Read the local newspaper article about our Momentus Central Coast Project!

Art speaks

Momentus International reaches out through film, design, and more
BY SHELLY CONE, Santa Maria Sun

Momentus youth from California’s Central Coast as questions of their peers in South and Central America.

Youth from Nicaragua are currently working on their response.

Stay tuned to see our response videos. Respond with your own videos/comments/images. Watch and join us in the Conversation.

Every person is different.
Each flag is a personal story.

Every person, with the intention to make their world better makes a difference.
Each flag-maker comes with the intention to make their world better.

Bring all those people together, and we can change the world.
Bring their flags together, and we can change the world.

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In collaboration with Holonic Arts Movement and Momentus International, we are building the Flag of Intention.

Momentus youth are inviting their local community to join them in creating a community flag of intention.  At the historic Linnaea’s Cafe, in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, the Momentus youth are displaying this collective art piece.   The exhibit features their flag of intention, art by Pacha (founder of the Holonic Art Movement and one of our Artist Mentors), photography by Enrique Esguerra, an up-and-coming photographer who has donated many hours of his time to photograph and film our youth.  His pieces show the youth in the process of making their flags, and highlight the importance of the process in art.

The flag of intention is inspired by the Tibetan prayer flag.  Each flag is made up of the the personal story of the flag-maker, and their intention for bettering their world.  We have first invited the local community to join, and soon will open it to a global audience.  We are eager to see how far it can stretch!  Please join us!

Interested in contributing to the flag?

In their performance of Press Play: NOW, Sergio, Devin, Breanna, Ally, Alejandro, Julie, Vanessa, Hannah, Katie, Adolfo, Tania, Yovanna, Zosha, and Evelyn  stood in front of their audience, shared their stories, and inspired their audience to make a pledge to change the world.   “We have to start small,” Evelyn said, playing the enthusiastic scientist.  “If all of us make a pledge to better the world, right now, we will see the difference.”  They asked the audience to Press Play: NOW.   “If we want to impact our community, we cannot wait until tomorrow, or next week, or next year;” Adolfo said after the show, “we have to do it now.”

After their performance, they held a talk-back discussion and spoke about the impact they personally wanted to make on the world, and they asked the audience to make pledges to do the same.   One audience member challenged the group, saying, “In three years, you won’t care about this.  You will be too busy working or in college.”

Julie replied, “What if, in three years, we did care.  What if?”  They inspired the crowd with their ambition and with their ability to collaborate so well with each other, having only known each other for two weeks.  “We all come from different backgrounds,” Adolfo said, indicating one person who believes in God, one person who doesn’t, another person from a small village in Mexico, another from Pismo Beach, California.  Zosha added, “If we can become this close and make this much happen in two weeks, it shows that communication is possible.”  Sergio added, “We discovered that we all love music.  We may like different kinds of music, but we all have the same appreciation for it.”  And that, they told the audience is what we should look for in pursuing peaceful communication. “We are all human,” Tania smiled.

They are now eager to go out into the community as active individuals, pursuing their personal pledges–to smile at people passing on the street more often, for instance, or to dedicate one day a week to serving the community, or to try to talk to a family member more often.  They are also engaging their local and global community in discussion through these presentations, and through their communication with other groups of youth in other countries.

You can still see their performance this Friday, at Arts Space Obispo at the SLO Creamery #165 if you live near by.

Whether you live near or far, join them in their efforts and make your own pledge.  And share it with us in the comments below.

Today, the Momentus Central Coast group spent the day editing a short film made for youth in Nicaragua.    Thanks to the guidance of Filmmaker Bahjat Alaadel, they spend 6 hours editing their questions and comments for the Nicaraguan youth.  They will be responding with a film of their own.

They gathered in the conference room at the Univision broadcasting station in Santa Maria.  The group knows the place well–yesterday they got a behind the scenes tour of the studio, and spoke live during their evening newscast.  Adolfo and Evelyn rose to the occasion and spoke eloquently about their experience and their upcoming performance, while the rest of the group cheered them on, and watched the engineers work their magic.  We are so thankful to the generous support of Univision.

See this film and their final performance this weekend!

Friday, July 24th, 7pm
Santa Maria Civic Theater
1660 N. McClelland St.
Santa Maria, CA 93454

Saturday, July 25th, 7pm
Santa Maria Civic Theater
1660 N. McClelland St.
Santa Maria, CA 93454

Friday, July 31, 6:30–8:00 pm
ARTS Space Obispo
SLO Creamery, #165
570 Higuera Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
805.544.9251

Friday, August, 7th 6 – 9pm
Art After Dark at Linnea’s Cafe
1110 Garden St San Luis Obispo,
CA 93401-3509

To learn more about the Central Coast Project click here!

After one week of incredible workshops by our local artist mentors Chris O’Connell (music), Dave Stamey (songwriting), Diana Staton (dance), Erma Schauffer (theater), and Pacha (fine art), Jeanne Firth, Sonya Thomson and Lina Yaqubian  (theater), Bahjat Alaadel (film), and thier own creative collaboration, these youth are ready to change the world!

Each day these 14 young artists from the Central Coast of California delved further into themselves, their culture, and their hopes and dreams, and have come out not only with a performance, but with a mission to impact their local community.  Bring people together with the goal to collaborate, communicate, and create, and wonderful things happen!

