Farewell to a dear friend, humanitarian, and MetaFour/Beyond Walls supporter, Frances Bay. In the words of MetaFour board member Carmen Dean, "Frances Bay will long be remembered for her talent, intellect, and kindness." Indeed...
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/09/happy-gilmore-seinfeld-actress-frances-bay-dies/

Join us for Concerts in the Dell, a live-music series fundraiser and party for all ages from educational nonprofit MetaFour Productions. Additional information may be found at: http://concertsinthedell.weebly.com

Enjoy the talents of local musicians in an intimate backyard setting. Concerts in the Dell is offered as a free event with a suggested donation of $25 per concert–come to one or come to all.  Donations will be accepted via mail or on site. Beverages and snacks will be available for purchase.  
MetaFour has called upon our circle of friends to donate their talents to entertain you and raise funds, which allows all contributions received to support outreach for the BEYOND WALLS project. These musicians are generously performing gratis, so we have encouraged them to have their music available for sale and to promote upcoming events.

MetaFour is proud to have 100% of the donations from Concerts in the Dell dedicated to supporting the BEYOND WALLS project and outreach. Also, the BEYOND WALLS Photo and Video Project will be on site–we hope you will participate in this web-based social media project.

MetaFour believes creative expression breaks down boundaries, encourages dialogue, and improves communication for students. BEYOND WALLS, at BeyondWallsOnline.org, is a free online environment where youth can contribute their creative works and engage in constructive dialogue about important world issues and related themes such as Community, Power of One, Our Earth, Similarities and Differences, Conflict Resolution, and My Story. MetaFour’s outreach  provides free and low cost art and digital art experiences for students and nonprofit organization partners, and professional development support for educators.

MetaFour Productions new instructional Write Right! series teaches Handwriting: Printing and Cursive. Appealing animated characters and catchy songs help students learn how to Write Right!

One of the standout entries in MetaFour Productions and Western Justice Center's "Create Peace Art Festival" in Pasadena on June 5 was the display of multi-media art from Kids Company in London. Their imaginative, peace-themed pieces all won Grand Prizes and MetaFour received this wonderful thank you card.

On June 5, 2011, MetaFour Productions launched the BEYOND WALLS Photo & Video Project at the Create Peace Art Festival in Pasadena, CA. MetaFour partnered with the Western Justice Center for the Create Peace Art Festival which showcased creative works for students grades 1-12 and encouraged students to join the online community for youth--BeyondWallsOnline.org. 

The BEYOND WALLS Photo and Video Project captured personal thoughts and expression, photographs, and video testimonies responding to the prompt: What do we have to get BEYOND?  

The first participants posted responses that included moving "Beyond prejudice," "Beyond judgement," "Beyond convention," even "Beyond cool!"  We've posted these for viewing on the BEYOND WALLS Photo and Video Project Facebook page.

Now it's your turn. Participate in the worldwide BEYOND WALLS Photo and Video Project!

What do we have to get BEYOND?

Let the world know.

Take your picture! Video your thoughts! Post your response to the BEYOND WALLS Photo and Video Project Facebook page. 

Spread the word to your networks.

Start to change the world.

Start to move....BEYOND WALLS!

The Western Justice Center and MetaFour Productions are calling for student entries for the Create Peace Art Festival 2011 on June 5, 2011. The submission deadline has been extended to Tuesday, May 31, 2011. 

The Create Peace Art Festival 2011 features visual art contributions from youth that reflect the theme: Create Peace. Last year we received about 60 contributions and were honored that the Mayor of Pasadena served as the emcee for the event. 

MetaFour Productions is set to conduct sessions at schools or after-school programs where we will guide students in how to create peace-themed art.  We are also looking for peace-related submissions produced by students independent of the MetaFour classes.  We’ll pick up and return any pieces that you would like to enter.  The first 20 teachers who submit a minimum of five entries will receive an Art for Peace Toolkit consisting of art materials and art lessons that are related to conflict resolution. The Create Peace Art Festival will be held at the Western Justice Center, 55 S. Grand Ave, Pasadena 91105 on Sunday, June 5, 2011 from 2:00 - 5:00. Please plan to join us for this meaningful celebration of youth exploring the creation of peace through art. 

All are welcome!
For project ideas follow this link to our "ART for PEACE" Art Start Cards, including conflict resolution concepts art tips, media techniques, a glossary of art terms, and art history-based  lessons that combine conflict resolution concept with specific materials.Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by MetaFour Productions and Western Justice Center.The Art Start Cards may be downloaded and used at no cost for educational purposes by individuals but may not be duplicated,sold,or distributed by any means without prior written permission.

On Saturday 2/26 MetaFour presented their Beyond Walls curriculum at the San Gabriel Valley Second Annual Youth Summit, on the theme of Social Media, Social Responsibility and Social Change to a capacity class.  Students were introduced to the Beyond Walls.org website, and participated in a group art project which resulted in mural illustrating the themes of Conflict and Resolution.

These videos document some of MetaFour's activities with Western Justice Center during 2010.  They include sessions of Peacebuilders in the Park, Peer Mediation Invitational, and presentations of our Beyond Walls themes.

On December 20 MetaFour Productions was honored as Partner of the Year by the Western Justice Center, a non-profit corporation founded by a group of judges and lawyers involved with the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Throughout the year we have been pleased to be able to present seminars to students and teachers, bringing our Beyond Walls curriculum of multimedia presentations designed to promote cultural appreciation among members of diverse communities and elicit an appreciation of commonalities and differences in a global community.  Western Justice's mission to increase the opportunity for peaceful conflict resolution and displace the power of violence in our society makes them a perfect partner for MetaFour, and we are honored to have been recognized by them.  

MetaFour with the Pasadena's Mayor Bill Bogaard

L to R: Marilynn Fong, Julie Drake, Mayor Bill Bogaard, Carmen Dean, Eric Luke, Bruce Dean

MetaFour with Abbie Genzink, Program Associate, and Angela Oh, Esq., Executive Director of the Western Justice Center

L to R: Angela Oh, Abbie Genzink, Bruce Dean, Julie Drake, Carmen Dean, Eric Luke, Marilynn Fong

Welcome to MetaFour Productions first blog post.  In the near future we'll be posting announcements about upcoming events and recent appearances.  Thanks for joining us!