Dear Duke and Duchess,
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Hoey and I am an American creative director, lighting designer, scenographer and professor at the American University in Cairo. Forgive me for being so bold, but I believe I may be of help to you. I’ve been following your lives (as have most people on the planet) and I was impressed by the courage you’ve shown this past year, especially your intentions behind Archewell Productions. Personally, I’ve been working for over a decade on ways to use arts and culture to bring the world closer together. When I read your mission statement on the Archwell website, it was as if I’d written it myself. This has been my life’s mission. An old acquaintance of mine was the playwright/president, Vaclav Havel. He said “Truth and love must win out over lies and hatred.” And I think I know a way to use compassion to do that.
For over a decade I’ve been developing a project called Discover the World (DTW), as a way of using arts and culture to connect people across the planet, all while introducing the audience to the language of what they’re watching or experiencing. Hopefully in doing so they can understand and appreciate something unfamiliar in a positive light. It was initially developed as an educational outreach and a way to connect live performances on a global scale. I began by dividing the world into 7-9 regions based solely on music tonal scale. From there I’ve collected as much information as I can about several cultural elements (music, dance, story telling, visual arts, the created environment, food and sport), while at the same time constantly trying to see the larger social context as well as the influences. Since then the scope has significantly increased, along with several potential off-shoot ideas. Recently, my Egyptian teammates (regional writers, musicians, filmmakers and artists) felt it would be a good base to build an unparalleled documentary series from.
Briefly, the episodic documentary would be an in depth look at the origins, the contemporary forms and the possible future of the world’s arts and culture. Consisting of a base structure of interviews with cultural representatives, location explorations and performances/presentations, this would all be led by a guest host…ideally, someone such as yourselves that have an idea of the world from a larger vantage point.
Think of this also as a “story collecting net” on a global scale. It could provide an immediate product of epic proportion, then also create connections to unique voices and stories from around the world for future development. A key element that helps solidify how these story ideas are then communicated is the way DTW places emphasis on the context of the cultural language to help audiences understand on a deeper level. This is the foundation of how the project works. Understanding the language of where an idea comes from provides insight, but also gives the ability to find new stories from unexpected sources.
Given the state of affairs in so many places on the planet, the intention behind Discover the World 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 to allow people to come together and see past what they don’t know or understand. By discreetly educating along with entertaining, we can change the lens on how the world is seen, and allow compassion to replace intolerance.
Another key aspect of the mission is exploring the potential of streamed live theater or music performances. The technology is just emerging that can radically change the way live performances can be distributed and experienced. I can see a time when someone looks in the browse section of something like Netflix and sees an “Arts and Culture” section with never before seen types of content. With proper guidance, nearly anyone on the planet could create content and let their voice be heard.
Below you’ll find a couple things to help explain this crazy idea-
A pitch video created by a local production company and myself.
I’ve also worked with an Egyptian producer to create an episode deck.
And I’ve included a simple video I made to help explain the depth of the ideas that have gone into Discover the World. This was done as a way to communicate what was in my head to my friends. Please don’t judge it’s production values.
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.
If you’ve come this far…
The following video is another explanation video of a proposed 24 hour live streamed global music concert. This was close to being initiated with assistance from the US State Department and the US Embassy in Egypt. Unfortunately, the current political climate at the State Department recently 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. I added it here to see what other projects Discover the World can help initiate.
This is called “The Great Gig in the Sky.”
I appreciate you looking at all of this. I would like to think that this could be a unique opportunity for everyone involved. There is potential to make new contacts in untapped markets that could lead to new story ideas of epic proportion. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…
Please 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.
Please stay safe and healthy.
j