Nonviolence - 10th Nov 2020

Azizi Marshall and Eduardo Bocanegra
Discussion
Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/481914121

The Collective Impact Series presented a discussion between Columbia College Chicago alum and founding director of the Center for Creative Arts Therapy Azizi Marshall '01 and Eduardo Bocanegra Senior Director for Heartland Alliance READI Chicago. They discussed their experiences with nonviolence initiatives in Chicago. Pathways for creatives to get involved in this area of social practice were explored along with the current issues facing violence prevention activities in Chicago.

The philosophy of nonviolence is based on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. civil rights action to fight for justice by humanizing the process. The six principles of the philosophy are, nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people, seeks to win friendship and understanding, seeks to defeat injustice not people, holds that suffering can educate and transform, chooses to love instead of hate and believes that the universe is on the side of justice.

Questions Asked by the Audience to the Panel

Q1. Hi Azizi. Great to be here. I’m curious if you’ve reflected on connections that might exist between the distance you are experiencing with ‘remote’ arts work and the experience of ‘remote’ that may be felt by our incarcerated fellow citizens?

Q2. For Aziz, what do you think was the hardest part for you in using the arts to break down those barriers you just talked about?

Q3. The two speakers are amazing. Thank you for sharing with us! This isn’t really a question to put you on the spot—I just want you to talk more about what it means to you to “play”, to “collaborate”, to “practice art” to shift us toward a more equitable future.

Q4. In the civic media practicum class, I’m researching sexual harassment in workplaces. I would love to learn a little bit about how you would use creative art to help implement changes in policies for employees to have a safe place to report these issues.

Q5. Azizi- Have you run into any challenges helping people working through trauma with art? Are some people resistant to expressing themselves initially?

Q6. How did you both find your way from art to more of a community impact / engagement focus within the arts.

Q7. Do you have any simple suggestions for how to bring an arts-based approach to increasing engagement for K-12 students in their video classes? We're looking at offering some improv sessions....

Q8. Eduardo: In an Upswell interview you addressed the issues of the funding of nonprofits and existing systemic challenges. What kind of policy changes is READI Chicago pushing for?

Q9. Thank you for this powerful discussion. How do you both approach the non-verbal aspects of trauma? Are the narrative therapy techniques effective or do you use other methods?

Q10. Do you have any simple suggestions for how to bring an arts-based approach to increasing engagement for K-12 students in their video classes? We're looking at offering some improv sessions....

Event Data

Registered to attend - 51

Attendance - 26 (not including Collective Impact team)

22 Students - 2 Staff - 2 Faculty