"
21012-2019
ARTBARK INTERNATIONAL's FINAL PROJECT WAS FALL OF 2019
Cosmic Class Creatives Excelling at Bee-ing the Change:.
We tend the planet as we grow our souls through Epic Art-venturing.
ArtBark International: Where art intersects with social innovation and visionaries shift paradigms; valuing sustainability, cultural shamanism, inter-beingness, and creative excellence.
A little levity to brighten your day
=
The Kellys
​
Misa and Stephen met while Misa was a student of dance and Stephen focusing primarily on his creative endeavors as a concert pianist. 23 + years later the two have become partners in all things creative enjoying co-creating dance and physical theater with fellow ArtBarkers while continuing to enjoy their creative exploits as individuals.
Rather than choose the path of parenthood the two decided to devote their lives to their art and being of service to other creatives with limited resources through their work with the Future Traditions Foundation. Together they have realized over 150 projects; toured to Turkey, Slovenia, Austria, France, Connecticut, and New York and have been a source of inspiration to many. Their home base is Santa Barbara, California where they have easy access to their home away from home - Santa Cruz Island and they can provide excellent personal assistant suppport to their beloved feline - Magnolia.
Misa
​
is passionate about community building. Her innovative program designs and organizational efforts have helped over 1,000 artists over the past 20 years. Kelly is a groundbreaker and innovator. As SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre her company was the first in her community to tour CA, tour to New York, tour internationally, the first to provide opportunity to non-local boutique artists, and the first to co-launch a dance festival in her community as a gesture of giving back. She became the first member of the dance community to receive a coveted indy Award Theater award and has also received an indy Dance award. In 2012 SonneBlauma morphed into ArtBark and Kelly shared leadership and direction with Stephen Kelly, Mojca Majcen, and Trina Mannino. As a community they toured to France, Austria, Slovenia, SoCal, New York, and Connecticut. Their project Alma.Sama., three years in the making, was met with critical acclaim with a premiere at the Slovenian National Cultural Center – the Cankarjev Dom. Her choreography in this collaborative work was described as “perfect dance poetics with superior movement vocabulary” by the Slovenian publication Parada Plesa. Misa has exhibited her visual art in New York, Vienna, and Santa Barbara, and guerilla style at the Lourve, the Norton Simon, the Belvedere, LACMA, and MOMA. She publishes as an indie author under the pen name of Ginger Freedom and blogs regularly a sundry of places.
INSTAGRAM: @gingerfreedom
https://artbarkinternation.wixsite.com/misakellydances
THE VISUAL ARTIST:
Misa Kelly. Photo: Tone Stojko
Stephen and Misa Kelly. Photo: Kathee Miller
Stephen
​
Stephen Kelly is a classically trained pianist who has performed solo concerts in France, Spain, and Costa Rica, as well as across the United States. His studies of classical Indian music have been with Krishna Govinda and Hom Nath Upadhyaya of Nepal, as well as with Montino Bourbon of the Ali Akbar Khan gharana, and tablas master Gregg Johnson. As a dancer, he trained in the majors program at UCSB, and continued his work under the great jazz dancer Matt Maddox in Paris, and later, with the flamenco master Pepe Mancilla in Spain. In Europe, he played for the classes of Josette Amiel (Paris Opera Ballet) and company class of Ballets Blaska. He has been invited to witness the choreographic process of Lucas Hoving, Felix Blaska, and Remy Charlip. He has collaborated with a number of choreographers and dance companies, performing live onstage, as well as serving as music director and composer. His performance at the Luckman Auditorium in Los Angeles with Nancy Colahan was termed “superb” by the Los Angeles Times. As a choreographer, in addition to setting work on ArtBark, he has been privileged to work with some of the finest professional dancers from the Colorado Ballet, State Street Ballet, and Santa Barbara Dance Theater.