Episode 40: Pangea World Theater - Chapter 1

Pangea World Theater spent its 25th anniversary year helping their Minneapolis community heal the wounds and sort through the ashes left in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. But this mending and reckoning dance was nothing new because Pangea's work is intrinsic to the story of this place-- It’s struggles.-- It's beauty-- It's resilience. This is the first of two episodes recounting Pangea's transformational history and impact.
ANNOUNCING
https://www.artandcommunity.com/copy-of-podcast (THE CHANGE THE STORY COLLECTION)
A LIBRARY OF CHANGEtheSTORY/CHANGEtheWorld EPISODES
Arts-based community development comes in many flavors: dancers, and painters working with children and youth; poets and potters collaborating with incarcerated artists: cultural organizers in service to communities addressing racial injustice, all this and much, much more. 
Many of our listeners have told us they would like to dig deeper into art and change stories that focus on specific issues, constituencies, or disciplines. Others have shared that they are using the podcast as a learning resource and would appreciate categories and cross-references for our stories. 
In response you we have curated episode collections in six arenas:
JUSTICE ARTS * THEATER: PERFORMING CHANGE * CULTURAL ORGANIZING FOR CHANGE CHILDREN, YOUTH & LEARNING * TRAINING COMMUNITY ARTS LEADERS * MUSIC OF TRANSFORMATION
https://www.artandcommunity.com/copy-of-podcast (CHECK IT OUT)​BIO'sMeena Natarajan is a playwright and director and the Artistic and Executive Director of Pangea World Theater, a progressive, international ensemble space that creates at the intersection of art, equity and social justice. Meena has co-curated and designed many of Pangea World Theater’s professional and community-based programs. She has written at least ten full-length works for Pangea, ranging from adaptations of poetry and mythology to original works dealing with war, spirituality, personal and collective memory. Her play, Etchings in the Sand co-created with dancer Ananya Chattterjea has been published by Routledge in a volume called Contemporary Plays by Women of Color: The Second Edition.   Dipankar Mukherjee is the Artistic Director of Pangea World Theater, where he has led the organization since its inception in 1995. As a director, he has worked professionally in India, England, Canada and the United States. His aesthetics have evolved through his commitment to social justice, equity and deep spirituality. Dipankar received a Humphrey Institute Fellowship to Salzburg and has been a Ford Foundation delegate to India and Lebanon. He is a recipient of a Bush Leadership Fellowship to study non-violent and peaceful methodologies in India and South Africa. Dipankar facilitates processes that disrupt colonial, racist and patriarchal modalities of working.EPISODE 41: Notable Mentionshttps://www.pangeaworldtheater.org/ (Pangea World Theater): Pangea World Theater builds bridges across multiple cultures and creates sacred and intersectional spaces. We create authentic spaces for real conversations across race, class and gender. Through a nuanced exploration of privilege, our own and others, we craft ensemble-based processes with a global perspective. Through art, theater and creative organizing we strive for a just world where people treat each other with honor and respect. We believe that artists are seers giving voice and language to the world we envision. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natya_Shastra (The Nāṭya Śāstra) is notable as an ancient encyclopedic treatise on the arts,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natya_Shastra#cite_note-GuyBeckp138-2 ([2])https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natya_Shastra#cite_note-Schwartz2004p12-8 ([8]) one which has influenced dance, music and literary traditions in...

Pangea World Theater spent its 25th anniversary year helping their Minneapolis community heal the wounds and sort through the ashes left in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. But this mending and reckoning dance was nothing new because Pangea's work is intrinsic to the story of this place-- It’s struggles.-- It's beauty-- It's resilience. This is the first of two episodes recounting Pangea's transformational history and impact.

ANNOUNCING

THE CHANGE THE STORY COLLECTION

A LIBRARY OF CHANGEtheSTORY/CHANGEtheWorld EPISODES

Arts-based community development comes in many flavors: dancers, and painters working with children and youth; poets and potters collaborating with incarcerated artists: cultural organizers in service to communities addressing racial injustice, all this and much, much more. 

Many of our listeners have told us they would like to dig deeper into art and change stories that focus on specific issues, constituencies, or disciplines. Others have shared that they are using the podcast as a learning resource and would appreciate categories and cross-references for our stories. 

In response you we have curated episode collections in six arenas:

JUSTICE ARTS * THEATER: PERFORMING CHANGE * CULTURAL ORGANIZING FOR CHANGE CHILDREN, YOUTH & LEARNING * TRAINING COMMUNITY ARTS LEADERS * MUSIC OF TRANSFORMATION

CHECK IT OUT​BIO'sMeena Natarajan is a playwright and director and the Artistic and Executive Director of Pangea World Theater, a progressive, international ensemble space that creates at the intersection of art, equity and social justice. Meena has co-curated and designed many of Pangea World Theater’s professional and community-based programs. She has written at least ten full-length works for Pangea, ranging from adaptations of poetry and mythology to original works dealing with war, spirituality, personal and collective memory. Her play, Etchings in the Sand co-created with dancer Ananya Chattterjea has been published by Routledge in a volume called Contemporary Plays by Women of Color: The Second Edition.   Dipankar Mukherjee is the Artistic Director of Pangea World Theater, where he has led the organization since its inception in 1995. As a director, he has worked professionally in India, England, Canada and the United States. His aesthetics have evolved through his commitment to social justice, equity and deep spirituality. Dipankar received a Humphrey Institute Fellowship to Salzburg and has been a Ford Foundation delegate to India and Lebanon. He is a recipient of a Bush Leadership Fellowship to study non-violent and peaceful methodologies in India and South Africa. Dipankar facilitates processes that disrupt colonial, racist and patriarchal modalities of working.EPISODE 41: Notable Mentions

