by Staff
“And here’s to the blues, the real blues— where there’s a hint of hope in every cry of desperation.”
The Healing Blues project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Greensboro College faculty Ted Efremoff (art) and David Fox (music), art students Julia Fergus and Gabrielle Harvin, Interactive Resource Center (day resource center for people experiencing homelessness), Greensboro Area Songwriters and storytellers from the local community. Storytellers will meet with songwriters at designated times at The Writing Workshop at IRC as well as The Healing Blues Café at Elsewhere Museum 606 S. Elm St. (scheduled for Saturday, May 10 from 1 to 4pm)
collaborative writing
The Healing Blues project invites people that are experiencing need such as homelessness, income inequality, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or abuse, to tell a story of their challenges to participating songwriters. Songwriters collaborate with the storyteller to write and perform a song that will be included on The Healing Blues album crediting both the collaborators with the creation of the song. The healing process of talking about and memorializing one’s struggle in living music permeates this project as it has permeated The Blues since the beginning of the genre.
Songwriter/Storyteller teams to date are:
Songwriter – Kristy Jackson / Storyteller – Isiahm Wardlaw
Songwriters – Terry Vuncannon, Janice Hamby Vuncannon / Storyteller – Shannon Stewart
Songwriter – Mike Wezolowski – Storyteller – Anita Gilmore
10 to 12 teams of Storytellers and Songwriters will participate in the project.
In addition, the Healing Blues project has a storefront display at Mosaic Piano at 612 S. Elm St. as part of Pop! Downtown Greensboro’s spring 2014 blues-inspired storefront art installation series. Community members interested in participating can leave a story for a songwriter in a provided envelope to become eligible for collaboration with a musician.
The collaborators intend to complete all Songwriter/Storyteller sessions by the end of spring 2014, record songs by the end of fall 2014 and release the Healing Blues CD with a fundraising concert that will benefit IRC in the spring of 2015.
Find out more about the installation series HERE. For more information, please contact Ted Efremoff at ted.efremoff at greensboro.edu
david fox
