Performing The World 2024

Super Early Registration: $180 | $145 | $75 (Ends May 31)

Early Registration: $200 | $160 | $85 (Ends Sept 8)

Full Fee: $225 | $185 | $95

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CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

Thursday Sept 26

10:30 – 11 am (30 min)
Opening Session

Presenters: Lois Holzman, Dan Friedman

11 am – 12:30 pm (90 min)
Music is Power: Playing for Change Returns to PTW

Presenter: Jake Groshong

Playing for Change, which joyfully kicked off last year’s Performing the World (PTW), is returning to open PTW  2024.

Founded 22 years ago, Playing for Change grew out of the lived experience that music has the power to break down barriers and overcome distances between people.  Since it started, Playing for Change has produced 400 videos involving 1,400 musicians from 60 different countries—videos that have been viewed by two billion people.  

This year’s session will focus on the work of the Playing for Change Foundation, which creates music schools and programs around the world. Inspired by the love and hospitality they encountered while making music videos in some of the poorest communities on the globe, the Playing for Change Foundation, launched in 2007, returns and, working local artists, has built 27 free music and arts education programs across 55 locations in 19 countries. In addition to musical and cultural development, the Playing for Change schools have generated other community-led initiatives that are benefiting over 15,000 people every year.  

Playing for Change Foundation CEO Jake Groshong will share the work of these programs, introduce some of the leaders and participants who, building on local musical tradition, teach and learn voice, dance, a wide range of instruments, music theory—and the power of music.

2:00 – 3:30 pm (90 min)
Toward a Future Where Together We Own What We Make

Presenters: Ben Fink, Gwen Johnson, Denise Griffin Johnson, Tiffany Sturdivant

Performing Our Future is a multiracial grassroots coalition linking rural and urban communities in Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, and Wisconsin.  Initiated by members of Roadside Theater, an ensemble of storytellers and theater makers based in the coalfields of central Appalachia, Performing Our Future has been growing  since 2015, working toward a future where everyone belongs, everyone’s contribution matters, and we own what we make. 

The session will be led by three founders of the coalition -- Ben Fink (formerly of Roadside Theater, East Kentucky); Gwen Johnson (Letcher County Culture Hub, East Kentucky); and Denise Griffin Johnson (formerly of the Arch Social Community Network, West Baltimore) -- as well as the coalition's current organizer, Tiffany Sturdivant (Appalshop, East Kentucky).  It will start with a presentation/story-sharing session about Performing Our Future's theory, practice, origins, and challenges, before turning to an interactive sharing of questions, conversation, stories, and ideas from all who are attending.

4:30 – 5:30 pm (60 min)
Creating Power in the Face of Disaster 

Presenters: Jim Martinez, Farzana Gandhi

How do people feel in the aftermath of a climate disaster? Powerless. There are many reasons for this: lack of civic participation, government bureaucracies, and limited access to resources. However, people have always managed to create sustainable access to food, shelter, and water in even the most challenging climates on Earth. By engaging in participatory activities, individuals can reframe “challenges” as “opportunities,” creating limitless possibilities, including power and hope.

In this workshop, architect Farzana Gandhi, AIA, LEED AP, and associate professor of interdisciplinary studies, Dr. Jim Martinez, co-founders of Collective Infrastructures, will strive to foster a mindset that operates with hope rather than fear by demystifying the decision-making process in the aftermath of environmental crises. You will participate in a role-playing activity, debating with fellow participants in a hypothetical disaster scenario. You will articulate a point of view that embodies the role you choose and experience firsthand how communication between stakeholders can either fail or succeed. We will then transform your performances to explore possibilities beyond failure and success—creating power out of powerlessness.

5:30 – 6:00 pm (30 min)
Performing the World Meet Up

Spend some time in open conversation with your fellow Performing the World participants. Share your experiences and responses with folks from around the world.

Friday Sept 27

10:30 – 11:30 am (60 min)
Create the Power: India

Presenters: Ishita Sanyal (host), Alokananda Roy, Juin Dutta, Subhadip Sen, Chaitali Gami, Reshmi Chatterjee

In India, inequality has been rising sharply for the last three decades. The richest have cornered a huge part of the wealth created through crony capitalism and inheritance. They are getting richer at a much faster pace while the poor are still struggling to earn a minimum wage and access quality education and healthcare services, which continue to suffer from chronic under-investment. These widening gaps and rising inequalities affect women and children the most.

Instead of putting the onus on the Government, many ordinary people have come forward to bring the needed change. This session will be hosted by Ishita Sanyal, founder and Director of Turning Point, a center for the growth and development of people with serious mental illness. The center helps them to connect with society, get a job and help in entrepreneurship programs so that they can become physically, socially and economically independent in life. She is the recent recipient of the Shane J. Lopez Award for Professional Contributions in Positive Psychology by the American Psychological Association.

Sanyal will introduce us to:

  Alokananda Roy, an internationally celebrated Indian classical dancer, choreographer, dance educator, therapist, and social reformer, who, since 2007 has been bringing dance therapy to inmates at the West Bengal Corrections Home, the Alipre Women’s Correctional Home, as well as the transgender community, Acid Attack Survivors of West Bengal—and to the Kolkata Police Force.

  Juin Dutt, president and founder of the Srotoshwini Trust, who runs three free educational programs for children living on the streets, as well as a skills training program for women.

  Subhadip Sen, the founder and director of the Peace Welfare Organization, Rupnarayanpur, West Bengal, which, among other projects, runs a free night school for children who work in the coal mines during the day. The school provides not only free education but also free food for the often-hungry child laborers.

  Chaitali Gami founded and leads Parivaar Bengal, West Bengal’s largest residential educational institution, serving 1,200 orphans, street children, children abandoned by their mothers, children with critically-ill parents who can’t care for them. She is also founder of the South Kolkata Parasmoni, which works with and advocates for children and adults with Autism, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy.

