Our December update
I just returned from Portland, Maine right before Thanksgiving. For four days, I spent time with peace builders, singer/songwriters and folk music aficionados at the Northeast Folk Alliance Conference (NERFA). Folks from all over the Northeast and beyond gathered to sing, learn and share the beauty of folk music. Waking to music making and sunrises, like the one pictured to left, lifted my spirits.
Between performances and workshops, I shared BuildaBridge's story, my story and how trauma-informed knowledge, education and practice broaden the capacity of artists to be change makers in the world. It never ceases to amaze and humble me at how BuildaBridge strikes a certain chord in my music-making colleagues.
Artists seem to looking for more places to create an impact beyond the stage and classroom. There's much more to this binary that we've grown so accustomed to by virtue of Western education. I really dream and hope for a day where see artists as the healer and hope-raisers that they inherently are.
And that is where the work of BuildaBridge thrives. We see artist as educators, performers, healers, bridges and much more. The BuildaBridge Artist is a holistic catalyst for change. I hope you see that too in the stories that we share on our social media and newsletter.
Take a moment for yourself to think about how the arts played a role in your life and the value the arts have given you beyond the applied arts practice. How has your life been enriched by the arts and art-making? Embrace that moment and if you feel so include please share with the BuildaBridge community. Feel free to tag us at: @heybuildabridge on Instagram and Facebook. We'd also welcome email correspondences too!
In gratitude,
Ami Yares
Executive director
WELCOME OUR NEWEST BOARD MEMBER
This fall, BuildaBridge welcomed Laura Smythe to the board. Laura came to BaB via Business on Board, sponsored by the Nonprofit Center at LaSalle (who recently merged with the Arts+Business Council).
Laura Smythe is an award-winning journalist and strategic communications professional with accolades at international, national, and regional levels. As Senior Communications Manager at Visit Philadelphia, she collaborates with executive leadership and journalists to tell the stories of Philadelphia and its residents.
Laura’s journalism background includes roles at Forbes, Philadelphia Business Journal, The
Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philadelphia magazine. She has reported internationally in Sweden and South Africa and traveled to 28 countries.
Passionate about mental health and equitable access to trauma-informed therapy and care,
Laura proudly serves on the BuildaBridge board to help advance its mission in her home of Philadelphia.
Notes from the FieLD: FRom Guns to DRUMS
Since mid-October, BuildaBridge has been running a music production and songwriting program at the Lonnie Young Recreational Center in Philadelphia's East Germantown neighborhood. A few weeks ago, BuildaBridge Teaching Artist Tony Flagiello refurbished a drum set of community member who was killed by gun violence a number of years ago. With support of the deceased drummer's mother, the drum set is being used to teach a new generation of drummers to hope-raise.
UPCOMING EVENTS
EOY Shindig at EP Eclectic / December 10, 2024
Cheshire Brewing Company
7909 High School Rd, Elkins Park, PA 19027-2623
7-10 PM
BaB Teaching Artist Tony Flagiello will host a night of art-making in honor of BuildaBridge. RSVP Here!
$5 Friday
Every Friday until...
Help BuildaBridge turn "doom-scrolling"
to "hope-raising."
Catch the return of $5 Friday on Instagram!
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