Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and lots of festive love to all of you 

from here in Cochabamba where we're celebrating with chicha, bonfires, singing and dancing!!  

 

 Big love 

:-)

Celebrating "El Cantave" with AVE

Here is the result of the stop-motion workshops with the educators at AVE, a short animation called 'El Cantave', which communicates the values of AVE as an organisation, through the story of one character who wakes up at dawn lonely and sad, until a bird arrives on the scene, calls to him to follow him and leads him to a group of friends:

Thanks to the whole team for their enthusiasm and energy throughout the weeks of the workshop.  Here they are below with their certificates from the workshop (left to right) Marycel, Rodrigo, Carolina, Ander, Carolina, Cristobal and Mery:

:-)

[metamorphosis] acto 3: AGUA!! 20.12.13

[metamorphosis] acto 3: AGUA!!

Water - my sign and energy - and what a brilliant night

 - a real great balance between lots of drawing and lots of dancing!! :-) 

Performance from Miri Bamba (left - Gontech on the right enjoying the performance!)

DJ's Gontech and Mighty Pirate from San Pedro Musik.

Body Painting MeXist Cartagena.

Live art Olivia Barron and Kim Alexander.

Photography Paulo Andrés Saavedra Rodriguez.

Thanks to Grace Schmitz for these extra photos that have a real under-the-water feel! :-)
:-)

"Celebrando la Familia CAICC": animation screenings

"Celebrating the CAICC Family" cake (multicoloured layers of sponge inside!) and the box full of the project magazines.

And after a whole week of editing... 

finally you can watch the whole CAICC film here, this version includes the kids talking about the projcet and footage of them working, shot by fellow workshop facilitator Florrie Cassell:

Watch this same video with English subtitles here.

Watch the animation without documentary footage in Spanish here 

and with English subtitles here.

We had two screenings of the CAICC films for the kids and their parents last week:

19.12.13 screening at San Pablo Prison in Cillacollyo:  A really (and perhaps surprisingly?!?) cheery morning where loads of tiny kids at the San Pablo prison and some of their parents watched our films in an upstairs room. Then we came down to the small courtyard that was full of all ages of folk, men women and children. Some of the CAICC nursery kids performed a traditional dance then two clowns from Banco Sol did a hilarious and cheeky routine that had the whole crowd laughing, and finally gave out presents to the kids.

20.12.13 screening at the CAICC nursery: A beautifully hectic morning with so SO many kids, from tiny tots up to the older ones and lots of parents plus all the staff.  Everyone had hot chocolate and bread for breakfast and hotdogs and coca-cola for lunch.... and there was a Christmas tree surrounded by piles of gifts - each child got 3 really decent gifts as far as I could see - many donated by anonymous 'godfathers and mothers' who support the organisation.  We screened the films for more of the parents and kids and handed out the project magazine that Florrie's Sustainable Bolivia mini-grant funded, documenting the whole process of the project for them.  

Here are some of them enjoying their magazine's: 

\

[this is the first blog post showing the kids faces, which is because we now have permission for their images to appear online]

Thank you to Teresa for coming along and helping out at both screenings, 

thanks to all the super supportive CAICC staff, 

a big huge thanks to Florrie for all the amazing collaboration,

and most of all a huge HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful kids that we worked with 

and were so inspired and warmed by!

:-)

"La Alegría de una Comunidad Unida" - INFANTE exhibition 18.12.13

The canvases of the girls at INFANTE, representing their community at INFANTE.  Each individual girl designed her canvas to reflect her personality and likes using paint and collage.  Each girl then continued her design onto the corners of the canvases of the two neighbouring canvases, and was painted into by them in return.  In this way the girls created a type of puzzle with their canvases, symbolising that each one of them is a unique individual with her own story, and is also connected with her companions in a strong and united community.

The grand-finale of the INFANTE canvas painting project last Wednesday afternoon - ordering and hanging the girls' interconnecting canvases in their cafe with workshop co-ordinator Emma Romano and fellow SB'er Teresa Forbes:  

A patchwork display of the girl's body paint images.

Towards the end of the workshops each girl choose some words that are significant to her and we painted them onto the girls' arms and hands.  We took photos of these body paintings with each girl in front of her canvas and also in groups; using the power of their bodies to communicate clearly the values that are most important to them within their community at INFANTE.

Roberta, 17 years old

What did you like about the workshop?  I like to paint.  

What do you like about INFANTE? I like everything 

What values are important to you? Equality, love, joy

Carla Paola Flores Encinas, 14 years old

What did you like about the workshop?  That we amused ourselves.  

Is there anything you didn't like about the workshop?  

If there is any who gets angry very quickly.

What does the theme of 'community' mean for you?

It is really beautiful to share.

What values are important to you? Honesty Love Strength Peace

What title would you give this project? Peace and Love

Gimena Castillo Flores, 15 years old

What did you like about the workshop?  

