is to save the world entire”. Music can transform a life. It certainly has transformed mine, and continues to do so.

For more info please visit: http://www.onevoicecommunity.org/

“ARTPORT_MAKING WAVES BUILDS BRIDGES NOT ONLY BETWEEN DIFFERENT CULTURES, BUT BETWEEN THE ARTS, SCIENCE, AND POLITICS. I AM DELIGHTED TO BE PART OF SUCH A VISIONARY PROJECT.”

—SANTIAGO CALATRAVA

ARTPORT_making waves is an international art and sustainability project that raises awareness about climate change through theme-oriented exhibitions, residency programs, and artists collaborations.  ARTPORT_making waves was founded in 2006 by two international curators, Corinne Erni and Anne-Marie Melster. In 2009, curator and art historian Oliver Orest Tschirky joined the team. ARTPORT_making waves is based in Valencia, Spain, New York City, and Zurich, Switzerland.

Cancun: 2 Degrees of Separation-Nov 29-Dec 10, 2010

Engaging art where it matters—at the heart of the most important climate conference in the world!

In this comprehensive art project in conjunction with COP16 in Mexico, the program spans contemporary video art; recent film productions; interactive public art performances and interventions by renowned international artists; and panel discussions with artists, scientists and politicians on the impact of art in a political environment.

The project title emphasizes the importance of reducing the increase of global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius, in order to avoid catastrophic natural disasters. It also refers to the famous term “Six degrees of Separation,” which explores the existential premise that everyone in the world is connected to everyone else by a chain of no more than six acquaintances, thus all of mankind is interconnected and needs to take care of each other.

PARTICIPATE IN THE MOBILE VIDEO CONTEST!

Send in 20 seconds of YOUR VISION OF A SOLUTION for the planet. Learn more at www.my20sec.org

DONATE!

Learn more about the groundbreaking live art performance, La Isla Hundida (The Drowned Island) by artist Javier Velasco with hundreds of school children during the UN climate conference in Cancun… and help make this happen through Kickstarter! Even a small contribution can go a long way. http://kck.st/92oUXD

ARTPORT_(Re-) Cycles of Paradise-Nov 11-Jan 16, 2011(First presented at COP15 in Copenhagen, Dec 2009)

In (Re-) Cycles of Paradise, a group of international artists present thought-provoking and interactive art installations focused on women as agents of climate change solutions. The exhibition originates from the hypothesis that the world is, by necessity, the only possible paradise that we can create and conserve. Through video installations, photography, drawings, and large-scale sculptures, the artists explore links between the destruction of nature and the suffering of women, revealing hidden or unknown aspects of the interrelation of gender and climate change. Gender issues are scrutinized as part of a process to reverse climate change. “Paradise” is no longer a long-lost ideal world but can be recreated as a contemporary, more sustainable place on earth.

Artists participating in Copenhagen: Kim Abeles (USA), Subhankar Banerjee (India/USA), Charley Case/masalla (Spain/Belgium), Meschac Gaba (Benin/NL), Anita Glesta (USA), Nnenna Okore (Nigeria/USA) Frances Whitehead (USA), Insa Winkler (Germany).

Additional artists for Mexico: Ander Azpiri (Spain), Yolanda Gutiérrez (Mexico), Perla Krauze (Mexico), Betsabee Romero (Mexico), Javier Velasco (Spain).

For more info please visit: WWW.ARTPORT-PROJECT.ORG

“The hope for our world is in these young children who come to us, because they will make the future good and wonderful….That’s what it is all about.”  - Carol Henriquez, O.C., cofounder of Arts Umbrella, honorary chair of the Arts Umbrella board of directors.

The Story of Arts Umbrella

Arts Umbrella began as a dream of a woman named Carol Henriquez. Together with her friend Gloria Schwartz, they had a dream to instill in all children, a love of the arts, inspiring them to become confident, productive, creative and healthy citizens.  It was a dream to build a centre that would awaken the artistic potential of young people in a way that hadn’t been done before.  In 1979, United Nations’ International Year of the Child, Arts Umbrella opened its doors to 45 children. The need for children’s arts education in the community was clearly evident, and Arts Umbrella took off instantly.  From those early days, Arts Umbrella has flourished with a strong vision and an unwavering focus on inspiring kids for life through the arts by providing the highest quality visual and performing arts education to children, regardless of their financial circumstances.