  Reshmi Chatterjee is the founder of Halo Heritage, which works to preserve and promote the art, culture & craftsmanship of the traditional artisans of Bengal.

12:15 – 1:45 pm (90 min)

Poetry, Performance and Power

Presenters: Gerard Bester, Sibahle Mangena, Stacy Hardy, Thabang Matsaung

The Windybrow Arts Centre, located in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa, is a social hub and creative spark for the community’s young people.  Associated with the world-famous Market Theatre, it provides arts and literacy programmes for young people and generates socially engaged plays, performance pieces, music and street theatre created and performed by the young participants.

The session will focus on the creation and performance of “Notebook of a Long Day’s Journey into Hillbrow Night,” a collectively created poem/performance piece inspired by the Martinican poet and playwright Aimé Césaire’s 1939 surrealist classic “Notebook of a Return to The Native Land.”  Working with Stacy Hardy, Head of the Creative Writing Department at the University of the Witwatersrand, a group of Windybrow participants, calling themselves “Césaire Youth” reimagined and transposed Césire’s poem into a reflection and embodiment of their community today.

The session will be hosted by Hardy and Thabang Lucky Matsaug, one of the young artists involved in the project.  Together they will provide background on Windybrow, share the process of the poem’s creation and introduce performances from the poem. Then, the creators of “Notebook of a Long Day’s Journey into Hillbrow Night” will have a public conversation with students from Lloyd International Honors College, University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

2:00 – 3:00 (60 min)
Creating New Performances of Faith: What Dementia is Teaching Us about Hope, Healing, Possibility and Power 

Presenters: Mary Fridley (host), Lynn Casteel Harper, Jay McDaniel

For centuries, faith and religion have offered people the world over a sense of community, meaning and spiritual/moral guidance, even as they have also been used as what author Karen Armstrong calls “...sticks with which to beat those who are different.” At a moment when the authority (and violence) of “sticks” often overshadows the power (and possibility) of community, please join Reverend Lynn Casteel Harper and Dr. Jay McDaniel for a playful and philosophical conversation about how they are creating new performances of faith, and why the reimagining of dementia is at the heart of their explorations. The session will be moderated by Mary Fridley, Co-founder and Leader of The Joy of Dementia (You Gotta be Kidding!) and Coordinator of  Reimagining Dementia: A Creative Coalition for Justice.

4:30 – 6:00 pm (90 min)

“Say It Beautifully,” Connecting with Strangers Through Poetry

Presenter: Angelo Miramonti, Luca Battisti

Born on the streets of Lima some two decades ago, the “Live Poetry” movement is spreading across the globe. Developed by Peruvian poet and community organizer Luis Enrique Amaya, Live Poetry consists of two phases. In the first phase, the poet interviews a passer-by on the street and asks them to talk about someone important to her or him (a family member, a friend, a lover). In the second phase, the poet asks the interviewee to wait for a few minutes. Then the poet sits alone for about ten minutes and composes a poem dedicated to the person chosen by the interviewee. When he has finished, the poet gives the poem to the interviewee as a gift saying: “After listening to you, I composed this poem, and I give it to you as a gift. But beware: it is not for you. It is to invite you to give it as a gift to the person you told me about.”

In this workshop, Angelo Miramonti, a Professor of Community Theatre at the Fine Arts University in Cali (Colombia), and Luca Battisti, researcher in Human Geography at the University of Turin (Italy) share their experiences in bringing Live Poetry to Turin, Italy and leads us in a workshop to create our own Live Poetry.

6:00 – 6:30 pm (30 min)

Performing the World Meet Up

Spend some time in open conversation with your fellow Performing the World participants. Share your experiences and responses with folks from around the world.

7:30 – 9:00 pm

PETA Control + Shift : Changing Narratives: Reclaiming and Reshaping Stories of the Filipino People

Presenters: J-mee Katanyag, Jessie Villabrille, Joseph Curbilla

As authoritarian and neo-fascist movements gain traction all over the world, it has become clear that the versions of stories that people embrace has an enormous impact on current politics and on what direction a nation takes. Challenging the authoritarian distortion of Philippine history is what the “Control + Shift” program of the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA) is all about. 

PETA was founded in 1967 and played an important role in the movement to overthrow the U.S.-backed dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Despite a decades-long struggle involving tens of millions of people that overthrew his dictatorship in 1986, Marcos’ son convinced enough voters that his father’s reign had been a “golden age” to get elected president in 2022. In response, PETA is working with communities and theatre troupes throughout the country to articulate, through the creation of new plays, their emerging stories of resistance and the exercise of power.

J-mee Katanyag, Artistic Director of PETA's Narrative Change Campaign, will discuss the success points of the Laboratory Performances showcased at the PETA Theater Center and the concept of the upcoming Control + Shift Narrative Change Campaign for 2025. Joseph Curbilla, former Chairperson of the Umalohokan, Inc. and Jessie Villabrille, President of Teatro Balagtas (both university and community-based theater groups) will share their take in dissecting Narratives of Violence through the Control + Shift School and Community Performances  and Talkback Forum. Umalohokan, Inc. performed "Pilipinas, Geym Ka Na Ba?" tackling state-sponsored violence or the drug war killings in a gamefied performance; Teatro Balagtas performed "Ang Kuwento Ni Babae" tackling gender-based violence and using participatory theater approaches.

