Year in Review
January 9th, 2009
2008 was a pretty special year for 651 ARTS. As we move into 2009, I thought that I would take this time to share with you some of my favorite highlights from the past year.
For our 2008 season, we decided to turn our attention to the rich cultural heritage of the Mississippi Delta with the Mississippi Delta Heritage Project. Now you can’t have a project dedicated to Mississippi without visiting the state. Georgiana Pickett (Executive Director) made several visits to Mississippi over the course of a year. She raved about the state and made the rest of us jealous. So then it was my turn, but this time I was taking our Production Manager Robert Henderson with me. Now all I am going to tell you is that I ate myself silly and had a little too much fun:
Here I am dancing with Bill Luckett, owner of Ground Zero Blues Club
If you have never been to Mississippi it is a must see. Check out this website for more information about visiting Mississippi. http://www.visitmississippi.org/
We kicked off the Mississippi Delta Heritage Project with a jam session led by Brooklyn bluesman Michael Hill with students from the Brooklyn High School of the Arts. These kids had a really fabulous time – they didn’t want to go home! Their enthusiasm is a real testament to their teacher – Mr. James Duncan - seen here with his students:
Mr. Duncan jamming with his students
The project included a diverse group of artists who truly showcased how culturally rich the Mississippi Delta region is, but also how much the region has influenced other art forms. We had an extraordinary group of artists that participated in this project including: Reggie Wilson, Ping Chong, Dianne McIntyre, Olu Dara, Toshi Reagon, Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife & Drum Band, T-Model Ford, Terry “Harmonica” Bean, Robert “Wolfman” Belfour, Marie Knight, Jimmy “Duck” Homes, Lobi Traore, Corey Harris, Michael Hill and Cassandra Wilson. My favorite part of the series was hearing Toshi Reagon singing “Smokestack Lightin’ ” and seeing the audience jamming to the wicked guitar playing of T-Model Ford. It was a remarkable project! For more information about the project, please check-out the following NY Times article here.
In July we presented Eti! East Africa Speaks, in collaboration with Dartmouth College, Theater Without Borders and the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center CUNY, which featured eleven theater artists from East Africa (Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda) in the States for a three and a half week residency. Its purpose, to build connections between the U.S. and East Africa by exposing East African work to U.S. audiences and providing East African artists an opportunity to network and work with top-notch U.S. theater practitioners.
The first two weeks of the residency took place at Dartmouth College where the artists engaged with the student body. The following ten days took place in NYC, where the artists participated in a series of presentations led by Lynn Nottage, Migdalia Cruz, Kia Corthron, Okwui Okpokwasili, Robert O’Hara, Liesl Tommy, Carl Hancock Rux, Ruben Polendo, Tracey Scott Wilson and Ping Chong. The New York City residency provided the artists with the opportunity to network with potential artistic collaborators as well as to attend shows, and culminated in a series of work-in-progress presentations of the East African artists’ own work at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center CUNY. This was an amazing series! Who could forget the powerful performance of George Seremba (Uganda) and his autobiographical account of survival to triumph over the oppressive political regimes of Milton Obote and Idi Amin. Or the brilliant musical accompaniment of Andrea Simon Kalima of Tanzania. Click here to listen to an interview on WFMU with some of the East African musicians who participated in the project.
In October, I traveled to Kenya and Tanzania with Brooklyn-based choreographers Nora Chipaumire, Reggie Wilson and Christalyn Wright. The artists performed and taught in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and in Nairobi, Kenya. This was an extraordinary trip for me. Seeing Nora, Christalyn and Reggie teaching such diverse communities, watching students who were so curious and excited about contemporary dance was an experience that I will hold onto for a lifetime. Check out my earlier blog post for some great photos from the trip, as well as our facebook page (become a fan!). This photo is my favorite from the trip:
Workshop participants dancing their hearts out!
Which brings us to January 2009. What’s ahead?
2009 marks the 20th anniversary of 651 ARTS! This season we are focusing on the outstanding female artists who have graced our stages, as well as influenced 651 ARTS as a whole. Founded by Mikki Shepard, 651 ARTS has been directed and staffed primarily by women. This year, 651 ARTS has chosen to dedicate its attention to the importance of new work and the guiding influence of Black women in the arts.
We are kicking-off our season with a new play entitled In This Place… by award-winning writer/director Ain Gordon and starring Michelle Hurst. This is a must-see production!
Check out 651 ARTS’ Facebook page for additional information about the production – or go to the Irondale Center website: www.irondale.org
I am so excited about 2009 and all of the extraordinary programs that we have lined up.
Stay tuned for the official release on who will be featured this season, but let’s just say that you are in for a real treat!
Happy New Year!
All the best,
Anna
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