A Celebration of Hip Hop Culture & Free Expression
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STREET ARTS A Celebration of Hip Hop Culture & Free Expression OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2010 Albuquerque New Mexico 516 ARTS The 5G Gallery ABQ Ride ABQ Trolley Co. ACLU-NM Albuquerque Academy Albuquerque MainStreet The Albuquerque Museum Albuquerque Public Art Program Amy Biehl High School BECA Foundation The Cell Theatre Church of Beethoven Creative Albuquerque Downtown Action Team FUSION Theatre Company Global DanceFest The Guild Cinema KiMo Theatre & Art Gallery KUNM Radio N4th Theater National Hispanic Cultural Center New Studio A.D. The Outpost Performance Space Warehouse 508 Working Classroom CONTENTS Introduction 2 Exhibitions 4 Murals & Tours 6 Hip Hop Film Festival 8 Spoken Word Festival 9 Calendar 10 Performances & Events 12 Talks 14 Join 516 ARTS 16 Credits 17 www.516arts.org • 505-242-1445 STREET ARTS is organized by 516 ARTS, with ACLU-NM & local organizations Visual Art • Spoken Word • Music • Film • Dance • Talks • Tours INTRODUCTION STREET ARTS 3 Starting from Scratch Let’s begin with two generally agreed upon definitions of Hip Hop. One deals in the intangible realm of sensibility and perspective: Hip Hop = Culture. The second refers to the business of selling snapshots and sound-bites gleaned from the culture’s creative expression: Hip Hop = $. If Hip Hop is indeed a way of life, what is that “way?” Consider an apt metaphor derived from a widely known mode of Hip Hop expression, the scratch. Created when the turntablist’s fingers manipulate recorded sound in sync to new musical elements, the scratch is both defiant and tributary. The practice of re-contextualizing sound and symbol is evident in Hip Hop’s signpost elements: “break dancing,” “MC’ing/rapping,” “graffiti,” “beat making” and “beat boxing.” Each challenge the norms of the visual/performance/literary mediums in which they’re associated. This subversive approach extends beyond art making to Note from the Project Director education, activism and government. Those marginalized are empowered by Hip Hop to deconstruct and remix unjust dominant cultural narratives. Art is food. You can’t eat it but it feeds you… It needs to be everywhere because it is inside the world… Art soothes pain! Art wakes up sleepers! Art fights against war Though Hip Hop’s retail products participate in global capitalism, there are still graff and stupidity! Art is like good bread! Art is like white clouds in blue sky!…HURRAH! artists who put their bodies at risk challenging notions of public vs. private space. Turntablists and beat-makers innovate audio technology, questioning the ownership — Bread & Puppet Theatre of sound. Breakers shatter popular notions of the traditionally trained dancer. Hip Hop writers rattle the realms of literature, theater and journalism. Its lyricists move crowds in meaningful ways, transcending narrow night club music. I am pleased to welcome everyone to STREET ARTS: A Celebration of Hip Hop Culture & Free Expression, an Since the 90’s, Hip Hop poets have contributed to the revitalization of performance arts collaboration with 25 local organizations featuring a poetry. In stride with the self-sustaining spoken word community, Hip Hop poets full line-up of public programs this fall. We have worked brandish the kinetic rhythm of the block party, reporting the human condition to an together to develop programs that celebrate art in the urban audience trained to listen closely. environment, freedom of speech and collaborations among artists and organizations. SHOUT OUT: A Festival of Rhythm and Rhyme shines the spotlight on this new breed of Hip Hop poet. Like the scratch, we’ll leap forward and back in one After spending much of last year on the LAND/ART project that looked to electrifying movement. We’ll celebrate the passionate poetry of Amiri Baraka, a the natural environment of New Mexico, the STREET ARTS project focuses pivotal figure in the 60’s black arts movement to which Hip Hop owes a tremendous on Albuquerque as the urban center of the state. The programming presents debt. We’ll head nod and stomp feet to the word play of two widely revered writers of local artists along with an array of guest artists and performers from around the Hip Hop generation: Amalia Ortiz, an award winning poet whose work examines the country and the world, with a scope ranging from explorations of regional the complexities of the Chicana experience -- both stateside and abroad -- with identity, to global perspectives from Africa, Brazil, Cuba and England. The intelligence and beauty; and Kevin Coval, a critically acclaimed poet and co-founder dialogue spans history, civil liberties, human rights and questions what of Louder Than A Bomb, the world’s largest youth literacy festival. Throughout the four freedom means in the United States and in other parts of the world. The project days New Mexico’s own diverse poetic voices will bless the stage and electrify all with helps connect New Mexico