Moving Towards Love + Justice
$530.00-
OVERVIEW
“Art is an effort to create, beside the real world, a more humane world.” – Andre Maurois
With the recent presidential election, many white people are feeling a new (or renewed) sense of urgency to confront racism. However, many of us feel confused about what to say, how to act and what to do. This confusion can lead to anything from well-intentioned yet awkward missteps, frustration, a sense of overwhelming sadness and powerlessness, harmful and damaging actions toward people of color, or denial that racism exists at all.
As creatives we have an incredible opportunity to engage with our own whiteness, and explore the impact of racism and potential for racial justice through our own creative work.
Racism does exist. Unless we are consciously and consistently addressing it, racism continues in visible and less visible ways to hurt all of our communities. We need to be vulnerable, educate ourselves, speak up and be accountable for our behaviors, practices and thoughts.
Over the course of the three-day workshop, Rebekka will use arts-based, creative and reflective practices to support our examination of what racism looks like in our personal lives, creative lives, communities, and systems. This exploration will establish the gateway to how we can be agents for change in healing the legacy of racism and its insidious effects.
This will be a safe space for folks to ask questions, engage in conversations about what they’re genuinely curious about, and commit to tangible action-steps. We’ll lift one another up and hold each other accountable.
Be prepared for a powerful, challenging, engaging and motivating workshop.
“Participating in the Moving Towards Love and Justice workshop was one of the most enlightening experiences I’ve had in a long time. It was a deep inner look at my own life, while understanding more clearly the gigantic issue of racism as a whole. The compassionate guidance, the tools and resources, the feeling of being held in sacred space, all made it easier for me to do this important work. I came away a more compassionate and informed person.” -Sarah Love McCoy
RETREAT GOALS
- Use the arts and creative practice to engage conversations about privilege and racism
- Begin to explore our own ancestry and how it relates to racial justice
- Explore creative tools to interrupt whiteness and combat racism
- Make learning and action-oriented commitments that address racism
Workshop Details
Maximum Number of People is 14
DATES: March 3-5, 2017
- Friday 6:30pm-9:00pm – Dinner, Community Building + Intention Setting
- Saturday 10:00am – 4:30pm (60 minute lunch break)
- Sunday 10:00am – 4:30pm (60 minute lunch break)
RETREAT COST
- Full Price – $530
- Discounted Rate – $380
- Nourishment: Dinner on Friday will be provided, as well as lunch on Sunday. All other meals will be on your own.
LOCATION
Flora Bowley’s studio, 522 North Thompson Street, Suite 5 Portland, Oregon
PREP WORK FOR THE RETREAT
There will be a couple of assignments as prep work for this retreat. These are currently being finalized and will involve some reading, video viewing and personal and family reflection. Participants will receive more information on prep work prior to the workshop.
Friday night dinner + conversation. All are welcome!
Join us for a catered Lebanese meal and creative, facilitated conversation from 6:30-9pm.
Rebekka will share the ways she has been approaching whiteness and anti-racism work in her Seattle community. Rebekka will talk about her role as co-founder of In Our BackYard, a multi-disciplinary collective that uses arts-based experiential practices to create a stronger network of resilient white people. She will also share her recent work on Toward Love In Public — an excavation ritual for white people reckoning with whiteness. Come with your ideas, questions, and inspiration and connect about creative ways to explore issues of race, privilege, and justice.
$25: Includes dinner, drinks, and conversation
(Free for workshop attendees).
TOWARD A SOCIALLY JUST FUNDING MODEL
Rebekka considers facilitating these workshops one of the ways she shows up for racial justice. Thirty percent of retreat fees will be used to support travel costs and program supplies, and subsidize the retreat planning and facilitation time. The remaining 70 percent of the retreat fees will center people of color and will be allocated in the following ways:
- 30% – Portland based social justice organization (TBD)
- 30% – Retreat consultation services -this program has been developed in consultation with Cristina Orbe and Kirin Bhatti. In addition to having PhD level lived experience with racism, Cristina and Kirin are skilled leaders and educators in racial and gender justice, arts-based practices and energetic healing modalities. They are magic and they are the real deal. For more information on Cristina and Kirin:
10% – FEEST (Food Justice and Youth Leadership Program in Seattle)
ABOUT REBEKKA
Rebekka Goldsmith comes to this work as an artist and facilitator of arts-based practices. She approaches racial justice work with the same values as she does her work with voice. Rebekka believes that everyone can sing, and that everyone’s voice is important. She values vulnerability and easing people into bigger and bigger risks – whether through singing, creative-exploration, or conversations about privilege and identity . Rebekka has respect for the way that people show up and lovingly challenges people to be their most alive selves.
Rebekka has been facilitating workshops, trainings and retreats throughout the United States for more than ten years. She holds a theater degree from Rutgers University, and certification through Rhiannon’s yearlong All the Way In master vocal improvisation program. Rebekka is a Level III certified instructor of Somatic Voicework, The LoVetri Method (TM) and a certified life coach through the Coaches Training Institute.
In 2014, Rebekka co-founded In Our BackYard, a multi-disciplinary collective that uses arts-based experiential group practices to create a stronger network of resilient white people who have the capacity to recognize and act on their power and the responsibility to eliminate racism. She coaches white artists, business owners and leaders to do the same.
Click here, for more information about Rebekka.
“I’m so thrilled to host Rebekka’s workshop in my studio. I was introduced to Rebekka and her work during a particularly challenging and tender experience that emerged as a result of the Artists For Love project. Issues of race, privilege, and inclusion were brought forth, and I found myself seeking counsel and support. One hour-long conversation with Rebekka allowed me to not only see my blindspots, but also to feel empowered and eager to learn more about these sensitive and important issues that so many of us are waking up to right now. Rebekka’s warm and compassionate way of listening and insights were truly game changing for me. I can only imagine how powerful a daylong or three-day workshop will be. If you’re considering coming, I highly recommend following the call. It’s time to do this work. I hope to see you there!” – Flora