Voices Creating Change

In this episode, we talk with Melody Vaccaro from Nebraskans Against Gun Violence (NAGV). NAGV strives to empower people with education and the tools of civic engagement. Their goal is to support evidence based firearm policy. Since 2014, Nebraskans working together have stopped all firearm deregulation in Nebraska. They have kept their focus on cultural change, partnerships, and a grassroots civic engagement model. NAGV is the Omaha Children’s Choir beneficiary for the 2020 Voices Creating Change concert.   Nebraskans Against Gun Violence Website Facebook Page Facebook Discussion Group   How the NRA Punked Nebraska's District 13   Resources to find gun violence data in your state: Violence Policy Center Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence   Book Recommendations: The Stationary Shop America and Its Guns: A Theological Exposé The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America   Union for Contemporary Art - Redline   This American Lif

In this episode, we talk with Gwenna Fairchild-Taylor about her work as an Opera Omaha Holland Community Opera Fellow and about community music making. Gwenna holds an M.M. in Opera (University of Toronto) and a B.M. in Voice Performance (Western University) and is a first year Holland Community Opera Fellow. She has spent time as a Musician In Residence at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and is a four-time recipient of Government of Nunavut Culture & Heritage Grants in support of her music and drama programs in communities in the Arctic. She also wrote the curriculum for “Learn English Through Song,” a program in Toronto that facilitates language learning and community building for newcomer women through singing. She has also worked as a teaching artist and consulted on curriculum development for education programming at the Canadian Opera Company.   To contact Gwenna:   Gwenna Fairchild-Taylor: Website, Instagram, Twitter   Opera Omaha - Holland Community Fellowship Opera Omaha Creativity Pro

This is part 2 of a 2 part series. In this episode series, we talk to Michael Bussewitz-Quarm. Michael is a composer and conductor and is the commissioning composer for the Omaha Children’s Choir Voices Creating Change commission this season. Michael’s works have been broadcast on Public Radio East, KMUZ, and WCPE, with performances by musica intima, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Duke University Chorale, the Esoterics, among other exceptional choral ensembles. Michael is also active in advocating for the transgender community. Michael says “It is my fervent wish to spread knowledge and understanding of the transgender community through guest speaking and by simply being present in the lives of the talented musicians and artists surrounding me.” Michael is actively commissioned by choral organizations around the country and enjoys working directly with choirs.   To contact Michael: https://www.mbqstudio.com/   Chorus America Hugh Mangum Photography Duke University - Where We Find Ourselves Connect with Omaha

This is part 1 of a 2 part series. In this episode series, we talk to Michael Bussewitz-Quarm. Michael is a composer and conductor and is the commissioning composer for the Omaha Children’s Choir Voices Creating Change commission this season. Michael’s works have been broadcast on Public Radio East, KMUZ, and WCPE, with performances by musica intima, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Duke University Chorale, the Esoterics, among other exceptional choral ensembles. Michael is also active in advocating for the transgender community. Michael says “It is my fervent wish to spread knowledge and understanding of the transgender community through guest speaking and by simply being present in the lives of the talented musicians and artists surrounding me.” Michael is actively commissioned by choral organizations around the country and enjoys working directly with choirs. To contact Michael: https://www.mbqstudio.com/   Avielle Foundation - Preventing Violence & Building Compassion Adrian Dunn - Composer Connect wi

This is part 2 of a 2 part episode series. In this episode, we continue our discussion with OCC staff on how we create spaces that are meaningful, inclusive, equitable and drive our singers and audiences to create social change.    Justice Choir Songbook Institute for Composer Diversity Brooklyn by Colm Toibin Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda Invitation to the Party: Building Bridges to the Arts, Culture and Community by Donna Walker-Kuhne Omar Martinez - Instagram Susie Gibbons - Instagram Amanda Stevenson - Instagram, Twitter   Omaha Children’s Choir Website Omaha Children’s Choir - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter   Voices Creating Change presents stories of social change initiatives through the arts. Our conversations open possibilities beyond the limitations that underrepresented populations face daily, specifically in the arts.  Hosted by Amanda Stevenson & Omar Martinez. New episodes release each Friday. Voices Creating Change is a production of Omaha Chil

