Relief & Recovery: The Transformative Power of Arts & Culture Conference Call
November 28, 2012
Listen to the call here
Relief & Recovery Resource Newsletter

We all know the power of arts and culture to heal and transform, connect people and build community. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, artists and cultural organizers are stepping up to use their creativity to rebuild the city and rebuild community. They are helping people tell their stories and sing together, offering cultural and wellness activities in evacuation shelters, organizing benefits, and providing leadership to recovery efforts. They've helped to restore dignity, build community, make connections, and heal.

Our colleagues in New Orleans also know the long-term value of arts and culture as part of the sustained recovery from Katrina. Arts and culture help people reclaim their identity and their humanity, their voice and their agency. This call discusses the power of stories and music and how artists have stepped up as volunteers, the new connections created between artists, activists, civic and cultural groups, public workers, wellness provider and emergency responders.  It delves into the essential role played by the local social networks we've built and nurtured over time, and also what it might look like if this cultural and civic participation was recognized by our policymakers, for the essential role it plays in planning for disaster and recovery.

Organizer:
Caron Atlas, Arts & Democracy Project

Facilitator:
Kathie deNobriga, Arts & Democracy Project

Presenters:
Michael Premo, Occupy Sandy
Rachel Falcone, Sandy Storyline
Caron Atlas, Armory Wellness Center
Casey Shae, Armory Wellness Center (artists' experience)
Melanie Cohn, Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island
Marina Tsaplina, artist project for Occupy Sandy
Jessie Reilly, Timebanks NYC
Lili Trenkova, Dixon Place Benefit
Mimi Pickering, Creative Recovery Arts Corp. (on behalf of Feral Arts)
Stephanie McKee, Junebug Productions (New Orleans, LA)
Shereitte C. Stokes, Cradleboardfoundation (New Orleans, LA)