“This is something everyone knows: A well-used city street is apt to be a safe street. A deserted city street is apt to be unsafe.” –Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961)
Indeed, as Jane Jacobs argued in 1961, what makes a city great is the participation of the people.
For decades, urban artists and community organizers have known that a safe environment is an active one: a street full of people invites engagement, cooperation, and fosters other forms of participation in civic life.
This is the theory behind a new initiative happening on June 7, 2014. Tijuana, along with cities worldwide, will participate in “100 en 1 día” (100 in 1 day) where all kinds of Tijuana residents–from teenagers to taco vendors, gardeners, artists to community organizers–will all join together to produce one hundred interventions in Tijuana in one single day.
Last Saturday, March 22, 2014, the event organizers held a kickoff in Parque Teniente Guerrero in downtown Tijuana.
In the press roundtable, Alex Sevilla co-director the Center for Art & Culture El Globo and member of the “100en1díaTijuana” organizing committee invited all of Tijuana to participate. He explained that to participate, it isn’t necessary to be an artist, but rather, the invitation “is open to any citizen who wants to see a change in their city.” Sevilla pointed out that there will be creative workshops to help people develop and carry out their idea on the actual day of the activities, June 7, 2014.
En rueda de prensa, Alex Sevilla, miembro del equipo motor de 100en1díaTijuana, explicó que para participar con una intervención no es necesario ser artista, ya que la invitación para participar en este festival de intervención urbana “está abierta a cualquier ciudadano que quiera ver un cambio en su ciudad”, asimismo destacó que se impartirán talleres creativos para ayudar a los ciudadanos a desarrollar su idea y ejecutarla el día en que se realicen las 100 intervenciones en toda la ciudad, el 7 de junio de 2014.
Dr. Gabriela Martinez, who will participate as workshop facilitator, reminded the group to watch for the upcoming workshops. “It is important to know that we will offer these workshops, and we will have eight workshops in the Audiovisual room of ICBC.” Martinez noted that in order to participate in a workshop, “you should first have a dream for Tijuana, simple or complex, and in the workshops you can develop the idea, with help from the facilitators.” Martinez stressed that the interventions do not have to be art projects, but can be community organizing, urban or social projects as well.
La Dra. Gabriela Martínez, quien participará como facilitadora de los talleres, indicó que “es importante informar que vamos a tener talleres creativos, vamos a impartir ocho en la Sala Audiovisual del ICBC”. Expresó que para participar en el taller, “primero hay que tener un sueño para Tijuana, sencillo o complicado, y en los talleres se desarrollará la idea, apoyados por facilitadores”. Aclaró que las intervenciones no solo son artísticas, sino también son comunitarias, urbanas y sociales.
Carlos González, member of the dance troupe Péndulo Cero explained why it is important as artists to join in this movement. “We believe that with what we are perceiving and engaging with, we can impact people, make a difference, create change and perhaps influence a child, an elderly person, and you, to feel some emotion, to make you reflect.
Carlos González, miembro del grupo de danza Péndulo Cero, refirió por qué es importante unirse a este movimiento social ciudadano como artistas: “porque desde nuestra perspectiva y nuestra experiencia, creemos que podemos con lo que estamos percibiendo de la necesidad del medio, de una manera sensible podemos impactar, hacer una diferencia, hacer un cambio, quizá influenciar a un niño, a un anciano, a tí, que te mueva una emoción y te haga reflexionar”.
On March 22, the dance group Péndulo Cero performed a dance that enacted the processes of communication and cooperation. Four dancers with different ideas came together on a platform and through the progression of the dance, the interaction, and the form, created something together.
The organizing team led another intervention that day, encouraging the many people in the park to sit down at tables with someone who they didn’t know. The group would draw a random conversation topic out of a hat and start up a conversation about the topic with the strangers at the table. One objective is to stimulate empathy and to allow the participants to discuss topics and get to know each other more deeply through the exploration of ideas and issues.
Those interested in participating in 100en1díaTijuana can register your intervention in the portal http://100en1diatijuana.com. Workshops will be held where the necessary orientation will be provided to complete the intervention, improve it, and enrich it.
Workshops will be held on the following days in the Audiovisual room of ICBC:
March 31
April 7 & 28
May 5 & 12 & 19 & 26
June 2
If you want to participate in the workshop, you need to register your idea on the website in advance in order for the organizers to develop a workshop for your intervention. The organizers of 100en1díaTijuana are ready to help with anything you may need to accomplish your intervention.
Visit us on our Facebook page 100en1diatijuana and on our website 100en1diatijuana.com.
Los interesados en participar en 100en1díaTijuana podrán inscribir su intervención en el portal http://100en1diatijuana.com. Se realizarán talleres creatorios en donde se proporcionará la orientación necesaria para ejecutar la intervención, mejorarla y enriquecerla, así como conseguir aliados.
Los talleres se llevarán a cabo los días 31 de marzo, 7 y 28 de abril, 5,12, 19 y 26 de mayo y el 2 de junio, en la Sala Audiovisual del Instituto de Cultura de Baja California. Para formar parte de los talleres es necesario inscribir previamente la intervención en el sitio web proporcionado.
Si bien, las acciones son autogestionadas, el equipo de 100en1díaTijuana apoyará en todo momento a los participantes con las gestiones necesarias para realizar la intervención.
Visítanos en nuestra página de facebook: /100en1diatijuana y en el sitio
web. 100en1diatijuana.com.
