Poetry Pals

Wishing everyone a happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! Today we honor the past, present, and futures of Native peoples throughout the US and acknowledge the legacy and impact of colonialism on Native communities.

Learn more about how you and your family can celebrate this holiday here:

Five Ideas for Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2020 On Monday, October 12, 14 states and the District of Columbia, more than 130 cities, and growing numbers of schools will observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day. If you and the young people in your life are looking for ways to honor and celebrate Native America at home, the teacher services coordinator at...

To our Poetry Pals family - please read!

Can you help us today?

Seeing students show visiting friends of different faiths their place of worship is always a special experience. Students are able to discuss what makes each faith unique while also discovering they share many values and have more in common than they thought!

Here we are last week during the holy space tour at Sacred Heart Schools Chicago.

Our solo sessions have been in full swing. Students here just learned theatre and stage techniques and then demonstrated how they show empathy in their everyday lives! The students will continue utilizing what they’ve learned when they meet with their Islamic and Jewish partner schools in a couple of weeks.

Thanks Sacred Heart Schools Chicago for a wonderful time yesterday!

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Tableau: a frozen stage picture that tells a story!

Utilizing poetry, acting, and lots of laughter, students today got an introduction to other Abrahamic faiths and started to learn about the importance of cultivating empathy 😄🎬

Time for another year of Poetry Pals!

It’s Poetry Pals time again!! Teachings artists met for training today to get ready for our first sessions of the year. We meet with our first group of fourth graders this Thursday — stay tuned for updates!

This Giving Tuesday, invest in a future free from religious and cultural discrimination.

We bring together young people from diverse cultural and faith communities and foster empathy through ­­­­empowering discussion and creative expression. Exposure to diversity at a young age is key to prevent cultural and religious insensitivity and bias. Our programming helps society's future leaders recognize the benefits of a world that is diverse, welcoming and inclusive of all.

With your help today, we can ensure our Poetry Pals is able to reach as many students in the Chicagoland area as possible. As a small, lean nonprofit, every donation large and small makes a huge impact in our ability to touch the lives of students.

Here is just a small sample of what 4th graders have said after their time with Poetry Pals:

“If you put yourself in someone’s shoes, you can help them and they will feel better.”

“We’re all from different cultures and different backgrounds but we’re all friends.”

“[My favorite part was] touring the holy spaces.”

“Learning about people of a different faith is fun.”

"You can change the world with empathy.”

We are constantly amazed and inspired by our students and thank all of the Olive Tree Arts Network family, friends, (and future friends!) for your support. Your help in spreading the word about our Giving Tuesday effort and sharing this post is also appreciated. To donate and learn more about our fundraising drive, visit our GoFundMe page.

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/support-poetry-pals

Poetry Pals students got a chance to learn about and other Jewish holidays, beliefs and traditions during our tri-faith session at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School earlier this year. Pictured are Bernard Zell students leading tours of their holy space for visiting friends from Chicagoland Catholic and Islamic schools.

Tzom Kal to our Jewish friends observing Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur, which began just before sunset on Tuesday and lasts until nightfall tonight, is the most significant holiday in the Jewish religion and marks an end to 10 days of repentance. It's a time for people to reflect on their sins and transgressions from the past year and ask God for forgiveness.

What Is Yom Kippur? - The Day of Atonement

Shanah Tovah um’tukah! Wishing our Jewish friends a good year and happy festivities as Rosh Hashanah is celebrated.

"The Jewish New Year is a time of reflection on one’s actions of the past year and sincere repentance for those sins... however, it also is a time to share meals and prayer with family and friends."

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/9/30/20891340/rosh-hashanah-2019-starts-when-what-it-means

Eid Mubarak! Eid Al Adha – which celebrates the prophet Ibrahim and his unwavering faith to God – began yesterday . To learn more about this Islamic celebration visit:

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/08/11/eid-al-adha-eid-mubarak-holiday/1981023001/

With female and LGBTQ prayer leaders, Chicago mosque works to broaden norms in Muslim spaces Masjid al-Rabia in the South Loop is one of very few public mosques in the world that allows and encourages women to lead prayers in a mixed-gender prayer space.

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*Artist spotlight*

We are thrilled to have OTAN teaching artist, Ethan T. Parcell, performing at the Olive Tree Arts Network Summer Benefit on July 28th!

Ethan is a composer, artist and educator living and working in Chicago. He works in the fields of music composition (especially for young musicians), performance (principally spoken), writing (mostly to sing it later) and visual art (largely handwritten).

His band, Focus Group LLC, is an experimental opera ensemble formed in 2016.

For more information, visit: http://focusgroupllc.online/

To buy tickets, visit:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/olive-tree-arts-network-summer-benefit-tickets-63341154097?fbclid=IwAR2f-L2_-gdB3M1f0DXrFxNDmAj9euMWvmU5uR4n78YiEnRSsqcQFWpqITM

OTAN is hiring visual arts teaching artists for the 2019/2020 school year! Join our fantastic team and help build a group of future leaders who aspire for and celebrate diversity in their lives.

Visual Arts Teaching Artist Olive Tree Arts Network is hiring visual arts teaching artists for our 2019-2020 season!   Olive Tree Arts Network is a youth arts organization that uses creative expression to promote cooperation, understanding and peace in o...

*Artist Spotlight*

We are so excited to have our teaching artist, Hera Shakir, performing at the OTAN Benefit on July 28th! Hera is a singer-songwriter, poet, dance instructor and music teacher from Chicago. thedaydreamerhera.wordpress.com

Watch Hera speaking about our programs earlier this year:
https://vimeo.com/329233172 =2m0s

To find out more info about the benefit and buy tickets, click below:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/olive-tree-arts-network-summer-benefit-tickets-63341154097?fbclid=IwAR00m27MSLa_zCzZvicbCIeWRjI999zlt1HsILeBswdBX1M_KBsnBc3WAY8

*LAST DAY* to buy early bird tickets for the Olive Tree Arts Network Summer Benefit!

Get your tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/olive-tree-arts-network-summer-benefit-tickets-63341154097

Olive Tree Arts Network Summer Benefit Olive Tree Arts Network Summer Benefit 2019

We are so excited to announce our Summer Benefit being held in downtown Chicago on July 28th!

Come as you are for an unforgettable evening that will include live music, poetry and storytelling, a live art installation, a silent auction, food, drinks and more.

Thanks to Mosaic Construction for their generous sponsorship of this event.

*Early bird tickets are available this week only!*

TICKETS:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/olive-tree-arts-network-summer-benefit-tickets-63341154097

Olive Tree Arts Network Summer Benefit Olive Tree Arts Network Summer Benefit 2019

Muslim activist details interfaith work in 'true-blue American story' Victor Begg, who helped found an inclusive mosque and InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, recently returned to Michigan to share memoir

Olive Tree Arts Network Welcome to Olive Tree Arts Network. Our mission is to use creative expression to promote understanding, cooperation and peace in our multi-faith society.