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Showing posts with label calendar. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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What will YOU reverse?
We hope to inspire change by asking and answering this question.
Our first project will inspire others by showing that a small group of artistic people combining their individual talents can support real community improvement.
Our upcoming live multimedia event (12/15) and compilation album (02/09) will raise funds for organizations currently fighting against racism, homophobia, and suicide.
Check back here for updates on P:R events...and don't be afraid to help us out!
DONATE!
Project:Reversible Team
- About Us
- Adam Bernard, Entertainment Journalist and Radio Personality
- Adrian Parra, Fundraising Event Advisor
- Ahmond, Musician/CD Producer
- Cecilia Bursell, Brand Strategist
- Dion Mackenzie, Graphic Designer
- Federico Kuhrmeier, Film-maker, DP
- Ilana Worrell, Musician
- Ivan Cestero, Communications and Development Manager
- Janice Crews, Musician
- Jason Atkins, the "Observer"/Social Commentator
- Jennifer Guthals, Fundraising Strategist/Project Developer
- Jonathan Fredrickson, Choreographer
- Joshua Aaron Guthals, Musician/Project Creator
- Kyle Abraham, Choreographer
- Lady Rizo, Chanteuse
- Leah Worrell, Organizational Consultant
- Louis Logic, Musician
- Marta Edmisten, Artist/Organizer
- Nels Bangerter, Director/Editor [Film]
- Paul Sepuya, Photographer
- Ray Rizzo, Musician
- Sabrina Huff, Project Advisor
- Skyler Brickley, Artist
- Todd Buckler, DJ, Music Producer
Project:Reversible Inspiration
The inspiration for the project from the creator, Joshua Guthals:
I saw a film called "War Child" a few months ago, it tells the story of a Sudanese "Lost Boy" who survived his childhood environment of murder, rape, and social horror to become a touring rapper speaking out about the terrible situations he survived. He committed himself to raising funds for rebuilding the school-houses destroyed throughout the Sudan during the genocide through his musical performances. It was a profoundly moving film that ended up winning the Tribeca audience award.
Watching this film led me to re-evaluate my own social commitments that are a part of my music-making and realize that my making and sharing of music does indeed have social/political elements that could be strengthened for the greater good.
Specifically, a large portion of my music explores people's isolation in our accelerated and fragmented global society, and more specifically, a song I wrote called "Reversible" explores those topics on a very personal level. I wrote the song for a gay black friend who was abused as a child and who's homophobic father threatened to kill him for being gay, leading my friend to throw himself out of a second story window one night in terror.
He survived the fall with two broken arms, ended up in the foster care system and has struggled as an adult with feelings of alienation from his own cultural identity as an orphaned gay black man. When he told me this sad tale, I wrote him the song "Reversible" that expresses the sentiment: you are not alone in this world even at your worst moments.
During the original song-writing of Reversible, I took as an inspiration in writing the song a performance of 'Imagine' I saw on TV by Tracy Chapman as a teen-ager that deeply affected me, her and a piano simply singing such a beautiful song. I recorded a very simple version of Reversible just me and a piano and gave the recording to my friend.
A few months ago, I drew together my own (projected) understandings of the refugee-like experiences this close friend of mine must have experienced as a teen-ager and likened it in some ways to the atrocities occurring in the Sudan (displacement, violence, horror) and decided to take a stab at socially conscious community mobilization using my song "Reversible" as a foundational point.
I think the heart of the project's 'statement' is found in the tag-line we developed for Project:Reversible: "What will you reverse?" Meaning, it is our own stands that we take out in the world that creates positive changes for all of us.
Because the song and the background of the song and the inspiration points for this community project dealt with swirling issues of suicide, homophobia, and racism, I began working through those topics by seeking to re-design the song Reversible as a celebration of joy, diversity, and acceptance by building a team of musicians from all walks of life to be a part of the song's recreation (e.g., all ages, races, sexual orientations, genders). I felt this approach would also work to heal my own painful fears that people can't all work together across our differences and help me to 'be the change I want to see in the world'.
