FROM ALL DIRECTIONS
INDIGENOUS AND REGIONAL CULTURES
AND WORLD MARKETS
News from Bronitsky and Associates
Bringing Together Indigenous Peoples and the World Since 1992
a monthly newsletter from Bronitsky and Associates about events and people from indigenous and regional cultures in the international scene - festivals, funding, conferences, publications and current issues.
Correspondence, subscription/unsubscription, opportunities, talent news, etc. should be directed to the United States office
Circulation: 4245
Our News - what's keeping us busy!
Bronitsky and Associates Website Upgrades
The Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies, Argentina
Larry Yazzie and the Native Pride Dancers, United States
New Software for Festival Database Management
ORIGINS: On The Road in Norway, 2008
ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre from Around The World, London 2009
International Conference on African Culture and Development
Native American Delegation to The Dreaming Festival, Australia
Bringing Indigenous and Regional Artists to the World
For Your Diary
Events
Festivals
Funding
Conferences
Publications
Call for Papers
News
Sites of Interest
Our News - what's keeping us busy!
Website Upgrades
We continue to fine tune the form and content of our website - http://www.bronitskyandassociates.com.
We have added two outstanding and very different groups.
The Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies
The Orchestra is an exciting group of contemporary musicians in Argentina who have developed a repertoire of music featuring ancient Indigenous instruments. The Orchestra features the Ensemble Fronteras del Silencio (The Borders of Silence) with conductor, composer and founder Alejandro Iglesias Rossi. You can learn more about the group and listen to their music at http://bronitskyandassociates.com/orchestra.htm.
The sound clips are saved in MP3 format for compatibility with the widest range of music player software. All files are recorded at 192 kbps for high quality playback over most high speed connections.
Larry Yazzie and the Native Pride Dancers
Larry Yazzie (Meskwaki/Dine Indian tribes) is an international lecturer, educator, performer, and a World Champion Fancy Dancer. Formed in 2003 and directed by Larry Yazzie, the NATIVE PRIDE DANCERS strive to educate and entertain audiences of all ages throughout the world on the beauty, skill, and majesty of American Indian music and dance. To learn more about them, visit http://bronitskyandassociates.com/yazzie.htm.
Bronitsky and Associates Database Upgrade
We have purchased new database management software to better track festivals around the world. If you know of festivals for us to include, by all means let us know.
ORIGINS: On The Road in Norway, 2008
American Indian playwright, David Velarde, has been invited to participate in a playwriting seminar in Kautokeino, Norway, in February 2009. This seminar is a cooperation among several Sami theaters - the Beaivvas Sami Theatre in Kautokeino, Norway, the Sami Thaeatre in Kiruna, Sweden, the South-Sami Theatre in Moin, Norway, and Tornedalsteatern (the theatre of the Finnish speaking minority in North-Sweden), as well as the Sami Theatre Workers' Association and the Sami Writers' Association who took the initiative and who are the main organizers.
David Velarde participated in the London 2007 launch of ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre From Around The World. David's participation in the Sami seminar is part of the mandate from the participants in the ORIGINS 2007 launch to bring Indigenous theatermakers to Indigenous and non-Indigenous theater communities around the world.
You can learn more about ORIGINS: On The Road at our website, http://www.bronitskyandassociates.com/origins.htm.
ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre from Around The World, London 2009
Gordon Bronitsky, Executive Producer, and Michael Walling, Artistic Director, are continuing to bring the best Indigenous theatre from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to London in 2009 for the first full season of ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre From Around The World. Venues and companies have been penciled in and the fundraising quest is in high gear.
ORIGINS will create a market and showplace for the Inidgenous theatre, culminating in the year 2012, the year of the Cultural Olympiad and the London Olympics. Future years will be opened up to Indigenous theatre from non-English speaking countries as well.
ORIGINS will soon have its own e-newsletter to spread the news and begin creating new dialogue among Indigenous theater makers, communities and audiences.
You can learn more about ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre From Around The World at our website, http://www.bronitskyandassociates.com/projects.htm.
International Conference on African Culture and Development
Tony Duke, the Director of Operations and Development at Bronitsky and Associates, just returned from the International Conference on African Culture and Development in Kumasi, Ghana (www.icacd.ccoghana.org)
The conference theme was Cultural Dynamics: Greasing the Wheels of Africa's Development. The goal of the conference was to begin to promote the idea of societal and cultural considerations in drawing and implementing development programs in Africa.
