Herstory - District and Regional

Performance Art  as part of the community celebration and hosted by Michele Young will include Abasi Ote, Phyllis McEwen, Linda Brassell and an ensemble of Young Violinists and concluding with Cindy Hillma.  Ote is known for playing World/Folk music and instruments including Didgeridoo, Tibetan Bowl, Conch Shell horn, Kilimba (African Mirba).  To see and hear some of his musical soundings go to : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pSmzrGAYYM. 

Admission free. Purchased artwork will benefit AVP, local artists, and the studio @ 620.

Experiential Workshops

    Mini experiential AVP workshops will be offered the first week in February at The Studio @ 620, exploring the concept of transformative conflict resolution.  Each one is unique.  Workshops are limited to 15 participants.  Come to one or all three. 

    Please RSVP and reserve your seat by calling Darrell Hefte at 727-799-0683.

• February 2  6:30-8:30 PM : "Creating a Positive and Affirming Community" 

• February 3  6:30-8:30 PM : "Practicing Pro-active Communication" 

• February 5, 4:30-6:30 PM : "Transformative Conflict Resolution" 

A team of experienced trainers will facilitate the workshops.  There is no charge.  Donations are always welcome.

About AVP

Alternative Visions of Peace, known internationally as the Alternatives to Violence Project, is a non-profit organization which sponsors workshops in war-torn countries (such as Rwanda and Kenya, Columbia and Bosnia), in prisons and communities throughout the US and around the world.  Workshops involve basic building blocks of affirmation, community building, communication and cooperation skills, dealing with conflict management and resolution experientially, and through introduction of the concept of Transforming Power which is at the core of the project.  Participants examine violence as it surrounds us in our lives and how it is personal to each of us.  By working and playing together, we discover ways to function more effectively and peacefully every day.

AVP Tampa Bay consists of a group of community volunteers who offer at least one workshop a month, often two, at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, Women's Camp in central Florida as well as workshops in the Tampa Bay community for youth.and adults.  It currently has an active group of young adults in the Peace Studies Program at USF/Tampa working with students at the college.    Dr. Darrell Hefte, Coordinator of AVP Tampa Bay, has also worked with children and youth using AVP principles through the Pinellas County School System; the Pinellas County Health Department; and with Family Services as part of a grant to serve the Boys and Girls Clubs of Pinellas County (KUNGA).

Come find out more about AVP during our open-house on Sunday and during the week when AVP facilitators will be available to talk. 

To find out more about AVP, please visit  http://www.avpusa.org online or e-mail avp-tampabay@tampabay.rr.com

Contributing Organizations/Volunteers

 Youth Arts Corp:  A Program of Family Resources, Inc., is a free youth development, arts education and job training program that uses the fine arts to help youth reach their potential.  The opening will feature patchwork pillows made by young women in the Quilt Project of the Florida Youth Arts Corps at Wildwood Community Center. http://youthartscorps.org/

Community Volunteers:  Local artists and non-artists alike joined together to create multifariously painted chairs and imaginative craft projects.

About Abasi Ote

Abasi Ote - Excels at The Art of Primal Musical Instrument Making  He is noted for his sounds that he creates on the aboriginal Australian didgeridoo and for the making and playing of primal music instruments from Africa & the Middle East such as the Outa, Bull Roarer, and Clapper. Abasi Ote aslo does presentations that  include information on the historical origins of instruments, their relationship to ecology and the cultures they come from.  Abasi Ote, a peace maker, musician and primal instrument maker, teaches you to discover music anywhere, through innovation, adaptation, and borrowing from different cultures.  Abasi uses traditional and indigenous instruments such as wooden flutes, didgeridoos, bull roarers, rainsticks, musical mouth bow, and clappers.  He teaches about their historical origins, as well as, their relationships to the ecology and the cultures from which they are derived.  He pays special attention to Africa and Australia."Many children are becoming passive consumers at an early age," Abasi says.  Without elaborate toys, games, and media, they often regard their surroundings as inadequate or boring." Abasi's hands-on presentation encourages the audience to identify and make use of the bounty of human and natural resources all around us, creating  deeper sense of connection to the world.

About Phyllis McEwen 

Phyllis McEwen describes herself as a Chautauqua-style actor-scholar and visual artist. She is also an educator, librarian, poet and storyteller. For over 19 years, she has traversed the state of Florida regaling audiences with her performance as Zora Neale Hurston.

About Linda Brassell:

Linda Brassell is a Gulfport musician who makes and plays Native American style flutes. She is also a visual artist whose work reflects her native American ancestry. She is co-founder of Flute Circles in the TB area. She creates her Spirit Ponies and plays her flutes for the Native American community.