Peace Arts Education Volunteers Needed

Job & PROJECT Description
Peace Arts Education Volunteers/ Work Study Students
Department: NPI 4 Peace
Number of Positions: up to 4

Job Title: Peace Arts Education Project
Hours per Week: 40 plus

Email: b4peace@namayaproductions.com

B4peace at Namaya Productions is the creative laboratory for Peace Arts and Education Projects.

Project Description and Job Duties/Responsibilities:

Peace Arts Education Volunteers/ Work Study Students

Namaya Productions Inc. (NPI)
booking@thejazzpoet.com
b4peace@namayaproductions.com


Namaya Productions is the home base for the jazz poet, multimedia
artist, and peace activist Namaya www.namayaproductions.com. Revenues from Namaya productions supports www.gracecares.com not-for-profit grass roots community development organization and peace education projects. Grace Cares is a 5013C not-for-profit.

NPI is looking for volunteers/ work study students who have a passion for
peace and social justice, and art/ multimedia work. We are accepting
applications from students and their work study programs, and volunteers.

These projects can be incorporated into your program of studies, and used
for a thesis. For volunteers these are fun projects to engage the community
Peace Education Volunteers/ Work Study Students

Creative, independent, task oriented, passion for peace and social justice issues, well organized. Social Media and computer literacy. Flexible schedule. People from a variety of skills social media marketing, art,
business, videography, music, etc. are encouraged to apply.

Projects
NPI is a multimedia arts, performance, and education organization that focuses on performance and art for Peace and Social transformation.

Current Projects

1. Be All That You Can Be

http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/be-all-that-you-can-be-b-4-peace

18 September 2010 12 noon at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. 4800 people, men and women, children dressed in military clothes or fatigues will gather and walk through the streets of Washington DC with helmets, Army ponchos, each with a 6 foot length of rope, and army boots. Each one of the participants will have the name of the soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They would be walking marching in a single file through the streets of Washington, connected with the rope that is knotted one to another. It moves through the streets of Washington filmed and recorded. They would move towards the Vietnam Memorial and pass in front of the Vietnam Memorial. They would then proceed to an open spot. There is a cauldron or a small vessel placed in the center and the names of each one of the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are then called out.

I. Pornography of war: Redemption of Love
The pornography of war is a multimedia, photography, drawings, installation, and sculpture project.

II. Peace Gardens: The creation of gardens using old military equipment.

III. CD Peace in Every Land: Songs and stories of peace

IV. Teach Peace: Community projects around the theme of Peace

V. Videos/ Plays


I. Pornography of War

1. Be All That You Can Be

http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/be-all-that-you-can-be-b-4-peace

18 September 2010 12 noon at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. 4800 people, men and women, children dressed in military clothes or
fatigues will gather and walk through the streets of Washington DC with helmets, Army ponchos, each with a 6 foot length of rope, and army boots. Each one of the participants will have the name of the soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They would be walking marching in a single file through the streets of Washington, connected with the rope that is knotted one to another. It moves through the streets of Washington filmed and recorded. They would move towards the Vietnam Memorial and pass in front of the Vietnam Memorial. They would then proceed to an open spot. There is a cauldron or a small vessel placed in the center and the names of each one of the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are then called out.


2. $680 Billion Dollar Penis:
Wall vinyl panels and blow up balloons of penises shaped like ICBMs represent the top 10 to 15 countries around the world and their military expenditure. The USA has the tallest penis at 14 feet tall and represents the approximate 20 to 25% of the US GNP. The US spends app 51% of all global military money – or app 20 -25% of US GNP. The other countries like France, Germany, China, Russia, Israel, Iran, Brazil, etc. are significantly less. Also, the quality of life index i.e. the level of homelessness is in a bar-graph beside it.



3. Make love not war .
a. Make love not war is a series of photos of men, gay and straight, and couples making love. It shows men and women in their uniforms. Taking their uniforms off and making love. Location sites in Washington D.C. and at memorials.


b. Do Ask and Do Tell – For soldiers, airmen, and sailors who are in the service and choose to come out as gay/lesbian. We will photograph and document their coming out.

4. Sculptures and installation

a. Return Home: This is a sculpture about 15 feet long of black sand with impressions of feet and soldiers returning home from war. There are a series of prosthesis marching with boots on, some others without. The bed of black sand is about 2 feet wide

b. Humanite – Life size sculptures using barbed wire. Sketches complete as of 8/10 waiting for studio space.

c. Liberte - Life sized cutouts in colour representing the evolution of the figures in the Humanite series

d. Women of the Veil: Paper Maiche heads 4 feet tall – of 4 Muslim

women with Hjab with eyes shut with barbed wire, mouths taped with duct tape.

5. Drawings and cartoons

a. PENTAGON MAN: Series of cartoons of Pentagon Man the 9 foot tall creature with an ICBM penis.

b. Make Love Not Wall: Drawings and sketches.


6 The Wall:

Recreating the wall of separation in Palestine in a public space like

the Boston Commons.
http://www.vermontpoet.com/thewall/


7 Land Mine Stop

A video had been created http://www.tnamaya.com/landmine/landmine-hop/. The website will have a page dedicated to the Landmine stop. The objective is to have it interactive so that children from around the world

can log on in record the chorus for the song in their own language. The tracks will be mixed down to create a chorus of children from around the world singing "Land Mine Stop." Also, to include photos or videos

of children maimed by Land Mines. The project focuses on the impact of landmines and war on children.