Sunday, they had their first performance at the Dana Adobe Heritage, and shared who they were (the voices of the future) in the midst of a 1850 wedding celebration reenactment.  They shared their story of the future to a young girl, and then learned the local dances from the Rancho.

Over the course of their week together, they decided that their theme is “we are music.”  This is why:

we are music

i am music because…
i am impulse
i am random tangents
i am music because I have my own rhythm
i script my own beat
i have many different sides
i am up for interpretation
i am music because I am different than any other song
i am free
i am my soul
i can bend the rules
i can improvise
because I want to be heard
because I can inspire
i can motivate
i can hurt  people
i can make people fee good
because I can be whatever I want to be
because I don’t like to feel restricted
i speak for me
i am random
i change tempo
i am intense
i am surprise
i am harmony
because we are made of the same notes
but we’re still our own tune
we are alive
we are unity
we are music
we are art

by Sergio Navaro, Devin Jarvis , Breanna O’Brien, Alley Krause, Alejandro Lopez , Julie Montez, Vanessa Candelario, Hanna Elston, Katie Sachen, Adolfo Chairez, Tania Chairez, Yovanna Rios, Evelyn  Aparicio

Momentus Performances and community talk-backs:

Sunday, July 19th, 10am – 2pm

Heritage Day at the Dana Adobe
671 S Oakglen Ave
Nipomo, CA 93444

Friday, July 24th, 7pm

Santa Maria Civic Theater
1660 N. McClelland St.
Santa Maria, CA 93454

Saturday, July 25th, 7pm

Santa Maria Civic Theater
1660 N. McClelland St.
Santa Maria, CA 93454

Come and see what these youth have to share. After the performance, youth will invite the audience to participate in a discussion about their performance and their vision for the future.

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From July 11th to July 25th, fifteen youth from Santa Maria to San Luis Obispo will be coming together to change the world (or at least begin to) with the Central Coast Momentus Project.

Over the course of two weeks, with the help of local artist mentors, these young people will work to create a performance that expresses their message to the world, and gives a glimpse into our community from the eyes of our youth. After only one week together, they will be speaking on the radio and television, sharing their message, and serving as ambassadors for their communities. A bilingual documentary will be made of the process, and will be shown locally and to their peers across the globe.

“There is a rich culture here on the Central Coast, and many stories are left unheard—especially young voices,” Anya says. “I am lucky to be able to work with such engaging young people and I am eager to see what they create.”

The Momentus Central Coast youth will be speaking on the radio and television, sharing their stories and their vision for the future. Stay posted to hear where and when they will be speaking out to their community!

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For More Information:
510 847 4837
info@momentusinternational.org

Why Do White People Have Black Spots? premieres in New York City at the ninth annual Media that Matters Film Festival on June 3rd, 2009!  This film was made by Anya Kandel, with the help of film adviser Alexander Razo-Mayers, and Victoria Rester and Katina Papson from World Savvy, and has received the International Dialogue Award.

The Media that Maters FilmFestival is not a one-time event, but rather a year-long movement, which invites you to take action.

Following the official launch on June 3, Arts Engine invites you to Screen. Act. Impact.
SCREEN the collection of jury-selected films.
ACT now to make a change.
IMPACT your community by using short films with on-the-ground activism.

Arts Engine is finalizing international screening locations now. Add yours to the map! Prep for upcoming semester and integrate film into your curriculum!
You’re invited!  Visit http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/ to learn more and to watch all 12 award winning films.

Momentus launched in California with an open house, hosted at the Acupuncture Center of Santa Maria, located in Santa Maria, on the Central Coast of California.  Central to the event was an international art exhibit, featuring Ghanaian artist Joseph Kwaw Besoabewie.  Attendees watched films showcasing the voices of local youth from the Central Coast and youth from Ghana.  They were able to participate in Momentus workshop activities, and enjoy live music by local musician Oscar Murro.

Local Film Club Features the Voices of Youth in their Community

The Nipomo High School Film Club spurred discussion among the visitors at the event with their film, Simple Things.  Two weeks prior to the event, film club members joined with Momentus and interviewed local youth, who discussed the roles of our current generations and the gap in communication between the two.  They then presented their film along with Why Do White People Have Black Spots? (a film which features questions and comments from youth in Ghana).  They then hosted a conversation with the audience, who were able to respond to the voices of Ghanaian and Californian youth.   Participants at the event were eager to be able to be a part of this dynamic conversation, and excited to be able to experience, first hand, what Momentus is about.

Event Features Ghanaian Artist Joseph Kwaw Besoabewie

Drumbeat

Art by Joseph Kwaw Besoabewie, an up-and-coming artist from Ghana, was featured was featured at the event.  Joseph has generously donated a portion of his proceeds to Momentus International, which will help fund our youth projects in Californian and abroad.

The exhibit was a great success!  In fact, due to the interest and demand for Joseph’s art, some of his newest pieces will be arriving in June for purchase. His works are still available for viewing at the Acupuncture Center of Santa Maria.  Call 805-922-4490 for details.
Joseph’s art is also available for commission.  Contact us at info@momentusinternational.org for details.