Welcome To Alternate ROOTS!

ROOTS announces its 35th Anniversary will happen at ROOTS Fest 2011: Many Communities, One Voice, June 22-26, 2011 in West Baltimore, MD.  A majority of the Festival will take place on The Highway to Nowhere.  Click here to learn more about the community, the highway, and some of the amazing cultural organizers with whom we will be working.




(image by Ricardo Levins Morales)

Read more about the 34th Annual Meeting that just took place August 10 - 15, 2010 at Lutheridge Conference Center. 


New Video. View a video of the 2009 Annual Meeting.  Thanks to our wonderful members, MondoBizarro, for putting it together.



Are you using the ROOTS website to your full advantage?

Don't forget that you have the ability to...
  • create a dynamic member profile and upload pictures
  • add events to the calendar
  • write blogs
  • share information through the forums
  • renew your membership
  • and much more!
Feel free to contact Shannon at shannon@alternateroots.org or 404-577-1079 if you would like a tutorial.



Alternate ROOTS is an organization based in the Southern USA whose mission is to support the creation and presentation of original art in all its forms, which is rooted in a particular community of place, tradition or spirit. As a coalition of cultural workers we strive to be allies in the elimination of all forms of oppression. ROOTS is committed to social and economic justice and the protection of the natural world and addresses these concerns through its programs and services.

Alternate ROOTS is very excited about the new website, and the impact it will have in serving the membership of Alternate ROOTS.  If you have any comments or suggestions, please click here and tell us what you think!






Alternate ROOTS is a proud resident of the Little 5 Points Community Center.

Introducing our Members...

I am a teacher educator who has some experience in various art forms but is primarily a "patron of the arts" and a researcher who uses "arts-informed" inquiry in exploring the experiences of schools and teachers. I use arts-based projects in my classes when possible but try to use my classroom and research as a venue for the work of working artists. My primary interest is in aesthetic education (as opposed to arts education) and have studied at Lincoln Center and with Maxine Greene. I want to increase my efforts to promote that approach in public education.

Avondale Estates, GA
EGolden's picture

Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative is an "arts-in-action" group based in Manhattan, NY and Durham, NC that creates radical expressiveness in community. Betty's Daughter believes another world is possible through a multidisciplinary practice of cultural work, creativity, social consciousness, and grassroots activism. Betty's Daughter collaborates with individuals artists, groups, non-profits, and CBOs that work from a sound, progressive socio-political platform and seek to activate art as a tool for individual transformation and social justice.

Durham, NY

Art allows a voice for support and for protest, and like a hammer can help build movements and help tear down what stands between us. The central theme of my work is the absolute imperative that human creatures recognize their symbiotic relationship with the rest of the planet. We cannot fix anything alone without recognizing what these connections offer us: peace, empowerment, rationality, deep roots. Bugs, bats, vines, eggs, seeds and bones mix and intertwine in my work. They loop into lungs and out of mouths. They tie everything together: the workers, the ants, the despots, the tree roots.

Florence, MA

Donate to Alternate ROOTS!

A donation to Alternate ROOTS is an important part of contributing to arts and social change in the Southeast. We are an organization with over 30 years of experience helping artists make a difference through activism and creating community.

Alternate ROOTS Highlights...

Glorious Impromptu Chorus - A monthly community sing led by Elise Witt

Image: 
EliseWitt08/31/2010 - 9:02pm
Price: 
$10 at the door
Short Description: 
Elise will lead an evening of glorious group singing, teaching harmony parts in a style so easy, you'll be singing harmony in no time flat! Drawing from her love of diverse melodies and rhythms, Elise may introduce a Brazilian samba, a Congolese storysong, an Italian round, or four-part harmonies from Zimbabwe. There are lots of songs in English, including songs from the African American tradition, quirky rounds, food songs, Bobby McFerrin style Circle Songs, and lots more!. All of the songs are broken down into easily learnable parts and become thrilling to sing in a group. Whether you've sung all your life or think you "can't carry a tune in a bucket," in no time at all, you'll find yourself part of a Glorious Impromptu Chorus.
Event Website URL: 
www.EliseWitt.com

