19 July 2010
Interview with Debbie Nathan
Posted under: Other .
As Artsbridge’s third summer program begins, I (Lilia Kilburn, one of Artsbridge’s three summer interns) sat down with Debbie Nathan to talk about Artsbridge’s present and future.
Q: How is Artsbridge’s curriculum continuing to evolve this year?
A: Being at Boston College for the second year in a row makes us feel as though we’ve found a real home. This summer, several incredible new staff members have joined our team, from dialogue facilitators Elad Vazanna and Najuan Daadleh to film instructors Dan Knapp and Liz Jones to art instructors Aaron Lazansky-Olivas and Ruth Rieffanaugh. Two of our past program participants, Kerem Ben-Ishay Bairey and Amir Alkalak, are serving as peer mentors to this year’s class of thirty students—and leading them through their first day of activities as we speak! Artsbridge’s curriculum has always been dynamic—after being introduced to the mission of Artsbridge, staff bring their ideas to the table—and we’re excited to collaborate with these artists and to see how they can foster communication with and among the students. One new event we’re all looking forward to is a mime workshop led by Shep Barnet, Associate Director of the Robham Theater Arts Center at Boston College.
Q: Any news from the partner programs?
A: First of all, there are exciting things happening in Haifa. Students from the Hebrew Reali School and the Orthodox School are coming together to create films in groups comprised of students in each school. Also in Haifa, we work with Beit Hagefen coordinating cultural projects with Haifa’s big annual art festival. At Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, students are raising awareness of environmental issues using the arts and working with the students from Safit school to build tolerance and appreciation of cultural diversity. In Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, we’ve been developing an art and film peer mentorship program with Karen AbuZant, who has several years of experience running after school tutoring and English enrichment programs.
Q: What are your hopes for this summer, and for Artsbridge in the long term?
A: Every group brings its own unique qualities to Artsbridge, and I’m really excited to watch the journey of these students. My hope for them is that Artsbridge is able to open up new spaces—not just open up possibilities for them, though that’s certainly part of it—but help them identify with their strengths, find their own voices, build a community within this group of 30 and a desire to work for the good of the greater community.
Artsbridge is growing, and it’s really exciting to see. My hope as we grow is that we can reach more and more communities, hold more trainings, host more students, and that we become a catalyst for positive change. Right now, Artsbridge has 7 official partnerships, and we hope to expand our presence to more communities that don’t otherwise have access to our ideas about the power of creativity and dialogue. There are various ways to approach this expansion– We especially hope to train other leaders and facilitators in the Artsbridge method so that they can bring change to their own communities.
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