Augsburg News

News Archives - 2009

2009 Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference

MAY 15, 2009

Picture of Paul HorgenMad as Hell? Now Move (or Draw, or Act...): Organizing for Social Justice

Artists, educators, organizers, and activists will present and perform at the 15th annual international conference of Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO), May 18-25, 2009, on the Augsburg College campus in Minneapolis. PTO is an international organization committed to popular education and performance that advances social justice among peoples whose voices have traditionally been unheard.

The conference will feature Ananya Dance Theatre, a local women of color activist performance and education group, Julian Boal, an internationally renowned theater director, author and activist, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, national spoken word artist and youth advocate, local author/activist Kao Kalia Yang, and popular educators Dr. Deborah Barndt and Pancho Arguelles. All keynote events are free and open to the public. A number of free and low-cost workshops will take place before and after the conference. For full details see www.ptoweb.org.

Photo © 2007 Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed

Wednesday, May 20

Legislative Theatre workshop Led by Julian Boal, this 3-day workshop will culminate in Minneapolis City Hall Council Chambers for a special session. Issue areas that local residents have identified include: funding Restorative Justice, after-school programs for youth, same sex partner benefits, health care reform, job-training for multiple-level skill green jobs, indigenous land return, and education reform. Preliminary activities will begin at 3:00 p.m. Legislators will be present from 4:30-5:30. Minneapolis City Hall Council Chambers, Room 317, City Hall. 350 South 5th St.

St. Paul Central Touring Company performs their current original show "We are the Change that We Seek" 8 p.m. Augsburg College, Foss Center

Thursday, May 21

Native scholar and activist Waziyatawin, Aztec Danzata, Julian Boal, Tish Jones and others will open conference ceremonies through dance, performance, visual art, drumming, audience participation, and more. 7:30 p.m. Augsburg College, Hoversten Chapel

Friday, May 22

Renowned scholar and activist Dr. Deborah Barndt will give a keynote on popular education and social movements, focusing on three characteristics of popular education: glocal, inclusive, and holistic. She will explore indigenous knowledges, integrating arts into Popular Education, and bridging the gap between academia and community organizing. 12:45-2 p.m. Augsburg College, Foss Center

Ananya Chatterjea will present a keynote address "In Fragile Hope/Dancing Conviction." This lecture forwards Chatterjea's view of "dance as a call to action" describing the lessons learned through Chatterjea's study of street theater and feminist praxis around the world and her fierce commitment to the immediate relationship between bodily artistic practices and social justice movement. 5:45-6:45 p.m. Augsburg College, Foss Center

Marc Bamuthi Joseph, an arts activist, National Poetry Slam champion, and a recipient of 2002 and 2004 National Performance Network Creation commissions, will be keynoting and performing new work. Last year the Walker Art Center featured his performance The Breaks. 8:30 p.m. Augsburg College, Hoversten Chapel

Saturday, May 23

Kao Kalia Yang will present a keynote address on "The Consequences of Our Stories." The presentation asks: what happens when you live in a life story that others do not understand? What is the cost of being misunderstood through the generations? 12:45-2 p.m. Augsburg College, Foss Center

Washburn High School and Open mic (Hosted by MN Spoken Word Association & Voices Merging) and excerpts from Ashesh Barsha, unending monsoon by Ananya Dance Theatre. This informal presentation uses dance as an exploration of climate and energy justice in global communities of color. 7-9 p.m. Augsburg College, Foss Center

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