The public is invited to attend a panel discussion on Wednesday, October 18 at 7:00pm via Zoom that explores how the arts are a powerful tool for social and political change. The event is sponsored by Vermont Independent Media’s (VIM), Media Mentoring Project.
5 expert panelists will explore how the arts can be communication channels for change that impacts social and political action on important issues in a time of global tensions and injustice. “We’re living in an age of collective anxiety that is isolating and dangerously dysfunctional. It’s a time when strategic and creative communications using multiple channels can make a difference,” says award-winning writer and journalist Elayne Clift who will offer an overview on how the arts and literature have been a vital part of resistance to social and political issues.
Nancy Wolfe’s work merges filmmaking with journalism, archives, writing and teaching, at Democracy Now! and elsewhere. Wolfe recently produced a short film, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SEA, a portrait of Ukrainian-New Yorkers using music, art and direct action to take a stand after Russia’s invasion in 2022, which premiered at the Refugee Film Festival in Izmir, Turkey recently. She is currently directing ROCKY FLATS, a feature-length documentary about community action in the face of nuclear waste. She’ll show a few video clips and discuss why video is a powerful tool to bring change.
Jeanette Staley is a research-based collage artist, educator and activist in Westminster VT. She has an MFA from VT College of Fine Art. Her studio practice is focused on understanding how the patriarchal system is the foundation of inequality and injustice as she works to educate and dismantle the system. She says her protesting began with Clarence Thomas and has not wavered. She’ll talk about how she organized a protest in Bellows Falls last year that engaged over 80 people to parade through the village in protest of the overturning of Roe and in support of women’s health care.
Abdullah Khan and Negina Azimi are both members of ArtLords, a global Afghan led movement that uses art for peace-building and social transformation. The group, a collective of Afghan artists, seeks to challenge the taboo topics that fuel conflict and hinder process. They’ll talk about their projects in Brattleboro and elsewhere and how their work has contributed to establish a society where everyone has their space for themselves.
The discussion will be moderated by Joyce Marcel, writer of award-winning cover stories for Vermont Business Magazine and political writer for The Commons.
