http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons Welcome to New Village Commons — a community space for sharing good news and constructive views about grassroots community building! Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:42:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Patience is a word that has been showing up for me lately—at least three reminders this month to consider a slower mode of living. In this why-didn't-we-fix-it-yesterday world, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer potential of what we can do, what we feel we should do, and ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/06/24/take-off-your-shoes/ I am wearing orange today in solidarity with Plain Human, a group of artists and designers in San Francisco and Northampton Massachusetts who are making March 11th Prisoner Awareness Day. This week and last, prison issues have been prominent in the mainstream press, as more Americans are starting to see the ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/03/11/prisoner-awareness/ Thousand Kites is a national multi-media arts project created to spark a dialog about incarceration in the United States. The project uses film, theater, radio, and the Internet to explore the criminal justice system and bridge racial, cultural, and geographic divides between stakeholder communities. http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/02/26/thousand-kites/ I recently discovered an uplifting body of work by a group of public-realm artists called the Cause Collective. Their projects aim to "explore and enliven public spaces by creating a dynamic conversation between issues, sites and the public audience." "Along the Way" image courtesy the Cause Collective Take a look at their ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/02/25/along-the-way/ Dear Friends of New Village Press, What a thrill it is to feel our nation waking up to the stirrings of its heart. Hope renewed for a brighter, more compassionate future. A dream being shared that we can create a peaceful and democratic society. The theme of our newest issue of New ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/02/22/new-village-press-news-2/ Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, the parent organization for New Village Press, is deeply concerned about the escalation of incarceration in response to violence. Rather than build more prisons, ADPSR believes in investing in the health of our communities. ADPSR’s national Prison Design Boycott has recently evolved into a Prison Alternatives ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/02/20/neighborhood-solutions-for-troubled-youth/ If you read our January newsletter, you know that I am much enamored of Toronto’s Poet Laureate Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, that lyric champion of Creative Cities. One of my favorite of his public addresses is “Civic Valentines”, which starts, When one falls in love, one becomes credible; and so it ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/02/14/civic-valentine/ Works of Heart: Building Village Through the Arts was featured in two blogs this week, in both cases being read for the first time and surprising the readers enough they decided to write about it. Margaret, a social worker and educator from Eastern Washington, comments in her blog Margaret's ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/02/13/joyful-surprises/ The work of cartoonist author Keith Knight is featured at the Euphrat Museum at DeAnza College in the show Graphic Storytelling as Activism, which runs February 11 - April 17, 2008. Graphic Storytelling as Activism presents a variety of art forms, including cartoons, political posters, digital art, book art, and more ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/02/12/keith-knight-cartoonist-as-activist/ Author Louise Dunlap is on tour presenting her new book, Undoing the Silence: Six Tools for Social Change Writing, and offering writing workshops throughout February in Grass Valley, Nevada City, Berkeley, Oakland, Washington DC, New York and Cambridge. Check the New Village Calendar for details. Evidence of Humanity has posted a ... http://www.newvillagepress.net/commons/2008/01/31/71/