ART ACTIVISM

Art, in itself, is another language. It involves tones, emotions, and expressions. In contrast to languages such as English or Spanish, words are replaced with colors, images, movements of the body, melodies, harmonies, and musical instruments. However, the use of the different medium does not diminish the impact of the messages delivered through various art mediums. Rarely do people see art as a tool of activism. WISEN views art as one of the most effective tools to spark conversations or raise awareness on important issues. WISEN attempts to use art to address controversial topics such as sex, HIV/AIDS, sexual protection, gender, and sexuality in the Vietnamese community to develop more informed students. By providing students with a variety of methods to express themselves, we hope this method will change the dialogue and encourage students to start discovering their own stories about their sexuality, a topic we believe everyone should freely explore without restraints or social norms.

THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED

Theatre of the oppressed is one of the art forms used by WISEN. Created by educator and theorists Paulo Freire in Brazil, the form became popular as a means to promote social and political change. Theatre oppressed has spread across the nation. What makes theatre of the oppressed so effective is the inclusion of the audience into the show as “spect-actors.” Out of the five forms of theatre of the oppressed, image theatre and forum theatre are the most commonly used in WISEN. In image theatre, one person is chose to act as the sculptor. As the sculptor, the person will mold one or more people who are acting as statues. The sculptor will use the statues to create an image. The audience has a chance to comment on the image and place in their input of what they believe they see before the sculptor reveals his or her intentions. Image theatre demonstrates how the ideas provides a clearer understanding through images rather than words. In forum theatre, audience has the opportunity to stop a performance, usually involving a scene with a character that has been oppressed. The audience could then jump in and purpose either a change in scenery or a solution to the oppressed situation. Forum theatre is a technique to break the rote of the traditional audience and audience roles. By having a part and a voice, the members are engaged and challenged.

An example of Theatre of the Oppressed. Forum theatre is shown toward the end of the clip. From "It Could Happen to You" by the Jan Hus Homeless Theatre Troupe, facilitated by Katy Rubin.