New Times How did Momentus International start?
Anya Kandel I did my thesis on storytelling in Ghana. That spurred my inspiration for this project, which is studying inter-cultural communication, and I founded Momentus International a few years ago, in the Netherlands and in Ghana. In Ghana we were there for three months and worked in three different regions. Youths worked with local artists to create performances that expressed who they are.
New Times When you travel to these places what is the experience like—finding the students and artists?
Kandel Each place you go is a whole new experience because each culture is so different. The principal and teachers recommended who they thought would benefit from the experience, or encourage those students who had that spark in them.
New Times There seems to be a lot going on, along with many genres of art.
Kandel For the Central Coast Momentus, we have been working for two weeks with youths who have come together and have worked every day with professional artists/mentors for the first week. They attended a workshop in their particular field. [We have] local artists as well as visiting theater artists from San Francisco who did interactive story theater. We have Diana Stanton, who is a dancer, Erma Schauffer who teaches improv at Cal Poly, as well as musician Dave Stamey. Along with the mentorship of these artists and myself, we give the students a space to express themselves and talk about who they are and what is important to them, what impact they want to make on the world. They learn how to work with each other on a local basis, and from there, move outward. They will be on the radio, they will create a film. It’s local to global—that’s the idea.
New Times Tell me about the film.
Kandel We are also doing a documentary that follows the students through the Momentus process, which will be screened at film festivals, as a way to show the process and give a glimpse into who these kids are. They also created a short film with the help of filmmakers. They continued conversations for hours, about how they want to impact the world, even after they met with their mentors. They are inspired, and connected, and are ready to be their own powerhouse and have an impact on their own community.
New Times What is going to happen in SLO on July 31 and Aug. 7?
Kandel The youths will screen their film, and a film from Ghana, and there will be a performance, which gives a glimpse into their message to the world. Afterward there will be an interactive talk back, which is inspiring, and gives an opportunity for people who attend the event to participate in a conversation about our local community and what is important to us, to young people, and how they can all collaborate.
New Times Tell me what “Press Play” means?
Kandel We can do something now. It’s not a time to wait. Every single person can do something small to impact the world, and that is how we are going to change. There is a language that goes beyond words: we don’t necessarily need to speak to communicate; we can dance, we can do art, play music.
New Times Why should the community attend the Momentus events?
Kandel It’s an opportunity to hear the voices of young people who are engaged in the community and ready to make a difference. The audience is just as much a part of the performance. It’s a conversation … art is a form of conversation.
Christy Heron was drinking Mad Dog 20/20 and chasing boys when she was in high school. Tell her what a loser she was at cheron@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 6, 2009.