Lots to tell you guys about, but I’ll keep to one topic for now: The Festival of the New Black Imagination.  First, some of you had marked this past Saturday, October 20 in your calendars as the date for the 2012 event.  Obviously, that didn’t happen.  Good news, though, is that we’re pushing the Festival to May of 2013, and we’ll settle on a solid date early in the new year.

In the place of the Festival, I thought we’d start to develop the workshop and labs aspect of the Festival.  That is, one of the things I’ve always envisioned for the Festival is that it would be a space in which to help develop the next generation of creators and curators.  After all, how better to learn than to learn from top practitioners in a specific area?

So we’re excited to kick off our workshop series with three people who exemplify excellence in their creative endeavors:

• Social media For Artists with Tayari Jones, bestselling author of Silver Sparrow, The Untelling and Leaving Atlanta
• Watching Movies With Armond White, former chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle and a member of the National Society of Film Critics
• Songwriting with Nona Hendryx, Grammy-nominated music icon

Stay tuned as we add additional workshops on other topics starting in the new year, all of which will lead up to the 2013 Festival in May.

The important thing to know is that we’re using this as a model for fundraising.  No corporate sponsors have committed yet.  Rather than wait for money to magically fall out of the sky, I thought it better to take some action and create some value.  So consider taking a course or two.  Also, please spread the word.  As you can see, there are some incredible folks giving of their time to lead these sessions.

Last thing: All of these workshops will have limited seats available. In fact, there are only 14 slots available for Nona’s session, whereas there will be approximately 20 for each of the others.  Book your space sooner rather than later.

Click on the image above to get to the Festival site for more detailed information.

Additional links:

• NBI Festival workshops

My first thought: Thank you.  That’s right, the first Festival of the New Black Imagination was a success, and I think the groundwork is laid for an even bigger and better event next year.  But it couldn’t have happened without the support of a bunch of people.  Yes, I did a lot of the heavy lifting, but you all responded overwhelmingly in the positive to the idea and the vision I laid out: Namely, creating a space that celebrates forward-looking black culture.  So many co-signed this vision: A committed advisory board; a killer group of speakers and performers; the great Festival partners; the talent that helped capture the event on film and in still photographs; the event services team that handled registration (lifesavers!); the donors to the IndieGoGo campaign; and not to forget the countless others who simply showed love and encouragement.

It truly takes a village.

For those of you who weren’t able to make it, by all accounts it was a fantastic day.  It was Smart Black People Central!  And it was all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds: Folks from a variety of  backgrounds and all of them covering a range of activities and interests.  We squeezed a total of 14 sessions into a single day!  It was ambitious, to say the least.  Can’t wait to share the video with you guys.  While all of the sessions were strong, I want to highlight a few that were really impactful:

The Futurist: Dr. Nat Irvin II

What’s life going to be like in 30 years? Like very little we can imagine now.  In fact, the seeds of that future have already been planted.  The best thing you can do to get ready for it?  According to Dr. Irvin: “Go deep in at least two areas.  That 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell talked about?  You need to do it twice.”  Also, the future’s going to be about having great ideas, so he left us with this provocative thought: “Have sex with a lot of other people. . .their ideas, that is.”

A key piece of writing by Dr. Irvin, The Hidden World of Thrivals, can be read here.

The Poet: Tyehimba Jess

I was blown away after this session.  Imagine poetry that can be read top to bottom, bottom to top, in both directions across, and still make sense.  That’s what Tyehimba Jess has created, all based on the Arabic ghazal form of poetry.  He used the format to explore and illuminate the humanity of Bert Williams and George Walker, two of the best know vaudeville performers.  It’d been explained to me what he was going to do, but nothing prepared me for his performance.  Can’t wait until you see the video on this one!

The Visual Artists: Sanford Biggers and Wangechi Mutu in conversation with Greg Tate

It was a real honor to host visual artists of Sanford and Wangechi’s caliber at the Festival.  Their conversation was a revealing look at process and how they’re navigating the art world.  And I can only tip my hat (again!) to Festival advisor Greg Tate who is a master of lobbing questions that, on their surface, seem simple and straightforward, but provoke unexpected and multilayered responses.