Saturday Sept 28

10:30 am – 12:00 pm (90 min)

Shakti Shalini and Pandies’ Theatre: Challenging Gender Violence with Organizing, Theatre, and Performance 

Presenters: Tamanna Basu, Sanjay Kumar

Shakti Shalini was founded in Delhi in 1987, after Ms. Satyarani Chadha and Ms. Begum Shahjahan’s young daughters were burned to death alive by their in-laws due to insufficient dowry. The shared tragedy bound the two mothers to each other and launched them into a fierce battle against gender violence. Shakti Shalini was the first non-governmental shelter for abused women in Delhi, India. Over the last four decades it has evolved into a dynamic center for the support and development of oppressed and marginalized women and a dynamic grassroots organization working in socio-economically marginalized communities to prevent everyday violence and promote gender equality, individual choice, and dignity. Pandies’ Theatre, a left, feminist, atheist theatre group in India, started as a university movement in 1987 and has established itself as a leading activist theatre group with a strength of over 100 members. Each Pandies' project has a core of at least 30 volunteers.

The session will be led Tamanna Basu, Core Lead at Shakti Shalini and Sanjay Kumar, Founding Director of Pandies’ Theatre. It will include an overview of the Shakti Shalini’s history and its current programs and projects, with specific emphasis on “Artivism,” Shakti Shalini’s “Art for Activism” project that deploys performance and the arts as means of challenging patriarchal violence and supporting individuals across the gender spectrum to practice a feminist vision. The session will include a conversation on “Theatre for Sharing,” an initiative developed collaboratively between Shakti Shalini and Pandies’ Theatre that has spearheaded performance driven activism at the grassroots.

12:15 – 1:45 pm 

The Freedom Theatre: Creating Power Through Culture

Presenters: Ahmed Tobasi, Mustafa Sheta

The Freedom Theatre was founded in 2006 in the Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank of occupied Palestine by Julino Mer Khamis. It has produced 25 socially engaged plays, reached more than 50 communities in Palestine and toured 15 countries, reaching more than 100,000 people. It has trained scores of actors, stage managers, theatre technicians and filmmakers who are now running what has become one of Palestine’s largest cultural centers.

In 2011 Khamis was assassinated by what the theatre calls “an unknown enemy of culture and freedom.”  Since then, despite arrests of theatre members and destruction of its original building by the Israeli military, The Freedom Theatre has continued its work of generating power through performance and art.  Artistic Director Ahmed Tobasi and General Manager Mustafa Shetawill share the theatre’s history, politic, and ambitions as it carries on in the face of increased harassment and attack.

2:00 – 3:30 pm (90 min)

Creating the power to grow community mental health from the grassroots. 

Welcome to a Creating Our Mental Health Group Experience

Presenters: Jessie Fields, MD, Rachel Mickenberg, LCSW, Hugh Polk, MD

Creating Our Mental Health is a community conversation in which participants join together under the leadership of social therapeutic coaches to build environments for their emotional empowerment and to make a better life. Creating Our Mental Health groups are free and open to all. Online Zoom groups are offered monthly and draw diverse participants from the US and globally. In-person groups meet at community centers and churches in Harlem and across New York City. Participants bring anything and everything from their lives (painful and otherwise) to contribute to the group therapeutic activity.  Often, groups create new relational performances: relating in new ways to themselves, to others, to the group, while questioning iron-clad assumptions about "their" emotions and "their" mental health diagnoses. In this session, we will briefly provide an orientation and introduction to the program's grassroots/community-organizing history, then create a Creating Our Mental Health group experience with all of you.

3:30 – 4:00 pm (30 min)

Performing the World Meet Up

Spend some time in open conversation with your fellow Performing the World participants. Share your experiences and responses with folks from around the world.

Sunday Sept 29

10:30 am – 12:00 pm (90 min)
Creating Power on the Streets of Nairobi

Presenters: Minoo Kyaa, Antony Adhiambo , Brian Mathenge, Njeri Mwangi

Founded in 2015 in Mathare, a vast slum in Nairobi that is home to 500,000 people, the Mathare Social Justice Center (MSJC) is independently funded and sustained by the people it fights for and has inspired and helped lead the foundation of 30 other Social Justice Centers in Nairobi, 52 throughout Kenya. MSJC works on many fronts: extrajudicial killings (mostly of young men) by the police; the Mathare Green Movement, which focuses on water rights; reproductive and gender justice; and disability justice. They have organized the Matigare Book Club (which is dedicated to the great playwright, novelist and activist Ngugi wa Thiongo), the MSJC Kids Social Justice Center, and, featured here, the dynamic Mathare Social Justice Center Traveling Theatre (SJCTT).

Join several leaders of this coordinated social justice effort. Njeri Mwangi will present on the MSJC. Minoo Kyaa and Antony Adhiambo will present on the SJCTT. Brian Mathenge from the Githurai Social Justice Center (GSJC) will present on the larger movement

12:15 – 1:15 pm
Create the Power: Nigeria (60 min)

Presenters: Elizabeth Adams Oyarese (host), Oladoyin Idowu, Aminat Abdulsalam, Zakari Emmanuel, The Gift Chikere, Samuel James Femi

Facing a repressive neo-colonel government that has sold its soul to the foreign oil industry, its financial independence to the International Monetary Fund, and is ineffective against the Boko Haram terrorists in the north, the people of Nigeria are in the midst of their second youth-led uprising in four years.  Even as they “Fight the Power” in the streets, they are “Creating the Power” at the grassroots.  This session brings together five of those helping to generate people’s power on the ground.

This presentation has been organized and is hosted by Elizabeth Adams Oyarese, the founder of Linking Circles Academy.  She is an alumna of the East Side Institute’s International Class, a brigadier of the Global Play Brigade, an ambassador of Street Project Foundation and the secretary general of its Youth Advisory Board.

Adams will introduce us to:

  Gift Chikere (aka The Gift), an alumni of Street Project Foundation, has spearheaded the organization of ARTvocacy, which grew out of the 2020 youth uprising against police violence and extrajudicial killing.  It organizes young poets, writers, musicians, singers, rappers and photographers to create art at the grassroots which encourages young people to generate and develop their power and the power of their communities.  In the first four years of its existence Artvocacy has involved 3,000 young people and produced 4 short films, 5 stage plays, a 20-episode podcast series and 2 photo storybooks.

