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Annual Meeting 2011: Place
Sept. 29-Oct. 2
Horizons School, Atlanta, GA
 | Denise Johnson, Lisa Suarez,
Ashley Milburn |
As usual, we packed about seven days of work into 3.5 days with our recent Annual Business Meeting. The notes are attached, but here are some highlights:
- Elected new officers and inducted new voting members (see below)
- Passed the 2012 Budget
- Celebrated Ashley Sparks (New Orleans, LA) as she departed from being our Board Chair for 3 years and on the Executive Committee for a total of 5 years.
- Debriefed about ROOTS Fest 2011 and talked about how it'll impact our work through the strategic plan launching January 2012
- Honored the passing of Jo Carson (see article right) through performance, stories, and song
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Executive Committee
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Jaehn Clare, ROOTS' New Board Chair |
2011-12
Alternate ROOTS is proud to announce its next slate of officers and at-large members:
- Jaehn Clare, Board Chair, Atlanta, GA
- Sage Crump, Board President (currently known as Vice Chair), Atlanta, GA
- D. Patton White, Secretary, Atlanta, GA
- Dan Brawley, Treasurer, Wilmington, NC
New At-large Members - Marquetta Dupree, Atlanta, GA
- Tufara Muhammad, Little Rock, AR
- Rebecca Mwase, New Orleans, LA
- s.t. shimi, San Antonio, TX
Returning At-large Members - Nikki Brown, Durham, NC
- Melisa Cardona, New Orleans, LA
- Nicole Garneau, Chicago, IL
- Mya Hunter, Durham, NC
- Robert "Bobby B" Martin, Big Creek, KY
- Ashley Milburn, Baltimore, MD
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Please take a moment to read this recently released report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthrophy
Fusing Arts, Culture, and Social Change
High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy By Holly Sidford
 Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change outlines compelling demographic, aesthetic and economic reasons for foundations to rethink their grantmaking practices to stay current with changes in the cultural sector and to continue to be relevant to the evolving needs of our communities. Regardless of its history or primary philanthropic focus, every foundation investing in the arts can make fairness and equity core principles of its grantmaking.
Download and read this useful report here.
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Welcome New Voting Members
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Ashley Minner, one of our new members! |
The following artists and activists were brought in as new voting members of the organization at the 2011 Annual Meeting. Welcome to our new colleagues! - Chris Appleton, Atlanta, GA
- Ayanna Barmore, Baltimore, MD
- Journey Brave, Atlanta, GA
- Cecille Ericta, Marietta, GA
- Phyllis Free, Atlanta, GA
- James Harris, Charleston, SC
- Polly Medlicott, Asheville, NC
- Ashley Minner, Baltimore, MD
- Vivian Slade, Decatur, GA
- Barry Stewart-Mann, Atlanta, GA
- Katie Whelan, Richmond, VA
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ArtSpot Productions' 
Rumours of War by Kathy Randels
I first directed "Rumours of War" with ArtSpot Productions in 2001 at the CAC in New Orleans. It is a large spectacle performance piece that takes place on a Louisiana Plantation on the night of the Louisiana's 1811 Slave Revolt. It is a fictional work of performance based on real events that have been buried for many years.
With generous funding from the Surdna Foundation and Tulane University, and some incredible partners including The Louisiana Museum of African American History, Dillard University, The Renaissance Project and Students at the Center, we have been given an opportunity to rework the piece and remount it at The New Orleans African American Museum.
Monique Moss and I both performed in the original production and we are co-directing the piece this time. We are both mid-career native New Orleanian performing artists, me from a theatre background and she from a dance background. But we both love working interdisciplinarily. Monique is black and I am white.
Acknowledging our cultural and racial differences has been a huge part of our internal work on this piece. We dove into themes of racism, colonization and religion in ArtSpot's last performance that many of you saw at the last two annual meetings, "Go Ye Therefore..."
With "Rumours of War" we are looking at resistance to slavery and oppression by Africans throughout the diaspora, throughout time, zeroing in on this one huge moment in Louisiana history when up to 500 enslaved Africans and maroons participated in a huge revolt with the intention of taking over the city of New Orleans. This is the 200 year anniversary of that event. We are doing it in October, the time of year when the spirits of our ancestors are already whispering in the wind. It is powerful work and we have an amazing, huge community of people who have graciously offered their time and their energy to manifesting this piece. It is the largest performance ArtSpot has done to date, and I am definitely trying to channel the energy and wisdom of Mama Jo Carson as I work on this piece. And extra special update, Maurice Turner is on his feet and playing trumpet with us!
Come on down to New Orleans in the next 3 weeks if you can and see what we've been cooking!