By the way, if you haven’t seen it, I suggest you run–don’t walk–to the Brooklyn Museum to check out Sanford’s current show, Sweet Funk–An Introspective, which runs til January 8.

Art & Technology Panel: Kenyatta Cheese, Crystal Z. Campbell, Wayne Sutton, Sian Morson

What I’m so grateful for is that Sian Morson stepped up and put a fantastic session together.  I knew about multimedia artist Crystal Campbell and I also knew that she was waiting on a confirm from internet guru Kenyatta Cheese, who only returned from China the day before the Festival.  But when she tells me she’s got Wayne Sutton, I’m thinking GTFOH! Wayne is social media and tech royalty, a real rock star.  But so quiet and unassuming.

You can check him out on November 13 when the CNN series Black In America 4 takes a look at how he and Angela Benton of Black Web 2.0 are working with a group of tech startups to ensure that they get a foothold in Silicon Valley.

The Entrepreneur: Ali Muhammad

If any three words come out of the Festival, they’ll probably be “See.  Do. Be.”  With these words and an amazing ability to tell a story sans any visuals, Ali Muhammad shared a philosophy that has enabled him to thrive as an entrepreneur.  This is another session worth seeing once the video is available.

The Explainers or How To Be Black: Toure, Amanda Seales, Baratunde Thurston

If you’re going to have a session called “How To Be Black,” it’d better deliver.  And these three did so in spades (pun intended!)  Seriously, this panel was what we hoped it would be: A smart and funny look at how notions of race are (or are not) evolving in the 21st century.  Both Toure and Baratunde were great.  But it was Amanda who took on the role of agent provocateur and refused to let either of the panelists get away with easy, pat answers that really sent this session into the stratosphere.

Again, a big shout out to everyone who was involved with the Festival, no matter how small a role you had.  It will grow and evolve over time but, as that Sade song goes, it’s “never as good as the first time.” Thank you.

For more photos, all courtesy of Ed Marshall Photography NYC–including shots of the performances by Saidah Baba Talibah, Dope Sagittarius, No Surrender, Tamar-kali and DJ Reborn–check out of the Festival Facebook page.

The Festival marches onward towards its October 15 launch!

Details are coming together nicely:  Two locations (Long Island University and Water Street Lounge, both in downtown Brooklyn); 14 speakers (with more on the way); four dynamic artists performing at the afterparty (and maybe a few additions here).

The big push right now is fundraising.  We’ve launched an IndieGoGo campaign with some great perks. Click on the image below to check out the video.  Also, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!  There are Facebook, Twitter and other sharing links on the campaign page.  For updates as happen, like the Festival’s Facebook page, and follow the Festival on Twitter.

Additional link:

• Support the Festival’s fundraising campaign!

(l tor: Farai Chideya, Renee Cox, Malcolm Gillian, Tamar-Kali)

You’ll probably recall that we mentioned a festival that we’re launching in October. Things are coming along nicely.  In fact, the official kickoff event is a week away.  There are two goals of this event:

1. Give you all a taste of what you can expect in October
2. Kickstart the fundraising drive

So, I’ll be on hand to talk more in-depth about the concept behind the Festival, share the vision and talk about its near-term and long-term goals.

I’m also thrilled to be able to give you a taste of the type of discussion that you’ll hear and experience in October.  Really, I have to give credit to Farai Chideya, who came up with the panel topic and graciously took time out of her schedule to prep and lead this discussion.

Also thrilled that this is an official Soul of Brooklyn event, so thanks to MoCADA and the Soul of Brooklyn team for their support.  Come through if you can!

Tuesday, July 12
7PM
MoCADA
80 Hanson Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217

SUGGESTED  $10 DONATION

MAP

CREATING A REVOLUTIONARY AESTHETIC

What is more powerful than an aesthetic moment where art or music meet politics? Think of Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of the national anthem, one which echoed the distortion and confusion around American identity; or the raised Black Power fist (from the Olympics to Elizabeth Catlett’s sculpture); or the gender/race analysis within the visual art or music of some of our forward-thinking artists.

