Breaking Walls global family deeply cares about the well being, happiness, and inspiration of everyone our global family touches! Each of us is keenly aware of how profoundly Coronavirus hit everyone, everywhere, and the mutual struggles we share to remain healthy, safe, and happy during this crisis.
Over these past months, Breaking Walls artists and community have faced almost unimaginable challenges and change. The Coronavirus threw Breaking Walls a huge curveball, convincing us to postpone our Bucharest Summit, our Community-Based Initiatives in Barcelona and Cape Town, and our In-School Workshop in Berlin. The Coronavirus lockdown even forced the NYCDOE to cancel our In-School Workshops midway.
We pivoted to meet the moment because providing a steady, safe, and creative space during the turmoil of a pandemic, makes our work more important than ever to the artists and communities we touch. How? By hosting a totally virtual Artist Cooperative in August. Beautifully, this experience, and our deep determination to connect young people across the globe, was transformative for our artists and Breaking Walls.
Breaking Walls launched this ground-breaking program on August 11 and concluded on August 18. Twenty-six young artists from Barcelona, Brooklyn, Cape Town, Detroit, Santiago, Tangier, and Warsaw came together to passionately illustrate of Breaking Walls’ mantra connect * create * change.
Over the eight, two-and-one-half-hours sessions, our artists experienced Ensemble-Building; Creative Writing; Breaking-Out sessions with their chosen artistic discipline mentor; and, the creation of each individual artist’s video showcasing the transformation of their original writing. Simultaneously, our artists experienced our Rainbow Connect Conversation where their unique cultures and points-of-view were shared; as well as, the guidance of our Health & Wellness Ambassador on issues of building self-awareness, trust, and community in a virtual world.
As we look forward to 2021, we realize the great struggles ahead for Breaking Walls to continue to stay connected with the more than 1,350 young people we inspire through all of our programmings.
Be assured that Breaking Walls remains steadfastly committed to maintaining our safe zone, emotionally, physically, and creatively for these amazing, intrepid young people and their import stories.
ONWARD, right? Into a new and brighter 2021.
INSHALLAH!
All my best,