7:30pm (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through October 30) Tickets are available at the Museum, or by clicking here. |
APAP 2012: NYC
January 6-10, 2012 Hilton New York Alternate ROOTS has a handful of slots for interested members to attend APAP along with us. Please contact Shannon Turner at shannon@alternateroots.org if you would like to join us in NYC in January, see some great work, and help promote ROOTS! |
RSC Corner #6
A Report on the Clear Creek Learning Exchange by Kathie deNobriga
 The Clear Creek Festival, held for the last decade or so in Rockcastle County outside of Berea KY, has become a moment to explore the intersections of music, land, healing and social change. Event organizers Robert "Bobby B" Martin and Carrie Brunk have gradually assumed the leadership of the Festival from its founders, and have begun to create a more intentional space for these intersections to flourish. They requested a team from Resources for Social Change (RSC) for a one-day Learning Exchange, to take place Thursday before Friday evening's Festival start. They wanted to invite folks who had been stewards of the land and the Festival, key people who had toiled over the years to create the site (with its solar energy grid, composting toilets and low-impact campground), as well as people fairly new to Clear Creek, who had demonstrated a true energy and commitment to the Festival and its ideals. About 31 people participated in the Learning Exchange, including six who had never been to the Festival before. [Read the full report here.] RSC Fall Planning Retreat Resources for Social Change will have a fall planning retreat in Atlanta in late November or early December. If you're interested in attending, please contact Omari Fox. |
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Strategic Planning
Survey Coming Soon!
We know, another survey, right? Trust us, this is one that will be a valuable use of your time. Please be sure to fill it out thoroughly and in a timely manner. (There might be an incentive or two in there for you.)
As a reminder, our usual fall programs (Artistic Assistance, C/APP, etc.) are on hiatus as we undergo our strategic plan. We just want to ensure that our programs serve our mission and our members to their highest capacity.
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Gallimard & Mauclet
in Residence at
Pittsburgh Glass Center
October 7 - February 17
Opening Reception:
October 7, 6-9 p.m.
Long-time ROOTS Members, Gwylene Gallimard & Jean-Marie Mauclet of Charleston, SC, are currently in residence at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. The project, funded in part by Alternate ROOTS' Artistic Assistance program, will feature an exhibition as a part of PGC's Bridge Artist Program, which allows non-glass artists to be connected with master glass artists to help them realize their vision in glass. |
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ROOTS' Family
Getting Honors & Recognition
Mary Luft, Tigertail's Executive Director (Miami, FL), is receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Miami Beach Arts Gala this month.
A team of RSC members, including Omari Fox, Gwylene Gallimard, Ebony Golden, and Hope Clark were recently published through MICA's Community Arts Research & Convening Project. Read their article about Resources for Social Change Curriculum Project here.
Additionally, Linda Frye Burnham & Steve Durland of the Community Arts Network, were honored last month at the Imagining America conference: "...for opening the field of arts journalism with their pioneering recognition of the reflective voice of the artist as a primary source for deep and effective insight and critique into the art itself, the process of making art, and the intersection between art-making and the social and political life surrounding and informing it." [Read more here.] |
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Fractured Atlas Extends ROOTS Member Benefits
Fractured Atlas offers liability insurance, fiscal agency, on-line classes and more to its members. As a member of ROOTS, you are also eligible for a free associate membership Fractured Atlas, which gives you access to their programs. You can apply for fiscal agency at no additional membership cost for the first year. For details, contact
Shannon at the ROOTS office at 404-577-1079.
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Cecille's Recipe Corner
We thought we'd encourage you to spice it up some with a recipe from Cecille Ericta, our Finance & Office Manager (and resident Top Chef)!
 Rice Scented with
Lemon Grass,
Pan-fried Spanish Mackerel & Sautéed Baby Bokchoy
Food excites me. My senses heighten with anything food-related... the sounds of hustle and bustle in the market... the look of pleasure in people's faces when they savor their food... the smell of seaweed in the ocean after a storm... a cherimoya's perfect balance of sweetness and acidity or the slight give on the flesh of a fresh tuna. So when Carlton asked me to share recipes in our newsletter, I didn't know where to start. But after pondering on it, I decided to share a meal that sustained me at least once a day when I was growing up-- a plate of boiled rice scented with lemongrass, pan-fried fish and sautéed greens.
- Yield: 4 servings
- Cost per serving: $3.00
- Calories per serving: approximately 500 calories
- Prep and cooking time: 30 minutes
Read the full recipe here.
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Alternate ROOTS
1083 Austin Ave., Suite 7
Atlanta, GA 30307
404-577-1079
info@alternateroots.org
www.alternateroots.org
Proud Resident of the
Little 5 Points Community Center
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