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PeaceArt International
PeaceArt International,
Inc. is a not-for profit local/global outreach
organization utilizing the arts and
creativity to build community and foster
greater human under- standing and world
peace. PeaceArt is dedicated to the
multidimensionality of the creative human
experience.
Through
PeaceArt Projects, individuals and groups are
collectively involved in the creative
process to nurture self-worth, strengthen
relationships and celebrate the diversity of
life.
Thomas Warfield
Founder, PeaceArt
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PeaceArt (PAI) uses
the performing arts to dismantle barriers (e.g.
racial, cultural, religious, gender, sexual
orientation, economic, physical differences, etc.)
imposed on us by society which prevent our
acknowledgment and enjoyment of our inherent human
connection to all people. PeaceArt community
concerts "Circle of Peace" and creative
process workshops investigate, explore and release
our innate human ability to heal, using the arts
as a tool.
The arts are
non-threatening fertile grounds for human
development integrating our mental, physical and
spiritual faculties. The arts, in numerous
world-wide studies, have proven effective in
reducing prejudice, cultivating a greater
appreciation for diversity, restoring social
responsibility, cultivating patience and
compassion, advancing environmental stewardship, encouraging achievement and cooperation in a
non-competitive atmosphere and many other values
that strengthen and protect the fabric of life on
his planet.
PeaceArt
International had it's beginnings in April 1990 in
Salt Lake City, Utah as DanceArt, a performing
arts company founded by PeaceArt Director, Thomas
Warfield. DanceArt was dedicated to raising
awareness about peace and the environment. Between
April 1990 and December 1991, DanceArt produced 20
plus concerts. Working with Americares, World
Vision, and numerous community organizations,
DanceArt was nationally recognized for raising
funds for Romanian orphans afflicted with AIDS.
PAI has produced concerts dedicated to preventing
domestic violence, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
celebrations, Earth Day events, and raising
awareness about HIV/AIDS and homelessness. The
company name was changed to PeaceArt International
in 1992 when it moved to Rochester, New York.
PeaceArt is a performing & producing company
representing a wide range of artistic fields.
PeaceArt works with
both mainstream and marginalized community groups
around the world (e.g., children, the elderly,
people with mental & physical disabilities,
the homeless, AIDS/HIV and other terminally ill
patients, and incarcerated participants) as
non-traditional performers in unique expressions
of song, dance, drama, poetry, visual art, etc.
for the purpose of building world peace. With
people from diverse sectors of the community, the
PeaceArt projects of conscious community building
nurture caring, respectful and intimate
relationships between individuals, groups and the
environment. Through the creative process, we can
learn to translate feelings and emotions into
practical, communicative uses. PAI creates an
environment that is free of guilt, blame,
competition, and inhibition By stripping away
pretense, we learn to look more deeply into each
other's hearts, allowing ourselves to be
vulnerable enough to move beyond roles to
wholeness. PeaceArt presents opportunities for
hands on involvement in the performing arts,
opening up new vistas of awareness, leading to an
enhanced appreciation for the arts and artists.
PeaceArt brings people together to learn the art
of being - being honest, being understanding,
being at peace. PeaceArt conducts the PeaceWork
Institute, a vehicle for empowering local
communities to continue the PeaceArt process of
re-embracing one another in love.
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