Arts for PEACE: Peace Education through the Arts, Culture, and Exposure - By Lia Parisyan

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  Taxidermy: the art of preserving the dead. This is what I’m reminded of as I sip on Gin and Seltzer with squeeze of lime. I’m being stared down by two pheasants behind a pane of glass, frozen eternally, looking out into two separate directions in space. Framed by what I imagine is mahogany or stained pine, in a portion of a forest with dried out wheat and yellow-grass, this is the closest I’ll ever get to staying constant forever.
  
  I took a pause from walking through the streets of New York City, on a humid August day. The heels I wore to my interview had been pinching my feet for the better portion of my walk from 28th West to the Lower East Side. Like floating driftwood, I ended up on shore as I made my through the doors of Kenny’s Castaways. I don’t know Kenny, but is seems he’s got a habit of collecting things that have no place to go or nowhere to be. I would have not necessarily chosen this as my first watering hole, but the portholes and the false imitation of a pirate’s vessel were enough to draw my attention and keep my interest.
  
  I would have walked by, but something caught the corner of my eye; the slate marked off with times and bands, and has chance had it, the bizarre circumstances of this Universe wanted to give me a much needed lift. I took a breath of relief, and smiled as the doors opened, and I walked into the dim lit shaft of “The Interstellar Elevators”. I had first seen this band perform in Hartford, Connecticut, and was seriously impressed. It was the night after Crystal Manor and Cabin Fever, which carried on well into the morning. I spent the better portion of the next morning and afternoon in Central Park with a few friends. I suggested we go there, where oddly enough there was a Kidney Health marathon going on with very bad Long Island 40-50 year-old demographic, Bruce Springstein and Rod Stewart crooners and croakers, singing on stage. But, before I go off on another tangent, I decided to write some poetry and sit in and wait for the show. There were a few not so hot opening acts, so after of hearing a few post-pubescent men whine, I went out for a smoke. There weren’t too many people outside, and being the type of girl I am (in the likeness and image of my mother), I naturally started striking up conversations with complete strangers.
  
  This is how I met Matthew Grosjean and Jordan Lorrius, a guitarist singer/songwriter duo. Arts for Peace 2011 Emerging Artists of the year, The Phantoms were formed in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti.
  
  A recent collaboration with Serbian band Darkwood Dub and Croatian singer Ida Prestor has led to a music video organized by Thomas G. Ehr of MTV in the countries of former Yugoslavia of “Listen”, a song in response to the events in Haiti which is now bringing a message of hope to a new generation of Serbians and Croatians. The Phantoms have performed at venues as varied as: UNHQ, Yale, The Provenance Center, a former Gestapo prison in Frankfurt, and a concert sponsored by MTV Adria in Belgrade. At our inaugural Salon, Thomas G. Ehr, General Manager, MTV Adria and Chairperson, MTV EXIT Foundation introduced the Phantoms and spoke about their remarkable work in Serbia and in response to the tragedies in Haiti.
  
  The Phantoms along with several other talented artists will be performing at Le Poisson Rouge on August 19, 2011. Arts for Peace will be hosting Jackie Kazazian of the Art Institute of Chicago, who will be presenting Contemporary Art and Women in Syria followed by music performances.
  
  
  For more information and event details, please visit:http://www.lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/2457
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  Le Poisson Rouge: August 19, 2011

  http://www.lepoissonrouge.com/