Words are tricksters. “Revolutionary” here is meant more in the sense of a turn of history’s wheel, and a new understanding of our circumstances, than as an overthrow. Life — art, politics, fashion — is often cyclical, and we go through both radical and conservative phases as a society. Aesthetics are an engine that turn that wheel, and combine the visual, the political, and the social. We speak to three thought-leaders about what the next revolutionary aesthetic will be; who is creating it; and how blackness shapes and relates to it.

THE PANELISTS

Renee Cox
One of the most controversial African-American artists working today, Renee Cox has used her own body, both nude and clothed, to celebrate black womanhood and criticize a society she often views as racist and sexist.
From the very beginning, her work showed a deep concern for social issues and employed disturbing religious imagery. In It Shall Be Named (1994), a black man’s distorted body made up of eleven separate photographs hangs from a cross, as much resembling a lynched man as the crucified Christ.

The photograph that created the most controversy when it was shown in a black photography exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City in 2001 was Yo Mama’s Last Supper. It was a remake of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper with a nude Cox sitting in for Jesus Christ, surrounded by all black disciples, except for Judas who was white. Many Roman Catholics were outraged at the photograph and New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani called for the forming of a commission to set “decency standards” to keep such works from being shown in any New York museum that received public funds.

Renee Cox continues to push the envelop in her work, questioning society and the roles it gives to blacks and women with her elaborate scenarios and imaginative visuals that offend some and exhilarate others.

Tamar-Kali
Brooklyn native and resident hardcore-soul queen, Tamar-kali, wields her pen and guitar with equal ferocity. Her hard-rocking brand of outsider art leaps from every track on her 2005 solo EP, Geechee Goddess Hardcore Warrior Soul, enchanting you with its melody, while delivering a swift kick to the gut with its incisive emotional core. Her first full-length release, 2010’s Black Bottom, packed an even harder punch as audiences were invited to gaze deeper into the recesses of this urban warrior’s mind. Her tales of revolution and love may seem contradictory, but the two worlds are inextricably linked by this artist who grasps for the truth in both ideals.

The uninitiated may have discovered Tamar-kali when she appeared in James Spooner’s award-winning Afro-Punk documentary, with clips of her incendiary performances putting the world on notice to her unsung talent.

Others saw her dynamic energy support artists like Fishbone and OutKast on the group’s acclaimed sophomore album, ATLiens. A whole new audience will feel her full force when she joins emcees Jean Grae and Invincible on the appropriately named hip-hop-meets-rock Born In Flames Tour this fall.

Malcolm Gillian
SVP Branded Entertainment, Relevent

Malcolm is currently at Relevent, a New York-based full service experiential marketing, special events, production and promotions company that builds brands with consumers through experiential lifestyle, entertainment and relationship marketing programs. It’s client roster includes Victoria’s Secret PINK, Heineken, Audi, Microsoft, Diesel, Diageo and W Hotels, among others.

Prior to Relevent, he was vice president of Momentum Worldwide’s Music, Entertainment & Branded Content group, where he worked with a wide range of clients such as Anheuser-Busch, Kraft, American Express, Verizon Wireless, Microsoft, Marriott, Smucker’s and the U.S. Army to develop music and entertainment based initiatives.

Malcolm received his JD and MBA from the University of Maryland in 2000. Prior to graduate school, Malcolm played professional indoor soccer for two years.

Farai Chideya (moderator)
Farai Chideya has combined media, technology, and diversity during her 20-year career as an award-winning author and journalist. Via the Pop and Politics brand, Chideya is currently producing multimedia political specials via broadcast radio, web-video and social media with partners including WNYC and American Public Media. The team behind “Pop and Politics with Farai Chideya” is road-tripping through America to interview people about economic anxiety and national identity crises concerning religion, immigration, and race. This project is a new twist on a continuing passion to combine online and traditional media. Chideya originally launched PopandPolitics.com as a blog in 1995.