The other component is creating public installation "Land Mine Gardens" in a public space like Boston Commons, etc.


8 Rape the Bitch: Stop Sexual Slavery

Installation project of a brothel to highlight and illustrate the millions of women and children in the international sexual slavery trade. The installation project will consist of creating a “stage set,” of a brothel about

20 x 25 feet with a labyrinth and inside are live model children and their clients. The “bitch” is the indifference and silence of the international community to stop slave traffic.


9 Arms Merchants

Portraits of the leader merchants of war – the largest military contractors,
lobbyists, & US corporations that benefit from the military industry: General
Electric, Lockhead, Boeing, General Motors, Motorola, and the CEO’s of
those corporations.

10 One Hundred Flowers - Translating the poem 100 Flowers of Peace
into 100 languages so far we have ten languages. 90 more to go.

II. Peace Gardens
We have been creating a series of sculptures and designs using old military weapons. For example, the central design is two large cannons surrounded by a spiral helix of helmets. The CAD drawings are complete and the
assistant will help to secure grant support and work with community groups


III. TEACH PEACE:

Though each aspect of “Pornography of War” is a “teachable moment”
the following are specifically as community peace education projects with
children and adults

Cost of War:

Cost of war: Community project with schools, where labels and tags of the
price of war is distributed around a community. For example, the cost of an M 16 is between $10,000 to $15,000.00. What will that cost provide in terms
of education, childcare, healthcare, etc.? An education project for communities and schools.

The War that never was: On the Island of Binga Bonga

Namaya’s children’s story “On the Island of Binga Bonga: The War that never Was,: was made into a children’s play by a colleague Naomi Bennett of Boston who used it as part of her classroom curriculum on conflict resolution
B 4 Peace – Is the proposed children’s curriculum for peace education.

IV. Videos

If there was no more wars, what would the children do
Tommy Got His Gun:
Wake up America:
Amerika Uber Alles: This is on “You tube” currently
How to Make a Child a Suicide Bomber: This is on the website
www.namayaproductions.com

Land Mine Stop: Already on the website.
Women of the veil: An MTV video to be incorporated into
the new play “Four Profits.”

V Plays

Major General Smedley Butler in 2010: War is a Racquet
A one man play of the two time medal of honor winners condemnation of war.


V.Addendum:

Project Profile of Dinner Party at the World Economic Forum

We are creating an installation project "Dinner Party at the World Economic Forum" as the description below details. This is interactive project with students and community members, to explore and understand the issues and disparities between first world and Third World communities. In particular, the resources that are available and sustain first world communities, at the expense and to the detriment of Third World countries. It might also be possible to have a fund raising project for www.gracecares for one of our community development programs or another similar group working on issues of community development and economic disparity.

Namaya is a poet, performance artist, and has worked extensively in Third World countries, as well as holding a Masters degree in International Affairs/ Third World World Development. www.vermontpoet.com. I have also taught graduate classes in Cross Cultural Communications. I will work in tandem and guide the process, as well as helping to facilitate discussions.

If this is of interest, please contact me directly at namaya@vermontpoet.com.

Installation Project:
Dinner Party at the World Economic Forum & Third World Village
Interactive project created by a communities &/or college students as a means to discover and explore the issues between First and Third World communities.

Project

At the center of the gallery, two long dining tables and approximately 15 Meters by 15 meters long. A meter to two meters wide.

Surrounding these tables are heavy velvet ropes like at a reception and barbed wire, and surrounded by armed security guards, Blackwater (despite whatever they call themselves.) There are candelabra's made from old machine guns.

An elegant table setting, elegant china, forks and knives. On the table are many of the elements that feed the first world: energy, books, education, medication, minerals, cell phones, computers, military weapons (which they usually sell to the Third World to make their greatest profit), etc... Served in elegant bowls. For example, one study says, the USA consumes 25% of the world but only has 5% of the worlds population.


Each chair/ place setting will be an oil barrel or a barrel of toxic waste, a barrel of chemicals etc..

The waiters are dressed in rags and white gloves, barefoot. They serve the people at the world economic forum.　

The invited guest to the world economic forum are, ultra wealthy, white, black and brown ones, like the Kuwaitis and Saudis.

The men and women are wearing suits and long Arabic style robes. The brand name of their corporations are on their suits and robes.

For example:
General Electric
Monsanto.
Citi bank.
Microsoft.
Lockhead
Carlyle group
　All the characters who are part of the first world economic forum.　 The enactors will be present during the exhibition.

THIRD WORLD VILLAGE

At the other end of the gallery.
Is another village, third world village.
The Third world village is basically open air shack made of tin, bamboo, and scraps. 　You are invited in and can have a drink of water from an open well. You can have some food, rice beans and some bread. People cooking out in the open, music playing, maybe there is a latrine there as an open pit. You're welcome to come into the Third World.

There is no security, and you are freely welcome to the Third World

Concept
The concept of a Dinner party at the First World Economic Forum and Third World village as a way to bring students and other people into understanding the dynamics of the First World Economic forums, like IMF, Devos, impact on Third World Communities. People are building and creating this project, and keeping a journal video, writing, and other means.
For further information contact:

namaya@vermontpoet.com

Qualifications: Motivated, willing to learn, a passion for peace education and art.