Tony spoke about "Developing Festivals, Developing Our Communities: the Roles of Community and Regional Festivals in Economic Development".
Native American Delegation to The Dreaming Festival, Australia
Bronitsky and Associates is working with the United States Embassy to bring Cochise Anderson and the Native American Dancers to The Dreaming Festival (www.thedreamingfestival.com). The Dreaming Festival is Australia's largest Aboriginal festival and will take place June 6-19, 2008.
Cochise Anderson(http://www.cochise-okcha-a.com/)
Cochise Anderson is a member of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations of
Oklahoma, is an actor, playwright, poet, spoken-word performance
artist, contemporary and traditional storyteller as well as a
traditional and blues musician.
The Native American Dancers consist of:
Naomi Bebo (http://www.americanindianstudies.ucla.edu/studentinfo/studentsinfo-nbebo.htm)
Naomi Bebo is a Second Year Joint Degree student working to obtain
her MA in American Indian Studies and her JD in Indian
Law. Currently, Naomi is President of the Native American Law
Student Association (NALSA) at UCLA. Naomi enjoys powwow
dancing and performing with American Indian Dance Theatre (http://www.americanindiandancetheatre.com/)
whenever she gets the chance.
Dallin Maybee (http://www.swaia.org/featArtist.php?id=18)
Dallin Maybee is a member of the Seneca Nation but he also has
family on the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming. He
is an accomplished dancer and has traveled extensively throughout
the world as both a performer and choreographer. His tours have
taken him to locations such as: China, Mongolia, South Korea, Qatar,
most of Europe, Mexico and South America, as well as throughout the
United States.
Leon Thompson
Leon Thompson is a Yakama / Nez Perce man who has travelled
internationally as a Traditional and Fancy Dancer. He has extensive
experience organizing cultural and fundraising events for Native
American communities and causes.
Bringing Indigenous and Regional Artists to the World
Bronitsky and Associates is negotiating with festivals in Ireland, Russia (Siberia) and Poland to bring Indigenous artists within the coming year. We'll keep you posted!For Your Diary
If you would like to list an event, activity or publication with us, please forward details to before the 28th of each month to ensure its inclusion in the next FROM ALL DIRECTIONS newsletter.
Events
Inuit Throatsingers on London TV
Lois Suluk-Locke and Maria Maria Illungiayok are well-known Inuit
throatsingers from Arviat, Nunavut, Canada who will be performing on
the Paul O'Grady Show May 19 as part of a two-part show entitled,
The Frozen Show.
Lois Suluk-Locke and Maria Maria Illungiayok performed at the Festival of World Cultures in Dublin, Ireland, in 2007, where they were seen by producers for the Paul O'Grady Show, who invited them to perform on the show this year.
You can learn more about these exciting singers and hear some of their music at http://www.bronitskyandassociates.com/inuit.htm.
Festivals
FESTIVAL OF PACIFIC ARTS- held every four years, the Festival celebrates the richness of the unique cultures and traditions of the Peoples of the Pacific. In 2008, the Festival will take place in American Samoa from July 20th to August 2nd (10 festival days). Please visit www.festival-pacific-arts.org/Festival.html.
THE DREAMING FESTIVAL- Australia's International Indigenous Arts and Cultural Festival presented annually at the Woodford Folk Festival site about one and a half hours drive from Brisbane in the beautiful Sunshine Coast hinterland. The Festival dates for 2008 are 6th to 9th June. Please visit www.thedreamingfestival.com.
THE WORLD OF MELODY FESTIVAL- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - 2008 dates to be confirmed. Since 2004, the World of Melody International Folk Art Festival has been successfully organized in Mongolia by the Mongolian Association of IOV. The main purpose of this festival is to advertise national art throughout the world with its specific nature and tradition. Please visit www.iovmongolia.com.
RIDDU RIDDU - The Riddu Riu festival was started by the sami associations in Kåfjord in 1991, as a sea-sami culture festival. The festival has become one of the largest sami festivals and primary yearly festival for international indigenous peoples. The festival programme encompasses music, performing arts, courses, seminars, movies, children's festival and youth camp. The dates are July 9-13, 2008 Please visit http://www.riddu.no/about-riddu-riu.21025.en.html.
