HOT HOUSE FOR ARTS
+ SOCIAL CHANGE

New Orleans’ Crossroads Project will bring its “Traveling Arts + Social Change Hot House” to Cedar Rapids March 5-7, sponsored by Legion Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Local artists, activists, teachers and students will be joining the group for an intensive program that will include the creation of new performance pieces to be presented at a free community event March 6 at CSPS.

The centerpiece of the project will be a creative “hot house” designed to develop partnerships between local community groups, artists, activists, educators and students. During the six-hour hot house on March 6, groups will create new performance pieces incorporating music, dance, poetry, drama and comedy.

Founded in New Orleans in 2001, Crossroads Project for Art, Learning & Community works with children, youth and adults throughout the United States to utilize the arts in building community, addressing significant issues and supporting social change. The group brought art-based learning to the New Orleans school district as a way to help rebuild the city’s devastated educational system following Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, Crossroads wrote and published The Beginner’s Guide to Community-Based Arts, a collection of 10 true stories rendered by well-known cartoonists to communicate the basic principles of community-based art.

In Cedar Rapids, Crossroads founder and director Mat Schwarzman will be joined by a team of adult staff and teen team members. The teens are part of the Creative Forces Youth Educational Theater Corps, which creates and performs original songs, plays, poetry and dance about urgent social and educational issues.

Two public events take place at CSPS as part of the weekend. Friday evening at 8 pm visiting Crossroads members and local individuals will present an opening talent show. Completed Hot House projects will be presented Saturday at 6 pm. Both events are open to the public. Admission to these two events is free, with donations happily accepted.

Opening event | Fri Mar 5 | 8 pm
CSPS | 1103 Third St SE | Cedar Rapids
Donations accepted

Closing event | Sat Mar 6 | 6 pm
CSPS | 1103 Third St SE | Cedar Rapids
Donations accepted