Ms Kathie’s Seagull Mamma showis both an introduction to theater as well as a lesson in trash management and recycling for young audiences. So it was fitting that when Kathie diStefano, Avalanche Arts, visited elementary schools in Baltimore in late February and early March that her collaboration was with Young Audiences of Maryland

Young Audiences Arts For Learning with Kathie diStefano.

 Baybrook Elementary and Wolfe Street Academy were both visited where Ms Kathie performed to audiences ages 4-6. As with most of her shows, this performance piece is an interactive comedy show designed to teach kids how important it is to throw trash away where it belongs. At Baybrook she performed to 150 kids, assembly style, and at Wolfe Street an audience of 50 children experienced her show in a more intimate setting. Silly moves, recycling bin falling on her head and a play along story where children from the audience joined her on stage, were elements that captivated her audiences. For the show’s finale Ms Kathie put on a pair of clogs and proceeded to teach the children a Dutch Trash Song, translating it as she went along. The shows left all wanting more, so plans are in place for another ‘Baltimore City Schools Tour’ in late October into early November 2019.

'The Seagull Mamma’ show is an English version of the Dutch ‘Zeemeuw Mamma’, part of the educational programs that visit schools in the Netherlands. There are lessons that go along with the show, tips on how to run a successful community clean up and all kinds of projects and inspiring links for the teachers to share with their students. Avalanche Arts, Stichting Lawine in Dutch, have been touring Dutch elementary and high schools for many years and since 2007 with their trash and recycling educational program. Avalanche Arts show schools how easy it can be to add trash and recycling themes to required curriculum in a user friendly way. Avalanche Arts operate from their base in Rotterdam, go to stichtinglawine.nl for more information on their Dutch programs and kathiedistefano.com for their English site.

Avalanche Arts Teams up with Baltimore City

From February 25 – March 1st. Baltimore City’s Department of Public Works (DPW) and Avalanche Arts, led by Kathie diStefano, continued to work on their collaboration designed to teach trash management and build recycling awareness. Avalanche Arts has been working on this theme full time for over 10 years in Rotterdam, as well as in Vlaardingen and Maassluis, smaller towns boarding Rotterdam and often referred to as ‘greater Rotterdam City’. Although Dutch and American cultures can come across as very different at times, their struggle with litter, trash reduction and good recycling strategies are similar in many ways.

The DPW – Avalanche Arts collaboration will continue throughout 2019. The next phase of the collaboration will be done remote and in October 2019 Ms diStefano will again travel to Baltimore to work with the city’s recycling and communication teams. The first step is to create a slide show presentation for middle school students, along with a series of teacher guide materials and worksheets. DPW community liaisons will visit schools to share this work and all teaching materials will be placed on DPW’s website so that interested schools can access the trash lessons directly. Avalanche Arts is excited about sharing their expertise in trash and recycling education with Baltimore City and are looking forward to continuing the work with DPW’s recycling teams.

Lawine USA

The Baltimore Rotterdam Sister City Committee hosted Kathie diStefano as “artist in residence” in December of 2013. Kathie, educational director Avalanche Arts, visited Curtis Bay Elementary/Middle School and Ben Franklin High with workshops and performances about environmental issues. This was part of the ongoing project “Playing in a Cleaner Neighborhood” designed to teach trash management and increased recycling responsibilities.

Afgelopen december was Kathie diStefano op uitnodiging van de Baltimore Rotterdam Sister City Committee “artist in residence” in Baltimore. Daar heeft zij scholen bezocht met “Spelen in een Schonere Wijk”.

"Baltimore Mayor Spoke at Reception Honouring Visiting Artist from Rotterdam"

'The Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee (BRSCC) hosted a reception for Rotterdam artist Kathie diStefano 17 December, 2013 at Chesapeake Arts Center. The reception celebrated and honored diStefano's collaboration with garden educator Jason Reed and celebrated the participants of their workshops in the Curtis-Bay neighborhood. diStefano's December 2013 artist residency in Baltimore is part of the BRSCC's ongoing artist exchange project: HarborTraces.'