   Oladoyin Idowu is the founder and director of One Word Africa, a foundation dedicated to raising awareness about dyslexia in Nigeria and throughout Africa and which advocates for dyslexics, especially those written off by the educational system.

   Aminat Abdulsalam, is the founder of Techkiddies, an organization which works to make Nigerian kids tech-savvy “one byte at a time.”

   Samuel James Femi, professional dancer and founder of DeafCanDance, organizes and trains deaf youth throughout Nigeria into skilled dance companies.

   Zakari Emmanuel, a spoken world poet, an alumni of ARTvocacy and Executive Director of Udama for Africa, a youth-led organization committed to empowering marginalized communities through the transformative power of performance and the arts. Udama for Africa is working for gender equality, climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

2:00 – 3:30 pm (90 min)
Parents Circle: Creating Conversation Amidst War 

Presenters: Arab Aramin, Smadar Elhanan

Palestinian Arab Aramin and Israeli Guy Elhanan both lost their young sisters to the conflict. Abir Aramin was killed by a rubber bullet shot by the Border Police in 2007, and Smadar Elhanan was a victim of a suicide bombing in 1997. The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is centered around reconciliation and partnership, central to which is understanding the shared humanity of grief. In this session Guy and Arab will demonstrate an activity that highlights the important role of personal experience in the bridge-building process.

4:30 – 5:30 pm
Closing Session

Presenters: Lois Holzman, Dan Friedman

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Performing the World Happening(s) is a virtual conference and a global community of hundreds of “performance activists” from all over the globe who are exploring the power of performance and play to re-imagine and re-create the world. The Performing The World community creatively engages social problems, educates, heals and activates others, to bring new social-cultural-psychological and political possibilities into existence.

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2024 Presenters

Aminat Abdulsalam (Sun Sept 29, 12:15 pm) is the founder of Tech Kiddies, a thriving initiative dedicated to empowering kids with essential tech skills. Under her leadership, Tech Kiddies has made a significant global impact, leading to its recognition as one of the top 50 Edtech innovators by UNESCO and Future Perspectives. She’s a tech enthusiast and experienced educator. 

Aminat is passionate about shaping the next generation of creators and innovators through hands-on, interactive learning experiences.

Tamanna Basu (Sat Sept 28, 10:30 am) is a feminist activist. She works as the Core Lead at Shakti Shalini, an organization working for gender equality, and as a Fundraiser at Civis, an organization working on law-making. She has worked as a Research and Communications Consultant at HAQ: Centre for Child Rights. She has taught Literature at Ashoka University, Haryana, and Nirma University, Gujarat. She has served as a member of the Governing Bodies of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College and Satyawati College. She has an M.Phil. in Literature from Delhi University and her research was on autobiographies of domestic violence survivors in South Asia. She has various written works such as a chapter, articles, life narratives, research reports, media content, and book reviews that have been published in books, journals, and websites of civil society organisations. She has also presented her work at academic centres and conferences. She lives in New Delhi, India. 

Luca Battisti (Fri Sept 27, 4:30 pm) has a PhD in Agricultural, Forestry and Agri-food Sciences, specialising in the analysis and evaluation of ecosystem services provided by landscape and urban horticulture. Research fellow in Economic-Political Geography at the University of Turin (Italy). Since 2021 he has been involved in European projects concerning the study and application of Nature-based Solutions within cities and the transformations of the Urban Food System through the innovative implementation of Living Labs. He is a lecturer in Cartography, Mapping and GIS in international cooperation’ at the University of Turin (Italy).

Gerard Bester (Fri Sept 27, 12:15 pm) graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand Drama School in 1990.  He is an actor, arts administrator, theatre maker and teacher. Gerard has worked for various organizations as a project manager. These include Soweto Youth Drama Society, Volkswagen Music Active Programme, Dance Umbrella, Moving into Dance Mophatong, Johannesburg Arts Alive International Festival and the Hillbrow Theatre Project (Outreach Foundation). He is presently Head of the Windybrow Arts Centre. As an actor, Gerard has worked for Robyn Orlin’s City Theatre and Dance Company.  Notable works include, Daddy I’ve seen this piece six times before and I still don’t know why they hurting each other (1999), Babysitting Caspar (2002), Hidden Beauties/Dirty Histories (2004), a short dance film commissioned by Arté in France, and Baby Sitting Baby Louis (2009). In 2002 he created, with Sue Pam-Grant, the acclaimed one-man show The Art of Taking Off. In 2006 he performed in Coupe, for which he received a Naledi Award for Best Comedy Performance in 2007.  Gerard was a finalist at Spier Contemporary 2007. Notable collaborations include Coming Out Again, an HIV/Aids play initiated by the Gay and Lesbian Archives, Spectator, a physical theatre production for the Wits School of the Arts, internationally acclaimed Beautiful Me for Gregory Maqoma, the award winning Attachments (nos. 1-7) and SIVA for Luyanda Sidiya. He directed Athena Mazarakis’ Flicker, Nhlanhla Mahlangu’s Chant and The Cenotaph of Dan Wa Moriri with Tony Miyamo.

Reshmi Chatterjee (Fri Sept 27, 10:30 am) is a museologist and freelance journalist.  She is the founder/curator of Halo Heritage, an arts organization in Kolkata, India. On May 18, 2003 (International Museum Day) Halo Heritage inaugurated its first art centre at Swabhumi, the Heritage Plaza. This unique heritage centre was launched by His Excellency, Viren J. Shah, the then Governor of West Bengal. Halo Heritage’s mission is to promote the culture and increase public awareness of the traditional artisans of West Bengal, rehabilitate and engage skilled artisans by promoting their unique handmade artefacts, and spread heritage education among the youth. Since 2011, Reshmi has developed several arts awareness and women’s empowerment projects, including Karigori Haat, Chitrangada (voice of women), and Blue Waves Creation.

