This JB…

I don’t remember when I became interested in Baldwin, but I do remember seeing The Amen Corner
as a kid with my parents, and pulling Blues for Mister Charlie and The Fire Next Time
off my parents bookshelf and trying to make sense of the world that Baldwin was talking about. It would not be until I was a teenager that I would start to grasp how deep Baldwin is/was/be.

Much later than that I would come across Baldwin’s essay On Being White and Other Lies. This essay in a lot of ways made me rethink what it means for a group of people to decide and believe  that they are “White” and for that group of people to decide who else was or could become “White” . Conversely, that same group of people convinced of their “Whiteness” (pure, fair, just and deserving of honor) could also determine who would be their binary opposite, the “Blacks”. This essay for me also caused me to question “Blackness” as a function of being this binary opposite and the moral assignments that come along with it.

As student of Mathematics and Information Systems, I also started to think about the inability of a simple binary system in language to capture the complexity of humanity. For me, I find it hard to talk fully about  such complex in such simple terms. In intellectual, creative and progressive circle many of us push the envelope for more inclusive, complexity and nuanced, you see this so much in gender and sexuality discussions, you see it socioeconomic class discussions, yet when it comes to race  and culture we seem to be stuck with the binary.

Both “Whiteness” and “Blackness” are fiction despite the cultural, social, political and economic capital they wield and how real they feel. That is not to say that I am not connected to the substance of the experience in America we call “Blackness”, I am just not convinced that that label effectively or accurately captures that experience. Baldwin help to make that clear for me.

I am going to end with this anecdote, because I think it articulates what Baldwin was saying more clearly than I ever could. A few years ago, I was sitting on one of Dr.Greg Carr‘s lectures at Howard University and he said to a roomful of “Black” people, “In American society someone has to be Black, that don’t mean it has to be you.”  Hearing that made me re-visit Baldwin’s essay and gave me another way to look at the language we use and that is used against us…

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Presented by Honfleur Gallery with funding from the Gautier Family

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The first Annual East of the River Distinguished Artist Award recognizes a current East of the Anacostia River artist for artistic excellence as well as significant impact on the DC cultural life.

One EOR artist is honored with this $5,000 award each year.

Nominations for 2012’s East of the River Distinguished Artist Award are due by June 15, 2012.

Who is eligible?

Artists who currently live East of the Anacostia River neighborhoods in all disciplines—including dance, film, literature, music, theater, photography and visual arts—whose careers have made a substantial impact on the arts in the District of Columbia may apply. Artists must have lived East of Anacostia River for at least one year and worked in District of Columbia for more than five years. No one may receive the award more than once. No posthumous awards will be made. Application must include at least two pieces of work that have been completed or are in progress from the current year of application.

What is the purpose of the award?

The award celebrates the achievements and contributions of East of the River artists who, individually and collectively, have made an impact for the wealth of arts in Washington, D.C. Although these East of the River artists have been working in the District of Columbia over a number of years, their role in the DC cultural scene is often overlooked. In recognizing them, the award will help document the East of the River cultural history and continue the long succession of tradition EOR artists. This award is the newest component of the ARCH Development Corporation support for local artists and will be given on an annual basis.

How to apply?

Applications are accepted either by mail only or dropping off applications in person. (Please note: no feedback will be given at that time of drop off.) An application form, a one to two page description of the candidate’s career and its impact, up to fifteen (15) images or documentation of the work along with a required image script, resume and two letters of support are required. Anyone that qualifies as an East of the River artist may apply (see above: Who is eligible?)

NOTE: *All files need to be high res (300dpi and no larger than 5x7inches) burned onto a CD or flashdrive. Please see application for more details.

Who chooses the Distinguished Artist?

The panel is composed of individuals representing a variety of artistic disciplines and others well versed in the history of the arts in the District of Columbia and with specific knowledge of the East of the River neighborhoods. This panel then recommends a candidate to the ARCH’s board of directors.

When is the Distinguished Artist announced?

