Thursday, April 29, 2010
ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS
ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS performed by José Torres-Tama
Work-in-progress Performances at Ashé Cultural Arts Center May 13-15, 2010
WHEN & WHERE: May 13-15, 2010 @ 8PM - $5 at the door
Ashé Cultural Arts Center at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. in New Orleans
Call (504) 569-9070 for more information.
New Orleans multidisciplinary visual and performance artist José Torres-Tama has received a National Performance Network Creation Fund Award for the commissioning of a new performance theater solo called ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS, which explores the rise in hate crimes against Latinos and the criminalization of immigrants across the country.
The commissioning theatres are MECA in Houston, GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C., and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans. From March 22 through April 30, Torres-Tama begins the creation process, and he will visit each city to research how the immigration debate is perceived. Working with a local filmmaker in all three cities, he will interview members of the general public on the streets and ask the questions: "Since the Pilgrims arrived without papers, why were they not immediately deported, and where were was immigration then?” Some responses will be inventively fused into short film excerpts that drive the performance narrative.
Also, he will interview immigrants and day laborers, immigration lawyers and activists, and immigrant social workers as part of the research. The final performance script will be informed by these interviews, and he will create the numerous characters he inhabits in ALIENS based on real-life individuals and their stories as immigrants.
ALIENS will be performed with a sci-fi Latino noir aesthetic, bilingual texts, and multimedia staging strategies. Appropriating the sci-fi look of the film The Matrix, Torres-Tama transforms and shape-shifts into numerous Latino "aliens" who challenge the flaws of a country built by immigrants that vilifies the same people whose labor it exploits. “Receiving the NPN Creation Fund Award is the highest honor I have received to for my performance work, and it marks the first time I have commissioning funds to assist with the creation of a new piece,” states Torres-Tama.
ALIENS will have its early run through a weekend of work-in-progress performances at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center from Thursday – Saturday, May 13- 15, 2010 at 8PM. Tickets are $5 and are available at the door only. Ashé is located at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. in the Central City neighborhood.
Work-in-progress Performances at Ashé Cultural Arts Center May 13-15, 2010
WHEN & WHERE: May 13-15, 2010 @ 8PM - $5 at the door
Ashé Cultural Arts Center at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. in New Orleans
Call (504) 569-9070 for more information.
New Orleans multidisciplinary visual and performance artist José Torres-Tama has received a National Performance Network Creation Fund Award for the commissioning of a new performance theater solo called ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS, which explores the rise in hate crimes against Latinos and the criminalization of immigrants across the country.
The commissioning theatres are MECA in Houston, GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C., and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans. From March 22 through April 30, Torres-Tama begins the creation process, and he will visit each city to research how the immigration debate is perceived. Working with a local filmmaker in all three cities, he will interview members of the general public on the streets and ask the questions: "Since the Pilgrims arrived without papers, why were they not immediately deported, and where were was immigration then?” Some responses will be inventively fused into short film excerpts that drive the performance narrative.
Also, he will interview immigrants and day laborers, immigration lawyers and activists, and immigrant social workers as part of the research. The final performance script will be informed by these interviews, and he will create the numerous characters he inhabits in ALIENS based on real-life individuals and their stories as immigrants.
ALIENS will be performed with a sci-fi Latino noir aesthetic, bilingual texts, and multimedia staging strategies. Appropriating the sci-fi look of the film The Matrix, Torres-Tama transforms and shape-shifts into numerous Latino "aliens" who challenge the flaws of a country built by immigrants that vilifies the same people whose labor it exploits. “Receiving the NPN Creation Fund Award is the highest honor I have received to for my performance work, and it marks the first time I have commissioning funds to assist with the creation of a new piece,” states Torres-Tama.
ALIENS will have its early run through a weekend of work-in-progress performances at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center from Thursday – Saturday, May 13- 15, 2010 at 8PM. Tickets are $5 and are available at the door only. Ashé is located at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. in the Central City neighborhood.