Chideya is currently a “Leader in Residence” at the Colin Powell School for Policy Studies, where she is focusing on media training the next generation of public policy leaders. She speaks frequently to business, college, civic, and youth audiences, and also provides media training services to other journalists and business and civic leaders. She was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from Harvard University Magna Cume Laude in 1990.

*JUST ADDED*

J. Holtham, Co-Artistic Director
The New Black Fest

J.’s plays include: DUNROAMIN, JANUARY 2ND, CREATIVE WRITING, LOVERS TO BED, 11TH HOUR, RACE MUSIC, HOUSEHOLD NAME, SPLENDID, and DAYLIGHT SAVINGS (WHAT HAPPENS NOW). His work has been seen and developed at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (POSTERITY, Thicker Than Water 2001), BE Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Magic Theatre (SF), Clubbed Thumb, the Vital Theatre, New Dramatists, Broken Watch Theater Company, the 24Seven Lab and others. His play, MANIFESTO, was commissioned by Time Warner and Second Stage Theatre. Several of Jason’s plays are published by Playscripts, Inc. He is a member of E.S.T. and an alumnus of Youngblood. Jason holds an M.F.A. from The Actors Studio Drama School/New School. He was the Program Director of the EST/Sloan Project, Literary Director of Youngblood, Readings and Workshops Coordinator for New York Stage and Film and TCG Next Generations Fellow at New Dramatists. He has worked as a teaching artist for TDF, Vital Theatre, and MCC. Jason blogs about theater, diversity, culture and other issues under the name 99 Seats. He is a proud product of the New York and New Jersey public education systems.

@nbifestival

Got a topic you’d like to see discussed at the Festival of the New Black Imagination?  Have an idea about 21st century black authenticity that you’d like to see explored? Tell me about it.

That’s right: Submit a topic here.

Of course, there are specific sessions and conversation that I’m putting together.  But that doesn’t mean I have ideas to fill out the entire day!  In fact, I’m purposefully leaving a few slots open to accommodate as many good ideas as I can, no matter where they come from.

In case you’re stuck for ideas, you can read this post to get a sense of what’s being created.

Click here to submit a topic.

Finally, while you’re at it, sign up for the mailing list, “Like” the Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter.

This is my big project for this year.  It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and, even now, it’s only slightly past half-baked.  See, the goal of this festival is to bring together much of what I’m interested in: art, culture and society, all filtered through a progressive black perspective.

It’s funny.  When I started this blog, the idea was to help tear down the walls that limited our community’s imagination. Because I am passionate about music, that’s where I thought I could do the most good.  However, in my travels, I discovered that it’s all one big creative community.  More importantly, the issues us music folks are dealing with—representation, access, etc.—are the same ones that facing our friends in literature, theater, film, and visual arts.

So, this event is an attempt to move the conversation forward, to change the frame of reference.  Rather than looking backwards and airing old, tired grievances, I want us to see all of the great things that are coming out of the black creative mind and use it as a jumping off point to understand where we are now, and what some possible futures will be.  More importantly, I want people to leave with not only inspiration, but also with some concrete ideas as to how they can help create the kind of future that benefits us all, one that’s inclusive, progressive, and based on across-the-board justice.

But shaping that kind of future will not be easy.  Therefore, it’s imperative that we look to the arts for inspiration, and for reminders of truth, honesty and fearless exploration. And back to something I said during the BoldasLIVE series in 2007: It’s okay to have a conversation about black cultural excellence. Expect plenty of examples of that at the Festival.

So here’s what I can tell you right now: The day will be made up of two parts.

• The daytime portion will be spent on conversation and discussion. It’ll be mix of panels, one-on-one conversations and solo presentations.
• At night, yes, there will be music. We’re putting together a great show of sounds from the new black imagination, so stay tuned for lineup announcements.

Just save the date: Saturday, October 15.  Brooklyn. More info coming soon. Really.

I want to thank the folks who’ve been acting as sounding boards behind the scenes. My informal brain trust, if you will.  I will definitely be giving them proper shouts very soon.

In the meantime, you can stay connected to the Festival via the following links:

• Facebook: http://facebook.com/nbifestival
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/nbifestival
• Web site: Coming soon!