Project:Reversible

P:R Meet & Greet 10/30

2008-10-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

We've scheduled our latest P:R wine-and-cheesy Meet and Greet for this Thursday evening. We'll be bringing together a strategic mixture of participating artists, press representatives, potential fundraisers, and "the base". The goals are three:

(1) update everyone on where we've been, where we are, and where we're going leading up to our live event in Dec;

(2) create a synergetic environment for our guests to meet each other and help propel P:R forward;

(3) drink some wine, eat some food, and have a good ol' time!

Also, Barack Obama will also be dropping by.

If you're interested in attending, please leave a comment here and we'll get in touch!

alldaybuffet covers P:R performance, Jal

2008-10-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

In recapping the cornucopia of goodness that was The Feast, the people over at alldaybuffet have mentioned Kyle and Barrett's performance to Joshua's song "Reversible". We're still tracking down video of the performance; once we get it we'll post it here.

At the Feast, Jerri and Michael also decided to pump up the crowd by playing the Emmanuel Jal music video "War Child", which excited us because Jal is one of our biggest inspirations (see "P:R Inspiration" on the right). He's living proof of the ways music (and art generally) can spur a uniquely emotional connection to activism. This is the essence of creative entrepreneurial idealism (CEI): using art toward social or activistic ends.

CEI has such great potential within the realms of Social Entrepreneurism and civic engagement because, in a world overrun with causes and advertising, saying "look at what a big problem X is!" just doesn't cut it anymore. Causes need to stand out from others, and activism needs to be made fun. CEI tries to do that, and in the process draw a wider audience to the mission. For the detailed CEI pitch, see its home base, The Ideabox.

P:R debuts at The Feast

2008-10-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

P:R-affiliated artists performed on Thursday at Alldaybuffet's amazing Feast, the first annual conference on Social Innovation here in NYC.

Kyle and Barrett performed a joint dance and viola performance to a recording of Kind Monitor's "Reversible", the song that inspired Joshua to start P:R. The performance was well-timed to welcome conference participants back into the auditorium after the hour long lunch break. Kyle, a professional dancer, mesmerized the crowd while Barrett's accompaniment provided a beautiful live complement to the recorded song.

The reaction was wonderful. A few people who knew I was working with P:R remarked that the effect of Josh's song, the live music, and Kyle doing his thing was quite powerful. We'd agree: there are many great causes out there, but there is nothing like the power of live music and dance to rile up the emotions. Hopefully they'll use their P:R flyers wisely, check us out online, and buy tickets for the live event!

All in all, it was a short performance but a great step forward. We're honored to be a part of such a meaningful conference, and we hope to give lucky audiences a little taste of things to come a few more times before the big show in December.

Details on the Reveal Event for Project:reversible

2008-09-08T08:03:00.001-07:00

Last night people involved in and sympathetic to the concept of Project:reversible met for food and drinks at the Delancey Bar in Manhattan. We met to discuss the project's development thus far, to meet each other in person, and to reveal the results of our internal community vote on which causes we will support with Project:reversible. Thank you all who took time out of your Sunday to be part of the event!

The Delancey Bar's rooftop deck is a gorgeous space with tropical plants and a BBQ grill. Around 25 people attended the event, they ranged from activists, to musicians, to designers, to journalists, to business people. The common thread was the interest in seeing a song serve as a creative epi-center for developing an expanding series of creative products (art, music, dance, film) that will serve to inspire people and promote and celebrate diversity. The group in attendance was itself a diverse blend of ages, races, and sexual orientations, which was exciting to see.

People gathered under palm fronds with their grill food and met and spoke with each other about life in general, which in itself was a lot of fun. After a bit of time, Sabrina Huff, who has been co-ordinating the project's expansion, spoke with people at the event about the time-line thus far, with help from Joshua Guthals, the song-writer of "Reversible." Joshua explained the inpiration for the project: a moving song he had written for a close friend who had struggled with homophobia and racism as a teen-ager, which had led to a suicide attempt. He explained that the goal of the project was to take a painful experience in someone's past and use it as insipiration point to create a beautiful song that could serve in a positive way to raise awareness around our continuing cultural struggles in the areas of suicide, homophobia, and racism through the artful products created by the Project:reversible team.

Key points in the project's development were discussed by Sabrina: a major one being simply to having shared the ideas of the project to 60+ people to gather their thoughts, inputs, and contributions toward clarifying the project's possibilities. More specific developments that have occurred: reaching out to musicians to donate their talents to the project, developing choir and strings arrangements, and securing a studio space next weekend to record the song. Other areas of expansion that Sabrina discussed: creating a design team comprised of a brand strategists, a web designer, and several artists that will create the unified look and feel of the project overall (the web-site, the album, and associated products). Also, she explained that a group of people have begun discussing a live art-installation event involving dance and fine art that would serve a public event and fund-raiser to promote diversity and raise money for Project:reversible's causes.