'VOICES NOT FORGOTTEN: FIRSTS"
WHAT: Voices Not Forgotten: Firsts
WHEN: Sunday, May 16, 2010
TIME: 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
COST: $5 General Admission; $3 for Students and Seniors
Voices Not Forgotten: Firsts explores life before and after segregation, the voting experience for African Americans in the 40s and 50s, and dances the elders first learned how to do. Voices: Firsts was inspired by the Central City EOC Senior Center's connection to the inauguration and the elders' historic trip to Washington D.C. The trip was funded by the National Black Caucus.
WHEN: Sunday, May 16, 2010
TIME: 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
COST: $5 General Admission; $3 for Students and Seniors
Voices Not Forgotten: Firsts explores life before and after segregation, the voting experience for African Americans in the 40s and 50s, and dances the elders first learned how to do. Voices: Firsts was inspired by the Central City EOC Senior Center's connection to the inauguration and the elders' historic trip to Washington D.C. The trip was funded by the National Black Caucus.
We believe in the vitality of human beings as they move through their later years, and, that the voices of the elders, and all the wisdom those voices have to impart, will not be forgotten.
The seniors have delivered performances to packed houses and proudly won first place at last year's Senior Fest. Support them and their efforts by coming out and being a part of this wonderful experience.
(Photo by Victor Robinson)
Friday, April 16, 2010
SIDE BY SIDE MEETING SCHEDULED
A Side By Side meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 4, 2010; 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center,
1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
THE PROGRAM
The Side By Side Program began in 2006, to help New Orleans creative artists in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This August marks five years since the devastation of Katrina. This is a good time to check in to see how the recovery is going.
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY
This gathering gives members the opportunity to network to help each other solve problems and identify opportunities.
FOCUS
The meeting will focus on opportunities for rental housing above Ashé, and will also highlight two programs that are helping artists qualify for home ownership.
Issues of importance to the arts community will be discussed. Please call Luther Gray, the Side By Side Coordinator, at (504) 495-0463 if you have any questions or are interested in joining the many musicians, actors, artisans, vocalists, spoken-word arts, and other artistic types.
RED + BLACK = MAROON
RED + BLACK = MAROON
A Multimedia Presentation & Exhibit by Ivan B. Watkins
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center
1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Refreshments will be served.
A Multimedia Presentation & Exhibit by Ivan B. Watkins
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center
1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Refreshments will be served.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
THIS PEN IS RED
Junebug Productions Presents
THIS PEN IS RED
A Free Southern Theater Institute Original Production
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Ashé Cultural Arts Center
1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
TICKETS: $7.00 ($5 students/seniors/artists) - Available at the Door
Conceived, Written and Performed by
Chelsea Bolds, Donna Crump, Lauren Elliott, Benjamin-David Legrand, Estilla Lightfoot, Josh Lipkowitz, Michelle Perez, Carl Prey, Tiel Rainelli, Brea Robinson, Maferima "True" Sanogo, Ivana Staiti, Dana Webb
Designed and Directed by Kiyoko McCrae, Hannah Adams and Kelly Jacques
Artistic Direction by John O'Neal
Where Do You Come From?
Encounters with family, authority, education and media all shape one's moral framework and sense of self in significant ways. How do the messages we receive serve to perpetuate stereotypes and cement systems of power and privilege? And how can we resist racism, classism, and sexism to assert our own unique identities and values? This Pen is Red explores the tension between the world as we know it and the world we envision.
This production contains mature subject matter and language.
If you have any questions, please contact Junebug Productions at (504) 577-0732.
This production was created during the Free Southern Theater Institute (FSTI) 12-week course, FROM COMMUNITY TO STAGE: Introduction to Community Arts, co-taught by Kiyoko McCrae (Community Engagement Director), John O'Neal (Artistic Director) and Kelly Jacques (Teaching Assistant) of Junebug Productions. The FSTI is a community-based, university-affiliated, multi-generational cultural training laboratory for artists and activists seeking to advance progressive social change through the arts.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Reception for Visual Artist Wangechi Mutu at Ashé
Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Xavier University's Community Arts Program, and the New Orleans Women Artist's Collective invite you to a reception for Kenyan Artist Wangechi Mutu. The event takes place on Friday, April 9, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at Ashé Cultural Arts Center.
