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Loading Video . . . Aaron Beaumont unveils the impressive product resulting from his 2017 Artist in Residency in response to Daniel 4: a musical soundscape exploring the universal human experience of existence, identity, and consciousness. Daniel 4 Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont By Aaron Beaumont Credits: Title: “The Strangest Thing” All Music Written, Performed, and Produced By Aaron Beaumont. 2017. Curated by: Spark & Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2017 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link For the past week, the maintenance crew has been replacing the heating system in my apartment building. I've been subjected to an extensive palette of clatters, buzzes, thumps, pounds, hisses, and every manner of aural assault (incidentally, I could not resist including a few samples in the third movement of my piece - an apt demonstration of the sinister, untold horrors that familiar objects like toys and seashells take on when wrenched from their harmless contexts). We've had no hot water over the weekend, and today, after vacating the premises completely from 9 to 3 while drywall dust settled on every surface of my apartment, I've spent the last two hours being shuffled from room to room, tragically and callously displaced from my disheveled home studio workspace, currently seeking refuge in the kitchen, the tapping on my iPhone-linked Bluetooth keyboard hopelessly drowned out by drilling and welding in two other rooms. Oh, the humanity. This tongue-in-cheek lament of my current status in no way means to make light of any actual suffering in the world. Rather, it shows how easily our comforts and physical state can be thrown into seemingly irrevocable disorder - where something as simple as lack of hot water for a day or two (a comfort I admittedly take for granted) can produce existential anxiety and spotlight the roving line between security and destitution. Few things make us as cognizant of the tenuous nature of our place in the universe as being forced to prop one's iPhone perilously against a toaster oven simply to send an email. Daniel 4 serves up perhaps the most spectacular Biblical example of existential upheaval. On first glance, it would seem tricky for plebs like me to empathize with Nebuchadnezzar and his "emperor problems." Here is a man painted as a megalomaniac, narcissist, and authoritarian; in the dramatic psychological mutation of his fall from grace, we are, perhaps, meant to believe he's gotten his comeuppance. As all ancient myths agree, hubris must be chastened. Indeed, the powerful-powerless, authoritarian-benevolent ruler, and God-human binaries initially attracted me the most in the early days of this project . But Daniel 4 turned out to be less tidy and more challenging than that. For starters, we see a man who, in some respects, is not inaccurate in his boasts - Neb did accomplish some of the most spectacular feats in recorded history, as the provider-tree of his community depicted in the vision. Daniel seems to sincerely lament the judgment pronounced on the king in his dream. If justice is served here, it is at the very least a complicated one. In my last post , I offered one possible reason for my vague unease with Neb's plight. The king found himself swiftly bereft of a past, abruptly wrenched from his previous exalted state. We don't know the extent to which Neb was self-conscious of or able to contextualize the amplitude of this fall. But regardless of the specifics of his madness (subject to considerable discussion - lycanthropy is one potential analogue in modern medicine), it would have been a precipitous and disorienting transformation, and the suffering therein is sure. The sudden absence of my own history, of memories of any kind, would for me represent the purest kind of madness, perhaps the worst kind of hell. Uprooted, and thrown into a completely foreign state, Neb would have no context from which to derive a sense of identity. Deeper than simply losing a few physical artifacts of one's own personal narrative (e.g. the beloved 90s era DVDs I mentioned in post #3 ), my empathy with Neb's plight stems from this: his sudden reappearance as a brand new creature in a foreign state is analogous to the experience of every human at birth. At some point, we all "wake up," born with consciousness in a physical body. Our only context is some vague subconscious genetic hangover, a cellular knowledge of things, a sensation almost like trying to remember something you just dreamed, but can't quite pinpoint. We acquire an operating manual bit by bit, get busy trimming back the weeds of the absurd and the surreal from the manicured lawns of culture and civilization, and do our level best to organize our home within a cosmos in which our position is ultimately uncertain. In my work, I extend Nebuchadnezzar's story as a metaphor for the universal human experience, ruminating on the idea of birth as a plunge into a surreal, dreamlike state as we undergo the halting, erratic process of forging our own identity and bringing into focus a personal narrative. My work draws heavily on the most potent purveyor of identity and culture - the family. The arc of my piece, entitled "The Strangest Thing" (unfortunately in no way affiliated with or inspired by the celebrated Netflix series) seeks to represent the dynamic, fragmentary way our own personal narratives and identities develop and persist, as we navigate uncertain circumstances and unfamiliar contexts, wading through all the wonder, confusion, and occasional terror that accompanies growth. "Sampling" seemed an especially well suited vehicle to this exploration of memory, permanence, and personal history. Our very identities are derived from prismatic "samples" of our accumulated stories as creatures. As such, the connecting tissue between the five movements of my piece is a musical mosaic taken from dozens of samples from my own existing musical catalogue, including my very earliest recordings of the first songs I ever wrote - artifacts of a previous state, if you will, recontextualized (sometimes wildly) here. Similarly, I've used field recordings and audio samples from my own life - playing with my nieces, chatting with my parents, sitting by a lake in the Midwest, shaking a handful of seashells in a beach in Maine. Many of these field recordings did not originate for this project, but rather out of my own simple desire to remember and somehow preserve what's most important to me, and in so doing, document and cultivate my own sense of identity. I used my great uncle's guitar and my grandma's mandolin, heirlooms that are bound up in my own origin story as a music maker. I tried to select from all these raw materials samples that could relate the very human experiences of birth, self-discovery, evolution, decline, and redemption, to the surreal arc of Daniel 4. Appropriately the medium itself recreated a sense of nascence and even discomfort for me, in that I was artistically off the map - I'd never tried my hand at an electronic, ambient, through-composed soundscape (see Narwhal and Ocelot , my decidedly more "pop" Spark & Echo tune from last year). The piece closes in familiar territory though, with a pop song that ruminates on the thread tying every participant in this narrative together - we all wake up as creatures, bound together by our shared experience of wonder and newness, terror and tenuousness, and exuberance in our creature-ness, revelling as simultaneous minds and bodies. Neb's experience is bizarre no doubt - but the weirdest part of his story is still the part it has in common with our own - the simple, wild fact of waking up as a conscious corporeal creature, whose very composition - whose very cells - herald toward the future aeons of seismic victories and instructive failures. It's an experience that, if we give ourselves enough pause from the comforts we seek to shore up around it, is altogether strange. The strangest thing, you might say. The Strangest Thing I had a dream, what a strange thing - I became a creature with a beating heart. It had a body that kept changing - Sure felt like the same thing even as it fell apart. And that’s when I woke up I had a dream I was the falling snow Learning everything about the ground. But any pretty thing that’s ever fallen knows You can never quite forget the clouds, And you never quite wake up No, you never quite wake up. I could be a king again If only I could just go back to sleep, back to sleep. Every Body understands That a body is no kinda place for a mind to be. God has never learned a thing, While my holy brain bursts at the seams Seems life is just remembering What you saw in a dream - It’s the strangest thing, it’s the strangest thing. I dreamed about a dark room in my mind Where I woke up just as something left And life was just the time I spent Trying to paint the scent they left behind. My brain is clenched, it can forget My bones still blindly carry it My blood will be a chariot and I’ll find that I could be a king again If only I could just go back to sleep, back to sleep. Every Body understands That a body is no kinda place for a mind to be. God never learns a thing, While my holy brain bursts at the seams Yeah, it seems life is just remembering What you saw in a dream - It’s the strangest thing, it’s the strangest thing. I heard my name on the whistling wind It passed right through me like a shiver in An old man with old eyes glistenin,’ Spittin’ fireside yarns like they’re listenin.’ But who’s got time for reminiscin’ when A fresh snow’s fallin.’ So kissing him On sandpaper whiskers, God slips in To a loud snow suit, Laces little winter boots And races outside to play. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Aaron Beaumont has toured the U.S. and Europe as a pianist and songwriter and been invited to share his work in wide-ranging venues from the Sziget Festival in Budapest to KCRW Santa Monica to the Tribeca Film Festival to off-Broadway Theatre 80 in the East Village to the main stage of the West Hollywood Carnaval. L.A. Weekly wrote that Aaron's music brings "a new life to the ancient music-hall/pop piano-man tradition, with clear-headed songs of genuinely witty lyrical oomph and, most of all, a historically informed musical depth – all delivered with style, grace, wit and elan, of course." Aaron wrote one song, arranged two others, and served as a piano performance coach for the feature Permission (Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Jason Sudeikis, 2017 Tribeca Film Festival), which premieres worldwide February 2018. He also contributed two songs to the forthcoming series Dan is Dead (Drake Bell, Maker Studios) and two songs to the indie feature film Alex & Jaime (2017 Roxbury International Film Festival). Aaron contributed an original co-write (“17”) and several arrangements to Gil McKinney’s 2017 debut album, How Was I to Know, which reached #1 on the iTunes jazz chart and #8 on the Billboard jazz chart. He also co-wrote “Good Love” for Briana Buckmaster’s 2018 debut album (#1 iTunes blues, #3 Billboard blues). Other recent TV and film placements include original songs written for Cedar Cove (Andie McDowell) and Where Hope Grows (Billy Zabka, Danica McKellar; Dallas Film Festival, Roadside Attractions). Aaron has composed original scores for films and theatrical productions, including All the Lovely Wayside Things; Tall, Dark, and Handsome; Heart; Until We Have Faces; Shrew; The Fire Room; the Breakfast Show with Adam O; Companion; and Beyond Imagination, winning best score and sound design at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for his work on Fugitive Kind’s production of The Fire Room by Ovation Award-winning playwright Meghan Brown. In 2016, Aaron wrote a commissioned work for the Spark & Echo Arts project, and in 2017 Aaron created a larger scale work as an Artist in Residence. Aaron also works as an in-house arranger, producer, composer, and mix engineer for the Gregory Brothers / Schmoyoho, whose original music has earned them a gold and platinum record and nearly one billion views on YouTube, along with myriad collaborations on other platforms. Recent Gregory Brothers collabs include the Justice League film (ft. Gary Clark Jr.), Weird Al Yankovic, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bassnectar, Alex Wassabi, LaurDIY, Markiplier, Slow Mo Guys, Todrick Hall, J. Fla, The Resident (Fox Network), and the International Olympic Channel. Songs Aaron has worked on with the Gregory Brothers have received over 175 million plays on YouTube. In 2015, Aaron participated in the Ultraviolet Music and Arts Festival in Los Angeles as a featured artist and presenter, and performed with his band The Mots Nouveaux for the 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Rockwood Music Festival in Frankfurt, Germany. Aaron wrote the music and lyrics to the original musical, Behind Closed Doors, which sold out every performance at the historic Hayworth Theater, received multiple Broadway World L.A. Award nominations, and played for thousands of festival goers on the main stage of the West Hollywood Carnaval. Behind Closed Doors was selected to participate in the New York International Fringe Festival as a national show, enjoying a mostly oversold run at off-Broadway Theatre 80 in the East Village. Aaron was selected as a finalist as a composer and lyricist for the Fred Ebb Foundation / Roundabout Theatre Company Fred Ebb Award for musical theater songwriters, and received the Hal Gaba Scholarship for Excellence in Lyrics from UCLA/Concord Records. Aaron is currently developing new musicals with playwrights Meghan Brown, Andrew Crabtree, Peter Berube, and Cassandra Christensen, and a one-woman show with soprano Lorelei Zarifian. Lorelei and Aaron’s first musical triptych, Midtown Antoinette, was featured on NPR-affiliate WFIT in March 2016 and debuted as part of the Florida Tech / Foosaner Museum French Film Festival. Aaron also occasionally helps produce the outrageous bingo raves phenomenon, Rebel Bingo, in New York and Los Angeles, as featured in the L.A. Times, Guardian, and BBC , and recently played a run of five capacity shows in the downtown L.A.’s Globe Theatre as part of 2016 Night on Broadway. Aaron has collaborated as pianist, musical director, and/or co-writer with a panoply of music buddies, including Jason Manns, Gil McKinney, Sara Niemietz, Tim Omundsen, Dave Yaden, Nicholas Zork, Aaron Roche, Nick Bearden, Emma Fitzpatrick, Amanda Wallace, Shane Alexander, Ben Jaffe, Brett Young, Courtney Bassett, Eden Malyn, Luis Selgas, Aly French, Sam Heldt, Karma Jenkins, Emily Iaquinta, Lynette Williams, Meshach Jackson, Roy