January 9, 2005

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!

2005 was a productive and successful year for ART. The two programs we established in 2003 for Burmese refugees in Thailand are now self-sustaining, and we have begun our expansion into Latin America as well, to help rebuild its refugee communities through their indigenous arts.

Colombia

ART has been very fortunate to have Maria Rueda working with us as our Program Coordinator in Colombia. In August, we partnered with Fundacion Nuevo Retiro, Red de Solidaridad and the Universidad de los Andes to implement an ongoing community arts program in barrio El Tintal, Bogotá, Colombia. Over 100 community members participated in the program, with two-hour classes being held four days a week in music, songs, stories/folklore and handicrafts. Four students from the Universidad de los Andes - Karina Estrada Benavides, Melissa David Obando, Lina Sanchez and Francisco Alfor Soler Bejarano - spent the fall semester implementing, monitoring and evaluating the program and earning academic credit for their work. They are also helping develop a manual to train the next set of University students.

ART’s expansion in Colombia

ART is setting up the groundwork for launching its programs this summer in Augablanca, a displaced and marginalized community in Cali, in partnership with Fundacion Paz y Bien. We are also in discussion with several universities in the area to develop a partnership that would provide ART with students to implement the program. They will be trained by the students from los Andes who have worked with ART in Bogotá. Our goal is to build an expanding cadre of students in each area where ART operates.

ART is also exploring the possibility of partnerships with other NGO’s working in Colombia, including Sevivienda, and Sonidos de Colombia; and we are looking to expand into other cities in Colombia including Medellin and Cartagena.

Other activities

Research: This fall, ART was assigned an intern from Bard College’s Globalization and International Affairs Program, Catherine Lopez, who was invaluable in helping ART with research and grant writing.

United Nations: ART continues to develop bonds with the UN:

· I co- moderated a panel at the UN on the role of art in the peace building process and conflict prevention. This was part of a conference held by the UN’S Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, entitled From Reaction to Prevention: Civil Society Forging Partnerships to Prevent Violent Conflict and Build Peace.

· The UN mounted an extensive exhibition of James Rexroad’s breathtaking and evocative photos of ART’s work in Thailand and Colombia.

Speeches and presentations:

During 2005, I presented ART’s work at a number of universities and other venues, including:
· Colgate University
· Columbia University Graduate School of Business - “Launching New Ventures” course
· Columbia University Graduate School of Business - Columbia Women in Business
· Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
· Lehigh University
· New York University
· 85 Broads – spoke to summer interns

ART in print

Columbia University Graduate School of Business alumni magazine: The current issue has a story on ART’s activities, and we are cited in the dean’s introductory letter as an example of how the Business School graduates are helping improve the world. See pages 4 and 5:
http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/hermes/pdf_archive/HERMES_F05.pdf or
http://tinyurl.com/bkrj8

“More Than 85 Broads: Women Making Career Choices, Taking Risks, and Defining Success - On Their Own Terms.” This new book by Janet Hanson, will feature a chapter on my activities in creating and implementing ART’s programs. The book is being published by McGraw-Hill, and will be available March, 2006. [Click here to preview or pre-order the book: http://tinyurl.com/7oapy]

ART on film

This summer, we began the process of documenting ART’s programs in Colombia. We purchased a video camera and James Rexroad has been capturing, not only ART’s work, but also the people who participate in our work and the lives they live as the result of over 40 years of civil war. (Special thanks to Teresa Bianchi for her support and assistance in the filming.) We are hoping to obtain funding to expand the films into a short documentary for television.

Financing

The life blood of any charitable institution is of course sufficient funding. ART has been most fortunate in the generosity of it supporters, and now that we are operating on two continents, and have proven the viability of ART’s concepts, we are setting our sights on the next level – institutional funding. We have already submitted a number of grant proposals and have several more in preparation. We welcome any thoughts any of you may have as to appropriate “targeted” opportunities for our proposals, and particular suggestions as to institutions where you might have direct personal relationships.

We need your help!

In addition to funding itself, there is much that you can do to assist ART. We need:
· Frequent flyer miles
(Last year I made five trips to Colombia and James Rexroad made three trips. Many more are planned for this year; “miles” really help!)
· Printing services
· Equipment:
Computers
Printers
Furniture for our Bogotá office

Please visit our website at www.artforrefugees.org for information on ART and our programs.

Many thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement throughout this process. Wishing you a very happy, healthy and peaceful 2006!

All the best,
Sara

Sara Green
ART
Art for Refugees in Transition
PO Box 456
New York, NY 10113
www.artforrefugees.org
info @ artforrefugees.org