Monthly archives:October 2018
-
-
-
6 years ago
-
Federico Guzmán (AKA Fiko) has become an iconic figure in Western Sahara, utilizing the platform art offers as a vehicle to promote peace and social change to the Saharawi people. Guzmán treads between a soldier of solidarity and curator of cultures emphasizing on gatherings, art, and experiences that will induce an exchange of ideas and collaborations between artists and wherever his projects realize, and the local community.
For twelve years Guzmán has co-organized ARTifariti The Arts and Human Rights Encounters of Western Sahara in the African desert "as a way to explain the circumstances of the Saharawi people " creating a "weapon of visibility" to a story not globally known by many nor should be hidden from the public eye: and with projects such as ARTifariti one sees the opportunity to include foreign narratives and artists distanced by unfavorable political circumstances into the art world”.
The selected artists demonstrate couth in human rights and its relevance within the arts, but more importantly "are confronted a reality" that is life-changing from personal to professional, receiving a surreal cultural exchange with fresh perspectives and resilient power from the Sahawari people (especially from the matriarch figure whose role is to lead the community).
During 2018's visitation in the Sahara, the artists delve into intense creative processes of art-making, finally exhibiting and documenting the work(s). Collaborations are accessible on the list of act[...]
-
-
-
-
6 years ago
-
Denmark’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film, The Guilty is as suspenseful as they come. Gustav Möller’s dark, spare thriller opens in an emergency dispatch center and never leaves the premises. Most of the action takes place on the phone as Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren), a cop demoted to desk duty, tries desperately to save a life. It’s a testament to Möller’s abilities that this claustrophobic, no-frills film never loses steam, but continues to grip the viewer throughout its 85-minute runtime.
Right from the start, the focus is tight on Asger as he gruffly handles mundane, almost amusing, emergency calls—someone freaking out on drugs, a guy who was mugged by a prostitute. Just when the bored cop begins to space out, there's a call from a woman in distress. As he quickly ascertains that she is being held in a moving car against her will, the film’s tension immediately ratchets up.
The woman pretends she's speaking with her child as Asger asks a series of questions to figure out her location. His mind spinning with possibilities, he embarks on a series of frantic calls, which include sending a patrol car to a location indicated by her phone’s GPS. He also calls the woman’s home and speaks to her panicked six-year-old, promising the girl that he’ll protect her mother. Keeping his calm at first, Asger skillfully unravels the situation while constantly being told by various entities that it’s not his job. There’s talk about a big case coming up the next d[...]
-
-
-
-
6 years ago
-
Art for Progress (AFP) is thrilled and honored to present a night of empowering original music, created for a special evening to benefit AFP’s art education programs. Music for Progress will take place on Friday November 30th at NYC’s quintessential listening room, Rockwood Music Hall (stage 2) and feature psychedelic world-jam group Toubab Krewe, Brooklyn power trio Bad Faces, and 3Bridge Records and Flemcy Music recording artist and DJ, Gatto. Get your tickets [HERE]
Blending American and West African influences into a sound all its own, Toubab Krewe has set "a new standard for fusions of rock 'n' roll and West African music" (Afro pop Worldwide). Since forming in 2005, the magnetic Asheville, NC based quintet has won a diverse and devoted following while performing everywhere from Bonnaroo to the Festival of the Desert in Essakane, Mali. Mixing American rock with the musical traditions the band fell in love with on their travels to Africa, their sound also nods to surf and zydeco. This fusion of sound is what the Village Voice describes as "a futuristic, psychedelic, neo-griot frenzy" and Honest Tune hails as "one of the most innovative voices in music today."
Bad Faces are a Brooklyn power trio as deeply rooted in American traditional music as they are reaching for new stratospheric heights in their improvisational explorations. Led by singer/guitarist Barry Komitor, a fixture in New York's vibrant folk and bluegrass scene, the group has amassed a strong local foll[...]
-