The work of Kenyan born, New York-based artist Wangechi Mutu offers a visceral response to her critiques of gender, culture and mass media imagery. Exploring the female body as a site of engagement and provocation, Mutu's work is frequently populated by hybrid figures that
possess an almost abject beauty. The artist samples imagery from disparate sources--medical diagrams, fashion magazines, anthropology and botany texts, pornography, and traditional African arts. The artist's signature aesthetic utilizes tactile and fleshy surfaces to readily engage in her own unique form of myth making, bringing physical and conceptual depth while making social and personal commentary. (Homeward Bound shown left.)A native of Nairobi, Kenya, Mutu participated in Performa 09, Performa Biennial, New York, NY. She has had solo exhibitions at many major institutions including the Berlin Guggenheim; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Miami Art Museum, and ArtPace, San Antonio. Mutu's work is in public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art; The Studio Museum in Harlem; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
In New Orleans, Mutu also participated in Prospect.1, resulting in the building of Ms. Sarah's House which will be dedicated on Sunday, April 11, 2010
DEDICATION CEREMONY FOR MS. SARAH'S HOUSE
Please join the New Orleans Women Artist's Collective (NOWAC), Wangechi Mutu, and Dan Cameron, producer
of Prospect.1, in welcoming Ms. Sarah Lastie back to her community in the Holy Cross District.The house is located at 606 Caffin Street (corner of Chartres Street) in the Lower 9th Ward. The Dedication Ceremony takes place on Sunday, April 11, 2010; 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Enjoy spoken word by Asali DeVan, and live music by Rajdulari & TruVibe (Neo-soul, Jazz, and Urban R&B). Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Tye Waller at tyewaller@msn.com.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS
April 7, 2010
Ashé Cultural Arts Center
1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans
FREE
José Torres-Tama Receives 2010 NPN Creation Fund Award
for the Commission of a New Performance Called
ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS
WHAT: 2010 NPN Creation Fund Award of $12,000 for ALIENS
WHEN & WHERE: Research & Performances begin March – April in the three Commissioning Theatres: MECA in Houston, the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans (1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.) and GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C.
New Orleans multidisciplinary visual and performance artist José Torres-Tama has received a National Performance Network Creation Fund Award for the commissioning of a new performance theater piece called ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS, which explores the rise in hate crimes against Latinos and the criminalization of immigrants across the country. The $12,000.00 award will fund the development of ALIENS at the three cities of the commissioning partners.
The commissioning theatres are MECA in Houston, GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C., and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans. From March 22 through April 30, Torres-Tama will begin the creation process, and he will visit each city to research how the immigration debate is perceived. Working with a local filmmaker in all three cities, he will interview members of the general public on the streets and ask the questions: "Since the Pilgrims arrived without papers, why were they not immediately deported, and where were was immigration then?” Some responses will be inventively fused into short film excerpts that drive the performance narrative. Also, he will perform a work-in-progress version of ALIENS in each city during the creation process to serve as a catalyst for community input on the immigration issue.
ALIENS will be performed with a sci-fi Latino noir aesthetic, bilingual texts, and multimedia staging strategies. Appropriating the sci-fi look of the film The Matrix, Torres-Tama transforms and shape-shifts into numerous Latino "aliens" who challenge the flaws of a country built by immigrants that vilifies the same people whose labor it exploits. One exaggerated character is “El Bravo”, an immigrant superhero who battles bilingually challenged minutemen at the border and outs hypocritical politicians who stump against undocumented immigrants while hiring “illegal aliens” to literally do their dirty laundry, watch their kids, and clean their houses.
