Still from Stories of Impact: Improvisation & Convivencia in East LA Stories of Impact: Improvisation & Convivencia in East LA

This short documentary showcases the work conducted by artist fellows as part of the Building Healthy Communities project in Boyle Heights, LA. This video features dozens of community members participating in these improvisational art-based interventions, practicing what Martha Gonzalez calls “Convivencia”: being present and engaging together in mind, body, and spirit via participatory music and art practice.

This video is also a celebration of the launch of Alliance for California Traditional Arts’ latest publication, SaludArte: Building Health Equity on the Bedrock of Traditional Arts and Culture—a reflection of nearly a decade of work in Boyle Heights as a part of the California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities initiative, co-authored by Dr. George Lipsitz.

Directed and edited by Sara Aguilar.

Produced by IICSI and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

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IICSI’s Stories of Impact series explores IICSI’s research and the significant impacts it has on participants engaging with improvisation. You can view more Stories of Impact, and other projects investigating the impacts of improvisation on individuals and communities, in the IICSI Research Library.