This past weekend, professionals from Turkey, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan, Britain, the United States and Canada gathered at Trinity Western University to celebrate and dialogue about arts and community. This all took place at the third annual Verge Art Series. Verge is an interdisciplinary symposium focusing on the departments of Art, Communications, Music and Theatre.

“There are really important questions to ask about the role the arts have in our culture; [we are] exploring relationships of arts and community and how it can be used to create community or push people out of community,” said Jeff Warren, artistic director of Verge and associate professor of music at TWU.

When asked how the topic was picked for this year’s conference Warren confessed, “In a way I’ve been selfish; I’ve picked a topic that I’m interested in, [but] this topic [also] seems to interest a lot of people.”

Chris Anderson and Christos Hatzis attended as keynote speakers. Anderson, a New York-based artist, has worked extensively in over 15 different art communities around the world – “And I’m still alive,” she joked. While at TWU, Anderson also spoke in chapel as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series in addition to being a keynote speaker at Verge. In the opening lecture, she spoke of community and how it can be a place in which one seeks sanctuary and a place that one seeks sanctuary from.

Anderson’s work explores American cultural traditions and life in the contemporary home and neighbourhood. “It is so important to be in community that fosters you as an artist,” she said. “Unfortunately many of us have had negative experiences with community; [it] can bring people together, but it can tear people apart.”

Hatzis, a Juno Award-winning composer, conducted a composers’ workshop and presented on community building through art. Hatzis works to advocate borderless culture and has been working to “bridge the gap between classical music and today’s popular music idioms.”

At the workshop, Hatzis played a commissioned piece entitled “In the Fire of Conflict,” the focus of which is inner city conflict. He collaborated with Detroit rapper Steve Henry.

The collaboration between Hatzis and Henry is an example of how art can build community where none existed before. Henry is a former gang member who now works to promote social responsibility. Henry created the rap tracks and lyrics, and Hatzis remixed the tracks in stereo and combined them with cello and percussion. The effect is powerful.

According to Hatzis, “a great deal of social-cultural activity has been taking place [since the performance of the piece last summer]…people plan to use this work for various causes, particularly inner-city youth projects.”

TWU presenters at the conference included Warren; Doris Hutton Auxier, art department chair; David Squires, dean of the faculty of professional studies and performing arts; Suzanne Snizek, flute instructor; and Caleb Chan, fourth-year music student.

Conference audio and presented papers are available at www.vergearts.com under “conference.” Listen to the second half of “In the Fire of Conflict” at www.reverbnation.com/christoshatzis