This is part 1 of a 2 part series. In this episode series, we introduce the Omaha Children’s Choir staff and discuss how we create spaces that are meaningful, inclusive, equitable and drive our singers and audiences to create social change.  Justice Choir Songbook Institute for Composer Diversity Omar Martinez - InstagramSusie Gibbons - Instagram Amanda Stevenson - Instagram, Twitter Omaha Children’s Choir Website Omaha Children’s Choir - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter Voices Creating Change presents stories of social change initiatives through the arts. Our conversations open possibilities beyond the limitations that underrepresented populations face daily, specifically in the arts.  Hosted by Amanda Stevenson & Omar Martinez. New episodes release each Friday. Voices Creating Change is a production of Omaha Children’s Choir. View show information at omahachildrenschoir.org/podcast.

The Voices Creating Change podcast is re-launching as a production of Omaha Children's Choir. Join hosts Amanda Stevenson and Omar Martinez for a sneak peak at what the Voices Creating Change podcast has in store for the future!

Stacey Waite joins me on this episode. Stacey is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and has published four collections of poems: Choke (winner of the 2004 Frank O’Hara Prize), Love Poem to Androgyny(winner of the 2006 Main Street Rag Chapbook Competition), the lake has no saint (winner of the 2008 Snowbound Prize from Tupelo Press), and Butch Geography (Tupelo Press, 2013). Waite’s poems have been published most recently in The Cream City Review, Bloom, Indiana Review, and Black Warrior Review. Stacey is a coach and coordinator for the Nebraska Writers Collective Louder Than A Bomb program. Stacey and I had a great time talking about her poetry, Nebraska Writers Collective, and gender issues. We talked in depth about how students lives are changed through the Nebraska Writers Collective Louder Than A Bomb program. Stacey also performs one of her poems at the end of the episode.   Stacey Waite Stacey Waite Stacey Waite - UNL Butch Geography by Stacey Waite   Follow Nebraska

An update about the Voices Creating Change podcast

Matt Mason joins me on this episode. Matt Mason is Executive Director of the Nebraska Writers Collective. Matt Mason has a Pushcart Prize and two Nebraska Book Awards. He was a finalist for the position of Nebraska State Poet and organizes and runs poetry programming for the State Department, working in Nepal, Romania, Botswana, and Belarus. He has over 200 publications in magazines and anthologies, including Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry. His most recent book, The Baby That Ate Cincinnati, was released in 2013. Matt lives in Omaha with his wife, the poet Sarah McKinstry-Brown and Daughters Sophia and Lucia. Matt and I had a wonderful time talking about the Nebraska Writers Collective. We talked in depth about two of their programs - Louder than a Bomb Great Plains, a high school poetry slam program and Writer’s Block, a therapeutic writing program in prisons and juvenile facilities in Nebraska. Follow Nebraska Writers Collective Facebook Twitter Website Louder Than A Bomb Facebook Louder Than A Bomb -

Jake Runestad joins me on this episode. Jake Runestad is a well known choral composer and we talked about several of his compositions, many of which have to do with issues of social change. But we also had a very deep conversation about his composition, Please Stay. “Please Stay” is an anthem for hope — an attempt to destigmatize mental illness and challenge all of us to support those who are battling depression and thoughts of suicide. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, taking the lives of 44,965 Americans in 2016. For some people, depression may lead to thoughts of suicide. Try to remember that you don’t have to act on these thoughts, no matter how overwhelming they might be. If you’re considering ending your life, it’s important that you talk to someone right away. If you’re in a crisis, you can also call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK to get immediate help. Follow Jake Runestad Jake Runestad Website Facebook Instagram Twitter   Jake Runestad’s Musi

