Upcoming workshop
June 2025
THE ARTS UNFOLDING SOCIAL CHANGE
Seeding CSFR Fractals for a thriving Planet and People
Workshop Description
Past workshops 2021& 2022
(Attendance is required at both sessions)
Arts and Social Change is a learning-in-action workshop for artists, organized by RTL-Arts and led by Dr. Monica Sharma based on her work Radical Transformational Leadership (RTL) in partnership with Therese Adams and Marcus Bellringer. Through the workshop, artists source their inner potential and see themselves as changemakers to address what is not working in families, communities, nations, and the planet. The goal of the workshop is to harness the power of the arts to influence culture for the greater good.
Everyone can step into courage to create change. Drawing on more than 30 years of work at the United Nations and elsewhere, Dr. Monica Sharma presents a radical new approach to transformational leadership, one that creates cultures and systems of change where everyone can engage, called the Conscious Full Spectrum Response. The workshop covers tools and templates for artists to step into their leadership and inspire people to care for the wellbeing of all, using the arts as a powerful vehicle to stop "othering", stereotyping, and stigmatizing people based on race, class, gender, caste, tribe, nationality, and religion and start portraying individuals as who they really are--unique and worthy beyond privilege, bias, and prejudice.
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“Artist are like all human beings with the potential to discover and manifest our inner power and wisdom along with our gifts and talents. When artists journey through their own leadership and stewardship development based on universal values they stand, they see new invisible patterns and they generate spectacular images symbols, icons, and metaphors for an equitable and thriving humanity and planet.” – Dr. Monica Sharma
Our Commitment for Results Through the Arts
Our Commitment Through the Arts:
The arts influence culture for the greater good and are integrated into everyday life. Artists manifest universal values along with their gifts and talents to create art based in equity, dignity, and compassion that inspires audiences to be courageous, tap into their values, and take action towards universal equity and well being for humanity and a thriving planet.
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The Results Through the Arts:
Using RTL in dance, theatre, film, fine arts, music, comics, photography, poetry, and literature, artists develop the tools to generate new icons, symbols, and narratives that amplify life-enhancing culture and change harmful and diminishing social norms. New narratives and stories are created through the arts using RTL to inspire people to care for the wellbeing of all beyond privilege, bias, and prejudice and address the systems and norms that are not working. Use the power of art to portray individuals as who they really are--unique and worthy to create wellbeing for all and to stop "othering", stereotyping, and stigmatizing people based on race, class, gender, caste, tribe, nationality, and religion.
Art Installation by Dag Weiser
Minimal Title
What is RTL?
RTL is a unique approach and methodology created by Dr. Monica Sharma and described in her book Radical Transformational Leadership. RTL is based on the unique Conscious Full Spectrum Response model about how to source our inner capacities and wisdom to manifest change that embodies universal values of dignity, compassion, and fairness, and simultaneously transform unworkable systems and cultural norms to solve problems. Drawing on more than 30 years of work at the United Nations and elsewhere, she presents a radical new approach to transformational leadership, one that creates systems of change where everyone can engage. Everyone has the potential to be a leader–a person who creates a new future–through actions in society, at home, and work. RTL is a pathway for unleashing our human potential to generate new futures through strategic actions for equitable and enduring results through all sectors—cultural entities, businesses, nonprofits, governments, media, etc. Dr. Monica Sharma has worked worldwide designing and delivering learning-in-action programs that equip participants with the practices necessary to generate results for the systemic and equitable individual, organizational, and community and policy change.
Monica Sharma © 2020
About the Workshop
What will you gain from the workshop?
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Apply cutting edge personal leadership development to unleash the powerful systems change leader in us all
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Learn to design projects in the arts that simultaneously solve problems, shift systems & norms and activate shared values
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Learn value-based communication practices for creating new narratives about important issues you are working to address
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Transform everyday activities to create equity, dignity, and compassion
Who should participate?
Artists of any discipline, arts administrators, creative technologists, and philanthropists who want to use the arts to create systemic change based in equity, dignity, and compassion for all. Participants thrive when they are willing to start with a beginner's mind, are committed to equity and social justice, and value systems thinking.
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Project-Based Learning-In-Action
Participants will bring a creative project to the workshop ideally something they are already working on. In addition to the two intensive sessions, participants will be paired with two other participants for a monthly call (between sessions) to further learning and accountability to practice what is learned. The expectation is that participants will continue after the program to use the knowledge, capacities and project design skills in the community for positive change
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Workshop description
The workshop is held in two sessions.
Attendance for Both sessions is required
Session 1 : Being and Designing Change
Who are we as leaders as artists, and how can we create change through our work? What are our shared values? What is it that inspires us and keeps us committed to our work in the face of setbacks and negative news? Who do we need to be to create the change we want to see? How do we listen deeply for shared values and opportunities to leverage change? How do we become systems leaders empowered with the tools and templates we need to create change? How do we begin to look at our work through the three components of sustainable change (solving problems, shifting systems, and activating potential)? What type of feelings and emotional responses do we evoke from our audiences? How do we distinguish between pleasure and happiness? How do we distinguish what an emotional response to art does and doesn't do? How do we explicitly manifest values or systems and cultural norms shift in our work? How do we distinguish opinions agree/disagree from multiple perspectives based on values? How do we, as artists, make sure that we are not distant from the world, but part of the world? How do we move from symbols that are just the gimmick of the month/day to symbols that are *Conscious Full Spectrum Response (CFSR) and are enduring?
