The Arts in the Work That Reconnects
Born out of our deep calling to connect with and care for our world, the Work That Reconnects has been inspired by and inspires the arts in their various forms and modalities. Poetry, music, movement and visual art are essential to the Work and provide channels of access to our deepest truths beyond our purely intellectual or rational frameworks.
“To connect to our deep responses to the condition of our world, it helps to go beyond words and dive beneath them to that subliminal level where we register inchoately both the peril and the promise of our time. On that level we can tap our energy and the wellsprings of our creativity; images and art give us access.”
– Coming Back to Life by Joanna Macy and Molly Brown
If you have a project or a working group that we could highlight here, please let us know.
Facilitators and Groups who weave the Arts into the Work That Reconnects
School for the Great Turning, founded by Lydia Violet Harutoonian, is committed to implementing the combination of music and the teachings of Joanna Macy to help our communities metabolize systemic trauma, cultivate energy for action, reconnect with the more-than-human world, and create meaningful artistic cultures.
Singer, songwriter, educator and WTR facilitator, Jen Myzel has created musical albums and a children’s sing-a-long book that brings the Work that Reconnects to life in her own, unique style. Her music ranges from ritualistic prayer songs to lyrical folk-pop to hip-hop dance grooves. Jen’s Silence Speak album travels around the spiral of the Work that Reconnects. Many facilitators utilize these songs during workshops (which she is very happy for you to do). Jen’s most recent album, Birds of the Night, weaves stories on critical topics including race, climate, hope, hopelessness and belonging. Get to know Jen through the Featured Facilitator article published in the WTR Network blog in 2020.
More groups and projects coming soon!
Explore our Resource Library for more music, poetry and art-related practices.