The Community and Resistance Tour

Image: 
STurner08/30/2010 - 5:14pm
Short Description: 
a multimedia presentation from the frontlines of social justice struggles
Event Website URL: 
www.communityandresistance.wordpress.com

Clear Creek Festival

Image: 
STurner08/26/2010 - 4:35pm
Price: 
$25 weekend pass, $10 per day
Short Description: 
Welcome home! Join us for this year’s Clear Creek Festival, a homecoming for you and yours over Labor Day weekend when the woods will be alive with summer’s sunshine, the stage will be graced with great performers, healing & community arts will fill the air and the family-friendly, good community vibe will have us all comin’ home all weekend long! Check out the festival website (http://www.clearcreekfest.org) for details on this year's great performers, healing arts workshops and activities, our fourth annual Clear Creek film festival and everything you need to know about camping and logistics.

Resources for Social Change

Resources for Social Change (RSC) is a training program developed by ROOTS that teaches ideas and techniques to create social change through art. This program began in recognition of the need to institutionalize ROOTS’ knowledge in the field. RSC trainers are artists experienced and schooled in the methods of using and bringing art into communities that traditionally may not have considered the important role that the arts can play in addressing oppressions and effecting social change.

Last Minute Thoughts About Coming to the Annual Meeting

Please read our newsletter for participants coming to the Annual Meeting 2010 here.


Annual Meeting 2010 Schedule

We know you want to get a sneak peak of the Annual Meeting schedule.  Please click here.  But don't sue us if it changes.  This is a work in progress!

SEE THE GYRASTACUS

Image: 
STurnerTue, 06/22/2010 - 17:42
Price: 
Free
Short Description: 
Please mark your calendars for next Sunday, June 27th. Join us for SEE THE GYRASTACUS at 8:30pm (following Brooks & Company Dance at 7:30pm) between Memorial and Kirkwood on the east side of the BeltLine. Bring your family, bring your kids, bring your neighbors.... oh, and bring a chair! Please feel free to pass along the attached PDF to anyone and everyone!
Event Website URL: 
VIDEOS, DIRECTIONS, MORE INFO HERE: http://www.parkcofield.com/seethegyrastacus.html

A Bountiful Feast

Image: 
STurnerTue, 06/22/2010 - 17:43
Price: 
Admission: Free of Charge
Short Description: 
Direction/Choreography by D. Patton White Friday, June 25, 2010, 8:00 PM Saturday, June 26, 20010, 7:00 PM Sunday, June 27, 2010, 6:00 PM Make your reservations now for this intimate world premier event! All seating will be at long tables in the gallery space. Light refreshments will be available. This performance will be approximately one hour long, with no intermission.

A Bountiful Feast: A site-specific multi-media performance

Image: 
STurnerTue, 06/22/2010 - 16:18
Price: 
Admission: Free of Charge
Short Description: 
A Bountiful Feast: A site-specific multi-media performance Direction/Choreography by D. Patton White Friday, June 25, 2010, 8:00 PM Saturday, June 26, 20010, 7:00 PM Sunday, June 27, 2010, 6:00 PM Make your reservations now for this intimate world premier event! All seating will be at long tables in the gallery space. Light refreshments will be available. This performance will be approximately one hour long, with no intermission.

Alternate ROOTS Webpage Webinars

Image: 
STurnerTue, 06/22/2010 - 15:58
Price: 
FREE
Short Description: 
Do you find yourself wondering if you could be using the ROOTS webpage better? Did you know that you can build your own artist's profile and add pictures on it? Is registering for the AM stressing you out? Shannon Turner, Manager of Programs & Services will help unpack the mysteries for you in two back-to-back webinars. Just click on the links above to RSVP.
Event Website URL: 
Register Here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/393453713