Public artist and community builder Susan
Armington has a history of bringing diverse people together for
deep talk. In her 15 years of teaching English to people
from all over the world, and nearly 10 years of activating
school and community groups through art, she has found powerful
ways to bring differences together. The result is
Global Backyard
- a unique environment for deep talk that makes it
possible for people to connect across divides of language,
culture, and expectation, and to communicate what matters to
them most.
Global Backyard
integrates modes of communication visual, nonverbal, and
multilingual into a single flow. It focuses around a
core question or issue for instance, immigration, personal
loss, racism, safety, or simply what is precious and invites
people to reflect on their own relevant personal experiences.
Guided by Susan Armington, participants create simple objects to
embody their stories, and then, one by one, they share them with
the group. As the stories layer upon each other the
conversation builds and depth and understanding grow. In
a short time, talk goes straight to the heart.
Experiential workshops and
retreats:
Teambuilding Community Building Creative
problem-solving
Story-catching Legacy Vision-building Brainstorming
Issue-based Discussion
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