Meet Carla!

This year CIAMO is excited to have as Peace Corps Response Music Teacher, singer-songwriter Carla Seidl.  She teaches basic music at CIAMO as well as guitar and dance. She also plans to develop an interdisciplinary project at the center as part of her studies at Goddard College.

CiamoReport: Where are you from in the states?

Carla: I grew up on Long Island, about an hour from New York City. I have since lived, worked, and studied in Massachusetts, Iowa, Chile, Maine, Azerbaijan, and Togo.

CiamoReport: What is your background in the creative arts?

Carla: Singing and writing have always been important pursuits for me. Adding in foreign languages, storytelling, anthropology, and dance, I created my own major as an undergraduate called Expression and Culture Studies. Afterwards, I studied documentary radio at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and started working independently as a singer-songwriter, writer, and documentary radio producer. I am currently pursuing an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College, so working among the myriad arts happenings at CIAMO is an especially good place for me at this time in my life.

CiamoReport: What inspired you to apply for your PCR post?

Carla: While working as a Girls' Education and Empowerment volunteer in Togo, I became very involved with a local cultural center and in collaborating musically with local artists. Perhaps the highlight of my service in Azerbaijan, too, was the work I did in the domains of music, dance, and theater with local students. So, shifting to work at a music and arts education center such as CIAMO was a natural fit.

CiamoReport: What are your initial impressions of CIAMO?

Carla: I like the way CIAMO stretches kids' imaginations and creative problem solving skills. I also think that the interest of this organization in furthering collaboration across discliplines is very important. CIAMO's goal of involving local artists and transitioning into a community-directed enterprise will be key to its future sustainability.

Happy Birthday CIAMO!

CIAMO is getting ready to celebrate its 1st anniversary! It has been a crazy year and we made a lot of progress! Now we’re starting a new school year with three new volunteers, six Beninese teachers , and an incredible office staff. As a team we’re making new and exciting musical and artistic opportunities happen every day.

So we’re sure you’ve been wondering “What can I give CIAMO for its birthday?” Well – how bout you give students guitar lessons? Or buy art supplies? All you have to is make a donation, and you can help CIAMO to be successful for another year.

While supplies last, we’re giving autographed copies of Herbie Hancock’s latest CD, The Imagine Project, to anyone who gives more than $100! Click here to participate. 

Who are you?

Recently we asked our students and all of you to send us your self portraits. Here's the results!




Do you want to help? You can make a tax-deductible on our Crowdrise page.  Like us on Facebook or follow us on twitter. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

The Navy Band, Topside, Plays at CIAMO

It’s not every day that CIAMO’s students see a saxophone, a tuba, trumpets, and trombones played masterfully. Yesterday, August 23^rd, 2011, CIAMO had the opportunity to host Topside, a high-energy brass band of the U.S. Navy.  While the HSV-2 Swift is in town, the American Cultural Center has been taking Topside around to see the sites and play for appreciative audiences all over southern Benin.

They arrived at 11 o’clock for a workshop with a group of children at CIAMO.  The students learned the name of each instrument and had the opportunity to hear each one play solo before they went full force into a short concert. The energy was great and the children loved the music.

After lunch, seeing a few sites, and getting pythons wrapped around their necks, the troupes played a concert to an audience of about 150 people at the Python Temple, including the mayor of Ouidah, the director of the American cultural center, and the military community from the Ouidah Military Camp.

The concert consisted of American classics including Ray Charles, some Dixieland tunes and Michael Jackson as well as some African classics like Malaika and the Waka Waka.

The CIAMO team thanks American Cultural Center Director, Rhonda Watson, and the US Embassy community for their continued collaboration. We look forward to future opportunities to promote cultural exchange in Ouidah and throughout Benin.