Community Building
A Virtual Community for Those Working in Conflict Situations
Impact Arts has launched Home of Hope, an international WhatsApp community with thematic-interest groups that connects artists, cultural workers, researchers, community leaders, and peacebuilders who work in situations of conflict and complex societal challenges.
Suggested Reading: The Heart of Teacher-Student Relationship
The student-teacher relationship in classical music conservatories is unlike almost any other.
Grants for Underserved Communities Across the Globe
The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation’s Global Grants Program funds a diverse range of charitable projects benefiting underserved communities, and especially young people, worldwide.
In Overlooked Spaces, Art and Dignity Flourish
David Norville, Director of Development and Communications, Project: Music Heals Us
In the winter of 2013, Project: Music Heals Us Founder Molly Carr shattered a glass bowl into her left hand on the eve of her concert tour, halting her performing career. In the months that followed, she enrolled in a nursing aide course through the American Red Cross and was assigned to work with Ruth, a late-stage Alzheimer’s patient who, staff warned her, hadn’t spoken in years. The advice she received was practical: get in, get the job done, harden yourself to the screams, and get out.
She knew that the care and attention all people need required something more. So she sat down, held Ruth’s hand in silence, and Ruth, the woman who had not spoken in years, turned and began speaking in complete sentences.
Molly came back every day of that residency. On the last day, she promised Ruth that she would return, and bring her viola next time.
Reaching Across Continents to Help Children Make Music
Jef Neve, Belgian classical and jazz pianist and composer
About 15 years ago, when I was on tour in Africa, I was lucky enough to meet the late Bob Collymore, Founder/CEO of Safaricom Kenya and one of the most inspiring people on the planet. I performed at the Safaricom headquarters for all the employees; Bob was immediately enthusiastic about bringing more jazz to Nairobi, and he decided to launch the Safaricom International Jazz Festival. He organized the festival setup, and I helped him with the programming.
GUEST PERSPECTIVE
When Art and Music Create a Shared Listening Space
Giovanni Acquilino, 2025 Cohort Member, Global Leaders Institute
What does visual art have to do with listening?
It’s an unusual question—but one that’s well worth exploring, as I discovered recently when I attended Sguardi Paralleli (Parallel Glances) – Art Therapy and Autism: Art as Language, an exhibition held in Alassio, Italy and curated by art therapist Carla Paura.
NEC Creates Free Music-Learning Game
The New England Conservatory has produced a free new music game application, NADIA.
Compelling New Research in Scotland
Many years of research by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health on Big Noise Govenhill provide the deepest evidence of our field’s social and economic impact.
Mapping Social Impact Across Africa
CAN (Community Arts Network) commissioned their member/partner organization Somali Arts Foundation to do a first-ever mapping of the socially engaged arts and cultural practitioners across North Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and South Africa in an effort to reposition the arts as central to public life and to build stronger connections between artists, institutions, and communities
In South Africa, a Marimba Band Moves with the Music
Thandeka Dlamini, Band Manager, Organizer, and Coach, Goede Hoop Marimba Band
Since 2014, the Goede Hoop Marimba Band has operated in Boksburg, Gauteng, a small South African town in the smallest South African province. The band started in 2014 at the Goede Hoop Primary School, the hub where all practice takes place, as a way of keeping children out of the streets after school, committing them to something that could positively impact their future, and strengthening their community bonds.