The Gift Chikere (Sun Sept 29, 12:15 pm), a performance activist and artist, employs poetry, music, theater, and storytelling to advocate for social causes, amassing five years of experience in her craft. As an ambassador of Street Project Foundation, she aligns with the organization's mission of using creative arts to foster youth engagement, social mobilization, and cross-cultural dialogue. Street Project Foundation is also a member of the Moleskine Creativity Pioneers Program in Milan, Italy. Gift is the mobilization lead for Street Project Foundation's ARTVOCACY movement in Lagos, Nigeria, engaging artists to advocate for social issues through their art. She is also a community field officer with Street Project Foundation on the pilot project for the exploitation of Child Domestic Workers. She is committed to using creative arts as a tool to facilitate social change positively.

Dr. Juin Dutta (Fri Sept 27, 10:30 am) is an experienced educator with many years of experience as a coordinator in the top schools of Vadodara, India. Her current mission is to bridge the gap between the street and the formal education system for children that are less privileged. In 2010, she founded the NGO Srotoshwini Trust. Through programs like Footpath Pathshala, and the Churni and Udaan Initiatives, Srotoshwini Trust has helped the children, their parents, and their community as a whole. Juin also founded the Pathshala Hostel which currently houses 90 children. They receive informal education, where they are purely assessed based on their skills, talents and values. She employs experiential and project-based learning to ensure that the children really learn what they're taught.

Zakari Emmanuel (2plieszakari) (Sun Sept 29, 12:15 pm) is a creative youth leader, spoken word poet and influencer passionate about promoting the cause of youth inclusion in marginalized communities in Nigeria and the West Africa sub-region. He is a people-friendly community organizer with native skills in movement building, leadership and democratic governance, contributing to influencing and shaping policymaking for the past 7 years he has worked with over 5,000 youths and led grassroots projects. He is a Top 30 under 30 Changemaker recognized by Opportunity Desk Global. Zakari is the founder of The Udama Unity Organization aka Udama 4 Africa, a youth-led organization committed to empowering marginalized communities in Africa through digital solutions, research, and creative arts. Zakari sits as the vice president of the Youth Advisory Board, Street Project Foundation. He has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Book for Peace Award in Rome, Italy, for his impactful book "The Autopsy (A Poetic Compendium).". He serves as the first lead and ex-officio of the ARTvocacy Movement, Street Project Foundation. ZAKARI is also a fellow with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Open Mind Young Voices (OMYV), YIAGA Africa Community Organizing Institute (COI), WADEMOS Next Gen leaders (Ghana).

Samuel James Femi (Sun Sept 29, 12:15 pm) is a multifaceted professional and Deaf Empowerment Strategist who embodies the spirit of inclusivity and innovation in the realms of Performing Arts and Deaf advocacy. As a Professional Sign Language Interpreter, educationist, artist, and Deaf Arts Curator, Samuel brings a wealth of experience and passion to his various roles. With a Master's degree in Performing Arts and decades of experience, Samuel has established himself as a true visionary in his field. His exceptional advocacy work has earned him recognition both nationally and internationally, particularly in his roles as the Southwest Coordinator and Lagos State Chairman of the Association of Sign Language Interpreters of Nigeria. Samuel's commitment to empowering the Deaf community is evident in his groundbreaking initiatives. He founded the celebrated Deaf Can Dance Crew, a professional all-Deaf dancing group that has shattered stereotypes and created equal opportunities for Deaf dancers. As the founder and Executive Director of Seams Deaf-Pro Foundation and CEO of Seams Consults, he has spearheaded projects like the All Africa Deaf Arts Festival, bridging the gap between formal education and vocational training in the arts. His influence as a Deaf Empowerment Strategist extends to organizing transformative events such as The Dramatic Sign Language Challenge, The Ultimate Interpreters Challenge, and The Deaf Dance Boot Camp. These platforms champion inclusivity and provide the Deaf community with opportunities to excel and develop their potential.

Dr. Jessie Fields (Sat Sep 28, 2:00 pm) is a Harlem physician, poet and political activist who worked closely with the Black independent leader Dr. Lenora Fulani. Dr. Fields is an enthusiastic supporter of the All Stars Project and a member of the All Stars Board. Growing up in poverty in the Black community of Philadelphia, Jessie set out on a career to bring better health conditions to poor urban communities. Awarded a National Public Health Service Corps medical scholarship, she attended Bryn Mawr College and the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She has been a primary care physician in the Harlem community for over three decades. In addition to medical care Dr. Fields has been involved in medical education and helping young people pursue careers in medicine. Over the last two years Dr. Jessie Fields has been leading in person Creating Our Mental Health group workshops in Harlem, the Bronx, and in other New York City communities. She often uses poetry in the workshops to engage emotionality in the activity of community building. She is currently active in the grassroots movement to maintain public housing in New York City.

Ben Fink’s (Thur Sept 26, 2:00 pm) cross-cultural organizing work includes cofounding the Letcher County Culture Hub in the coalfields of east Kentucky; the All In initiative in the Naugatuck Valley of Connecticut; the Performing Our Future project in West Baltimore and rural Alabama and Wisconsin; and the Kentucky-Massachusetts cross-partisan dialogue project Hands Across the Hills. He also consults with service nonprofits, policy shops, and local and regional governments as a teacher, trainer, facilitator, researcher, and writer. Ben’s work has been featured by Salon.com, the Brookings Institution, MIT, Harvard Law School, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is the general editor of the book series Art in a Democracy, and he writes the newsletter We Own What We Make. Ben holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies from the University of Minnesota. In 2020 he was recognized by Time Magazine as one of “27 People Bridging Divides Across America.”

