InterPlay Art Responder Template

InterPlay Art Response Template

By Cynthia Winton-Henry and Catherine Jolly

That Grace be the last word spoken of a Place or People.

If you are interested in leading an art response in your area please email cynthia@interplay.org to orient you to the spirit of this practice.

Purpose: The InterPlay Art Response offers spirit, dance, and music in places where tragedy has occurred. Piloted by Cynthia Winton-Henry and Catherine Jolly of InterPlay they note that individuals and communities carry numbness, avoidance, anger, grief, and rage about an injured place or people. Just as individuals require care after trauma, we believe stillness, movement, music, and reverence can reconnect us to health, transform suffering and offer healing to ourselves, the people, and places impacted.

When & Where: Time and Place TBD. 60-90 minutes.

Who: InterPlay leaders and musicians select a place, and then call on responders to participate. Those new to InterPlay practice might identify as ready to participate or witness/hold the intention and answer questions of passers-by.

How: The week prior, we may share flyers at the location to let people know we coming and welcome any witness or questions. Other art responders may visit in advance to see the location. Communicate the gathering spot where you will meet offsite.

The Time of the Art Response, gather offsite and orient participants.

1. Share deep breaths, shaking, and easy warm up as needed.

2. Describe the basic intention to reweave beauty into the location alongside grief, not take on more suffering.

3. Welcome special guests or contributor

4. Go around the circle with everyone saying and repeating each person’s full name to honor the many lineages in names both given and chosen.

5. Invite the wisdom of whoever called for the response or those most affected in a written statement.

6. Describe the sequence of the response and note that there will be a brief time of noticing afterward. a) Orient to the space in silence with walking and stopping. b) Musician cues shape stillness, and following one another. c) Include any special offerings. d) When the music ends, call everyone to join in a circle, offer blessing and recognition of the people and place, repeat the saying of our names, and release the circle.

7. Invite personal intentions, other locations or thoughts to dance on behalf of during this art response.

8. Identify who will be witnesses/chaplains to be present and answer questions from passersby. An InterPlay flyer may be shared if people are curious.

9. Conclude with sighs & a straightforward blessing.

For more info contact Cynthia@interplay.org or Catherineserenade123@earthlink.net www.interplay.org or on Facebook.

Catherine Jolly, LMFT, university instructor and therapist in private practice in Oakland, CA, brings her background in music (cello and composition) together with therapy and social change believing that the powerful social change involves collaborative artistic expression.

Cynthia Winton­Henry, M.Div, cofounded InterPlay and is an international teacher in art, spirituality, and social change. As an arts organizer and social artist, she designs images, movements, events and vocabularies that foster health, truth, freedom, and wisdom.

The Response In silence walk to location.

Arriving, use walking and stopping to orient to the spirit of the place. Quiet curiosity and care are encouraged. (5 minutes or more) When all art responders have had time to orient to the location, a solo instrument or voice begins, cueing shape-and-stillness. During this time we honor the land and people who live and meet there, recognizing the beauty and life in all who are impacted, giving thanks for them, and reweaving beauty into the location.

Individual dancers or vocalists may “pop out” for brief expressions. Allow the response to evolve as needed.

Gather in a circle holding hands as the leader offers a closing intention for the space and offering. Conclude by releasing or grounding the response.

Move to another location to notice. Finish by repeating each other’s full names again, to honor one another’s ancestry.

A YouTube of the January 2017 Oakland Art Response at the GhostShip fire location where musicians and artists lost their lives. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7eQiwEikBU Note: The point of the art response is not to attract attention. No pictures or amplification of the event is required. Like our brothers and sisters at Standing Rock, we believe the work is in the action itself, keeping us connected to the spirit of the land, the wisdom and soul of life itself. If someone wants to take photos it should not be the primary reason for the art response. This respects that both trained and untrained artists will be included.