CONGRATULATION to the two recipients of this year LUCKY CHANGEMAKER!

Among the large pool of 120 international applications, LUCKY TRIMMER handpicked Diana Teresa Gutierrez’s “Embodying Reconciliation Museum” and Simone Sistarelli’s “Popping for Parkinson” initiatives and rewarded each of them with a 500€ grant and an invitation to present their work at the LUCKY SUMMIT in April 2017.

The LUCKY CHANGEMAKER grant is a brand new endeavour of our non profit organisation. It supports socially engaged artistic projects that incorporate physicality, movement or performance in an effort to create meaningful change and that showcase art’s social dimension by addressing cultural responsiveness and responsibility.

The “Embodying Reconciliation Museum” by Columbian artist Diana Teresa Gutierrez is a communitarian, collaborative and performative project that aims to empower children and young people in communities that have been affected by violence or armed conflict in Colombia. Through the transformative power of arts, physical practices and movement, Diana encourages young people from vulnerable Colombian communities to use their personal and collective stories, memories and wounds as positive creative tools. After gathering the corporeal and oral material, they compose together a live installation performance, the “Embodying Reconciliation Museum”, giving a protagonist role to the voices and presence of the children and dealing with the themes of violence, memory, body, change and reconciliation. Most importantly, the “Embodying Reconciliation Museum” aims at empowering the local community, strengthening social bonds through artistic practices at a local level, giving a visibility to social and cultural practices and stories through performative tools and fostering reflection to break cycles of violence and to rebuild trust, peace and reconciliation.
https://vimeo.com/159440712

Simone Sistarelli is an Italian dancer based in London. He teaches free Popping classes to younger people suffering from Parkinson's disease. The key concept of “Popping for Parkinson” is to use this specific dance technique to improve the physical condition of the students and to lessen their tremors. Popping is an attractive dance style to younger Parkinson patients and a great alternative from other dance styles currently on offer in the UK. The feedback that Simone has received so far has been amazing. Students report that popping has had an immense impact on their well being and social life. They get better at moving and controlling their bodies, they gain confidence, they feel less isolated by joining others affected by a similar condition in a weekly class and they have fun. Moreover it is the first time that popping dance is used as a tool for medical purposes.
https://vimeo.com/146412099