Michaela Miragliotta from the ARTE organization in New York City joins me on today’s episode. Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE) is an organization that uses art, design, and technology to empower young people to develop creative solutions and bring awareness to local and global human rights challenges, fostering leadership opportunities to train and organize other young people in their own communities. Michaela and I talk about the mission and vision of ARTE and about their Global Women Heroes project. If you are in NYC, make sure to check out the mural! The mural is located outside the Harlem Tavern at 2153 Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Follow ARTE ARTE Website ARTE Facebook ARTE Instagram ARTE Twitter Follow Michaela Instagram Email Michaela - miragliottam@gmail.com Global Women Heroes Project Mural Location: 2153 Frederick Douglass Blvd New York, NY 10026 Leymah Gbowee Dolores Huerta Bree Newsome Michelle Obama Malala Yousafzai Leena Kejriwal   Kehinde Wiley Clare Kambhu Wangechi Mutu Universal

Watie White joins me on today’s show. This is part 2 of my interview with Watie White. Working as a painter, printmaker and public artist, Watie has been based in Omaha since 2006. Watie’s work has been shown nationally and internationally including at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Telfair Museums, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Frist Center for the Arts, The Mint Museum, and Joslyn Art Museum. Watie White’s site-specific social practice has led to large-scale public art projects with Omaha area nonprofits: Habitat For Humanity-Omaha, InCOMMON Community Development, Justice For Our Neighbors-NE, Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance and Omaha Public Schools. Watie has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards including the Puffin Foundation, Nebraska Arts Council, Humanities Nebraska, and the Mid-America Arts Alliance. In this part of the interview, Watie and I talk about his 100 People project. Part 1 Interview - Episode 003 100 People Project GalleriesProject Project Ga

Watie White joins me on today’s show. This is part 1 of a 2 part series with Watie White. Working as a painter, printmaker and public artist, Watie has been based in Omaha since 2006. Watie’s work has been shown nationally and internationally including at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Telfair Museums, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Frist Center for the Arts, The Mint Museum, and Joslyn Art Museum.   Watie White’s site-specific social practice has led to large-scale public art projects with Omaha area nonprofits: Habitat For Humanity-Omaha, InCOMMON Community Development, Justice For Our Neighbors-NE, Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance and Omaha Public Schools. Watie has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards including the Puffin Foundation, Nebraska Arts Council, Humanities Nebraska, and the Mid-America Arts Alliance.   In this first part of the interview, Watie and I talk about his background and about his Lead Stories project with Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance.   Sto

Justin Kemerling joins me on today’s show. Justin is an independent designer, activist, and collaborator living in Omaha, Nebraska focused on making it beautiful, moving people to action, and getting good things done. He works primarily with community organizations, political campaigns, and changemaking startups in need of branding, graphic design, web design, and art direction. His self-initiated projects and collaborations explore ways to move forward important causes and ideas with design, art, and other forms of creative expression. Justin’s artwork has been exhibited in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and regularly in Omaha. I had a great time talking with Justin about not only design, but also about how art can move people to action. We also talk about his project Power to the Poster which you can check out at powertotheposter.com. Power to the Poster All of Them - Blue Collar Group Welcome - Jesse Purcell Angie Seykora - Website Angie Seykora - Instagram Dan Crane - Website Dan Crane - Ins

Amanda Barr joins me on today's show. Amanda is an artist, curator, educator, writer, and social media strategist living in Seattle as a long-term resident artist at Pottery Northwest. Her work has been shown internationally, and currently deals with political and social inequality through historical references. Amanda shares her journey of becoming a ceramic artists in a non-traditional way and her work in starting the nonprofit, We Are Not Invisible. We Are Not Invisible was originally known as simply "(in)Visible," which was proposed as a Concurrent Exhibition to be presented at the 2018 conference for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, curated by Amanda Barr. They are a group of 30+ femme and non-binary artists working in ways that express our need to be heard. We make art about gender, sexuality, culture, religion, race, oppression, class, mental illnesses, physical disability, motherhood, societal demands on women, politics, and more. Enjoy the show! Show

An introduction to the Voices Creating Change podcast. Voices Creating Change presents stories of social change initiatives through the arts.  Our conversations open possibilities beyond the limitations that underrepresented populations face daily, specifically in the arts.  Hosted by Amanda Stevenson, episodes will release every Friday. Find us at @vccpod on Twitter, the Voices Creating Change page on Facebook, or at https://www.voicescreatingchange.com/.