Race Peace

Saturday, October 5 – Sunday, October 6
PhillyCAM

As a continuation of GIA’s work on structural racism and constructing equity, we offer conference participants the opportunity to participate in Race Peace, a two-day experience that builds common vocabulary about race.

Race Peace is a multi-generational performance project that deals with the debilitating fog of racism in an attempt to provide an opportunity for people to celebrate and explore common bonds, debate their differences, and lay the civic foundation to pursue solutions to the issues that impact their communities. Race Peace uses spoken word, music and songs, satire, physical theater, short film and dance, story circles, and sociometric exercises to engage participants in dialogue about race and racism and how they affect our interpersonal relationships. Through the process, participants can begin to craft a shared understanding of the complexities of racism, both individual and institutional.

Race Peace is not static; it is a growing and evolving body of experiences and interactions that inform how we continue to move with and through this work. This project does not aim to dismantle racism, but to begin a process of deconstructing myths and exposing stereotypes that have over centuries eroded our ability to recognize our collective humanity. Through Race Peace we seek to create a space where people from diverse backgrounds can safely and aggressively challenge the realities and myths of racism in America, in addition to considering how art can engage people in noteworthy dialogue about challenging social issues.

The Race Peace workshop will support up to forty participants in two days of workshop activities and a Saturday evening performance. The evening performance will feature local and national artists using race as a theme in their work.

Race Peace was started in 2008 by M.U.G.A.B.E.E. (Men Under Guidance Acting Before Early Extinction), based in Raymond, Mississippi, and Mondo Bizarro of New Orleans under the mentorship of veteran artist-activists theater companies Junebug Productions, also of New Orleans, and Roadside Theater in Norton, Virginia.