artists, performers and audiences with a larger, homespun lyricism. international dialogue. The phrase “Hip Hop is Dead” continues to circulate in popular discourse. Which The subject of this series of events includes, but is not limited to, the elements Hip Hop are we talking about? Mine empowers me to celebrate the diversity of of Hip Hop culture. Many of the programs and events focus on educating young our collected narrative, to explore the rhythm of my community, the rhythm of my people about their civil liberties, highlighting issues of access and freedom of imagination. How about yours? expression. Who gets to “play” in the art world is largely dependent on who has access to it. Street Art has become such a vibrant movement around the world — Idris Goodwin because it gives a voice to the people and invites everyone to participate. Co-Curator, SHOUT-OUT: A Festival of Rhythm & Rhyme The Calligraphy of Chaz Bojórquez New Mexico Remix In many ways the entire STREET ARTS project owes its inspiration to the work and 516 ARTS presents a special collaborative project with artist Chaz Bojórquez and The STREET ARTS project centers around current day trends in Street Arts, its enthusiastic energy of Charles “Chaz” Bojórquez, an artist of exceptional skill, Hip Hop playwright Idris Goodwin titled New Mexico Remix. Goodwin has created roots in graffiti writing and its relationship to Hip Hop. So what is the difference dynamism, and dedication to education and support for younger artists. In 1969 a new play that integrates the stories of New Mexico youth who participated in his between Street Art and graffiti? “Street art is more about interacting with the Chaz’s imagery burst into Los Angeles’ collective summer workshop at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Voces writing program. audience on the street and the people, the masses. Graffiti is about connecting Note from ACLU Director 1 consciousness when his signature image “Señor Bojórquez will create a site-specific, temporary mural incorporating text from with different crews, it’s an internal language.” In both cases, “...physically Suerte” first went up on a concrete pier along Goodwin’s play on the 25-foot high front wall of 516 ARTS. Goodwin will perform connecting to the street through art or graffiti is a uniquely corporal way to People have sought to suppress artistic expression since the the 110 freeway heading east towards Pasadena. New Mexico Remix at the KiMo Theatre on November 6, opening for Amiri Baraka integrate with the city, or with your neighborhood… For artists it’s a form of beginning of civilization. Why? Because art is powerful. It has 2 Since then it has appeared in Hollywood films and Cecil Taylor for SHOUT-OUT: A Festival of Rhythm & Rhyme. The mural will be dissent and self-affirmation, a way of not accepting the lot you’ve been given.” the ability to inspire, to provoke, to challenge, to build, and to and educational documentaries, in mainstream on view at 516 ARTS October 2 - December 11 during the exhibition Street Text: Art Graffiti master Chaz Bojórquez, asks, “Does graffiti have intent, purpose, cultural deconstruct. Art is expression at its most sophisticated; that’s why art magazines, on gallery walls in Milan and From the Coasts. Chaz Bojórquez’ residency in Albuquerque for STREET ARTS is co- identity, history and create unity? Who owns the public space and who has the it is so important that we defend art when it comes under attack. Osaka and Madrid, and in museums such as the sponsored by Albuquerque Academy. right to speak and be heard?” Smithsonian Institution. However it was only when This inherently close relationship between free speech and art I’d like to thank the many colleagues and friends, whose teamwork was his icon began to appear in prison tattoos, and in prompted the ACLU of New Mexico to collaborate with 516 ARTS invaluable to this project, especially Andrew Connors, Francesca Searer, other graffiti artists’ piece books that Chaz felt he to bring you STREET ARTS: A Celebration of Hip Hop Culture & Free Expression. With Rhiannon Mercer, Barbara Geary, Christopher Goblet and Sherri Brueggemann. had really made a difference, that his work was STREET ARTS we aim to not only highlight the formidable talent of our participating Special thanks to the ACLU-NM for spurring this collaboration onward, to speaking to his community. Since 1969 he has artists and performers, but also celebrate the constitutional rights that guarantee their Rob Strell and Gary McAfee for hosting the Street Arts fundraiser and to the been sharing his refined aesthetic and dedication freedom to express their talent, creativity and ideas to fullest potential. dedicated Board, staff and volunteers of 516 ARTS. And thank you to the McCune to craftsmanship with anyone who cared to ask, Charitable Foundation, The FUNd at Albuquerque Community Foundation, The The ACLU would like to extend special thanks to 516 ARTS Executive Director Suzanne and has selflessly served as a mentor to generations of artists.