Brooklyn's own Planet Ubiquity is on HOT97. Yes you heard right. Their song "King Of Rock" will be played everyday from 9:30am to 9:45am. We need people to text 75759 and request to hear more Planet Ubiquity. To hear more of their tracks check out www.myspace.com/theplanetu
Now, don't get me wrong. This does not mean that I am supporting the republican party. We know, in faith, who will win in November 2008.
It was a beautiful Sunday in Bed-Stuy, I was walking down the street, and I noticed this poster.... and I thought, "For Real!!"
Whoever will be the president of the United States of America (no more Bush, that's for sure), Real talk, it will be very interesting to see what and how it will affect our everyday lives.
Many of us are waiting for a new person to take the place, and see some obvious changes. But is that all we can do? just wait? Do we really really need to have a new president to see a change?
We are fighting to increase the budget for education in NYC. But is school the only place for kids to be educated?
NO!
New government may have a plan to decrease the crime rate, or keep our streets cleaner. But do we need to wait for someone to make it happen?
NO!!!
We can start with a little things ... like connect kids in the hood with many organizations that are available, such as "The Stoop", "The Lower East Side Girl's Club", "Urban Word", and many more. Or there is an easier solution, PUT YOUR TRASH IN THE GARBAGE CAN, they are on every corner, if you haven't noticed!!!
My point is... we don't have to wait for a change.
So Live! Arts own, Fly Lady Di will be hosting a HUGE ART SHOW called FRESH PRODUCE on MAY 7th At the GALLERY BAR. This is sure to be the pre-summer art JUMP OFF so come out and check her new work and Live! performances from Honey Larochelle, Igmar Thomas and the Cypher, and DJ MELO - X on the 1's and 2's!
“A woman needs an income and a room of her own to write fiction.” [& music & poetry & plays & dance...] -Virgina Woolf
Upon this So Live! road I have been blessed to meet very talented and hardworking artists. Caitlin Meissner and Yarrow Lutz are two of those artists. Independently they are each their own powerhouse of professional artistry so any time they come together it is FIRE!
This Thursday will be the second installment of a much needed and much appreciated series dedicated to women called BK HOUSE PARTY:
What is it?
A once-a-month get down, Brooklyn House Party features performances by established and emerging women artists and performers. By creating an intentional safe space for women to create and audiences to participate, this series encourages marginalized voices to experiment with material, reach new listeners, and build community for opportunity that extends beyond the one-night-engagement. Developed and curated by Hopscotch & Concrete Productions, founded by multi-genre artists Caitlin Meissner and Yarrow Lutz (of Lady OsoFly), this live experience supports the need for women to create more "rooms of their own." We promise you magic.
Come out with the ladies of So Live! Arts and support this movement. This is one of the "firsts" -- so, get down with the get down!!!!
The performing artists are a phenomenal mixture of talent all with obvious professional artistry -- most definitely So Live! To find out more information check out their website www.myspace.com/bkhouseparty -- yo! Don't sleep on their party mix!
Pratt Institute will host activist, writer, philosopher, and teacher Angela Davis as Scholar in Residence for Spring 2008 on Tuesday, April 22 and Wednesday, April 23. As part of her residency, Davis will participate in a series of events that are free and open to the public.
Davis will give a keynote address titled "Identifying Racism in the Era of Neoliberalism" at 7 PM on Tuesday, April 22 following a 5 PM screening of The Farm: Angola. On April 23 Davis will participate in roundtable discussion "Urban Artists and the Politics of Visibility" with New York-based artists Dread Scott, Hank Willis Thomas, Alain "KET" Mariduea, and Amy Sananman. All events are to be held in Memorial Auditorium on Pratt's Brooklyn Campus. Admission will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis.
Davis was associated with the Blank Panther Party and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Educated at the Frankfurt School, Davis first came to national attention when she was placed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Ten Most Wanted List on false charges, driven underground, arrested, and incarcerated for 16 months. While in prison, she wrote brilliant articles and became the focus of the international solidarity movement -the "Free Angela Davis" campaign-which brought about her acquittal.
Davis ran for U.S. Vice President under the Communist Party ticket in 1980, and in 1997 helped found Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to dismantling the prison-industrial complex.
Today, she holds the University of California Presidential Chair in African American and Feminist Studies in the History of Consciousness Department at the Santa Cruz campus. She is the author of eight acclaimed books, including The Autobiography of Angela Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete?, and Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture.
Her residency is sponsored by the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Department of English and Humanities; and the Initiative for Art, Community, and Social Change with support from the Office of the Provost, the Critical and Visual Studies Program, and the Pratt Film Society.
So Live! Arts will now be an official sponsor for the Trust Your Struggle Tour. We are proud and excited to be a part of this dynamic movement.
The Trust Your Struggle Collective is a group of visual artists, educators, and friends dedicated to social justice and community activism through the medium of visual art. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City they work in conjunction with several other collectives and groups to produce art exhibits and community based events. In the year of 2006 the collective completed a tour in which they painted political and socially conscious murals throughout parts of Latin America. The tour, entitled Trust Your Hustle Mural tour was a 2 month long traveling mural project based on developing and painting murals in communities that they felt were misrepresented, repressed, and forgotten by the majority. The collective is currently preparing to create a national U.S. tour based on this model. The 2008 Trust Your Hustle Mural tour will take place from July to August. It will begin in Brooklyn, New York and travel through Philadelphia, Atlanta, New Orleans, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Seattle. The tour will end in San Francisco, California with a culminating exhibition at the Galeriade La Raza.