Mary Fridley (Fri Sept 27, 2:00 pm) is on the faculty at the East Side Institute in NYC, co-creator and leader of The Joy of Dementia (You Gotta Be Kidding!)and co-founder and coordinator of Reimagining Dementia: A Creative Coalition for Justice, which launched its international Taking It to the Streets campaign in 2023. Mary led social therapy groups for 12 years and has used the play and performance-inspired social therapeutic approach while leading hundreds of classes and workshops (in-person and virtual) across the world. She is author or co-author of dozens of articles and chapters, has been interviewed by numerous media outlets and presented at national and international conferences on the Joy of Dementia and on Reimagining Dementia. Additionally, Mary is a guest columnist for agebuzz.com, a playwright and theater director and makes her living as a non-profit fundraising consultant. She may be reached at mfridley@eastsideinstitute.org.

Farzana Gandhi (Thur Sept 26, 4:30 pm) is a registered architect in New York and a LEED accredited professional. Her architecture practice, Farzana Gandhi Design Studio, focuses on sustainable and socially conscious solutions, both locally and abroad. As a tenured profession at New York Tech, she has been teaching introductory, advanced, and thesis-level architecture design studios, research-driven design-build elective courses, and visualization seminars. Farzana collaborates with Jim Martinez as Co-Founder of Collective Infrastructures Corp. Farzana is most interested in how widespread social impact can be achieved by rethinking the relationship between architecture and its environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic framework. By acting at the intersection of multiple disciplines, a single intervention has potential to act as a catalyst for systemic change. Her community outreach work in places like Dakar, Senegal, and Puerto Rico is driven by inquiry, investigation, and integration. Farzana continues to bring this unique approach to design to the classroom, where her students are invited to tackle multi-layered, real-world problems and collaborate to test new dimensions of practice.

Jake Groshong (Thur Sep 26, 11:00 am) is a longtime fan and proud member of the Playing for Change team, Jake couldn’t be happier to help lead this incredible organization. With a Master’s Degree in Arts Leadership, and having worked over fifteen years in the arts and arts education, he has had the pleasure of working with major artists and helping those children most in need around the globe through the arts. Most recently prior to working for Playing for Change Foundation, Jake worked as Executive Director of Josh Groban’s Find Your Light Foundation, helping to dramatically expand their reach and impact. Music and the arts are one of our greatest tools to help kids in need and create social impact. Jake is honored to work with such an incredible group of people and help grow Playing for Change Foundation in size, scope, and impact.

Stacy Hardy (Fri Sept 27, 12:15 pm) is a writer, researcher, and editor whose work explores the intersections of embodiment, the individual, and society. Her writing has appeared in various anthologies and journals including the New Orleans Review, New Contrasts, The Evergreen Review, Black Sun Lit and many more. Her first short fiction collection, Because the Night, was published by Pocko, London in 2015, and An Archaeology of Holes was released in translation by Rot-Bo-Krik in France in 2022, with the English version through Bridge Books, Chicago in 2023. Her plays and librettos have been performed globally. Hardy is also a lecturer in creative writing, an editor at pan-African platform Chimurenga, a partner in African creative writing teaching initiative Saseni, and a founder of Ukuthula, a project that develops new writing from and against gender-based violence. She is currently a visiting fellow at the Neubauer Collegium at the University of Chicago, where she is collaborating with anthropologist Kaushik Sunder Rajan, poet Daniel Borzutzky, and musician Neo Muyanga to build “breathing machines,” new multi-and-interdisciplinary forms and forums for the expression of collectivity through the act of conspiring together.

Lynn Casteel Harper (Fri Sept 27, 2:00 pm) is an essayist, minister, and chaplain. Her debut book, On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia, and What It Means to Disappear (Catapult, 2020), was named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and a Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle selection. A graduate of Wake Forest University Divinity School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's chaplain residency program, Lynn has served as the Minister of Older Adults at The Riverside Church in the City of New York and as a nursing home chaplain. Lynn's writing and interviews on spirituality, dementia, and aging have appeared with outlets such as NPR's Think, The Sun, Salon, LA Review of Books, and The Paris Review. Currently, Lynn lives and writes in Bridgeport, CT, where she is the pastor of Olivet Congregational Church UCC.

Oladoyin Idowu (Sun Sept 29, 12:15 pm) is a mental health professional and the founder of One Word Africa Foundation. She holds a BSc in Psychology from Redeemer's University, Nigeria, and is a graduate member of the British Psychological Society. With over seven years of experience advocating for dyslexia and neurodiversity, Oladoyin has trained thousands of educators and parents on effective management and support for learning differences. Her expertise spans psychological first aid, cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-informed care, business development, and leadership. Oladoyin’s work has been featured in documentaries by BBC Africa and filmmaker James Amuta, and she has contributed to publications such as What I Need and Black, Brilliant and Dyslexic. She has also been recognized by the United Nations Academic Impact for her contributions. Currently, Oladoyin serves as the Head of Operations at Serenity Nigeria, where she continues to advance mental well-being initiatives. Her commitment to expanding therapeutic interventions and promoting inclusive education has made a significant impact both locally and globally.

Denise Griffin Johnson (Thur Sept 26, 2:00 pm) is the former director of the Arch Social Community Network in West Baltimore, a community-led cultural organizing network founded in 2015 and based at the historic Arch Social Club. Denise has decades of experience as an organizer and advocate in Baltimore, during which she has held many positions in government and nonprofit organizations and served on numerous boards and advisory groups. She is a co-founder of CultureWorks Baltimore, a member of the national network Alternate ROOTS, and a Cultural Agent with the US Department of Arts and Culture (a non-government entity). In 2011-2013 Denise collaborated with Alternate ROOTS and Roadside Theater to produce a cultural festival that drew an audience of 11,000, and in 2015 she collaborated with the higher education consortium Imagining America to produce a national conference and cultural organizing institute in Baltimore. Denise is a graduate of Coppin State University, with an MS in Family Counseling.

