[Brazil@Harvard] Cultural Agents: Arts Literacy Workshop

The Cultural Agents Initiative and the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Arts in Education Program are pleased to invite you to the Cultural Agents Exponential Arts Workshop: “Breaking the Shell” April 26 and 28, 2007 Lecture and workshop with Kurt Wootton, Director of Arts Literacy, and Daniel Soares, Founder of the OLY School in Inhumas, Brazil. This lecture and workshop will explore the theory and practice behind the ArtsLiteracy Project's Performance Cycle, the model that guides all ArtsLiteracy work with teachers and students. The Performance Cycle is a dynamic framework that includes such inter-connected concepts as: Building Community, Comprehending Text, Creating Text, Performing Text, and Reflecting. We will look at examples of the Cycle in action in transcultural environments including an extensive project in Brazil where students filled their town square with stories and poetry. Lecture: “Breaking the Shell: Community, Culture, and Learning” Thursday, April 26th 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Tsai Auditorium, Room 010 CGIS Building South 1730 Cambridge St.; Cambridge, MA 02138 * Reception to follow Workshop: “Breaking the Shell: An Arts and Literacy Toolkit” Saturday, April 28th 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Gutman Conference Center, Area 1 Gutman Library, Ground Floor 6 Appian Way; Cambridge, MA 02138 * Lunch will be provided ** Registration is required for the workshop. To register, please contact the Cultural Agents Initiative at cultagen(a)fas.harvard.edu. ABOUT KURT WOOTTON AND DANIEL SOARES: As director and co-founder of the ArtsLiteracy Project in the Education Department at Brown University, KURT WOOTTON leads all aspects of the organization’s development including fostering collaborative relationships between Brown University and arts and education institutions nationally and internationally. He is the director of the ArtsLiteracy Project’s “lab schools” in the United States and Brazil where artists, teachers, college students, and youth gather from around the world to explore ways to connect performance and other art forms with literacy development. He has worked with the Boston, St. Paul, Providence, and Central Falls school systems on multi-year, district-wide initiatives. Currently he is developing a new lab school in Mérida, Mexico called HABLA: The Center for Culture and Language. HABLA will serve as an international hub for developing arts-based approaches for teaching language and literacy. DANIEL SOARES is a pioneer of both literature and second language learning instructions. He is currently a the director of teacher education programs at the University of Goias, Brazil and he is the founder and director of a new year-round ArtsLiteracy school (OLY) in Inhumas, Brazil. With nearly 600 students, OLY incorporates ArtsLiteracy practices into all content areas. His ability to transform classrooms into inviting environments where students share their stories is unparalleled. Daniel has been recognized nationally in Brazil for his teaching and has influenced both the theories and methods of the ArtsLiteracy Project through partnerships with ArtsLit teachers and artists both at Brown and in Brazil, as well as through his independent work with English language learners and Portuguese literature students in Brazil. ABOUT THE ARTS LITERACY PROJECT: The ArtsLiteracy Project (ArtsLit) is dedicated to developing the literacy of youth through the performing and visual arts. Based in the Education Department at Brown University, ArtsLit gathers an international community of artists, teachers, youth, college students, and professors with the goal of collaboratively creating innovative approaches to literacy development through the arts. Although ArtsLit has a local focus, through such venues as an international teaching lab school for teachers and artists; summer and weekend workshops; international publications and presentations; and undergraduate and graduate course work, the ArtsLiteracy Project aspires to broaden definitions of and approaches to literacy development both nationally and internationally. -- Catalina Ocampo Initiative Coordinator Cultural Agents Initiative CGIS Building South, Room 222 1730 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA 02138 (617)384-5349 cultagen(a)fas.harvard.edu http://www.culturalagents.org The Cultural Agents Initiative’s mission is to activate art as a social resource by fostering creative and scholarly practices that make measurable contributions to the education and development of communities worldwide. We advance our mission by identifying creative agents of change, reflecting on best practices, and inspiring their replication in underserved communities through training, research, and public forums. We value creativity as vital to the health of democracies and are committed to developing moral imagination and resourcefulness in citizens. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.culturalagents.org.