David Roussève’s Saudade (duet by Taisha Paggett & Olivier Tarpaga)

First off, I have to admit to being a pretentious lil’ twit!  So now, with that off my chest, I can get grandiose!  Simply put: I am trying to change the world.  That’s no metaphor, that’s literal.  (Yep, warned you it would be pretentious!)  In this day and age, maybe the notion of ‘changing the world’ seems so darn ‘old school’ (I know… I know… my child of the ‘60’s blood is showing.)  But, in using performance to inject whatever small portion of humanity I can into our crazy, postmodern, postcolonial, global, tsunami-infested, earthquake prone, ‘3-war America’, topsey-turvey-to-the-point-of-delerium, world… I hope to change it one viewer /participant/ patron/ audience member/ community-involved person at a time.  So really, what I suppose I’m intending to say is not that I can change the world, but that art can change the world.

And so what’s this got to do with MAPP?  Simply put: I adore MAPP, I love MAPP, I am inspired by MAPP because MAPP makes me believe we all CAN, indeed, change the world.  MAPP is holding tight to the principles—however old school—that by supporting the creation, production, and touring of performance works that ask challenging questions, that provokes hard-hitting conversation through equally hard-hitting artistry, and that seek to inject a tiny bit of breathing room into breathless lives that have no room to breath… well, with a little help from us, art can indeed change the world.

In MAPP’s hands, those old school principles seem vitally new.  I don’t know that I have ever seen such dedication from such darn good, thrillingly competent folks.  In the boldness of the artists they present and the purpose behind their mission, MAPP makes me feel good about the present state of the arts.  And that alone makes them worth supporting.

Thank goodness MAPP is a vital part of the arts economy.  To say that they are ‘artist supportive’ would be the understatement of the century.  Please support MAPP.  What they do for the field, through what they do for artists, is truly invaluable.  These folks can potentially—dare I say it?—change the world.

-David Roussève

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We did it! We met our goal of $6,000. Deep gratitude for all of the people who have given so far. As a token of our appreciation, this short snippet of legendary Los Muñequitos de Matanzas from their recent show in San Francisco (video by Tom Ehrlich).

Of course, surpassing the goal would be better than meeting it! There is still one more day to give to the MAPP Artist Challenge. Donate now!

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At MAPP we invite you to get involved in many ways, with the work that means the most to you. As Board Member Candace Jackson says, with MAPP “it’s not always and it’s not simply about the dollar. It’s about lending your support — your time, talent and your treasure — in a way that’s really genuine.”

But, the money is essential too. The artists we work with have shown that they believe in what we do enough to donate — now we’re asking you.

We’ve got three more days to raise the last $900 to reach our goal of $3,000 by April 13th. Please contribute today!

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We’ve passed the $2000 mark and are getting close to our goal of raising $3000 by April 13 to match the contributions of MAPP’s family of artists.  A huge THANK YOU to all of the people that have contributed thus far. It means a great deal to have your support.

If you haven’t joined yet, but believe in our mission of producing groundbreaking performing arts projects, placing them on stages worldwide and bringing them into people’s lives, please DONATE NOW!

The members of Kassys celebrating MAPP (do you see it!?) on their 2007 U.S. Tour

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As Paul Cillo says, “It’s not a big secret that more and more funding is being consolidated, and more and more the work that’s being supported is the big work that can attract  bigger audiences and so that leaves out most of the artists in the world. They can’t be that. And so the question becomes how do we get access– as citizens of this society or this culture, or as citizens all over the world– how do we get access to artists and the expression of their work? And the answer is it has to be a grassroots support of organizations like MAPP that is striving to do that.”

We’re counting on you– our local and global community — to help us continue this work. Join the MAPP Artist Challenge. Donate now!

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