Gwen Johnson (Thur Sept 26, 2:00 pm), a self-described hillbilly woman from the coal camp of Hemphill, Kentucky, is founder of Black Sheep Bakery and Catering and board member of Hemphill Community Center. Gwen is the daughter and granddaughter of coal miners. She graduated high school unable to read beyond a second-grade level; she learned to read while reading to her children and went to college the same year as her oldest daughter, receiving a BS at the University of Pikeville and an MA at Goddard College in health arts and sciences. She has worked as an administrator in the University of Kentucky’s Early Childhood Development program since 2003.

A practitioner of activist theatre, Sanjay Kumar (Sat Sept 28, 10:30 am) is the founding President of pandies’ theatre, India and the director/chief facilitator of its productions and workshops from 1993. Apart from many articles in renowned international journals, he has recently published a book on theatre from the famous CSP - Performing, Teaching and Writing Theatre: Exploring Play (Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle, UK, 2023). Much sought after internationally and in India, the book is a handbook for students, scholars and practitioners of theatre. He is a resident of the Rockefeller Bellagio Residency (Italy, 2010 - for continuing workshop theatre work with ‘platform children’ in India), and a participant of the US government's prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (2011, under the rubric - Social Change through Arts). An Associate Professor at the Hansraj College of the University of Delhi, he has been teaching Literature and Drama for over 35 years and is an Associate of the East Side Institute. 

Sibahle Mangena (Fri Sept 27, 12:15 pm) was born and raised in Johannesburg. She is an actor, facilitator/teacher, writer, and theatre maker and Naledi nominated director with an interest in body movement and text. She graduated from the Market Theatre Laboratory in Practical performance and theatre-making in 2017. Her focus has always been on experimentation with the grotesque, play, emotion, physicality and vocal preparation as principles of embodied performance. Her main work is creating new work through devising, workshopping and improvisation. Her repertoire of work includes several works such as, Umsebenzi ka Bra Shakes (The work of Shakespeare), Umthandazo, Keys to a Great Poetic Game, Houseboy by William Kentrigde, Mandla Mbothwe’s HOW |Showing the Making created as part of different programs at The Centre for the Less Good Idea and Naledi nominated Text Me When You Arrive.

Jim Martinez (Thur Sept 26, 4:30 pm) is a Co-Founder and CTO of Collective Infrastructures Corp., a start-up public benefit corporation with a mission to build resilience in communities at greatest risk from climate change. Jim holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education and is a tenured New York Institute of Technology professor. His research in STEM education and service-learning pedagogy has been awarded over $300,000 in state grants that have positively impacted teachers and students in underserved communities in New York City. Jim is an East Side Institute Associate, an advisory board member of Let's Learn, and a long-time supporter of the All Stars Project. He also co-chairs the Cultivating Ensembles in STEM Education Research conference. Jim has practiced performatory social therapeutic approaches to human development and learning in schools and communities for over 20 years. He is the author of The Search for Method in STEAM Education and A Performatory Approach to Teaching, Learning and Technology.

My name is Thabang Lucky Matsaung (Fri Sept 27, 12:15 pm). I grew up in Soshanguve, Pretoria and Hillbrow in my earlier years but Soshanguve is the place I've called home for the past 15 years. I recently relocated to Hillbrow in pursuit of a better life and to achieve long-term goals I've had my whole life. My love for art is as old as I am. I started writing at a young age as an outlet and hobby. A teacher of mine told me to hone my writing abilities after reading my essays that I wrote for homework. So, I did exactly that.  Little did I know that I'll be entering a whole world of literature. I studied the likes of Saul Williams, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, etc. and started writing my own poetry and attended underground slam poetry sessions. I joined the Windybrow Arts Centre in January 2024 to be surrounded by fellow artists, to grow as an artist but also as an individual. I got blessed with the opportunity to breathe the same air as some of the best artists in the art world and fell in love with theatre acting. My cast made it to the top 5 in the FEDA festival and performed at the Joburg Theatre. Stacy Hardy worked with the Windybrow Arts Centre, and we produced a modern version of Aime Cesaire's 'Notebook of a Return to a Native Land' about Hillbrow.

Dr. Jay McDaniel (Fri Sept 27, 2:00 pm) is the Chair of the Board of the Center for Process Studies, a member of the Board of the Institute for the Postmodern Development of China, and Professor Emeritus of World Religions at Hendrix College in Arkansas. He is the author or editor of more than fifteen books on ecology, sustainable community, interfaith dialogue, and spirituality. Additionally, he edits a website called Open Horizons (www.openhorizons.org) introducing "process philosophy" to the general reader.  One of his specialties is Christian-Buddhist dialogue and another is Chinese-American cultural relations. Dr. McDaniel is also a husband, father, grandfather, gardener, and musician. As a member of two bands, he performs singalong music at local assisted living centers and memory care communities, focusing on the healing role of the arts, especially music, in the lives of individuals and communities. Volunteering once a week in the Alzheimer's wing for many years, he has been named "Volunteer of the year" by the Ridgemere Senior Citizens Center in 2024. As a Christian influenced by Buddhism, Dr. McDaniel is committed to working with people of all faiths and those who identify as "spiritual but not religious" to create communities of care and respect. His vision is to foster environments where people of all ages, conditions, and talents can flourish and support one another, appreciating the diversities of life.

Rachel Mickenberg, LCSW (Sat Sep 28, 2:00 pm) is a social therapist who is co-founder of the High School for Public Service in Brooklyn, NY where she created a mental health program open to all students. She is also in private practice where she leads groups with pre-teens, teens and adults. Rachel is a co-leader, with Drs. Hugh Polk and Jessie Fields, of the East Side Institute’s Creating Our Mental Health monthly series, a community conversation designed to explore our understanding of mental health and emotional distress.