Sabrina also spoke about her having reached out to Columbia School of Business to work with three MBA students in taking the initial products that are nearing completion (the newly re-invented single of Reversible, the compilation album featuring music by the artists singing on the song, and the Project:reversible web-site space featuring a community forum to discuss the question: "What will you reverse?") and using their business accumen in areas of development, marketing, and publicity to create a successful fund-raiser brand called "Project:reversible." Working with the MBA students is a real boon and should serve the project well in making a much greater impact through success in these keys areas of development (generating interal operating funds through donations), marketing (achieving monetary success in raising funds using the products created with the project), and publicity (creating buzz in greater communities about the project and its intention of promoting diversity and acceptance).

Leah Worrell then revealed the causes that several dozen people interested in the project had researched and voted upon to be supported by Project:reversible: the Matthew Shephard Foundation, the JED, and the Darfur Peace and Development Organization. The Matthew Shepherd foundation promotes tolerance toward people of all sexual orientations, the JED partners with MTV and other groups to raise awareness around the stigma attached to suicide in college settings, and the Darfur Peace and Development Organization strategically works to increase educational opportunities in Darfur. These organizations all create tangible and measurable change in the keys ares of reducing homophobia, preventing suicide, and tackling racial/cultural divisions. Sabrina, Leah, and Joshua explained that they have contacted the organizations and explained the idea of Project:reversible to them and they have all expressed support and excitement to receive funding support through Project:reversible's success.

Mary Ellen Kramer, a board member for the Darfur Peace and Development Organization was at the event and spoke about her excitement about working the Project:reversible to generate funds and also about positive steps her organization had created in Sudan (such as providing textbooks to thousands of refugee children).

Leah then asked people for ideas on how to make the project a bigger success; people expressed concern that in the age of the free digital download, the compilation CD may no longer be able to achieve the kind of financial success as a fund-raiser as it could have in the past. People also expressed concern that the time-line was too fast for the project (the stated goal being to have the song, compilation disc, and web-site finished and available by November to go along with a live art event in November). These are good points to ponder, especially with the addition of the MBA students on the team, who may help with strategic deployment planning.

Overall the event was a pleasant and the company was excellent. People felt that they understood the intentions of the project and expressed excitement to hear the completed song and the compilation disc. People also made some generous offers (one person offered her Union Square apartment for future meetings, several people offered money toward recording costs on the song). After the gathering ended, most people stayed and talked and laughed and enjoyed the breezy rooftop at the Delancey late into the evening.

Thanks to all for your help in taking the project from concept into action.

Love,
The Project:reversible Team

Project:Reversible..........Revealed!

2008-08-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Who: All participants in Project:Reversible PLUS bring one interested friend!

When: Sunday, September 7, 7-10 PM

Where: The Delancey Bar and Nightclub, 168 Delancey, www.thedelancey.com

The details……

Meet and Greet: 7-8:30 PM

Come meet all of the remarkable and inspired people involved in Project:Reversible!

Show and Share: 8:30-9:30 PM

Be ready for YOUR "spoke" (art direction, choreography, music, fundraising, etc.) to share a 5-10 minute summary of what you've done so far and what you're up to next to bring Project:Reversible to fruition!

Reveal: 9:30 PM

The three charities chosen through YOUR votes will be revealed!

Treat Yourself!

Food will be provided, though we ask that you buy your own drinks to support The Delancey.

listen free to new album from project:r team member

2008-08-27T06:25:00.001-07:00

Reposted from e-mail message:

hi, good people -- ahmond, who is creating the compilation disc for Project:reversible and singing in the choir on Reversible has posted a first peek of his new album on facebook.

it includes the lovely (tongue-in-cheek) song "Go to Africa" which will likely end up on the Project:Reversible compilation disc!

also, the final track of his album appears on HBO's series Rome.

check out the album for free on facebook ... it's quite lovely and represents more than a year of work on ahmond's part. congratulations, ahmond!

http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Ahmond/10259922690"

enjoy,

joshua

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Facebook <notification+oghl1e1z@facebookmail.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 2:58 PM
Subject: Ahmond Cloud sent you a message on Facebook...
To: Joshua Aaron Guthals <joshua.guthals@gmail.com>

Ahmond sent you a message.

Subject: Exclusive 1st Listen

"Get an exclusive first listen to the entire debut album here:
http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Ahmond/10259922690"

Ahmond has shared a Page with you. To view the Page or to reply to the message, follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=1003776306498

___
Want to control which emails you receive from Facebook? Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications&md=bXNnO2Zyb209NjY0NzcwMjYyO3Q9MTAwMzc3NjMwNjQ5ODt0bz02NzAwOTA2MjE=

--
_______________________

Joshua Guthals
KIND MONITOR
kindmonitor.com
http://cdbaby.com/cd/kindmonitor

Just Voted & Hi!