“Receiving the NPN Creation Fund Award is the highest honor I have received to for my performance work, and it marks the first time I have commissioning funds to assist with the creation of a new piece,” states Torres-Tama.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans:
ALIENS unplugged performance Wednesday, April 7, 2010 @ 7PM FREE
Creation process residency & filming interviews around New Orleans from April 5-9
GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C.:
ALIENS unplugged performance Monday, April 26, 2010 @ 7PM
Creation process residency & filming interviews around D.C. from April 24-28
ALIENS WORK-IN-PROGRESS PERFORMANCES
at Ashé from May 13-15, 2010 @ 8PM
ALIENS FULL DEBUT PERFORMANCES:
ALIENS performances in New Orleans September 16- 18 & 23-25
ALIENS performances in Houston October 15-16
ALIENS performances in Washington, D.C. April 2011 TBA
About the artist: José Torres-Tama is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist working in poetry/fiction, visual art, and performance art. For twenty years, he has worked in the New Orleans arts community, and since 1995, he has toured nationally and internationally with his multimedia performances. A Louisiana Theater Fellow and NEA award recipient, his critically acclaimed post-Katrina solo, The Cone of Uncertainty, documented his dramatic escape on a stolen school bus after the levees breached. After four years of touring The Cone nationally, he received a 2008/09 Louisiana Division of the Arts Grant to debut the piece in London, Liverpool, and Aberystwyth, Wales, as part of his 2009 international tour profiled in American Theatre’s March ’09 issue. Also, he is the recipient of a 2008 Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for the publication of his first art book titled New Orleans Free People of Color & Their Legacy, which documents his pastel portraits of 19th century Creoles recently exhibited by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans. www.torrestama.com
Torres-Tama is both a versatile writer who can be lyrically evocative as well as bitingly humorous, and an impressive performer. ---The Philadelphia Inquirer
About the National Performance Network (NPN): The NPN is a group of diverse cultural organizations, including artists, working to create meaningful partnerships and to provide leadership that enables the practice and public experience of the arts in the United States. NPN annually leverages $3,000,000 in financial support for the creation and touring of contemporary performance work. The NPN is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Trust Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), the Ford Foundation, the MetLife Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Lambert Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The NPN offices are located in New Orleans at 866 Camp Street. www.npnweb.org
Torres-Tama Receives Additional Alternate ROOTS C/APP Award for
ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDORERS
September 2010 Production
at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans
In addition to the NPN Creation Fund, José Torres-Tama has received a grant award from the Atlanta-based arts organization Alternate ROOTS (www.alternateroots.org) for the community outreach portion and production of ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS & OTHER EVILDOERS at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans.
The Community Arts Partnership Project (C/APP) grant award adds $2,500 for the New Orleans debut of ALIENS at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in September 2010. These funds will be used to reach out to the Latino immigrant community in New Orleans that has been part of the post-Katrina reconstruction. As part of the project, Torres-Tama will document stories concerning the various experiences immigrants have had since the storm.
“The greatest dirty little secret of the reconstruction of New Orleans is that it owes a huge debt to the Latino immigrant labor force brought in to rebuild after the storm, but ‘the city that care forgot’ has never officially cared to acknowledge the contributions made by the thousands of Latino immigrants who have been invaluable to our recovery,” states Torres-Tama.
The New Orleans ALIENS research calls for the artist to interview and film immigrants who have remained and were part of the reconstruction. Some of these stories will be used to inform the ALIENS performance script. In July of 2009, the Southern Poverty Law Center released the analysis of a study that stated that up to 80% of immigrant laborers in post-Katrina New Orleans were cheated out of their pay by ruthless contractors and local businesses.
Torres-Tama has contributed commentaries to NPR’s Latino USA that explore these issues, and he hopes that ALIENS can explore the personal stories of immigrant laborers further.
