Dandy Lion:

Articulating a Re(de)fined

Black Masculine Identity

29Apr2012

Author: drjelks

Twenty emerging photographers and filmmakers present refreshing images of young black men who challenge popular notions of urban black masculinity. Guest curated by Shantrelle P. Lewis, this exhibition defies the negative image of the black male as “thug” and explores contemporary expressions of the “Black Dandy,” the sophisticated urban gentleman whose “swagger” engages both African aesthetics and elements of European fashion.

Photo by Russell K. Frederick

Exhibition at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture

Curated Shantrelle P. Lewis is an independent curator and scholar who currently serves as the Director of Exhibitions and Public Programming at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. A New Orleans native, she migrated to Bed Stuy, Brooklyn in 2009. Having received a BA and MA in African American Studies from Howard and Temple Universities respectively, Lewis has demonstrated a commitment to researching, documenting and preserving African Diasporan culture. Her travels to Cuba, Ghana, Nigeria, Brazil, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Spain and London have allowed her to observe the manifestation of the African Aesthetic firsthand. She has curated exhibitions on such topics as tributes to photography legends Jamel Shabazz and Jack T. Franklin; a tribute to funk diva Betty Davis; the feminine in African sacred traditions; and post-Katrina New Orleans art. She recently curated the acclaimed Sex Crimes Against Black Girls exhibition on behalf of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Skylight Gallery.

Video:

"Margins to Mainstream:

The story of Black theatre

in Britain"

To premiere in May

 

Produced by Nu Century Arts, Birmingham, in partnership with the Octavia Foundation, Margins to Mainstream: The Story of Black Theatre in Britain is a groundbreaking film that builds on previous theatre heritage projects delivered by Nu Century Arts, exploring the history and heritage of black theatre in Britain.

Margins to Mainstream: The Story of Black Theatre in Britain "examines the different interpretations of 'Black British Theatre' as a label and genre and catalogues the incredible contribution of black actors, producers and playwrights to the UK theatre tradition. Featuring previously unseen footage of seminal plays, fascinating interviews with theatre heavyweights, 'Margins to Mainstream' tells the story of a dynamic art."

Historians, playwrights, producers and actors that contributed and appear in the film include Courttia Newland, Javone Prince, Kwame Kwei-Armah, and Pat Cumper.

From Ira Aldridge playing Othello in Covent Garden in the 1830s, to Bashy playing Markus the Sadist in a 'rap opera' in 2010; the richness of this story is in its diversity. The film looks at the forgotten treasures and the landmark performances in the huge canon of work that exists. The film is pioneering in its subject and approach, highlighting the battles and the triumphs of Black British Theatre, on its journey from the margins, into the mainstream.

The film will premiere at The Drum Arts Centre, in Birmingham, on Thursday May 10, @6PM. After that first showing, Margins to Mainstream will have numerous showings that are listed here.

See website http://www.octaviafoundation.org.uk

 

 

 

Paul Robeson Discusses

Shakespeare & Othello

Blogs by Tambay | April 9, 2012

I almost forgot about this; well, actually I did, and was just reminded of it! Baaah! 

Happy birthday Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) who would've been 114 years old today if he were still alive!

I'd say a Paul Robeson retrospective of some kind is long overdue, and I intend to recitify that soon enough right here on S&A. 

I'm surprised there isn't a Paul Robeson biopic in development by somebody.

In the meantime, one of my favorite clips of the renaissance man; 1959, talking Shakespeare (he portrayed Othello early in his career - 1943); it's a rare treat to find footage of Paul Robeson as Paul Robeson.

Watch:

Happy Birthday Duke Ellington

April 29th

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Call for Contributions

- Social Change and

Women’s Writing

in Nigeria, 1990 – 2010

(Book Project)

Deadline: 30 May 2012

Call for Contributions: Social Change and Women’s Writing in Nigeria, 1990 – 2010: Essays in Honour of Professor Theodora AkachI Ezeigbo

The past two decades, 1990 – 2010, have proved to be a watershed in the cultural landscape of Nigeria as far as the involvement of women is concerned. Women’s participation in the nation’s cultural life as writers, musicians, actresses in screen and on stage productions and other entertainment roles underlines the emerging range of opportunities available for self-expression among them. These opportunities, and the ways that many women continue to appropriate them, are indicators of a deep and profound change in sex and social relations that must now be characterized and documented.