Pangea World Theater: Pangea World Theater builds bridges across multiple cultures and creates sacred and intersectional spaces. We create authentic spaces for real conversations across race, class and gender. Through a nuanced exploration of privilege, our own and others, we craft ensemble-based processes with a global perspective. Through art, theater and creative organizing we strive for a just world where people treat each other with honor and respect. We believe that artists are seers giving voice and language to the world we envision. 

The Nāṭya Śāstra is notable as an ancient encyclopedic treatise on the arts,[2][8] one which has influenced dance, music and literary traditions in India.[9] It is also notable for its aesthetic "Rasa" theory, which asserts that entertainment is a desired effect of performance arts but not the primary goal, and that the primary goal is to transport the individual in the audience into another parallel reality, full of wonder, where he experiences the essence of his own consciousness, and reflects on spiritual and moral questions.[8][1 World Theater. 

Theater Del Pueblo: is a small, non-profit Latino theater located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fostered by the Latino community on the West Side, it has grown since its inception in 1992 to serve St. Paul, Minneapolis, the Twin Cities/metro area, and greater Minnesota.you had 

Asian American Renaissance: Asian American Renaissance began as a coming together of artists and community activists of Asian decent in 1992 in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota and helped to inspire succeeding generations of Asian American artists in the upper midwest

Theater MU: Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota Theater Mu produces great performances born of arts, equity, and justice from the heart of the Asian American experience. Mu (pronounced MOO) is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese character for the shaman/artist/warrior who connects the heavens and the earth through the tree of life. 

Penumbra Theater: is an African-American theatre company in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was founded by Lou Bellamy in 1976. The theater has been recognized for its artistic quality and its role in launching the careers of playwrights including two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson.[1][2][3][4] The 135-seat theater serves as a space to showcase the exploration of the African-American experience. Each year, Penumbra performs for over 40,000 people and conducts educational outreach workshops for more than 5,000 students.

Cedar Cultural Center: The Cedar’s mission is to promote intercultural appreciation and understanding through the presentation of global music and dance. The Cedar is committed to artistic excellence and integrity, diversity of programming, support for emerging artists, and community outreach. Stage, (Pangea)

Lake Street Arts: “Since 2015 Pangea World Theater's LSA! program has worked to deepen the practice of placekeeping through the arts. Working with majority artists from East African, Black, Latinx, Immigrant, Asian and Indigenous Communities along East Lake Street, LSA! uses art as a tool to shape development plans and visions for a more just, sustainable and livable Minneapolis to emerge. We affirm the only world we want is a world worthy of All Black Lives! A world that honors Treaties and returns tribal lands! A world worthy of All Children! Let's dream together.”

Poetry in the Windows  In 2021, Poetry In the Windows brought 21 poems to windows along Lake Street connecting poets, the public and local businesses.

Angela Two Stars is a public artist and curator. She is the director of All My Relations Arts, a project of the Native American Community Development Institute in Minneapolis, MN. Angela is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and received her BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design. Angela's professional arts career began at All My Relations Arts gallery as an exhibiting artist, which then led to further opportunities including her first curatorial role for the exhibition titled, Bring Her Home, Stolen Daughters of Turtle Island, a powerful exhibition highlighting the ongoing epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. 

George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit $20 bill, on May 25, 2020.[3] Derek Chauvin, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd's neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.[4] After his murder, protests against police brutality, especially towards black people, quickly spread across the United States and globally. His dying words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry.

National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation: Pangea World Theater and Art2Action collaborate to bring you The National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation! This groundbreaking Institute provides a unique experience for theatre artists to collaborate and share methodologies of directing and ensemble creation in an environment with special emphasis on non-Western techniques and social justice. The Institute is committed to supporting the professional development and exchange among artists of color, LGBTQ2+ and women directors. 

 Sharon Day:Sharon M. Day is enrolled in the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, and makes her home in Minnesota, where she is a founder and executive director of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force, a vital provider of culturally appropriate health services, programs and housing. She is a grandmother, great-grandmother, and an artist, musician, and writer.

Missouri River Walk: “ Led by Sharon Day and a team of Anishinaabe Grandmothers, Water Walks respect the truth that water is a life giver, and because women also give life they are the keepers of the water. In Anishinaabe religion prophecies were given before contact with light skinned people. The prophecies state that when the world has been befouled and the waters turned bitter by disrespect, human beings will have two options to choose from: materialism or spirituality. If they chose spirituality, they would survive, but if they chose materialism, that choice would be the end of humanity (“The Seven Fires Prophecy”).”

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