Session 1
8/12, 8/13, and 8/14 2022
9am-4pm PST
Location:
Hybrid - Online and In Person in Los Angeles
Session 2 : Leading Change
How do we, as artists, use the dynamic power of the arts to move people from apathy to action to create equity, compassion, and dignity and show invisible unworkable systems that stop people from thriving? How do we build upon our new learning and practice? How will we re-design our projects to align and be attuned to what we deeply care about for people and the planet? To simultaneously solve problems, shift systems, and activate our own and our community's potential for change? How do we see and address the larger systems inherent in the problems we are trying to solve? How do we plan differently to create the impact we want to see? What are the different stages of leadership development, and how do they inform our collaborative efforts? How do we talk about the change we want to create and enroll others in creating this change? How do we connect events, programs, and other activities to measurable outcomes and impact? How do we empower others to lead the change they wish to see? How do we hold multiple perspectives and transcend divisiveness while adhering to universal values?
Session 2
9/30, 10/1, and 10/2 2022
9am-4pm PST
Location:
Hybrid - Online and In Person in Los Angeles
Between the two Sessions of the workshop, participants will connect in small groups for peer learning.
Cost for Session 1 and 2: $500
Questions about the workshop? Email radtlarts@gmail.com
Created by Dr. Monica Sharma the * Conscious Full Spectrum Response (CFSR) is about how to source our inner capacities and wisdom to manifest change that embodies universal values of dignity, compassion, and fairness, and simultaneously transform unworkable systems and cultural norms to solve problems.
About the Founder-Facilitators
Dr. Monica Sharma
Dr. Monica Sharma, trained as a physician and epidemiologist, worked for the United Nations more than twenty years. Currently, she engages worldwide as an international expert and practitioner on leadership development for sustainable and equitable change. She is the author of the book, Radical Transformational Leadership which one won the Nautilus Gold Book Award 2017 for Business & Leadership. She works with United Nations, universities, management institutions, governments, businesses, media, and civil society organizations. She has published and presented over 250 articles in journals and international forums. Monica Sharma created and uses a unique response model based on extensive application—a conscious full-spectrum model—which is for simultaneously solving problems, shifting systems, and creating new patterns sourced from individual inner capacity and transformational leadership. This model has generated sustainable results worldwide.
Monica Sharma draws on more than thirty years of working for the United Nations and beyond to present a radical new approach to transformational leadership, one that creates systems of change where everyone can engage–not just analysts, policy makers, educators, artists and business leaders. Demonstrating that we all can be architects of a new humanity, Monica Sharma demystifies policy-making, planning, and implementation so that everyone can play an informed and strategic part in solving some of the world’s most intractable problems. She involved artists and media around the world in these global initiatives.
Therese Adams
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For over 20 years, Therese Adams has held nonprofit leadership positions working in Santa Cruz, California as an executive director, fund development consultant, development director, and community organizer. Since 2014, Therese has practiced Leadership for Community Transformation with Dr. Monica Sharma and has supported the training of hundreds of leaders in Santa Cruz County and the Bay Area of California as a practitioner coach. With Dr. Monica Sharma she developed the RTL-Arts initiative to transform the arts using the Radical Transformational Leadership frameworks developed by Dr. Monica. .She has been the Artistic Director of Moving and Storage Performance Company for over 20 years touring dance theatre productions in California, New York , United Kingdom and Japan. She also worked as an arts educator for the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County. Since 2013, Therese has worked on the issues of homelessness as Community Organizer with the United Way of Santa Cruz County and Development Director at Pajaro Valley Shelter Services. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-SCC).
Marcus "Bellringer" Bell
Marcus “Bellringer” Bell is an American music producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, singer, social media influencer, activist and entrepreneur. He has marketed and promoted, produced, remixed and written for, mentored and developed some of the world’s superstars and brands. His list of credits include Shelita Burke, Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Gala, Hadise, Park Jung-Ah, Amitabh Bachchan, Sony Music, HBO, Netflix, Showtime, Discovery Network, Amazon, Warner Brothers, Arista Records, EMI and Universal Music to name a few. He has also created music for worldwide brands such as McDonalds and General Mills. Marcus Bell, the entrepreneur, is the CEO of Bellringer Productions LLC, a music sync licensing and production company that operates a catalogue of over 10,000 songs and over 300 recording artists. Bell published an Amazon #1 bestselling book titled “Bellringer Branding Bible: The 5 Musician Branding Principles for Singers, Rappers, DJs, Music Producers, Composers, Writers, and Recording Artists.” Global superstar Beyonce performed to one of the songs produced by Bellringer on her "On the Run II Tour" co-headlined with husband Jay-Z.
Saki
After earning her Bachelor of Fine Art in Modern Dance Saki ran away and joined the circus! With love and aloha, she has performed, directed and taught movement and creative arts for over 30 years. An acrobat, rhythmic gymnast and dancer, she performs in numerous companies locally (Santa Cruz, CA) and afar (national and international tours). Saki has been with the New Pickle Circus, Patrick “Magic” Martin, Tandy Beal and Company, Project Bandaloop, The Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble, Moving and Storage Performance Company, Mir and a Co. Aerial Dance, DVDance, and WEST Creative and Performing Arts. Saki has taught and directed in over 50 Bay Area, Monterey and Santa Cruz schools. She founded Circus Santa Cruz and co-directed youth circus workshops and performances. Since 2016 Saki directed and performed Tandy Beal and Company’s educational outreach programs and interactive performances: Dance Around the World, Step Right Up! and Imagine If. Saki is a dance educator. A long-time member of the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County's Artist/Teacher Partnership program, she teaches a range of styles including creative movement, choreography and improvisation, circus arts, acrobatics and performance skills. With Dr. Schaffer & Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble (member of the Kennedy Center for the Arts Partners in Education) she teaches MathDance based curriculum grades K-12, teachers and administrators. With directors Karl Shaffer and Erik Stern, Saki has toured various countries such as Korea and Hungary and many states from Maine to Hawaii.