In a context where a primary marker of inequality in sex relations has often been shown to be the predominance of men in entertainment production, this emerging trend has significant implications for revising or retaining received ideas about the potential or actual spaces open to women for full participation in the cultural life and economy of their communities. Given the scenario, can we now begin a fruitful discussion of sex relations on terms devoid of many past assumptions which undergird the conversations on gender and women’s condition?

If a tentative answer is in the affirmative as a wide range of social experience tends to illustrate, then the old conversation that centred on the problems of being a woman in Africa, must now give way to a new one focusing on how women have taken advantage of the exposition to confront the problem in our postcolonial experience. More importantly, the analytical procedures which often ‘Africanize’ the discourse of sex relations are no longer suitable for understanding the nuances of the various issues and how they are being confronted.

The old, continental ken of vision, frameworks and methodologies for assessing these issues must now yield space for more closely knit national or regional scrutinizations. We invite essays for a volume that would document critical reflections on these issues based on informed reading of fictions and their contexts of production by Nigerian women writers in the last two decades. So far, this has been a most phenomenal and impressive period of fiction writing by Nigerian women. Prospective contributors to the volume are urged to focus on a variety of issues, both textual and extra-textual, which are shaping the directions of writing and publishing in Nigeria with primary focus on how women and the fictional texts they often produce are redefining and enriching cultural production and the entertainment industry.

We have space for a limited number of articles which examine the subject as defined in various texts. We are particularly interested in comparative studies of the phenomenon of sex and social relations in texts of Nigerian women writers based at home and the Diaspora. However, our main interest is in essays based on ‘extra-textual’ examination of the issues, By which we mean that contributors should step out of the restrictions of thematic representations to engage a variety of crucial issues relating to women and writing in Nigeria.

One of such issues is political and polemical, and essays could be framed in response to a range of overlapping questions, including the following:

• How relevant are discussions of sex relations in contemporary analyses of literary production and consumption in Nigeria? On what terms should they be framed given the current plateau of social change in Nigeria?

• What role are gender and politics still playing in shaping fictions written by Nigerian women in the light of perceived or verified improvements in women’s condition?

• The other is empirical and relates to the current state of the Nigerian publishing industry and the way(s) that women have featured therein, either as writers or mediators of writing.

We are particularly interested in the following:

• Studies which document or account for the market share index held by women and women’s writing.

• Contributions that investigate the impact of incentives such as literary prizes and awards in the establishment of a cultural economy where women have become visible or invisible participants.

• Elucidatory perspectives that account for the literal avalanche of writing by women in the past two decades and the conclusions that can be reached about the social dynamics of sex relations based on the development.

• The third and final ‘extra-textual’ perspective of the essays we are seeking is ethnographic. In this regard, we urge contributors to address themselves to the following question and other issues related to it:

• What factors –historical, cultural, political, economic and others – account for the slew of women writers from particular regions of the country?

We expect incisive, theoretically grounded and readable discussions. Essays should not be more than 7000 words in length. Citations should accord with the MLA formulations. Send us an abstract of between 250-400 words to acquaint us with your intended subject and to enable us open communication with you. The deadline for receipt of the abstract is 30th May , 2012. Final papers are due on 30th August,2012.

Patrick Oloko, Ph.D
Department of English Department of English
University of Lagos
Email: p_oloko@yahoo.com
+2348023212000

Omolola Oladele, Ph.D
Lagos State University (LASU)
Email: theresaladele@yahoo.co.uk
Phone: +2348034125034

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: p_oloko@yahoo.com

For submissions: p_oloko@yahoo.com, theresaladele@yahoo.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Hail the Beat:

How the 1980

Roland TR-808 Drum Machine

Changed Pop Music

 

in Music, Technology | April 27th, 2012

When the Roland TR-808 rhythm machine first came out in late 1980 most musicians were not impressed. It was a drum machine that didn’t sound like drums, with a handclap feature that didn’t sound like hands clapping. One reviewer said the machine sounded like marching anteaters. But as Rhodri Marsden wrote in a 2008 article for The Independent, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

For some, the 808 was so bad it was good. They embraced the sheer artificiality of the thing. Its idiosyncratic noises began showing up on hit records like 1982′s “Sexual Healing,” by Marvin Gaye. “Booming bass kicks, crispy snares and that annoying cowbell sound made famous during the 80′s are all part of the 808 and it’s famous sound,” writes Vintage Synth Explorer. Yes, that annoying cowbell sound. On Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” writes Marsden, the effect is like that of “a distressed woodpecker.”