Mitchell-Cardenas, Kamasi Washington, Chad Doreck, J.T. Spangler, and Katrina Parker. He claimed several distinctions as a young classical pianist, including two-time Wisconsin Academy Musician of the Year, Andrews University Concerto Competition Finalist, and the British Royal Conservatory of Music Award of Highest Distinction for Piano Performance at the Newbold Creative Arts Festival. He currently serves as co-chair of the Carnegie Hill Concert Series in New York, featuring leading interpreters of classical and New Music from around the globe. In 2015, Aaron founded SongLab, an online songwriting community for emerging songwriters. The inaugural SongLab Series welcomed GRAMMY-winner Dave Yaden as special guest. In addition to working with other artists, Aaron performs as one-third of the pop trio, The Mots Nouveaux, alongside vocalists Emma Fitzpatrick and Amanda Wallace. The band celebrated their latest album release with a residency at Hotel Café, a six-month residency at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, and residencies at Rockwood Music Hall and Sidewalk Café in New York. They were invited to join the lineup for the Broke L.A. Music Festival in downtown Los Angeles, where Lyynks music hailed their set as the “greatest revelation” of the festival, one that “really thrilled the crowd” of thousands at the Lounge Stage (GroundSounds.com). The Mots Nouveaux recorded a new EP in Spring 2017 with co-producer Peter Barbee / Among Savages, with forthcoming tracks slated for 2018 release. Aaron released his debut solo project, Nothing's Forever (Not Even Goodbye), featuring the first ten songs he wrote, on Milan Records (Warner-Ryko) in 2008. In his spare time, Aaron enjoys playing the piano, traveling, eating, writing songs, making coffee, drinking coffee, collecting records, going for brisk walks, being near coffee, and composing extensive autobiographical sketches in the third person. Website Aaron Beaumont About the Artist Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont - Part 3 Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont - Part 2 Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont - Part 1 Lightness of the Pines Narwhal and Ocelot (Dietary Restrictions) Aaron Beaumont Other Works By Follow the development of Aaron's project by reading his prior first , second , and third posts written as 2017 Artist in Residence project. 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Loading Video . . . Musician Aaron Kruziki brings us this beautiful and intricate song in response to the theme of "Lies" from Ephesians 4:25. Ephesians 4:25 When We Lie By Aaron Kruziki Credits: Lyrics and music by Aaron Kruziki; Engineered and produced by Aaron Kruziki, Long Island City, NY; Mastered by Tyler Duncan, Ann Arbor, MI Curated by: 2013 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link "When We Lie" is a piece based on Ephesians 4:25: "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body." Because we are all part of one body, we are part of one another. Humans are all part of a collective consciousness that bends and folds, opens and closes, much the same as a lotus flower. As a lotus flower opens at dawn, it's neighbor opens as well. At dusk, when the flower starts to close, its neighbor follows suit. Much in this manner, humans open and close, often simultaneously with our neighbors, friends, lovers and strangers. When we close off, we don't see others closing, and often assume we're the only ones that are closing. This closing is the lie. This lie, whether it comes from family, friends, or ourselves, is this act of closing. We are dishonest and go about our lives in a state of denial, making these lies sound true and be true. With this new false-truth, we start to close, often not realizing how the lie affects those around us. When we face the righteous truth within us, we start to open, and often find others open around us. Like the lotus flower opening with the sun and closing with the moon, we are all connected. The lies we tell neighbors and ourselves connect us, just as the inner-truth connects us. We have to make a choice: to choose the inner truth or the false-truth. We make the choice to either face our demons or to avoid them. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Born and bred in Wisconsin, Aaron Kruziki is a dynamic musician and composer, educator and producer. Currently employed by Steinway & Sons, as part of the Steinway Hall sales team, Manhattan, Aaron’s artistic output includes jazz, rock, pop, and the avant-garde. As a saxophonist and clarinetist, Aaron has received consecutive degrees in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory and Western Michigan University, studying with George Garzone and Trent Kynaston respectively. Aaron is a member of “Dapp Theory”, Andy Milne’s M-base ensemble, and is an active member of the Brooklyn and Queens DIY rock, pop and jazz scenes, performing at venues such as Rockwood Music Hall, Glasslands and The Blue Note. His voice moves fluidly from woodwinds to synths and vocoder, performing in genres ranging from synth-pop to world beat. In 2012 Aaron was commissioned by the Chelsea Music Festival to compose music based on John Cage’s “Lectures on Nothing” and is proud to be twice commissioned by “Spark and Echo Arts”. Website Aaron Kruziki About the Artist Ezekiel's Bread Aaron Kruziki Other Works By Lyrics Now you are no longer strangers to us Or no longer foreigners to heaven You are all members of our own family Citizens of our country You belong in our household With every other soul For we are all human Making choices some say are mistakes… We learn these lies to be self-evident And teach ourselves that our truth is now fake Stop lying to each other Tell the truth For we are apart of one another And when we lie to each other We hurt our own Momentary truth replaced by lies I’m wondering through this life And keep on striving Wake up every morning with sun in my eyes And soon enough clouds roll by I keep on trying Over and over I ask myself When it started in my life All this lying Stop lying to each other Tell the truth For we are apart of one another And when we lie to each other We hurt our own Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Artist Janna Luttrell brings us two text-based charcoal works in response to the theme of "Dancing" from Psalm 87:7. All the Live Long Day Crying in the Rain Psalms 87:7 All the Live Long Day and Crying in the Rain By Janna Luttrell Credits: Curated by: Janna Aliese 2013 2 pieces, 22 x 30 inches Charcoal on Paper Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link While looking at the theme of dancing in the Bible, Psalm 87:7 stuck out to me as it refers to dancers themselves more than other verses and in this context, what they are doing or are being instructed to do. Is this a musical cue, like in many of the psalms, where the writer tells the dancers to say "All my springs are in you,"? Or is the writer stating that dancers and singers alike are inclined to speak these things about the Lord? Either way, the point is to express that the source of life is God. At the same time as researching this verse, I had also been thinking about emotions and how they correlate to our experience of the divine. Why does moving our bodies or crying tears accompany what we might call a "religious experience"? Are these both forms of release for the springs that flow through us? As a response to the verse I created a pair of text drawings with these ideas in mind. I intend for them to be drawings in their own right as well as renderings for a site specific piece where the text would be applied directly in an environment. A person would encounter the fragments in same way that elusive thoughts come to us as we move through the events of life. These fragments also allude to popular song lyrics that tie in with the water imagery of the verse and might come to us as we are experiencing the springs of life that both pour out of us and overwhelm us. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Janna Luttrell is a visual artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Janna spends her time thinking about language, absurdity, and perception. Through site specific installations that function as concrete poems, she explores the physicality of language and it’s potential interactions with the built environment. Her drawings straddle the line between geometric abstraction and carefully rendered worlds of two point perspective. Originally from Virginia, Janna completed her BFA in west Texas and her Masters degree in fine art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, England. She has exhibited across the US and Europe. Website Janna Luttrell About the Artist Janna Luttrell Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . "Among Fools: a Subrational Soundpainting" was conceived and conducted by Evan Mazunik in response to Ecclesiastes 9:17. Ecclesiastes 9:17 Among Fools: a Subrational Soundpainting By Evan Mazunik Credits: Conceived and Conducted by Evan Mazunik Flute, Tenor sax by Justin Wood Saxophones by Dennis Shafer Trumpet by Rob Henke Cello by Gil Selinger Bass by Ryan Kotler Guitar by Lily Maase Drums by John O’Brien, Max Jaffe Dancers: Holly Hibbert Actors: Julia Anrather, Juliana Rodrigues Corrêa, Fábio Dias, Libby Froeber, Lorenzo Landini and Cara Ronzetti Audio Recording by Flat World Productions Video Recording by Rainy Day Worzella and Emily Clare Zempel Filmed at Irondale Center in Brooklyn, NY on June 21st, at 8pm Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2013 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Evan talks about his process and how did he composed the music, text, and movement: How much of the show was rehearsed? How much was improvised? What the heck is Soundpainting? Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Evan Mazunik is a composer/performer raised on the prairies of Iowa and rooted in Queens, NY. Fluent in Soundpainting, a sign language for live composition, Mazunik is composer/director for ZAHA, his experimental chamber ensemble. His compositions include commissions for jazz band, chorus, theater, dance, and film, and his work was featured in a documentary for the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Mazunik has performed with Anthony Braxton, Walter Thompson, Carla Bley, Robin Eubanks, Danielson, and Sufjan Stevens, and has played at creative music venues such as Roulette, The Stone, Barbes, and Galapagos. He received a Bachelors degree in piano performance and a Masters in jazz studies from the University of Iowa and has taught improvisation at the University of Indiana and the Royal Academy of Music in London. http://evan.blissstreetstudios.com/ Website Evan Mazunik About the Artist Evan Mazunik Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Dancer and choreographer Julie Rothschild brings us this work 'in response to' Philemon 1:8-11. Philemon 1:8-11 in response to By Julie Rothschild Credits: Curated by: 2015 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link When I received Philemon 1:8-11 as a voice recording, I opted to use it as a sound score. I wasn't familiar with the passage and intentionally did not go looking for the meaning behind the words. And so I moved with the text and I moved without it. I went to my favorite place to be quiet, my church so-to-speak: a nearby trail with massive cottonwood trees and a host of birds. There, I filmed myself moving in response to my memory of the sound of the text. I then spent time trying to layer sound and video, trying to make my response look like something more than what it was, trying to make a video that looked more like a film with different layers and textures. I was caught up in trying. Then I did one straight take with the sound playing and one camera strapped to my bookshelf. And this is what I'm sharing. I've layered the sound score on top of my recording in order to blend it with the sound that plays in the background. I am simultaneously listening and choreographing a dance that makes sense in the moment. I feel that this allows me to best respond to the voice, the words, the textures, the rhythms and to experience my own emotional response. It feels the most honest. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Julie Rothschild is an Independent Dance Artist and Educator, Alexander Technique Teacher, and Nordic Ski Instructor. Her passion for movement and performance began at a young age, and continues to lead her in unpredictable and wondrous directions. She has collaborated, choreographed, performed, taught and apprenticed with a wide and wonderful assortment of dance companies and artists throughout the world. While living in Athens, GA (2000-2009), she co-founded/directed Floorspace Movement Arts Center, where she curated The Handful Series and hosted numerous dance workshops and performances. She also worked as an adjunct professor in the Dance Departments at University of Georgia and Emory University. Julie has been making solo and group work since she was a high school student at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. Most recently, she directed ANIMAL, which premiered in September 2013 at Skwhirlhaus in Atlanta, Georgia. ANIMAL, chapter 2, had its premiere at Performática in Cholula, Mexico in April 2014. Her latest solo, RUST, premiered at Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) in March 2015. Her current projects are MAPS (Making And Performing a Solo) for 100 Dancers, a worldwide choreography project; and Chicken Bank Collective, an international collective of visual and performing artists whose aim is to weave communities across borders through the art of movement. Julie currently resides in Boulder, Colorado, where she lives with her husband, 2 teenage sons and their pup, Olive. www.julierothschildmovement.com Website Julie Rothschild About the Artist Julie Rothschild Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

