Despite the risk of appearing to be a party rather than a noble cultural institute, the ICBIE has been blessed with a rapid-fire series of fund raising events that help to inform more and more people of our work. In the next eight days there will be two more events in the Rome area, and, interestingly, they both were initiated by people outside the core of our team.
The first of these events will take place next Sunday night at a very trendy place called the Contestaccio (http://www.myspace.com/contestaccio), located in the heart of the Roman “movida,” in Testaccio. The evening was organized by the talented up-and-coming actress Anna Foglietta (who got her start in Pietro Gallina’s classes at the Socrate High School in Rome). With music by the ever-faithful DJ Amião, plus some surprise guest artists, the evening will also feature a table full of Brazilian handicrafts. And of course it will be another chance to socialize with all our great Roman supporters.
The second event is truly unprecedented. For the last eighteen months, a very gifted young artist named Tess Deeks has been planning a trip to Brazil to teach a course at the ICBIE, and during that time her project has grown and evolved from a standard English language course into an intriguing and highly original proposition of learning through story telling. She has worked on strategies to stimulate the innate impulse to invent and recount stories, and she is convinced that this is a great way to understand both ourselves and others. Recently, Tess has recruited Sabika, a journalist friend who will accompany her on her trip to Salvador and team teach the course at the ICBIE, starting in August. Because the project involves writing, drawing, acting, narrating, photography and film, it will necessarily cost more in materials and equipment, so the two girls are organizing many ways to raise money for their project, and to kick things off, they have organized an evening for February 14th – Valentine’s Day – at a lovely bar called La Vela on the shore of Lake Bracciano in the town of Trevignano Romano, about 35 miles north of Rome. Original music will be provided by the pianist Francesco Casellato and the party starts at 6 PM, continuing late into the night. They have a facebook event page for the evening, and an email address thestoryinstinct@gmail.com, for anyone interested in their project.
Thanks to the initiatives of Anna and Tess, the ICBIE circle will continue to expand, capturing the positive energies of more and more people.