I like everything that we did. 

Is there anything you didn't like about the workshop?  

The girls' fights.

What do you like about INFANTE? Everything 

What does the theme of 'community' mean for you? 

Friends are sisters.

What values are important to you? Strength, worth, joy

Katherine Andrea Vargas, 12 years old

What did you like about the workshop?  Everything

Is there anything you didn't like about the workshop?  

Nothing. That they forget the key to the cabinet.

What do you like about INFANTE? more more more the food 

Is there anything you don't like about INFANTE? no nothing

What does the theme of 'community' mean for you? 

I don't know... sisters

What values are important to you? 

Collaboration, joy, security and unity.

What title would you give this project? 

The joy and unity of the women.

Ana Paola Antezana Meneses, 14 years old

What did you like about the workshop? How creative it is and how important to serve ourselves to learn one day

Is there anything you didn't like about the workshop?  

No I liked everything

What do you like about INFANTE? It's teachings and understanding.

Is there anything you don't like about INFANTE? no 

What does the theme of 'community' mean for you? 

Like a group of friends, to talk 

What values are important to you? 

Honesty in life, try to be honest

What title would you give this project? 

The paintings of our united world.

Karim Adrea Balboa Ballón, 15 years old

What did you like about the workshop? 

Well I really liked to paint and distract myself in the workshop using and combining colours.

Is there anything you didn't like about the workshop?  

No because sometimes I come demotivated

What do you like about INFANTE? I like it a lot because there are people from outside who come to give workshops in the house.

Is there anything you don't like about INFANTE? Well sometimes I get bored in the house and get in a bad mood

What does the theme of 'community' mean for you? 

Well for me all the girls are like my sisters and the person and all you

What values are important to you? 
Unity, Joy and strength are those that are important to me
What title would you give this project? 
Happiness for the whole world

Daniela Velasquez, 18 years old

What did you like about the workshop? I liked to use creativity to translate her by painting a picture

Is there anything you didn't like about the workshop?  No

What do you like about INFANTE? 

To coexist and to share with the girls.

Is there anything you don't like about INFANTE? no 

What does the theme of 'community' mean for you? 

It means union and integration between people 

What values are important to you? Peace and love

What title would you give this project? 

I'd like it to be called a "unity community"

Melany Antezana, 11 years old

What did you like about the workshop? that which is creation

Is there anything you didn't like about the workshop?  No nothing

What do you like about INFANTE? Everything

Is there anything you don't like about INFANTE? 

no I like everything 

What does the theme of 'community' mean for you? 

It means that community is lovely

What values are important to you? Peace and love and affection
What title would you give this project? Art

So having read through all the girls answers to what they would like the project to be called,

here's the group title we chose for the exhibition:

"The Joy of the United Community"

Iced onto a celebratory (and very chocolatey!) cake for the girls to share with their visitors at their INFANTE cafe exhibition.

"Infante: Comprehensive Promotion of Women and Children

For a free life, free of violence"

T-shirt slogan communicating the vision of INFANTE. The girls and staff gifted me one of these t-shirts and mug at the end of this final session.

Thanks to Emma for the collaboration, 

thanks to all the INFANTE staff 

and above all thank you to all the girls in our workshop!

:-)

p.s. anyone interested in a PDF copy of the whole project email: kimunkey@hotmail.com

[metamorphosis] acto 3: AGUA!! Body Paint Promo Shoot

A crazy fun body-paint session last week for the promo for the [metamorphosis] acto 3: AGUA,

with artist MeXist Cartagena 

and photographer  and fellow SB'er Jonathan McCarthy

the artist himself MeXist!! 

[metamorphosis] acto 3: AGUA!! 20.12,13

:-)

[metamorphosis] acto 2: TIERRA!! 13.12.13

[metamorphosis] act 2: EARTH 13.12.13

Promo video from Miri Bamba.

Here's what happened on the night...

DJ's Gontech and Noisetek from San Pedro Musik.

Body Painting MeXist Cartagena.

Live art Olivia Barron and Kim Alexander.

Performance from Miri Bamba.

Photography Paulo Andrés Saavedra Rodriguez.

Video from Jonathan McCarthy.

:-)

[metamorphosis] acto 1: [AIRE] 06.12.13 !!!

What a brilliant night last Friday at our first act of [metamorphosis], acto 1: AIRE! 

Body painting with Olivia, me and MeXist:

Surreal performance about owls and air from Miri Bamba!

Live drawing with Olivia Barron. 

And awesome electronic music all night 

from San Pedro Musik with Gontech.

Thanks to Paulo Saavedra for the majority of these photos of the night, and to Jonathan McCarthy for documenting the night and editing it into this brilliant video:

And tonight we are set to do it all over again, this time with [metamorphosis] acto 2: [TIERRA]!:

...nos vemos ahí!!

:-)