**Please note that after registering, you will receive two separate emails: one with your registration confirmation, and another with the Zoom link for the presenter’s session. *Be sure to check your spam folder!

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The Mending Project

"In Fall of 2023, multi-disciplinary artist Mike Durkin approached the Program of Dance and Movement to inquire about our participation in The Mending Project. The project is a community-based endeavor that utilizes quilt-making as a means of building community, sharing stories, physically mending, and generating artful expression. The interdisciplinarity of the project and its emphasis on community building captured our attention, so for the academic year of 2024-25 we adopted this unexpected partnership to see how we could take the theme of mending and apply it to our courses, to issues at the university, our relationships in the community, and to the dance field. Mike Durkin conducted a six-week residency on campus from Sept. to October, and the Dance Program continued the investigation of mending for the remainder of the academic year via choreographic projects, community-based events, and guest lecturers. The project began with individually mending clothing together, but then branched out into communal quilt making, and then further, to looking at mending communities, mending the body, mending our planet. The project included participation from programs and departments of dance, art, music, medicine, history, and sustainability, as well as with community involvement from organizations such as SewGreen, Colorbrightgreen, the Rochester Public Libraries, and SWAN @ Montgomery."

Anne Harris Wilcox 

Anne Harris Wilcox (MFA) is a choreographer, dancer, educator, and an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Rochester. She presents nationally and internationally on topics such as kinesthetic education, creativity and assessment, intergenerational dance, and linguistics and dance. She is a former President of New York State Dance Education Association and founder the educational company Active Learning Games. She also founded and directed the Rochester-based contemporary dance company, Present Tense Dance for twenty-five years. "Get Up and Learn: Anatomy," her collection of kinesthetic lessons designed to engage the mind and body was just published in May of 2024. Anne believes embodiment of any topic deepens a person’s understanding and that the arts can create positive change. Anne strives to help make life on this planet more engaging, more equitable, and more kind.

Mike Durkin

Mike Durkin (he/him/y’all) is a large-bodied multidisciplinary social practice performance artist splitting time between South Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The intersection between art and the everyday guides mike. He has created site-responsive social practice productions exploring urban foodways, community mending, sports, houselessness, food access, place, and the Americana. mike works in communities and college campuses across the country. His work combines a variety of styles and mediums to embrace time, place, and the Americana. He aims to bring dissimilar bodies together to challenge and dismantle hate and stigmas, putting effort into the ideas that bring us together rather than push us away.

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Risk Waiver & Photo Release

By participating in the ARTs + Change Virtual Conference, I acknowledge and assume responsibility for any inherent risks, including but not limited to technical issues (e.g., internet disruptions, data loss), privacy concerns (e.g., unauthorized sharing or recording), or physical injury (e.g., from movement-based workshops). I understand that the University of Rochester and its representatives are not liable unless due to gross negligence or willful misconduct. My participation is voluntary.

Additionally, I consent to the use of my image or name if my camera is on during the virtual event. If I prefer not to be included in archived footage, I may turn off my camera or use an alternate display name.