Dear Mr. Swenson,
Welcome to “The Great Gig in the Sky.” Imagine a world-wide, 24 hour long, live-streamed music concert that can be put together on short notice and for minimal resources, other than endorsements and guidance. I have been developing it for many years with the idea that it could be used to bring people together, despite their differences. Given the state of affairs in so many places on the planet, the intention behind this project (and my other nefarious schemes) is even more essential. My dark ulterior motive is to use arts and culture as a way of breaking down barriers between people. I don’t believe in evil. But I do believe in apathy fueled by ignorance. And I believe in the power of the arts, especially music, to allow people to come together and see past what they don’t know or understand. I realize this isn’t the solution to all problems, but by discreetly educating along with entertaining we can change the lens on how the world is seen.
I’ve been planning this kind of live digital performance for years, even before there was the term live-stream. But the past year has redefined our vocabularies. In Cairo I’ve been fortunate to have found some team members that have helped bring the idea for this concert further along. They are Egyptian musicians, writers and film makers who share a similar view. We have a plan for the 4 geographic regions (First is Eastern Asia- Oceana-Australia, then Central and Southern India, then Europe and Africa, and then the Americas), with each area performing for 6 hours followed by the next. With as few as 48 individual musicians/groups, we can bring together music and styles from around the world for an entire 24 hours. The music, combined with the cultural context, can help open minds as well as entertain.
We had been working with the assistance of Helen LeFave from the US State Department and the US Embassy in Egypt. They saw real potential in the project. Unfortunately, the previous political climate at the State Department caused their support to end abruptly.
My team and I are ready to create an event like this with as little as 2 weeks notice with the right support. We’ve created a modular communication/management model that can be put in place all over the world. That allows us to think of this as basically 48 mini-performances that just happen to one right after the other. How we link them together then becomes the artistry.
Below is an explanation video. Please excuse the production values. This is simply something I made to explain the initial idea to some friends.
Please let us know if you think we can be of any help to you. Feel free to contact me at TheGodot@aol.com or john.hoey@aucegypt.edu, and I can be reached on my mobile at +20 0127 525 0756.
Stay safe and healthy.
John
If you’re interested in where the Great Gig in the Sky comes from-
My team and I are also developing a documentary with the same idea of using the arts and culture to promote social understanding, but on a much larger scale. This is called Discover the World.
Below you’ll find a couple things to help explain this crazy idea.
Pitch Trailer
Episode Deck
In depth explanation of the development of the project
Below is a transcript of what’s discussed in the video-
Any people or civilization can best be understood by looking at how they express themselves in their art and culture. For us to know where we will go as a global community, we must start to understand how where we come from, where we are now, and how the possibilities for the future are all interconnected. All of this can be seen in the languages of our collective cultures. This project will show a global audience how to read these languages, while entertaining them in unique ways, and hopefully in the end allow people’s view of the world and what’s possible to open up a little more.
It begins with our shared history and explores of the origins of the visual arts, music, dance, storytelling, sport, food and our created personal environment (what architecture and fashion say about a people). These seven cultural categories begin to show the languages all cultures are built on.
From there the earth is looked at in 7-9 regions, based only on music tuning systems and scales, and each of these regions is looked at through the lens of the cultural areas. Following human migration and the rise of civilizations, the areas of Africa, the Middle East, India, Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceana, Europe, Central Asia though the Americas can be explored.
The celebrity host will introduce the audience to representatives of each region's cultural areas and shown their insights. Through interviews, demonstrations and performances, creative customs and traditions will be explored in new ways and look at the past, present and possible futures. Each region will be part arts journey, part sports program, part cooking show, part live performance and music concert. The audience will be able to watch virtuosos in their field along with regular people as they discuss, perform or create. It's likely that numerous cultural traditions could be viewed for the first time by a global audience.
The most unique thing this project can offer is a twist to all of this. From this global network we can take one cultural element and twist it with something else, taking its contemporary form then deliberately combining different styles from other areas. These hybrids could be nearly any combination from across multiple global communities. There will be rare opportunities to create one-of-a-kind hybrids, then help create and guide new cultural blends.
By looking at the world's arts and culture using this method of chronicling, experiencing contemporary styles, and contemplating future expectations, this project allows people from all over the globe to understand and celebrate their own culture, as well as those that are different from theirs.
Thanks for looking through all of this.
Have a good day!
j