The deadline is June15, 2012. No extensions will be given. The artist will be notified by August 1, 2012. The East of the River Distinguished Artist Award will include an awards ceremony at the closing ceremony of the Honfleur Gallery Annual East of the River Show, currently planned for September 7, 2012, which is mandatory to attend to receive the award.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION HERE

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* * * * *TEDxWDC – October 15th The Creative City – Creativity, Entrepreneurship & Innovation In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxWDC, where x=independently organized TED event. Tickets are available online through EventBrite. (Or you may purchase tickets with a code to get a discount. Use this code PresentersDiscount) TEDxWDC will be held at an innovative warehouse space in Anacostia. The theme of our TEDx event is The Creative City: Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Our audience will consist of individuals highly interested in creative ideas, collaboration and movements here in the Washington D.C. area. TEDxWDC is an extension of the Center for the Creative Economy, which is a new non-profit cultural start up dedicated to promoting communication between the creative economic clusters in the city of Washington, D.C. Check out the website for the list of inspiring speakers: www.tedxwdc.com ARCH Development Corporation has partnered with TEDxWDC for this event in Anacostia! Honfleur Gallery, The Gallery at Vivid Solutions, Vivid Solutions DC Print Lab, Blank Space SE & The Hive are all projects of ARCH Development Corp. www.honfleurgallery.com | www.archdevelopment.org | www.vividsolutionsdc.com www.blankSPACEse.com | www.thedchive.com

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Here is the excerpted info:

For full press release click here

Contact information
(202) 204-7760 / inseries@inseries.org
Contact: Emily Morrison or Mattias Kraemer

The In Series presents
Searching for Gabriela
Searching for Gabriela, a theatrical evening about poet Gabriela Mistral – produced by the In Series, at Source, 1835 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009.

Performances:
Friday April 16 at 8pm,
Saturday 4/17 at 8pm,
Sunday 4/18 at 3pm,
Thursday 4/22 at 7:30pm,
Friday 4/23 at 8pm
and Saturday 4/24 at 3pm.
Tickets: $31 (General Admission) $28 (Senior) $16 (Student) Box Office: 202-204-7763 or www.inseries.org.

Thursday 4/22 performance followed by Audience Discussion as part of OUT at InSeries.
Saturday 4/24 performance includes announcement of winners of the Finding Gabriela DC Youth Poetry Contest, followed by an informal gathering. Half of the proceeds for the Sunday April 18 and Friday April 23 shows will be donated to the Chilean American Foundation (CAF) to support
children affected by the February earthquake in Chile.
____________________
Washington DC (March 24, 2010) – The In Series announces Searching for Gabriela, directed by Abel Lopez with an original storyline in English by DC playwright Sybil R. Williams. The work brings to life the passionate poetry of Gabriela Mistral, Latin America’s first Nobel Prize winner (1945 for Literature) in a bilingual tapestry of words, music and movement, performed alternating English and Spanish.

“Mistral was a fierce feminist warrior of the mid 1900’s, whose poetry celebrates the spirit of women in the beauty of the land, the laughter of children, and the redemption of loss,” says writer Sybil Williams,who draws inspiration from Ursula K. Le Guin’s powerful translations of Mistral’s poetry. This 21st century look at her magnificent work is revealed in performance by Jenifer Deal, Monalisa Arias, Karen Morales, Lorena Sabogal, vocalist Cecilia Esquivel and pianists/music directors Carla Hübner and Jose Caceres.

Both legend and myth in her home country of Chile, Mistral, born in1889, began writing poetry as a child. Her celebrated poetry about children and motherhood has long been a standard part of the school curriculum throughout Latin America and her memory is honored in Chile with streets, squares and schools in her name. Although her formal education ended at age 12, she began teaching at 15 in remote rural schools, was eventually nominated to direct several liceos (including the most prestigious girls’
school in Chile) and attained international fame and recognition as an educator. Five collections of her poetry and prose were published in her lifetime, and she wrote all her life in a consistently intense and passionate voice on themes of nature, betrayal, love, sorrow and recovery, travel, and Latin American identity. She left Chile in 1926, and like many Latin American artists and intellectuals, served as a consul working in Naples, Madrid, Lisbon, Nice, Petrópolis, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Veracruz and New
York. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945, and returned to her beloved Chile a few times, only as a much acclaimed visitor, living out her life in essence as an exile. Gabriela Mistral died in New York in 1957.

Sybil R. Williams (Writer) – is a DC based playwright and dramaturg. Her work has been professionally produced by ETA Creative Arts Theatre (Chicago), National Black Theatre (New York) and Kuntu Theatre (Pittsburgh). For the In Series, Ms Williams most recently wrote the script for the highly successful historical/musical play From U Street to the Cotton Club. Her play Dream of Ophelia was nominated for a prestigious JEFF award in 2000, and Liberating Prayer: A Lovesong For Mumia has been published in August Wilson And The Black Aesthetic.

The In Series (www.inseries.org), in its 10th Season as an independent organization, is Washington, DC’s home for distinctive performing arts programming, encompassing original, innovative approaches to
classical music, with generous helpings of theatre, poetry and dance.

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