Welcome to year 4 of SeaCHANGE! A conference like no other.
We gather creators of different identities, races, and ages. We recognize there are far more stories, ideas, and experience in the audience than we could possibly put on a stage. At SeaCHANGE, we invite the “the audience” to participate.
There’s space for conversations on big questions… workshops with amazing artists… an open mic night and dancing… and relaxed time to make genuine human connections and cross-pollinate ideas in a beautiful setting. This year, we’ll discover answers to this question:
How can the arts become a haven for healing, peace, dignity, and community resilience?
Day 1 looks at arts as a haven for our personal path
Day 2 explores how making or experiencing art creates powerful experience of community – opening hearts, building collective care, and restoring dignity
Day 3 invites ideas on how to bring this experience back home to seed havens of creative community and new futures
The ripple effects of the community we experience for three days go far beyond the conference: new friendships, inspiration and ideas, and collaborations among participants.
Join Theater for the People, Green Acre, and Kinship on September 12, 13 & 14th at Green Acre in Eliot, Maine.
While we do have costs to cover, we truly want everyone who is excited about the conference to be able to join. We are happy to work out a plan with you to overcome any obstacles. Please reach out the SeaCHANGE team at seachange@greenacre.org to start the conversation.
“I grew up in a creative environment of a black church where the arts are the center. Most artists that you know – Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, to name a few – gained their chops in the church. It’s my longing to create with people again. I love creation. When I moved to the Seacoast, I saw there was a lot of creativity going on but it felt there was no central place for me to do that as an artist of color. The spirit of SeaCHANGE was making a home and a place like that for people of color, and providing a space for me where I can be myself and create with people or engage with other artists.” – Najee Brown, Theater for the People, co-founder of the SeaCHANGE Conference
“At many conferences, we are going through the motions. People’s incredible gifts, truths, aliveness, and creative gifts stay dormant because people sit and listen 95% of the time. With SeaCHANGE, we create a dynamic space where everyone is participating and connecting, engaged in creative arts and encouraging each other’s expression. I love watching people relax into the space and come alive creatively.” – Beth Tener, Kinship, co-founder of the SeaCHANGE Conference
“I’m a firm believer that the arts can be used for healing and social change. It’s how I survived. It’s how I’ve learned to heal, and it’s been my life’s mission to help create that space for other people, especially in places where that space hasn’t been made for them.” – Diannelly Antigua, poet, author, previous SeaCHANGE workshop facilitator
“SeaCHANGE is rooted in what Green Acre is all about, which is to be a gathering place where people of all backgrounds, families, friends, and people who want to just work together for peace and justice and the oneness of humanity and the nobility of every human person. It’s an attempt to create a community and ultimately create a society that’s both diverse and united.” – Robert Sapiro, Green Acre Administrator, co-founder of SeaCHANGE
“At SeaCHANGE, I tap back into creativity, nourish myself and feel the power of human connection.” – previous participant
“SeaCHANGE is a space of gathering of different minds, different communities, different walks of life. I think that that was a magic that I kept hearing from people who attended. They said “I walked into the space and felt that I belonged and was equal amongst everybody there.” – Victoria Carrington Chavez, Lilac & Aspen, former SeaCHANGE facilitator