2008-08-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Just got done voting. I put my vote down for the Human Rights Campaign and the Earth one that I forgot the full name of ...Damn ...(the one that helps SOuth Africa build infrastructure).

I look forward to hearing and working with you all.

Thanks Josh for helping to spearhead this.

Bright stars to all.

~Ahmond

Important Dates

2008-08-19T09:04:00.001-07:00

What Will You Reverse? [Survey]

2008-08-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Project:Reversible Survey

Thank you for your interest in Project:Reversible! We are targeting a wondeful set of charities and causes for fundraising. This cycle, we're partnering with preexisting organizations and serving as a conduit and promoter for their fundraising needs.

Instructions: Please take a few moments and rate the causes that the 30+ strong team at P:R has shared as the causes we strongly support. We have included short descriptions of each charity within the pages of the survey; they are in the same order as the survey. If you don't need the info, simply skip to the last page to vote for YOUR favorite charity!

Click here to take the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=4jKq9Z177kPoi4f21vfVqA_3d_3d

Goals: In time, we would love to see Project:Reversible grow into a full-fledged foundation capable of administering proceeds directly to the causes that we believe in. Your contribution to the success of this initial effort will get us to that goal! Again, thank you for your time and effort!!!

About us: mission, vision, goals

2008-08-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

Project:Reversible is a network of artists committed to improving local communities by moving beyond homophobia, racism, and suicide and moving into a celebration of diversity, equality, and acceptance.

The vision: Art is even more beautiful when it inspires positive action. P:R will develop a productive network of diverse, creative souls to release a series of 'products' and programs that will enhance community discussion and enhancement around the critical social issues of race, sexual orientation, and mental health.

The story: Conceived in June 2008 by Joshua Guthals as a way to raise funds for organizations working to end racism, homophobia, and prevent suicide, P:R was inspired by a song Joshua wrote in 2005 called Reversible (listen here). For more, see Joshua's "Inspiration" story on the home page.

The mission:

to increase appreciation of and engagement in social diversity and community
to transcend currently limited frameworks of understanding each other
to spur local action towards these ends

Specific goals:

under the tagline "What Will You Reverse?", to create a series of products that encourages people to address our key issues
to raise money and awareness for our Causes through: performing a live fund-raiser; releasing song and video of "Reversible"; producing a P:R compilation CD
to encourage artistic, fun and inclusive community-building events and initiatives
to raise awareness of creative entrepreneurial idealism (CEI) as a vehicle for accomplishing these goals

Our causes: The charities benefiting from P:R's 2008 fundraising efforts were chosen by a vote of all active members of the P:R team, and represent the three areas of primary concern for the project:

§ Homophobia: The Matthew Shepard Foundation

§ Racism/Genocide: Darfur Peace and Development Organization

§ Suicide Prevention: The Jed Foundation

The significance of our causes is clear. Here are just a few current problems affecting our communities:

International

In the year 2000, approximately one million people died from suicide: a "global" mortality rate of 16 per 100,000, or one death every 40 seconds.
Mental disorders (particularly depression and substance abuse) are associated with more than 90% of all cases of suicide; however, suicide results from many complex sociocultural factors and is more likely to occur particularly during periods of socioeconomic, family and individual crisis situations (e.g. loss of a loved one, employment, honou). [World Health Organization]
Every year at least 10 million people are forcibly evicted, over and above the dramatically
high numbers of people moved from their places of origin as a consequence of internal displacement, ethnic cleansing, refugee flows or other manifestations of coerced population movements. [United Nations]

National

Over 32,000 Americans commit suicide each year. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
More than half of the reported hate crimes in the US are motivated by racial bias; 16% by homophobia.[Federal Bureau of Investigation]

These statistics affect all of us. They affected Joshua in a particular way:

"'Reversible' was written for a gay friend of mine whose father threatened to kill him for his sexuality when he was 14, leading my friend to throw himself out of a second-story window. He survived with two broken arms and was put into foster care and carried with him a life of fear about other people's intolerance for who he was."

"I saw an amazing film called 'Warchild' about a Sudanese man, Emmanuel Jal, who went from a child soldier of civil war to a rapper singing around the world about war, peace, and transformation. Our song 'Reversible' speaks to the possibility for changing your life. It touches listeners at our live shows and has rich potential to be a powerful motivator for transforming our communities--because sometimes art inspires in ways that newspaper stories cannot."

We hope Project:Reversible's mission and vision mean something to you, too.