....Read full Article

Avalanche Arts Teams Up With Masonville Cove In addition to leading workshops in Baltimore schools Kathie also visited Masonville Cove as part of her artist in residence. This collaboration with Masonville Cove was part of a developmental workshop series for local teachers. Avalanche Arts uses creative and performance arts as tools to entertain while teaching audiences how important it is to deal with trash in an environmentally friendly way. “Learning through laughter”motto Avalanche Arts

  Find out more?   •   •   Masonville Cove Environmental Center•   • 

Planting the Seeds of Creativity Kathie diStefano, actress/director at Avalanche Arts, Rotterdam, teamed up with gardener/musician Jason Reed, Filbert Street Garden, Baltimore, in December 2013. The collaboration was part of the Baltimore Rotterdam Sister City Committee’s international arts exchange program Harbor Traces.
Using creative and performing arts as tools Jason and Kathie went into Curtis Bay area schools to generate awareness for environmental issues focusing on trash problems and the consequences of modern day “shop ‘til you drop” consumption behavior. Their first of a series of workshops took them to Ben Franklin High school. There they led group discussion about trash in the community and played theater games. Improvisational games and comedy sketches were the basis of work which centered around a one-act play entitled The Eco News Show.  Ms. diStefano lives and works in the Netherlands where she runs educational and community outreach programs on trash management themes. Originally from the US she has settled in Rotterdam some 30 years ago. When asked if there is a difference between the Rotterdam teenagers and Baltimoreans she was quick to respond. “The accents may be different, but the essence is the same; young people from different cultures who sign up for a performance arts project discover new and wonderful creative energies that they love sharing with audiences. It was great to see how the students took to the work immediately, and in between the creative work we help clean up the community as well.”
Find out more?  •• Filbert Street Garden••

  HarborTraces

A collaboration between Avalanche and the Baltimore Rotterdam Sister City Committee.

Professor Steve Bradley, University of Maryland Baltimore County, was hosted for two weeks by Kathie diStefano of the Foundation Avalanche in Heijplaat, Rotterdam. During his stay, Steve gave art and animation workshops to a group of young people who work in Heijplaat.

This Rotterdam target group are young people of Heijplaat Green Supply, a collaboration between Woonbron & ASVZ. This club is a special group of young people in different ways. ASVZ is an organization for people with intellectual disabilities, and secondly, these people almost daily to the litter problem in the district Heijplaat.

For a week long series of workshops where help in which trash was transformed into art. The workshop help process and final product in equal regard. As they collected waste and processed it into artistic objects pictures were recorded and turned into a animated films. Similar workshops were are also given to young people in Curtis Bay, Baltimore and the best films of both cities were shown on 27 and 28 October in “The Trash News”. On Sunday the 28th at 3:30 p.m a reception will be held. The reception is in the context of the Baltimore Rotterdam Sister City Committee. Avalanche uses art and play to teach enviormetnal awarness, correct waste behavior and the reality of recycling.

For more information about Avalanche Foundation’s Harbor Traces: Kathie DiStefano, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , (+31) 10-4292518.

Sponsors and generous support
Baltimore, Maryland USA:  Baltimore <-> Rotterdam Sister City, Mayor’s Office, UMBC (BreakingGround, American Studies & Visual Arts), BFHS@MC, MSAC Arts in Community Grant, Curtis Bay Seniors, Polish Home Hall, and Curtis Bay Coalition, and Imaging Research Center Fellows

Heijplaat, Rotterdam, NL:  Stichting Lawine, Duurzaam Heijplaat / Sustainable Heijplaat, Woonbron, Charlois 550, Heijplaat Groen / Green Heijplaat, ASVZ and de Kolk

Video items covering "Harbor Traces" 2012 oktober (in dutch)

announcing Harbor Traces and the Trash News Show   &    The Trash Show

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