R E Colvin Untitled 24X20 2013 Loading Video . . . Artist R. E. Colvin created a work exploring "Light and Darkness" through Ecclesiastes 7:23. Ecclesiastes 7:23 Untitled (Colvin) By R. E. Colvin Credits: Curated by: Ebitenyefa Baralaye 2013 20 x 24 inches Acrylic and Oil on Canvas Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t really work. (Ecclesiastes 7:23 NLT) Ecclesiastes has always been my favorite book in the Bible. I was in art school when I first read it, and maybe it is what lead me to study philosophy later. In rereading it, this verse struck me as profoundly funny; because it’s true. The painting I have made, although similar to my current work, tries to get at this existential grasping more literally. Three shapes, essentially, “work” and “don’t work.” The figural white center – seemingly bright – is part of a single shape that inhabits the top and bottom of the composition too. The dark shapes on either side then vacillate between presences (as parallel vertical planes extending out into space) and absences (as windows into an etherial blackness). This effect then shifts the center element forward and backward. Everything is unstable. In photographing my abstract work, I choose to include the wall surrounding the piece rather than cropping down to the image. This preserves the physicality of the work – it is a painted object – which is important to its experience. The painting has an existential presence like us. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection R. E. Colvin is an artist and arts writer based in New York City. Website R. E. Colvin About the Artist R. E. Colvin Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Joseph Chapman's contemplative poem examines the relational dichotomy of the powerful and those who support them, inspired by 1 Kings 5:13. 1 Kings 5:13 Tower and Document By Joseph Chapman Credits: Curated by: Laura Eve Engel 2016 Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link One thing I love about the Hebrew Bible is that it's full of competing and contradictory narratives. There are two creation stories. The book of Ruth includes a Moabite in the genealogy of King David even though Deuteronomy 23:3 prohibits intermarriage between Israelites and Moabites. The book of Joshua very clearly states that the Israelites killed all the Canaanites who were in the Promised Land, but then the same Canaanites who were supposedly killed show up again later. Likewise, 1 Kings 9:15 and 20-22 assure us that Solomon only conscripted Canaanites to build his temple, but 1 Kings 5:13 tells a different story. Solomon not only conscripted his own people, he conscripted thirty thousand of his own people. What's fascinating to me are the reasons why a redactor might add or juxtapose a second, competing narrative. Of course, it's all speculation but I find myself wondering what the second creation story adds; why the book of Ruth contradicts Deuteronomy 23:3; why a redactor needed to claim the utter annihilation of the Canaanites in Joshua; or why 1 Kings 9:15 and 20-22 protests that Solomon only conscripted foreign labor. Much of the redactor's interest might inhere in the legacy particular historical figures leave behind as characters in the text. Take Solomon, for example. The text tells us, quite often, that Solomon was a wise king and that God even favored Solomon over David, at least when it came to the construction of God's Temple. But in 1 Kings 5:13, Solomon enslaves his own people, which is hardly the thing a just and wise king should be doing in the Hebrew Bible, given the stigma and undesirability of slavery, and the decidedly bad taste the whole Egyptian episode left in the mouths of the Israelite people. Solomon also makes a deal with the Phoenician king Hiram for building materials. At first glance, Solomon seems like a shrewd king. But once you do the numbers and look a little closer, you realize that Hiram dictates the terms of the deal. You also notice that the terms favor Hiram. Hiram tacks on cypress to Solomon's order of cedar surely an early example of the "upgrade" gambit‚ and charges him 20,000 cors of wheat per year. The cost might not mean much until you do some further math and stumble upon the fact that Solomon's royal household only takes in 33,000 cors of wheat per year in taxes and tributes. Solomon ends up devoting more than half of Israel's income to building materials for the Temple. Debt accrues rapidly and in 9:11 Solomon decreases the deficit by selling Israelite land to Hiram. It all starts to sound a little familiar, especially for those of us in the U.S. who see an exorbitant amount of our tax dollars going to military spending and unjust wars and not to the underprivileged of our society. In my poem, I not only wanted to call out Solomon for enslaving his own people, I also wanted to place Solomon alongside other historical kings and political leaders who oppress others through "tower and document." I'm not sure that I was successful in my attempt to weave together these multiple narratives, however. There can be a clumsiness to juxtaposition, especially when it comes to suffering. In the famous opening of Anna Karenina Tolstoy writes: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." I think the same could be said of the suffering that results from oppressive regimes, and so I worry that the poem equates the enslavement of Israelites with that of Native Americans, or that it equates either of those enslavements with an unjust economic system in the U.S. That said, the tools of oppression and power, "tower and document," often look strikingly familiar across historical epochs. And so, I hope that the reader's attention is drawn more to those similarities instead. If nothing else, I would hope that my poem and artist's statement opens up the reader to the richness and variety of the biblical voice(s). For every story of an oppressive Solomon, there's another that lifts up equality and justice, like the opening of Psalm 133 : "How very good and pleasant it is / when kindred live together in unity!" In our own contemporary society, poetry can serve as one of those other voices, a voice imagining an alternative to oppression and injustice. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Joseph Chapman studied English, philosophy, and creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and went on to earn a Masters of Fine Arts in poetry at the University of Virginia, where he was the recipient of the Henry Hoyns Fellowship and Academy of American Poets Prize. His poems have appeared in Boston Review , Gulf Coast , The Collagist , The Cincinnati Review , DIAGRAM , The Best American Poetry , and elsewhere. He is currently an Inquirer in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in the first year of a Masters of Divinity program at San Francisco Theological Seminary, where he is the recipient of a Presidential Scholarship, Merit Scholarship, and Presbyterian Study Grant, as well as the Eugene C. Dinsmore Scholarship from the Omaha Presbyterian Seminary Foundation. Website Joseph Chapman About the Artist Joseph Chapman Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art We shall bind you to the yoke of Church and Their Highnesses; we enslave your persons, wives sons, sell or dispose as King sees fit; View Full Written Work Tower and Document by Joseph Chapman King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel— thirty thousand men. —1 Kings 5:13 King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel—thirty thousand men. —1 Kings 5:13 We shall bind you to the yoke of Church and Their Highnesses; we enslave your persons, wives sons, sell or dispose as King sees fit; seize possessions harm much can disobedient resisting vassals. —King Ferdinand Taino-Arawak Indians A mother hen gathers her brood. She unspools the thread. The garden— that one —in us like stillness. Someone rends soul in silence. Someone stitches it up. Then clear rain spills over culverts into streets. In Hebrew class we are learning how Israelites had words for wind and breath and life but no concept soul, word for that. No matter, King