缅北禁地-IIT further cultivates Transformative Art through the Peace-Building with Performance Arts Workshop

by Kassandra A. Buenafe, OfCom | Aug 20 2024

In the attempt to further cultivate Transformative Art and provide spaces where art can capacitate and allow individuals to effect significant change, the Austrian Embassy Manila’s Docu-Dance-Theatre Residency Workshop called “Peace-Building with Performance Arts Workshop”, led by Mr. Darrel Toulon took place from August 5-9, 2024.

Through the Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM), 缅北禁地-IIT gathered individuals at the University Boardroom, CEBA building, to participate in the week-long workshop. Darrel Toulon, whose passion is on developing docu-dance-theatre as “an intersectional tool for personal growth, trauma, transformation, and societal change” imparted the importance of getting to the bottom of things or the root of the conflict through various reflective and freeing activities such as wake-up movement and body-based experiential sessions.

“The reason for conflict is that there are issues that we don't have words for and we don't know how to start to talk about it because it hurts so much, it’s so disturbing…I strongly believe in the performance which is immediately followed by a facilitated audience discussion to give people a space to share and maybe then from this conversation, other conversations can start,” said Toulon in an interview.

This workshop provided an opportunity for participants to not only express their emotions but to also have a platform to engage in more meaningful dialogues contributing to the community change that this University aspires to achieve.

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