INTERNATIONAL FOLKLORE FESTIVAL "OP ROAKELDAIS" WARFFUM"-
The Op Roakeldais site, the Folkdance Festival of Warffum, in a
small corner of the Netherlands, five kilometers from the Waddenzee,
once a year the epic centre of a big cultural shock. Folk dancing
groups from every corner of the world present themselves.
Zandeweer, The Netherlands from June 25-29, 2008.
Please visit:
http://www.oproakeldais.nl.
ALANAIT ARTS FESTIVAL, NUNAVUT
Only four short years ago, the Alianait Arts Festival was just an
idea. Today, the Alianait Arts Coalition is pleased to announce its
2008 schedule of events, which includes over twenty events with
line-up of performers from as far away as Mexico, Russia and New
Zealand. The theme of Alianait 2008 is “String Games” and will
feature string musicians from across the north and around the world.
String Games is an ancient Inuit tradition and was chosen this year
to symbolize the connectivity of cultures around the world. The
Festival will also feature the Nunavut Arts & Crafts Festival,
films, and much more.
Festival dates are June 21-July 1, 2008.
For more information, visit
http://www.alianait.ca/home_2007.html
FESTIVAL OF WORLD CULTURES, DUBLIN
Indigenous to classical, traditional, folk, eclectic and tribal, the
Festival of World Cultures offers a kaleidoscopic program of
concerts & club nights, fairs & markets, dance, street events,
workshops and so much more. A gigantic feast of arts and culture!
With over 250,000 people attending last year’s event, the Festival
of World Cultures is firmly established as one of Ireland’s largest
annual events. Most importantly however, it is proud to be an event
that celebrates and nurtures the culturally diverse demographic of
Ireland
Festival dates are August 22-24, 2008.
For more information, visit
http://www.festivalofworldcultures.com/
Funding
Awards Honor Excellent NGOs
The World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO)
offers an awards program to honor non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) from throughout the world that demonstrate extraordinary
effort, innovation, leadership, and excellence in providing service
to humanity. WANGO not only recognizes prominent international NGOs,
but also the smaller, lesser-known NGOs in the least developed
countries whose exemplary service and success may have gone
unnoticed on the international stage. Awards are offered in the
areas of peace and security; education, media, and the arts;
environment; human rights; family and peace; inter-religious
cooperation; and universal peace. Nominations are due July 15, 2008.
http://www.wango.org/awards.aspx
Samoa Visual Arts Residency
Deadline Friday May 16
The Pacific Arts Committee of Creative New Zealand, in partnership
with the National University of Samoa, is offering a residency in
Apia, Samoa at The National University of Samoa. The residency is
for a period of three months and is open to all established visual
artists of Pacific Islands heritage resident in New Zealand.
Website link:
http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/files/cnz-pacific-arts-committee-visual-artist-residency.pdf
Conferences
Conference Examines Socially-Responsible Tourism
The 2008 Traveler's Philanthropy Conference is sponsored by the
Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD), whose
mission is to design, monitor, evaluate, and improve ecotourism and
sustainable tourism practices and principles. The conference will
gather practitioners from socially-responsible tourism businesses,
experts in the field of sustainable tourism and philanthropy,
community-based organizations and global and regional
non-governmental organizations doing development work, the United
Nations and other development agencies, philanthropic foundations,
government, and the media. CESD's Travelers' Philanthropy program
promotes corporate social responsibility within the travel industry
and encourages individual businesses and their travelers to give
"time, talent, and treasure" to support social service and
conservation projects in host communities. This support empowers
local and indigenous communities by providing jobs, skills, business
and home ownership, and lasting improvements in healthcare,
education, and environmental stewardship. Early bird registration is
open through August 1, 2008. The conference will be held December
3-5, 2008, in Arusha, Tanzania.
http://www.travelersphilanthropyconference.org/
Culture and Consequence: The Role of Ethics in the Arts Today
London Centre for Arts and Cultural Enterprise, 12 June 2008,
London, England
A one-day conference for discussion of some of the key ethical
issues emerging for the arts and cultural sectors.