Solomon built his temple on exact hill where Eden vanished: a palimpsest connecting all living things. Except, of course, thirty thousand who cut quarried stone. Except, Pedro Angela, with whom I cooked burgers fries every summer during college, and sipped coffee long afternoons, talking about our lives, actual dreamt, Spanish. • Driving south, Spanish missions litter California coast like wildflowers. Out here winter greens hills. The green hills winter. Out here pleasure gets simpler as you age and suffering comes shifts, five years at time, life time. Sometimes they said we had souls, & so broke bodies. Sometimes didn’t have souls, & bodies. When can’t sleep picture golfers whose orders took turnhouse window, their neatly pressed slacks, Angela back kitchen dropping baskets fries mocking Mr. So-and-So’s ridiculous V-neck sweater. History is an argument against those who survive, against king sacrament, tower document. A family lived near my high school, although never saw them. blue tarp covered roof and goats wandered yard. Toy bikes engine blocks, smoke escaping from lone stovepipe winter. Bashō wrote this haiku two weeks before he died: Deep autumn— my neighbor, how does live, wonder? For drove by yard, thinking same, empty thoughts. At end history, most won’t be able to say, exactly, who conscripted them, bodies, and healed them."> Close Loading Video . . . We shall bind you to the yoke of Church and Their Highnesses; we enslave your persons, wives sons, sell or dispose as King sees fit; Download Full Written Work

About This Project Throughout history and at pivotal moments, the Bible has been translated, updated and revised to speak to the culture and times of that period. Between 1100 and 1600, "illumuniated manuscripts" illustrated the Bible's texts to add a visual element describing the stories on the pages. During the age of cathedrals, stained glass windows were dazzling examples of artistic renderings of Scripture so that even the illiterate population of the day could experience the Bible's message. Artists across history have painted, sculpted and etched the most important narratives of the Bible, inspiring generations and inviting them into the pages of God's Word. Today, engagement with the Bible is on a steep decline. Perceived relevancy is plummeting, and Bible literacy is at an all-time low. At the same time, we live in a world where artistic expression is exploding. The opportunity and availability to create is immense. We believe we're at another pivotal moment in history. We are inviting artists to create expressive art as they engage with Scripture, and inviting people everywhere to experience the Bible through the lens of that art. Spark+Echo presents the Illuminated pages of Scripture for our generation. This is a catherdal for our time.

Loading Video . . . "A Friend" is a short story essay written and performed by Kyle J Smith. It was premiered as part of "Preludes," a multi-disciplinary arts event thrown by Salt Space in NYC's Flatiron District during the "waiting" period between Good Friday and Easter 2011. Luke 22:1-6 A Friend By Kyle J Smith Credits: Artist Location: New York City Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2011 Short Story/Essay Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link "Through my writing I share bits of myself with others in hopes of growing closer to each other and Truth." -Kyle J. Smith Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Kyle J. Smith is a writer and personal trainer living in New York City. He is a member of the Gallery Church of Manhattan and Editor-In-Chief of weasel and gun: variety magazine. Website Kyle J Smith About the Artist Kyle J Smith Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art I have a friend I want to tell you about. As an adult he had a beard, a really fantastic beard and growing up his dad was really hard on him. View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . I have a friend I want to tell you about. As an adult he had a beard, a really fantastic beard and growing up his dad was really hard on him. Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Elias Popa finds himself in conversation with the material and text in this third post for his artist in residence project. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. Job 38 Job 39 Job 40 Job 41 Artist in Residence 2018: Elias Popa Part 3 By Elias Popa Credits: Curated by: Spark & Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2018 2018 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link June 4, 2018 As a sculptor, the materials I use often inform me of what shape they would like to take. Although I begin with a concept in mind, the journey to the finished project surprises me. This is also the case with the Scriptures. Often, re-reading meditatively over certain scripts draws out new nuances I missed before. It deepens my understanding. While reading and re-reading over Job, the passage reminded me of other moments where God allowed a larger percentage of His power to be witnessed. Whether in passing by Moses; a great wind, fire, and quake; or in the illumination of all creation, there is one common thread: It is always in passing. God passed Moses, and let him witness His backside just for a moment. His presence—direct presence—or rather the fullness of it in its entirety is something we cannot obtain on this side of Heaven. It’s dangerous, even deadly perhaps. As I worked on models over models of this sculpture, I felt stifled by the concept of a room. In my vision of God. In His display of power to Job, he doesn’t ever ask Job to come into a room. What He really asks is that Job pass through . What we pass through doesn’t lead us to an end per-say, but to the beginning of eternity. It is the never-ending, growing curiosity and wonderment of the universe and everything beyond it unfolding. I often have glimpses of these beauties in my work or travel. A small taste, like I had passed down a long corridor and I accidentally saw all of creation beyond a cracked door. It sometimes happens when I pray and work hard at it, other times, when I simply just arrive at a lake or the ocean. For a moment, I glimpse eternity, like Job, and it humbles me. As I placed the four mirrored walls together, I realized that even though the sculpture repeated itself ad infinitum, it was still a room, not a moment. I opted to remove two of the walls, and just reflect two of the walls back to each other. When I listened to the material strip itself down, I had the sense of walking through. Almost like a surprise, we stumble upon eternity in passing day to day. The effect remains the same, a slice of eternity that runs in perpetuity. However, now the sculpture will stand more as a gate. As before, the same challenges remain: finding space for a larger sculpture to build the final work in. It can be quite frustrating as an installation artist and sculpture. It can go from 3D rendering to model, and reconfiguring back in 3D to modeling before the final structure is built. As an artist, it is something I am constantly learning: how to be humbled by the process, realizing that even with my intellectual and emotional understanding of the work I am still also bound by the physical structure. I’ve finally settled on the structure I will use, not only for its meaning and repurposing like a gate, but its feasibility and simplicity as well. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Elias Popa was born April 7, 1987 to Romanian immigrants in California. After traveling between his home in Romania and throughout the United States, he continued his travels into his adulthood by moving to China, traveling Southeast Asia, South America and working with refugees. During his travels around the world, his worldview in art was deeply impacted. “My art expresses the struggle of identity and hope, worship and expressions of life. It explores common world views and challenges them. My work shines a light on the temporal solutions we put in place to replace what we really need deep inside”. As an installation artist, Elias uses conventional materials such as paper, wire, thread, and clothing to evoke a deeper understanding about social structures. His aim is to solidify abstract ideas about the nuances that make up sociological structures. By doing so, he retrains the eye to build a visual literacy again and treats the art as a fundamental language. He also studied dark room photography for 10 years, as well as writes poetry. Through his art, Elias started The Human Rights Network, a non for profit organization aimed at “telling stories that change lives.” The organization aims to build narratives through art that can impact social issues and generate activism. He currently works as a curator and manager of the esteemed Waterfall Mansion and Gallery on the Upper East Side, as well as the founder of the Human Rights Network. He resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where he works out of his home. He was the recipient of CFW’s artist vocational intensive, held at Princeton University. He also was selected on an Interfaith and Arts Panel at Columbia University, as well as regular participates in speaking engagements. Website Elias Popa About the Artist Artist in Residence 2018: Elias Popa Part 1 Artist in Residence 2018: Elias Popa Part 2 Artist in Residence 2018: Elias Popa The Art of Kintsugi and Sacrifices in Sidewalks Elias Popa Other Works By Follow the development of Elias' project by reading his first , second and final posts written as 2018 Artist in Residence. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Composer Alexander Douglas created three movements entitled "Songs for Joy" with responding to the theme of Joy as it appears in different passages of the Bible. The first movement, "Joy and Peace in Believing" is inspired by Romans 15:13, "Shout for Joy, All Ye Upright in Heart!" responds to Psalm 32:11, and the final movement, "Strength and Joy are in His Place" comes from 1 Chronicles 16:27. Psalms 32:11 1 Chronicles 16:27 Romans 15:13 Songs for Joy By Alexander Douglas Credits: Composed by Alexander Douglas; Piano by Alexander Douglas; Recorded and Mixed by Ben Sharpe Curated by: Jonathon Roberts 2012 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Joy is one of the deepest words we have in our language. Whether in general linguistic terms, or in a theologically-specific context, this word represents both a concept and a reality simultaneously. The tragedy is that many of us learn the concept of joy, but few of us experience the reality of joy. Jesus Christ is more than the real “Joy Giver” – He is the ONLY Joy Giver and this truth is at the heart of the gospel. C.S. Lewis talked about being ‘surprised by joy’ and there is a sense in which joy trumps happiness as a paradigm in much the same way that justice trumps fairness as a paradigm. If God was merely ‘fair’ then we would each get what we are entitled to – which is eternal death for our sins. But God is more than fair – He is just, and this concept of justice is in fact relevant to this mini-discourse on joy. Why? Because the end of the gospel is the reality that sin will end forever one day when Jesus returns! And all the prophecies from the Old Testament about the restoration of justice to this world that were partially fulfilled with the first coming of Jesus will be fulfilled in entirety. This is the conceptual framework that undergirds these Songs for Joy. Each of these songs is in response to a verse, and each verse contains two serious elements (one of which, surprise surprise, is joy): #1 Joy; Peace #2 Joy; Uprightness of Heart #3 Strength; Joy #1 is a tune that is directly written to words in Romans 15:13, part of which reads, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope…” Now, joy and peace are not saccharine ideas, and the improvisatory journey around what is essentially a very simple theme is reflective of the spiritual reality that it is very easy to talk about the peace and joy which the gospel is supposed to bring – but so many Christians don’t have much peace – we have learnt a very Christianised ‘busyness’ to hide the burning lack of life-changing peace in our hearts. But there IS a joy and real peace in Jesus, the only true source of hope, and He is with us through all the twists and turns. #2 is maybe the most theologically important of the three pieces. Many people want to be ‘made whole’ but wholeness is utterly impossible without holiness, and if there is one deadly cancer in the Church, it is that too many of those engaged in all forms of worship to God (public and private) are not ready to “be holy, even as God is holy”. We cannot make ourselves holy, but we can choose to live a life of faith and to pursue righteousness with God’s help. Real joy is only possible when you are as upright in your heart as you know how to be and when you and God are on good terms. So there is something more prophetic in this – it points to a truth deeper than that of merely ‘shouting for joy’ and the recurring chord-melody is actual melody-set-to-text (from Psalm 32:11) – hopefully you can hear the piano ‘singing in parts’ (as it were)! #3 was written as an improvisor’s response to the idea of strength and joy being found in His place – the sanctuary of the most High God. What an incredible idea from 1 Chronicles 16:27, (which also tags to Nehemiah 8:10). So this piece has more of a ‘concept’ (that word again) framework as opposed to the type of outline you would find on a lead sheet or other form of music manuscript. And as both jazz musician and theologian, that is one of my favourite ways to work. I am increasingly fond of explaining to people who struggle to reconcile jazz with Christianity that as an improvising musician “it’s about more than just playing jazz; it’s about playing faith.” I wish that my technique was better but deficiencies notwithstanding, I offer this humbly and thank you for making time to listen. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Alexander Douglas , having started his professional life as a jazz pianist with a uniquely enigmatic style, became one of the pre-eminent gospel choral directors in the UK whilst developing as a composer/arranger of both jazz and gospel music. He went on to develop his interests in anthropology and philosophy only to find his way towards theology – and since then he has realised that this is where God was leading him towards all along. He has now set up an organisation called ADM Productions which is dedicated to sacred music in all three of his genres. In 2011 he completed a Masters degree in Choral Conducting, where he specialised in Protestant European sacred music. In the same year he was awarded the Jazz Factor Artist Development Award for his solo piano work in sacred jazz. He recorded an EP entitled ‘Welcome’ which will finally be released by the end of the year. During 2012 it has become resoundingly clear that both theology and music are twin pillars of his ministry vocation, and while there has not been much time to practise of late, plans are underway for a second solo piano record (full-length album this time) in 2013, along with developing his compositional output. He was recently appointed as the Advisor for Music and Worship to the North England Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, and plans are underway for doctoral studies. More about Alexander: Website: http://admproductions.sharepoint.com/Pages/default.aspx Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ADM-Productions/192229827467958 Blog: http://theomusicology.wordpress.com/ Website Alexander Douglas About the Artist Alexander Douglas Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Iv Amenti's 'silent film' contemplates the juxtapositions of reality and dreams, foolishness and wisdom found in Ecclesiastes 5:3. Ecclesiastes 5:3 A Silent Movie: in Poem and Stills By Iv Amenti Credits: Curated by: Lauren Ferebee 2017 Visual Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Ecclesiastes is one of those books of the Bible that has lodged itself firmly into my psyche. It’s commentary about the boundaries of our humanity, within life and death, time and seasons, and what powers we possess to exist within them, resonates with me on various levels. This year it was particularly relevant because I turned 40, and not just 40, but 40 with a vengeance. If you haven’t crossed this bridge yet, let me tell you, there is something quite definitive about it. I found myself looking at the time that has passed, and the time I have left, you know? If I do the same 40 years I have already done on this earth, I will be brushing against my mortality, and that is an enlightening feeling. What have I done with my time? What will I do with what’s left? Ecclesiastes in its entirety, sobers my mind on what is possible. It takes pressure off as it eludes to the omnipotence of God’s plan and how we must simply show up, ready to work, in order to see the plan unfold. As a girl growing up I was most familiar with Ecclesiastes 3, that speaks specifically to everything having its season. All my life I have methodically gone about how to shape each of my seasons. Something in me has always desired the life of a late bloomer. I made personal choices to hold off on my career so I could grow roots with a family first. I also wanted to take time to get to discover what life looks like as a pioneer, charting my own path. Call me for coffee or tea so I can tell you about my experiences with college and jobs, and what it looks like to stand firm in my own dream to be an artist. Which brings me to my chosen Bible verse, Ecclesiastes 5:3 “ A dream comes when there are many cares, and speech marks the words of a fool.” My project, A Silent Movie: in Poem and Stills , takes a look at a girl busy in her world of dreams, led by a poetic narrative that deconstructs her thoughts on Ecclesiastes 5:3. The project itself is a storyboard for a silent film, – “silent film” being used as a metaphor for the absence speech to communicate words. This was my play towards the reference of speech marking the words of a fool, which during this age of politics, and 24 hour access to social commentary has become our social norm. Interwoven between the images of the girl, (portrayed by me), is a poem which examines her personal relationship with her dreams, her intentions to manifest them, her desires to advocate for humanity through her work, and her words of encouragement for her fellow dreamer. Set in three parts, I sought to visually convey the dreamscape, while rooting my words firmly into the reality of our time. During the process I felt moments of a utopian writer synergized with the original author of this book. I imagined what it must have felt like to be feverishly endowed with spirit, and see a vision so wide as Ecclesiastes. I imagine that all of us that have a vision permeating our being such as the author, must share it. I appreciate the author’s wisdom in knowing that if we are fertile with a dream, so must we be in our willingness to make it happen. Often times, when we are in this place, there is very little time to brag or boast the process, there is only time to do, with brief moments of reflections and edits. This is my ode to such wisdom. The storyboard is shot in the Bishop Arts District located in Dallas, Texas. I first saw this area in back 2015 where there was the most enchanting store with a really cool storefront that had all of these inspirational words and sayings painted on benches and mounted on its walls that beckoned any passerby to take a picture next to it. When I saw it, I knew I had to do a photoshoot there. Fast forward two years later and additional more open space art forms popped up around it, and so did this assignment! I operated as the director and co-photographer on this piece. The shots are not overly professional, but they are personal, and so is this story. As said in the film, I am a native dreamer, and now at 40, after proclaiming for myself that I have the right to be a late bloomer, I have decided that it is my time. I also accept the wisdom not only just of this passage, but of the entire book of Ecclesiastes, to know that as long as I show up, ready to work, that I will surely see the plan specifically designed for me unfold. Amen Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Iv Amenti is a Creative Social Practitioner residing in the city of Dallas. As a professional dancer, storyteller, writer, actress, and vocalist, she partners with communities to create storytelling opportunities using her various artistic mediums. She prides herself in presenting the performing arts as a platform for social commentary and community engagement in a way that creates voice and identity for communities. She studied theater at the University of Texas at Arlington and is an AmeriCorps alumni who received intensive service training on how to enter into communities, administer asset mapping, and build on those assets in a way that empowers underserved neighborhoods. Through arts and service she has developed a sustainable practice in creative social engineering. Well known for thinking outside of the spectrum when it comes to designing and executing projects, her practice has extended into the likes of the TRANSLATION Project, TWU’ Lend Us Your Voice, BC Workshop’s Activating Vacancy, SMU’s Arts and Urbanism’s Complex Movements Cohort, Bricks and Bones performance Cohort, and St. Philips School and Community Center, to name a few. She is the sole creator of the annual !Felabration Dallas!, a music tribute celebrating the life of famed Nigerian Musician and Activist Fela Kuti. A 16 year veteran on the Community Arts Program roster of Dallas’ Office of Cultural Affairs,2015 Cultural Vitality Award Recipient, and self-proclaimed master collaborator. Website Iv Amenti About the Artist Iv Amenti Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art Part 1: Deconstruction of a Dreamer View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Part 1: Deconstruction of a Dreamer Download Full Written Work