To Bioneers, and Beyond!

Fernanda Lugo shares her experience of going to the 2024 Bioneers Conference.

Part 1: On Land and water driving across the US.: Texas to California…

My mentor and friend Laurie Marshall and I drove from El Paso, Texas to the Bay Area for 16 hours, in two days, to bring our Singing Tree Murals and supplies to display and create a mural at the Bioneers Conference, 35th year.

 The road trip was a nice space to connect more ideas and prepare myself for the adventures I'd have in California. On the way, we crossed the hot deserts of Arizona, Tucson, Phoenix, and L.A., and arrived through the large middle of California agriculture. It’s bigger than you’re imagining it. Even bigger. Onward and onward it goes, you can spot orange trees, other citruses, and peaches. Nothing labelled= you just have to know from the shape of the leaves, and branches. It would be nice if it were labelled we thought. “This is where your almond milk comes from” a sign would say. “Thank the migrant workers who work in these fields” another could read. Signs did abound about water and how they (the farmers?) think it should be managed. “Does growing food waste water?” a sign asked. “Newsom, stop wasting our water”.  It was a great road trip to discuss the politics of water rights and management but we came home even more enlightened on the topic since water and land management was a big topic on the Bioneer's conference agenda.

Continue Reading

Spring Now!

Dear Friends of Unity Through Creativity,

2023 is done and spring is here in El Paso, Texas and Oakland, California! We hope this is a time of new growth for you, your family and your community. We also hope this is a time of new growth for Peace Building in a world that has too much unearned suffering. Our hearts are with those who are experiencing the terror of violence, especially the children, in the Middle East, Ukraine, the Congo, Sudan, Afghanistan, and anywhere people are not safe.

In the midst of the conflicts around the world, we'd like to share the 2023 Milestones of Unity Through Creativity. We served 1,714 people—youth, adults and elders—who learned communication skills while creating 15 Singing Tree® murals. Over 90% of participants report significant increases in their belief that people can create extraordinary results. 11 year-old Victor from Santa Rosa, California summarized the lesson of the Singing Tree Mural Project succinctly: "If you're not fighting, you can make something great together,"   Click here to see all 15 murals and hear insightful comments, We continue to build Martin Luther King's "Beloved Community", one mural at a time.  Below are youth from around the country attending the Bioneers Conference last year.

For the 14th year, the Singing Tree Mural Project will be participating in the Bioneers Conference, offering a hands-on experience to youth and those who wished to join in making a collaborative visual message.  We will be in at University of California in Berkeley on the street in front of the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way Thursday-Saturday, March 28-30 in the afternoons. Please join us if you are in the Bay area.  We'd love to have you attend this amazing conference with us and make your mark on the mural.

Please enjoy these three short videos of our experiences at Bioneers over the years. The first video grew out of Bioneers 2018; the second one, Bioneers 2013 and the third one, Bioneers 2022.

Stay tuned for exciting updates about Earth Month in El Paso where the themes of Party for the Planet, Creativity Connects with Conservation and Planet vs. Plastics will be featured around the city. What's happening in your community for Earth Month?

We're also excited to expand our offering of stream-lined, accelerated Team Building programs for organizations and businesses. You can learn more here.

Bud, blossom, fruit - that is the rhythm of Spring which we are a part of. May the practice of Peace Building, and Peace Building through Art, amplify this natural evolution with clarity, hope and strength.

You appreciation,

Laurie and the UTC Team

Darkness and Light

Dear Friends of Unity Through Creativity,

As the days come to their shortest, the darkness makes the light shine brightest. We celebrate that each person's "Inner Light" can shine brightly through expressing their unique creativity. In the darkness of both the season and the darkness of needless suffering inflicted by violence on our world, each person's Light is desperately needed. 

Unity Through Creativity (UTC) celebrates the support that Roswell, New Mexico's public school system gives to the Light of its students.  This town of 50,000 houses the cutting-edge Creative Learning Center.  Almost 5000 K-5 students receive high quality arts experiences with 14 Teaching Artists in the performing and visual arts.  In a ten-hour "Peace Building Through Art" training, UTC facilitated a collaborative vision  - the 4' x 12' Singing Tree of Creating Creative Community.

"We couldn't pay enough money for this training. It was just what the teaching artists needed after working with 700 students every two weeks for four months. They were replenished, excited by their creativity and risk-taking and grew more connected to each other "

      Tamra Gedde, Director, Creative Learning Center, Roswell, New Mexico  

With the long dark nights upon us, Unity Through Creativity brought together a group of people to support and strengthen El Paso's Beloved Community. On Dec. 8, we met at Abara, an "ever-growing community of peace builders in the beautiful borderlands of Juarez and El Paso".  After sharing a delicious potluck, we viewed a brand new short documentary of the International Day of Peace.

"Seeing the video reminded me that there are still so many good people in the world that want peace and connection," said musician and podcaster g'beda who was part of the day. Hopefully viewing the video will reaffirm your faith in humanity as well.

The intergenerational, interracial, inter-religious group of 25 people, aged 8 to 79, who gathered at Abara this month contributed their vision to the 3' x 4' El Paso City of Peace Singing Tree Mural (a work in progress). We are also honoring the work of Tino Ortega (the 915, which is El Paso's area code), Patrick Gabaldon (the cacti) and David Herrera (the Mexican man who did not give up his search for a lost son)

Both events were partially funded by a grant from MCAD, El Paso Museum & Cultural Affairs Division.

We also honor the 64-foot tall mountain lion sculpture on The El Paso City of Peace Singing Tree (work-in-progress).  The artwork is mounted on a downtown building and was made by Portuguese artist Bordalo II out of trash. The cougar is known as Frankie and was made possible by Green Hope Project, an art, education, environmental program.

As a friend of Unity Through Creativity, we appreciate the support you have given to nourish the unique "Light" of youth and adults through our teambuilding, creative self-confidence and collaboration programs in 2023.  Your connection with us strengthens our determination to grow this work.   

Thank you from the bottom of our heart,

Laurie and the UTC Team