The national debut of ALIENS at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center takes place in September of 2010, and workshop performances are scheduled for May 13-15. The Ashé Cultural Arts Center is located at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans. www.ashecac.org
APRIL 2010 EVENTS AT ASHÉ
SISTAH'S MAKING A CHANGE
Mondays and Thursdays 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. - FREE
Get fit with the “sistahs” as you exercise and dance your way to wellness. A nutritious meal is served after each class. Free classes are held every Monday and Thursday. Donations are welcomed. Call (504) 569-9070.
HOME New Orleans? Focus Group
April 7, 2010
Ashé Cultural Arts Center at 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
The purpose of this focus group is to evaluate Ashé’s audiences. The group will consist of seniors from the Central City Senior Center. For more information call Karel Sloane-Boekbinder at (504) 569-9070.
Theater: Aliens, Immigrants, & Other Evildoers
A Sci-Fi Latino Noir Multidisciplinary Bilingual Performance by Jose Torres-Tama
April 7, 2010
Ashé Cultural Arts Center at 7:00 p.m. - FREE
With a sci-fi Latino noir aesthetic, Torres-Tama transforms into numerous ALIENS who challenge the flaws of a country built by immigrants that vilifies the same people whose labor it exploits. He inventively fuses film interviews from a variety of people in the three commissioning cities of Houston, New Orleans and D.C., who respond to the questions: “Since the Pilgrims arrived without papers, why were they not immediately deported, and where was immigration then?”
__________________________________________________________
This is a V-Day 2010 Campaign Event to Stop Violence Against Women and Girls.
V-Day New Orleans/Ashé Cultural Arts Center joins global effort to stop violence
against women and girls.
Art Exhibit - Visual Remedies for V-Day
April 8, 2010
Ashé Cultural Arts Center at 7:00 p.m. - FREE
Artwork inspired by V-DAY’s I Am An Emotional Creature, written by Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues); and A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer, edited by Eve Ensler and Mollie Doyle. The art show will feature the work of Rukiya Brown, Danielle Miles, Jessica Strahan, Christine (cfreedom) Brown, Shelia Phipps, Aisha Patrice, Sarah Dearie; and artists/actresses Valentine Pierce and Karel Sloane-Boekbinder who appear in A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer, and Pamela Galeano from I Am An Emotional Creature. Call (504) 569-9070.
Theater: Benefit Production of I Am An Emotional Creature
April 9, 10, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.
Matinee: Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 3:30 p.m.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center - $15
Based on the best-selling book by author and internationally acclaimed playwright Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monologues), these fictional monologues and stories are based on topics garnered from girls around the world. The young actors--all female--are between the ages of 14 and 19, and will perform selected monologues written by Ensler. The production is directed by Asali N. DeVan. For more information about the book and V-Girls, visit www.v-girls.org/book.php. Proceeds benefit Crescent House and Liberty House. For more information, call (504) 569-9070.
Theater: Benefit Production of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer: Writings to Stop Violence Against Women and Girls
Friday & Saturday, April 9 & 10, 2010 at 8:30 p.m.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center - $15
Based on the best-selling book by author and internationally acclaimed playwright Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monologues), these fictional monologues and stories are based on topics garnered from girls around the world. The young actors--all female--are between the ages of 14 and 19, and will perform selected monologues written by Ensler. The production is directed by Asali N. DeVan. For more information about the book and V-Girls, visit www.v-girls.org/book.php. Proceeds benefit Crescent House and Liberty House. For more information, call (504) 569-9070.