I also began reaching out to my friends in non-musical fields and asked for their support and engagement to making the project grow and become something larger than myself so that it could reach larger audiences and affect more people's understanding.
A lot of amazing and powerful people have signed onto the project, and we collectively got excited about the project potential and somewhere along the way it got dubbed 'an indie rock We are the World' ... the idea became thus to have a web-site called "Project:Reversible" with photos of the people who have donated their talents to the project along with a personal statement from each person answering the question "What will you reverse?" where each person involved in the project could talk about what matters to them and how they make differences in little and huge ways in their own lives.
Also, we started working on putting together a compilation CD of local indie artists and more established humanitarian-friendly musicians to raise awareness and funds for social causes working to end genocide, suicide, and homophobia.
Last, we have started planning out a live event where we will invite socially-conscious people to come eat, listen to live music and watch live dance, and raise money for these social causes and celebrate a world rich in diversity.
I saw a film called "War Child" a few months ago, it tells the story of a Sudanese "Lost Boy" who survived his childhood environment of murder, rape, and social horror to become a touring rapper speaking out about the terrible situations he survived. He committed himself to raising funds for rebuilding the school-houses destroyed throughout the Sudan during the genocide through his musical performances. It was a profoundly moving film that ended up winning the Tribeca audience award.
Watching this film led me to re-evaluate my own social commitments that are a part of my music-making and realize that my making and sharing of music does indeed have social/political elements that could be strengthened for the greater good.
Specifically, a large portion of my music explores people's isolation in our accelerated and fragmented global society, and more specifically, a song I wrote called "Reversible" explores those topics on a very personal level. I wrote the song for a gay black friend who was abused as a child and who's homophobic father threatened to kill him for being gay, leading my friend to throw himself out of a second story window one night in terror.
He survived the fall with two broken arms, ended up in the foster care system and has struggled as an adult with feelings of alienation from his own cultural identity as an orphaned gay black man. When he told me this sad tale, I wrote him the song "Reversible" that expresses the sentiment: you are not alone in this world even at your worst moments.
During the original song-writing of Reversible, I took as an inspiration in writing the song a performance of 'Imagine' I saw on TV by Tracy Chapman as a teen-ager that deeply affected me, her and a piano simply singing such a beautiful song. I recorded a very simple version of Reversible just me and a piano and gave the recording to my friend.
A few months ago, I drew together my own (projected) understandings of the refugee-like experiences this close friend of mine must have experienced as a teen-ager and likened it in some ways to the atrocities occurring in the Sudan (displacement, violence, horror) and decided to take a stab at socially conscious community mobilization using my song "Reversible" as a foundational point.
I think the heart of the project's 'statement' is found in the tag-line we developed for Project:Reversible: "What will you reverse?" Meaning, it is our own stands that we take out in the world that creates positive changes for all of us.
Because the song and the background of the song and the inspiration points for this community project dealt with swirling issues of suicide, homophobia, and racism, I began working through those topics by seeking to re-design the song Reversible as a celebration of joy, diversity, and acceptance by building a team of musicians from all walks of life to be a part of the song's recreation (e.g., all ages, races, sexual orientations, genders). I felt this approach would also work to heal my own painful fears that people can't all work together across our differences and help me to 'be the change I want to see in the world'.
I also began reaching out to my friends in non-musical fields and asked for their support and engagement to making the project grow and become something larger than myself so that it could reach larger audiences and affect more people's understanding.
A lot of amazing and powerful people have signed onto the project, and we collectively got excited about the project potential and somewhere along the way it got dubbed 'an indie rock We are the World' ... the idea became thus to have a web-site called "Project:Reversible" with photos of the people who have donated their talents to the project along with a personal statement from each person answering the question "What will you reverse?" where each person involved in the project could talk about what matters to them and how they make differences in little and huge ways in their own lives.
Also, we started working on putting together a compilation CD of local indie artists and more established humanitarian-friendly musicians to raise awareness and funds for social causes working to end genocide, suicide, and homophobia.
Last, we have started planning out a live event where we will invite socially-conscious people to come eat, listen to live music and watch live dance, and raise money for these social causes and celebrate a world rich in diversity.
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