http://www.liv.ac.uk/ersa2008/
The UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity
CNRS/Université Paris 1, 18 June 2008 to 19 June 2008, Paris,
France
The conference theme is `The UNESCO Convention on Cultural
Diversity: Preliminary report and legal challenges in meeting the
objectives in economically resource-poor countries.
http://www.umrdc.fr/conference-diversite-culturelle/
Human Dimensions in the Circumpolar Arctic
In October 8-10 2008, the conference Human Dimensions in the
Circumpolar Arctic: An Interdisciplinary Conference under the
Auspices of the International Polar Year will take place at Umeå
University, Sweden.
http://www.umea-congress.se/polar-1.html
29th Annual American Indian Language Development Institute
June 4-July 2, 2008, University of Arizona, Tucson
The University of Arizona and the Department of Language, Reading
and Culture will host the 29th American Indian Language Development
Institute with special focus on Indigenous teachers in the classroom
and language, including language immersion methods in the classroom,
Indigenous children’s literature, and writing and schooling in
Indigenous communities. The Institute’s theme this year, Creating
Spaces for Indigenous Languages in Everyday Life, reflects this
emphasis and will be highlighted with guest speakers, presentations,
activities, projects and fieldtrips.
For more information, please visit
www.u.arizona.edu/~aildi
Publications
Creative Economy Report 2008: The challenge of assessing the
creative economy towards informed policy-making
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Switzerland,
April 2008
A report that aims to help developing countries harness their
creative economies and to maximize trade and development gains by
recognizing the creative economy as a feasible development option
for linking economic, technological, social and cultural development
objectives.
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=9750&intItemID=2068&lang=1
Open Lines to Intercultural Dialogue: have your say
LabforCulture, 16 April 2008, Netherlands
LabforCulture has launched an online participatory project, `Open
Lines to Intercultural Dialogue', which invites people from around
the world to share their personal interpretations of intercultural
dialogue.
http://openlines.labforculture.org/display.php
Are there Foreigners in Art?
Publication of Conference hosted by the National Museum of Art,
Architecture and Design, Oslo, 14-15 February 2008
As part of Norway's Year of Cultural Diversity, Minister of Culture
and Church Affairs Trond Giske asks `Are there outsiders to arts -
and if so, how can they be included?'
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/kkd/About-the-Ministry/Minister-of-Culture-and-Church-Affairs-T/taler-artikler/2008/are-there-foreigners-in-art.html?id=509336
Development of Culture of the Russian North
Republic of Karelia, 16 April 2008, Russia
Publication of conference on preservation and development of culture
of the Russian North was the subject of discussion at the joint exit
session of Committees of the State Duma on culture and problems of
the North and the Far East and the Commission on preservation of
cultural and spiritual heritage of Public Chamber of Russia.
http://gov.karelia.ru/gov/News/2008/04/0416-22-e.html
Sustainability: a new frontier for the arts and cultures
Verlag für Akademische Schriften, Germany, April 2008
Publication of insights from researchers, artists and activists
in Europe, North and Central America, Africa and Asia on
environmental sustainability as a new frontier for the arts and
cultures.
http://www.cultura21.net/dokuwiki/doku.php/orange:newfrontier
On Entrepreneurship and Education in Cultural Life
European Network of Cultural Administration Centres, Belgium, March
2008
A Report on the 15th ENCATC Annual Conference, held in Sweden
in June 2007, on how education and training institutions address
this issue of cultural entrepreneurship.
http://www.encatc.org/downloads/ENCATC%202007%20report.pdf?-session=encatc:7D072F030a47c08A00OWx16185EE
Call for Papers
Creative Clusters, Glasgow Scotland
Creative Clusters is an independent policy conference examining the
growth of the creative economy. They are interested in initiatives
from around the world that are designed to have an impact in both
cultural and economic terms.
The conference is scheduled for November 17-20. For more information about the conference and the call for papers, visit www.creativeclusters.com.
News
Board Approves Name Change to Piestewa Peak
April 10, 2008
Amanda Lee Myers / Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX - The U.S. Board on Geographic Names voted Thursday to officially change the name of Squaw Peak in central Phoenix to Piestewa Peak. The mountain was renamed five years ago in honor of Army soldier Lori Piestewa, the first American Indian woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military.