Theater: Benefit Production of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer: Writings to Stop Violence Against Women and Girls
Friday & Saturday, April 9 & 10, 2010 at 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 5:30 p.m.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center - $15
This is “a groundbreaking collection of monologues by world-renowned authors and playwrights, edited by Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monologues) and Mollie Doyle. These diverse voices rise up in a collective roar to break open, expose, and examine the insidiousness of violence at all levels: brutality, neglect, a punch, even a put-down.” Selected monologues feature the writing of: Elizabeth Lesser, Mollie Doyle, Nicholas D. Kristof, Christine House, Winter Miller, Edwidge Danticat, Tariq Ali, Betty Gale Tyson (with Jerry Capers,) Robin Morgan, Alice Walker, Dave Eggers, Anna Deavere Smith, Maya Angelou, Susan Miller and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. Performers include Tuere Burns-Jones, Keshia “Peaches” Caldwell, Frederick “Hollywood” Delahoussaye, Kesha McKey, Anette McGee, Valerie McMillian, Star Moffett, Giselle Nakhid, Valentine Pierce, Asia Rainey, Annie Bell Robertson, Aneela Shuja, Sha’Condria “Icon” Sibley and Karel Sloane-Boekbinder. The production is directed by Asali N. Devan. Michaela Harrison is the assistant and musical director. Proceeds benefit Crescent House and Liberty House. For more information call Karel Sloane-Boekbinder at (504) 569-9070. Further information about V-Day can be found at http://www.vday.org/.
Ashé Cultural Arts Center - $15
This is “a groundbreaking collection of monologues by world-renowned authors and playwrights, edited by Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monologues) and Mollie Doyle. These diverse voices rise up in a collective roar to break open, expose, and examine the insidiousness of violence at all levels: brutality, neglect, a punch, even a put-down.” Selected monologues feature the writing of: Elizabeth Lesser, Mollie Doyle, Nicholas D. Kristof, Christine House, Winter Miller, Edwidge Danticat, Tariq Ali, Betty Gale Tyson (with Jerry Capers,) Robin Morgan, Alice Walker, Dave Eggers, Anna Deavere Smith, Maya Angelou, Susan Miller and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. Performers include Tuere Burns-Jones, Keshia “Peaches” Caldwell, Frederick “Hollywood” Delahoussaye, Kesha McKey, Anette McGee, Valerie McMillian, Star Moffett, Giselle Nakhid, Valentine Pierce, Asia Rainey, Annie Bell Robertson, Aneela Shuja, Sha’Condria “Icon” Sibley and Karel Sloane-Boekbinder. The production is directed by Asali N. Devan. Michaela Harrison is the assistant and musical director. Proceeds benefit Crescent House and Liberty House. For more information call Karel Sloane-Boekbinder at (504) 569-9070. Further information about V-Day can be found at http://www.vday.org/.
Meet Kenyan Visual Artist Wangechi Mutu
Reception
April 9, 2010
Ashé Cultural Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. - FREE
Carol Bebelle (Co-founder & Executive Director of Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Ron Bechet (Chairman of Xavier University's Community Arts Program) & Tye Waller (New Orleans Women's Art Collective) invite you to a reception for Visual Artist Wangechi Mutu. The New York-based artist offers a visceral response to her critiques of gender, culture and mass media imagery. Exploring the female body as a site of engagement and provocation, Mutu's work is frequently populated by hybrid figures that possess an almost abject beauty. The artist samples imagery from disparate sources--medical diagrams, fashion magazines, anthropology and botany texts, pornography, and traditional African arts. The artist's signature aesthetic utilizes tactile and fleshy surfaces to readily engage in her own unique form of myth making, bringing physical and conceptual depth while making social and personal commentary.
Theater: This Pen is Red
April 15-17, 2010
Ashé Cultural Arts Center at 8:00 p.m. - $7
A Free Southern Theater Institute production. Encounters with family, authority, education and medial all shape one's moral framework and sense of self in significant ways. How do the messages we receive serve to perpetuate stereotypes and cement systems of power and privilege? And how can we resist racism, classism, and sexism to assert our own unique identities and values? This Pen is Red explores the tension between the world as we know it and the world we envision. For more information, contact Junebug Productions: (504) 577-0732.
Side-By-Side Membership Meeting
April 21, 2010
Ashé Cultural Arts Center - 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Side-by-Side members and potential members are invited to this important meeting of musicians, culture bearers, museum workers, visual artists, actors, Mardi Gras Indians, art gallery heads, writers, poets, social aid & pleasure clubs, night club owners, digital media developers, photographers, cultural center directors, and community activists.
