Many Mouths One Stomach: A private, non-profit, 501 (c)(3), community arts and educational collective. The name references an African folk tale. The metaphor is about finding nourishment for community from varied sources.
Tucson-Based: originating and living in Tucson.
Collective: a group of people with kindred interests.
Artists, Teachers, Community Activists: …and other “cultural creatives” from the community in service to the mission of MMOS.
Who Come Together: interact, cooperate, and organize.
With the Intent: our conscious choice of purpose, in line with our core values, towards a specific outcome or goal.
To Create: to conceive of and bring into existence.
Inspire: to turn people on, to motivate emotionally.
Manifest: to facilitate an outcome, to reveal creative expression.
Perpetuate: to make an on-going presence and the means to support it.
Modern: contemporary, current, newly defined.
Festal Culture: a group of people who come together working on common change through festivity; the cultivation of shared beliefs and norms resulting in the experience of greater unity, healing and personal expression; a pattern of relationships and behaviors, both new and ancient, that serve deeper needs. A way of life based on a social pattern of cyclical festivities.
Is Responsive: answers to, reflective of.
Core Human Needs: psychological, social and transpersonal requirements for healthy individuals and cultures.
Deep Meaning: resonates on multiple levels and reaffirms experiences of significant inner truth.
Connection: bonding through common or universal experiences, recognition of interdependent relationships, open, healthy communication that transcends limiting social constructs.
Celebration: gatherings of special importance, honoring through festive events.
Rites of Passage: symbolic acts of transition from one state to another, sometimes involving personal or collective transformation.
Personal Expression: the process and products of individual creative activity or focus.
Our Events: gatherings and activities, large and small presented by MMOS.
All Souls Procession: a free, annual, non-motorized parade through the streets of Tucson celebrating the living and the dead.
Establish a Legacy: to create the underlying structure for events and activities that live beyond the originators, and become socially and culturally indispensable. To create a reputation for presenting safe, inclusive, well-organized, innovative events that emphasize intimacy and authenticity over size or popularity.
Reclaims Public Space Through Art: redefining neglected space as sacred space.
Blurs the Lines Between Participant and Observer: offering events that dissolve the boundary between audience and performer, providing opportunities for free expression and deeper experiences.
Blurs the Lines Between Ritual and Performance: weaving together devotion, ceremony and entertainment.
Together With Our Commitment: the goals or outcomes we are dedicated to achieving.
Education: imparting of wisdom, knowledge, and hands-on experience.
Outreach: creating opportunities, engaging, enlisting support, fundraising, coordination, and getting more people involved.
Collaboration: working with individuals and groups sharing similar goals, utilizing the “and” solution with others to co-create and exchange resources. The “and” solution meets the core needs and interests of all parties, as opposed to “either/or” approaches.
Stewards a Vision: conscientiously managing our affairs, entrusted with the accountability, responsibility and care of the future of the organization.
Wherein the Creative Act Becomes a Mode of Living: Art is Life.