The board requires a five-year wait before it considers renaming a geographic feature after the dead, in part to allow those arguing passionately for or against a name change to cool down. Lou Yost, executive secretary for the board, says those five years didn't do much to cool down hundreds of Arizonans.
He says the board received an unprecedented number of e-mails about the name change, and that about two-thirds of everyone who contacted the board wanted the mountain to be named Piestewa.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
NITV Becomes a Member of World Indigenous Television
Broadcasting Network
National Indigenous Television is now a member of a new World
Indigenous Broadcast Network which launched last week as a part of
the Inaugural World Indigenous Television Broadcast Conference, held
in Aotearoa New Zealand, on 26th, 27th & 28th March. The
Reclaiming the Future conference, hosted by Maori
Television, bought together Indigenous Broadcast services including
the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), S4C Wales, BBC
Scotland, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) Canada,
Taiwan Indigenous Television (TITV), TG4 Ireland, and Australia's
public broadcaster SBS.
The purpose of the conference was for Indigenous Broadcasters to build strong collaborative relationships and to discuss ways of opening up opportunities for increased audiences, access to resources, knowledge transfer and international advocacy.
For the Full version of Patricia Turner's Keynote Address visit www.nitv.org.au.
New Zealand - New and old mix for 150-year birthday
A waka taua canoe shaped by master carvers in honour of Maori King
Tuheitia made its maiden voyage along the Waikato River yesterday as
celebrations for the anniversary of the Kingitanga movement
continue. Named after a sacred pool near Waahi pa in Huntly where
Tuheitia's grandfather King Koroki bathed, the canoe Taatahiora
yesterday led aprocession of waka to the point where the Waikato and
Waipa Riversconverge in Ngaruawahia.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c-id=252&objectid=10507735
Aboriginal tourism venture opens in Tasmania, Australia
A new interpretation trail has been opened in the state's north to
provide an insight into Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural heritage.
The Tulampanga trail near Mole Creek is an example of the attractions that will be developed and promoted as part of the state government's Aboriginal Tourism Development Plan.
The Community Development Minister, Michelle O'Byrne, says the plan, although in its early stages, will help create a better understanding of Aboriginal culture.
"There's a great opportunity for Tasmanian Aboriginal Tourism,
not only in some of the sites that have great meaning and tell great
stories of the journey of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people over
thousands of years but also there is wonderful theatre, wonderful
singing, there is great dance work, a whole multitude of experience
that we can have," Ms O'Byrne said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1953126.htm
Mayan TV broadcasts in Guatemala
The time was right. On April 23, a television station that once was
the voice of the Guatemalan military dictatorship that had massacred
thousands of Mayans showed the glyph of the day from the millennial
Mayan calendar and announced itself as `'TV Maya: Guatemala's
multi-cultural station.'' The indigenous people of Guatemala finally
had their own television station.
`'This is a dream that indigenous people have had for many years:
to have a means of communication,'' Mayan Nobel Peace Prize winner
Rigoberta Menchu told Agence France-Presse at the official
inauguration of the station, which was also attended by Guatemalan
President Alvaro Colom and other dignitaries.
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417261
Siberian and Native American languages linked - a first
A fast-dying language in remote central Siberia shares a mother
tongue with dozens of Native American languages spoken thousands of
miles away, new research confirms.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080326-language-link.html
Sites of Interest
For more information please contact:
Cultural Rights: Culture and Development
Interarts, Spain, April 2008
A portal created by Interarts Foundation as a key element in the
research that the foundation is carrying out on cultural rights and
the role of culture in human development.
http://www.culturalrights.net/en/
Indians of Argentina
An excellent introduction to the history, languages and contemporary
American Indian peoples of Argentina
http://www.native-languages.org/argentina.htm
Nunavut News
In 1991, the Inuit People of northern Canada created Nunavut from
what had formerly been the eastern half of the Northwest
Territories. Nunavut continues to grow and flourish. For more about
the latest news, history, tourism and more, visit
http://www.nunavut.com/
Australian Indigenous cultural heritage
A Culture and Recreation portal created by the Australian government
with extensive links to Aboriginal websites for history, heritage,
land, performance, visual arts, tourism and much more can be found
at
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/indigenous/
If you would like to contribute an item to FROM ALL DIRECTIONS, the monthly e-newsletter of Bronitsky and Associates, please forward your listing before the 28th of each month to .