Willingboro Senior Citizen Center - No Ordinary Day of Observation

Pat Delahaye making quilt for soldier oversees

Lillian Burroughs "Crazy Quilt"

On Friday October 21st, I went to the Willingboro Senior Citizen Center for my first day of observation.  It was a two-fold process - fulfilling an assignment for Cultural Documentation Field Lab and doing ethnography for the first Phase of In FACT's SCATTS program (Discovering the Folklife traditions of Willingboro).  Well, Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, It was Motown Revue Day.  Before the program started, I took the time to venture into the Creative Arts room where the Quilting Diva's greeting me warmly, and shared the passion of their craft. Have you visited your local senior citizen center lately?

                      Click below to watch:
     Video of Motown Revue

A friend asked me in a vibrantly pitched voice.... 

                  "These are SENIORS?"

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MACS as a matter of In FACT

Board Members in this photo (head of table to left):  Patricia Burch, Constance English, Cassandra Allen, Saundra Gillard Davis, TAHIRA, Gordon Boelter, Esq., Coniqua Abdul-Malik, Rita Moonsammy, Queen Nur, Herman English

Photo taken by board member:  Alonzo Jennings.

In FACT:  Innovative Solutions through Folk Art, Culture and Tradition 

is a cultural sustainability organization that was incorporated as a non-profit in New Jersey on July 8, 2011.  In FACT, Inc. is a social enterprise with a mission to perpetuate and preserve folklife traditions and to use these traditions to sustain communities and affect social change.  Through matriculating my Masters in Cultural Sustainability at Goucher College, this is how it came to be:

1.  Fall 2010 - Cultural Sustainability - Rory Turner, PhD.
Developed SCATTS (Sustaining Culture and Tradition Through Storytelling) as a Groundwork Project that involves fieldwork, folk arts workshops and a concert & exhibition.

2. Fall 2010 - Financial Skills - Pat Ouerdnik.
Developed business plan for non-profit organization, originally titled Caught By the Tale.  The business plan houses SCATTS.


3. Winter 2011 - Social Entrepreneurship - Rebbeca Saltman and Tiffany Espinosa.
Developed social enterprise concept and national scope of company.  Changed name to In FACT:  Innovative Solutions through Folk Art, Culture and Tradition.


4.  Winter 2011 - Cultural Documentation - Harold Anderson, PhD.
Developed plan for fieldwork and learned documentation techniques.  Fieldwork is the first phase of the SCATTS project.

5.  Communications 2011 - Communications - Kate Pippin
Developed six-month Communications Plan moving organization to next level, including strategies for 1st board meeting, and day-to-day priorities.

6. Fall 2010 - Leadership - Ross PhD

Learned techniques in leadership that framed selection of board, and increased my skills as President/CEO of company.

7.  Summer 2011 - Grantwriting - Melissa McCloud, PhD
Wrote and won Brimstone Grant from the National Storytelling Network for the SCATTS project.


8.  Fall 2011 -  Cultural Partnerships - Rita Moonsammy PhD and Amy Skillman PhD
Developed cultural partnership plan for second program: Community VOICE Circles:  VOICE (Victorious Outreach Igniting Civic Engagement).  Gained additional cultural partners for In FACT.


9.  Fall 2011- Field Lab - Andy Kolovos, PhD
Conducting initial fieldwork for SCATTS program.  Thomas Carroll PhD is the fieldwork consultant on the SCATTS project.  More to come....

10.  Fall 2011- Cultural Policy - Robert Baron, PhD
Writing papers and studying discourse on Cultural policy that has significance to policy and civic engagement initiatives of In FACT.  Conducted an interview with Joyce Goldsmith, Burlington County Division of Parks Cultural Coordinator for 1st paper.  More to come....


The faculty and administrative staff of Goucher provide multiple networking opportunities that are advantageous to my development as a cultural worker and to the establishment of the corporation.

In FACT is on the move with a dynamic board that knows how to give PRAISE:
Passionate
Resourceful
Action-oriented
Innovative
Strategic
Energized

Visit our website:  In FACT, Inc.

For more information about the developments from each course click on the MACS Course Work link above.

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365 Ways to Sustain Culture & 54

I have a new and profoundly fun challenge.  Let's post  365 Ways to Sustain Culture.

This challenge was inspired at the NJ Council of the Arts Multi-Day Artist Training last month.   The Keynote speaker for Day 1, Noah Scalin, shared, that back in 2007, he heard a voice that said, "Make a Skull a Day." - and so he did for 365 Days.  He presented a slide show with remarkable creative skulls made from flower petals, a sheet, scratchboard, soysauce, wire, bottle parts. construction blocks in the middle of NY city, dance steps..... you name it. The original creations are called Skull a Day 1.0.  He is now up to Skull a Day 5.0, has exhibited in major museums, and has published books including:  A Daily Creativity Journal:  Make Something Everyday & Change Your Life.  Noah had lots of help from bloggers. I am hoping to have the same.

Noah's workshop inspired me to blog 365 ways to sustain culture.  My anticipated MA degree in Cultural Sustainability from Goucher is this Spring 2012.  My goal is to list 365 ways to sustain culture on this blog, with lots of ideas from fellow bloggers by the time I receive my MA.  That brings me to Part II the number 54.  I will be 54 this year, so my goal is to gain a minimum of 54 followers to this blog.  Please join me in this adventure, and spread the word to friends and colleagues.   Four ways to add to the list:
1) In Comments below.
2) In Comments on the 365 Ways to Sustain Culture page. (Where the list is kept)
3) E-mail me at kaabd001@goucher.edu.
4) My facebook Page.

I'll Start:  365 Ways to Sustain Culture
1)  Blog about it.

Visit Noah's Blog

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