At Arts Umbrella, children experience the joy of creation and discover their own creative potential.  Most important, through arts education, children gain self confidence, independent thinking, technical skills, discipline, and even improved academic results and specific career direction.  Each year, more than 13,000 young people who may face geographical, cultural or financial barriers to accessing arts education, participate in Arts Umbrella programs free of charge or at a reduced rate through bursaries, scholarships and outreach programs.  Outreach programs harness the Arts Umbrella magic and deliver free-of-charge programs to students in vulnerable communities.

“I dreamed about opening a music school for inner city youth for a long time. The success of this project lies in seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces while they play and seeing how proud they feel from their accomplishments.”  - Sarah McLachlan

Sara McLachlan Music Outreach Project

photos by Kyoko Fierro (SMMO year-end performance, award winners with Sarah McLachlan)

Based on Arts Umbrella’s longstanding reputation in the community and extensive experience in delivering arts education, when international recording artist Sarah McLachlan wanted to realize her dream of creating a music school, she turned to Arts Umbrella.

Since 2002, Arts Umbrella has partnered with Sarah McLachlan to offer free, high-quality instruction to youth in grades 4 to 12, from inner-city schools. Students receive high quality music instruction, with a foundation in classical practices and techniques, in guitar, piano, percussion and choir, led by professional musician instructors. Students have the opportunity to explore their creative process through songwriting, playing in an ensemble and recording their own original work.  Public performances allow students to develop their musical skills, foster pride and reach out to the community.

East Vancouver is home to Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach Project and where young people can explore their creative potential and develop positive peer connections that will inspire them to succeed in life, in addition to building a life-long love of music and enthusiasm for learning.  The program is supported by the Sarah McLachlan Foundation.

To learn how you can support the program please visit:

http://www.artsumbrella.com/support

Erika Banks is a singer and has been active in HIV/AIDS education and prevention since her college years.  She first became involved with LIFEbeat’s Hearts & Voices program in 2005 when looking for performance opportunities for her church choir members to perform musical outreach in the community.

A friend quickly recommended LIFEbeat’s Hearts & Voices program as one the choir must be involved with.  That partnership between Voices in Unity Choir and LIFEbeat’s Hearts & Voices Program started 5 years ago and continues today.

Hearts & Voices, a program of LIFEbeat-The Music Industry Fights AIDS, is an ongoing free concert series for people living with HIV, provided by an ever-growing community of performers and volunteers. Together they create around 250 shows a year in hospitals, residential facilities, and day treatment centers all over NYC and beyond.

Hearts & Voices Mission & History:

Hearts & Voices began in the early 1990′s, when an AIDS diagnosis was considered a death sentence. Artists from the Broadway community and the cabaret scene began visiting their HIV+ friends in hospitals and hospices to comfort them with familiar songs. Word spread, and demand became so great that they formed a non-profit to organize the shows and reach out to new performers. By the mid-90s the program was mounting almost a thousand one-on-one bedside performances every year.

Eventually, the demands of the program overtook the limited resources of the organizers, and the program became part of LIFEbeat in 1996. Over the last fourteen years, we’ve organized thousands of shows and we’ve seen huge changes, not only in HIV treatment but in the demographic makeup of the epidemic.  Our shows also changed from one-on-one to a concert style format.

LIFEbeat continues to coordinate a network of hundreds of artists and volunteers, all giving freely of their time and talents to entertain & uplift thousands of audience members with music of all genres, from hip-hop to classical. Our performers inspire, empower, and bring hope and joy into the everyday challenge that is living with HIV/AIDS.

Getting involved:

It’s an amazing experience to see your music touch the lives of others. Our artists consistently tell us that performing for Hearts & Voices ranks among their most enjoyable, moving and memorable music making experiences. To receive more information and an application, which is the first step to joining the team, email us at performers@lifebeat.org.

The 2010 VMA Concert to Benefit LIFEbeat – Ke$ha and B.o.B. Performing Live!

For more details visit: http://www.lifebeat.org/news.cfm/news/143