The Trust Your Struggle Collective believes in working with groups that are striving to make a positive change in their environment. In a larger sense, the tour is an exchange of culture, visual art, and political education. All murals are created in collaboration with local artists, cultural centers, youth, activists, or graffiti collectives. The 2006 tour took the crew through the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
An integral part of the mural tour is to help facilitate mural/art workshops or participate on speaking panels in the communities where the mural is to be painted. This way the group is not only developing and painting the mural with members of the community, but also showing those communities that the tour goes further than just painting, it is an experience in the human connection through the arts. Trust Your Struggle Collective has facilitated workshops and participated on panels at: Virginia Tech University, Trinity College in Connecticut, University of the Arts in Boston, and CasadeArtesana and University of San Carlos, both in Guatemala.
I mean Honey Larochelle. Come see the girl people are talking about at legendary Blue Note. She's been working with The Brand New Heavies, Macy Grey, Joss Stone, and more. This woman has so much soul, you will understand when you here her voice.
After I work I do my usual thing. Walk under the Brooklyn Bridge to the High St. A/C train station and ride the "iron horse" (frequently used NYC term for train) heading into Brooklyn. It's usually during rush hour so I know that the possibility of getting a seat is slim. I'm standing in the middle of the train grabbing on to dear life when I see a gentleman wearing a Brooklyn sweatshirt and Brooklyn hat carrying two big a** bags full of Canvas. My initial thought was...how come I've never seen this man around? He probably lives in Bedstuy and its obvious he's an artist. Me, being a creature of curiousity begin to look into the bags of canvas noticing a very distinct character painted on the canvas that I saw on a blog site the day before. So me being a friendly California native, ask "excuse me, do you have a blog?" The gentleman looks at me like a mad woman! Come to find out not only do we have mutual friends but his art work was displayed at my local coffee shop, Tiny Cup on Nostrand and Clifton ave in Bedstuy (where he sold all his pieces). So I've always been familiar with his work but now I get to meet the man himself, Rob aka Ader aka Fokused Empire State. He's quite a catch. A US Marine, a top chef ;), a world traveler and above all an artist. He hand makes everything even down to the canvas! That is SO LIVE!!! Plus he's Panamanian...that's a BIG PLUS in my book! So THANK YOU!! MTA for the serendipitous introduction. So now the next time I see him walking down Nostrand...I'll shout, "Oy Papi..Que paso!?"
So if you are lucky you might even spot his unique signature marks and dope plywood pieces all over Brooklyn. Keep your eyes peeled. Brooklyn Stand up!
For more information about Fokused Empire State and getting custom pieces check out his blog: http://theblackaderfokused.blogspot.com/
You can purchase his artwork, Tees, Hoodies, and Hand sewn pillows at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5349812
One of the most motivating experiences I have had in a long time happened to me two weeks ago. My colleague and I was invited to judge a Battle of the Bands competition. To our surprise all of the producers, promoters and performers were all students. They did a amazing job creating this event. Each producer took every moment serious, they was very organized. I love to see students creating projects within their communtiy. I mean really how many kids are willing to give up there weekends? This is what I love about the art world, its inspires everyone. For some we could see that they was excited to be performing. That same drive is the key to created that dream. My advice to all, stay focused if you can see it in your mind you can hold it in your hand. Posted by Tamika Brown at 7:14 PM0 comments Labels: Battle of The Bands
Recently So Live! Arts got an exciting MySpace message about an artist space in Brooklyn. Alicia Boone, the founder of So Live! Arts decided to go view the space.
Yo! This space is crazy! On Monday I went to view this space called Creative Heights at St. Marks and New York Avenue. Sara Hart, manager of the space and founder of the artist collective called Studio Art Works gave me a tour. The space used to be a homeless shelter and is now being renovated. It is going to be an exclusive art space with artists and art centered residents, a gallery space for residents, a basement workspace, laundry room, roof top access, murals, and a community garden! This is so live! for the in artists community in Brooklyn and abroad because our realm of possibility has just expanded. Essentially, we can make ourselves available to manage spaces like this all over the world! Currently, Creative Heights is accepting applications. The apartments are affordable, big, and bright -- you better get on your grind and see the space!
Please email solivearts@gmail.com for more information.
Alright ya’ll, that’s my knowledge for this week ☺
Remember, “Art can be YOUR business” Random thought ... How people come to Starbucks with a DESKTOP computer? YO! That’s crazzzy! Talk about convenience, lol!
David Garibaldi is an extremely talented and expressive California based artist who is SO LIVE!! Honestly, their is no need to explain. Check the video and you'll see for yourself. We will have to find a way to get him out east to leave his signature mark. If you want to know more information about David Garibaldi check his website: http://www.garibaldiarts.com/ A true inspiration!
ow the next time I see him walking down Nostrand...I'll shout, "Oy Papi..Que paso!?"