Angelo Miramonti (Fri Sept 27, 4:30 pm) is a professor of Community Theatre at the Fine Arts University in Cali (Colombia), a lecturer of Trauma and Psychosocial Support at the University of Würzburg-Schweinfurt (Germany) and a registered drama therapist in Italy. He is the founder of the "Arts for Reconciliation" programme in Colombia, investigating the use of theatre with people affected by armed conflicts. Angelo uses theatre, poetry, mythology, dance and rituals to do psychosocial work with groups of former combatants and people displaced by armed conflicts and natural disasters. He is also a medical anthropologist conducting research on spirit possession and trans-cultural psychiatry in Senegal. He authored two facilitation manuals (translated in Spanish, French, Arabic and Italian) on the use of drama for peacebuilding, an ethnography on spirit possession and several academic articles on arts in peacebuilding. Books: https://www.amazon.it/stores/author/B0B23G3S91/allbooks

Academic publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Angelo-Miramonti

Elizabeth Adams Oyarese (Sun Sept 29, 12:15 pm) is a seasoned educator with over a decade of experience, specializing in empowering African teachers and students. As the founder of Linking Circles Academy, she is committed to fostering inclusive educational environments and connecting Africans globally. Elizabeth's leadership extends beyond education. She serves as a Future Perspectives youth ambassador and associate of the East Side Institute. Additionally, she is a Global Play Brigadier and holds various roles within theStreet Project Foundation, including Secretary General of the Youth Advisory Board, administrator of the ARTVOCACY movement in Lagos State and a member of its board of directors. Elizabeth leverages her talents in spoken word, modelling and poetry to raise awareness about albinism. She is a youth advocate of the Joint National Association for Persons with Disabilities advocating for inclusive education and equality for young people with disabilities in Nigeria.

Hugh Polk, MD (Sat Sep 28, 2:00 pm) is a psychiatrist and social therapist practicing in New York City. He has been practicing for 40 years, presenting and leading workshops in the US and around the world on social therapy, the non-diagnostic, developmental therapeutic approach developed by Fred Newman in the late 1960’s. Hugh is on the faculty of the East Side Institute, the international education and research center for social therapeutics. He is a contributor at Mad in America where he co-authors the blog with Ann Green, Psych NP, Talkin’ Therapy. He is a former medical director of a number of community mental health centers in NYC. Hugh completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, received his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and did his psychiatric residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Alokananda Roy (Fri Sept 27, 10:30 am) is a celebrated Indian classical dancer, choreographer, trainer, social reformer, dance educationist and therapist. She became associated with social reform in 2000 through dance therapy in West Bengal Correctional Homes. In 2007 this blossomed into a pioneering initiative to reform, realign and rehabilitate convicts in the state correctional homes. In 2010 Alokananda conceptualized and formed ‘Touch World,” a non-profit organization for reform and rehabilitation of prisoners and their families. She is also using dance as a therapy for specially-abled children and Parkinson’s disease patients. She has been the Brand Ambassador of Parkinson’s Diseases Patients Welfare Society, Dignity Foundation, Unmesh, a center for specially-abled children, Save The Children, and the Mother and Child Project. In 2019 Alokananda started two new initiatives: dance therapy for the transgender community and for the Acid Attack Survivors of West Bengal. Alokananda has received many prestigious awards, including the highest State Award, ‘Bongo Bibhushan’ in 2014, and an Honorary D.Litt. degree from Diamond Harbor Women’s University, the West Bengal ‘State Academy Award’, the ‘Bharat Nirman’ Award, the ‘Devi Award’, the ‘SHE Award’, and the ‘True Legend’ Recognition by The Telegraph. In 2019, the Indian Postal Service released a Collector’s Edition ‘Alakananda Roy Personal Postage Stamp’ and a Special Cover in honor of ‘Love Therapy,’ her Correctional Home project.

Ishita Sanyal (Fri Sept 27, 10:30 am) is a psychologist and mental health activist who, for the last 25 years, has been involved in transforming the lives of people suffering from chronic mental illness and fighting for their rights. She is the founder of Turning Point, the first daycare activity center in India for people with mental illness. She has initiated employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for community and family members of these people and organized a parent’s group. She has presented papers at national and international conferences and received numerous awards for her research and community work. She is acting now as the Ambassador in the Global Play Brigade. Her last two awards are on Positive Psychology - awarded by the American Psychological Association (2024) & Best Practices by the United Nations Headquarters, Austria.

Subhadip Sen (Fri Sept 27, 10:30 am) is a grassroots activist and educator in Rupnarayanpur, India. In response to the extreme poverty which forced many families to send their children to work in local coal mines, he started the Peace Social Welfare Organization (PSWO), which has functioned continuously since 2010. The PSWO has brought over 600 downtrodden unprivileged children “into the light” of educational and cultural activities, which include dance, drama, recitation, etc. In consultation with their parents, many of these children have been brought into government schools. The PSWO provides special supportive classes with all the necessary learning materials to help with this transition. As well, the PSWO has provided at least one nutritious meal a day to the children, continuously for over 6 years. The organization has flourished without any government or private grants, depending on the kindness of common people who love to support these activities. 

Tiffany Sturdivant (she/her) (Thur Sept 26, 2:00 pm) is a Florida-born, Mississippi-raised Southern girl. In her former career, she was a healthcare professional (Nurse) for 13 years. Her expertise spanned across home healthcare, pediatrics and geriatrics. She is a community activist in Columbus, MS, where she and her husband have spent a decade leading a youth-based nonprofit organization focused on growing the community through fun and festivals. Tiffany is a voting rights advocate and has assisted with voting rights restoration in both Mississippi and Alabama. She is currently lead organizer of Performing Our Future, a national coalition of four delegations (Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, and Wisconsin) where we co-create and share knowledge to collectively own what we make. She enjoys singing, dancing and changing the world one day at a time.