But as Nelson George explains in his new video, All Hail the Beat (above), the 808 has remained a vital element in much of the pop music since the 1980s, in genres like hip hop, techno and house. Even though Roland stopped making the 808 in 1984 and many young musicans today have never even seen one (a vintage 808 can cost over $2,000 on eBay) the machine’s 16 drum sounds have been widely sampled, and have been built into many of the machines that have come later.

Even the phony handclaps have become indispensable. “Of course, they don’t sound like handclaps,” producer Jyoti Mishra told Marsden, “but strangely, they have somehow become the sound of handclaps. Every drum machine produced since then has had to feature that same kind of noise.”

To hear the 808 in its heyday–along with several other electronic instruments, including Micromoog and Prophet-5 synthesizers–you can watch the video below from 1982, featuring Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force performing “Planet Rock.”

2012 Kurt Schork Awards

for Freelance Journalist

Covering International News

(anywhere in the world)

Deadline: 31 May 2012

The call for 2012 submissions is now open. The deadline for receipt of submissions is midnight (London time) 31st May 2012.

Each year a call for submissions is made, usually in the first quarter, and a deadline set for receiving entries. An online entry form is provided on this website during the submission period and details for postal entries are also given.

Each entrant is invited to submit up to three articles published between the previous year’s deadline and the latest deadline in any type of print-based media, including newspapers and magazines, or in established online publications. Blogs and personal websites are not eligible.

THERE ARE TWO CATEGORIES:

• For a freelance journalist covering international news; and
• For a local reporter covering events within their home country or region.

The stories can be about conflict, human rights, cross-border issues, corruption, or any other controversial matter in a particular country or region. Each submission must demonstrate professionalism, meet international journalistic standards and provide evidence that courage and determination were required in covering the story.

Entrants must complete the entry form (either an online version or a PDF for printing and posting) and supply supporting documentation such as a CV or resumé about their education and journalistic experience, a passport-type photo and an English translation if their entry has been published in another language. A statement about what was involved in getting the story is also required.

Incomplete submissions are liable to disqualification.

We do not accept any entries made outside the submission call period.

SUBMISSION CRITERIA:

Submitted articles must have been published between 1st June 2011 and the 2012 deadline
Accepted media: any print-based medium, such as newspapers and magazines, or established online publications. Blogs, personal websites and social media pages or channels are not accepted
Articles can encompass war reporting, human rights issues, cross-border troubles, corruption or other controversial matters impacting on people’s lives. Judges will be looking for professionalism, high journalistic standards, and evidence of dedication and courage in getting the story.

You may submit one, two or a maximum of three articles.

Because of problems with scanned entries and failed links in past years we now require that each article must be provided as a text file - MS Word (.doc or .docx) or similar text format (.rtf), or a PDF of a text file.

You may supply a URL link to your article(s), or a scan (as a PDF or JPG file) as supporting evidence of the publication context, but your entry will be disqualified if you have not submitted the required text file too.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL YOU MUST PROVIDE:

• a CV or resumé about your education and journalism career
• a passport-type photo (JPEG, GIF or PNG file, size less than 250 kb)
• an English translation if your original article is in another language
• a statement explaining what you had to do to get the story

The maximum file size for text submissions or scans is 5mb.

DEFINITIONS:

Local reporter: A print journalist employed by a local news outlet and residing in a developing country or nation in transition(non-OECD or EU countries) whose work is published in a local publication, or a local journalist living in and writing about such a country whose work is published globally by an established online publication. Although the primary focus is on individual journalists, submissions from a team of journalists will also be considered.

Freelance journalist: Freelance journalists are individuals who are not employed by a news organization. They are self-employed, providing services either on the basis of time or on the production of editorial materials defined by individual contractual arrangements and earn the majority of their income from journalism.

Download pdf form for postal submissions. Please print and fill out the form clearly and post it with required enclosures to:

2012 Kurt Schork Awards
c/o Thomson Reuters Foundation
30 South Colonnade
London E14 5EP
UK

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: enquiries@ksmfund.org

For submissions: submit via the online entry form here or send to the postal address indicated above

Website: http://www.ksmfund.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50 Dalton Street. Boston, MA 02115 

1281 Cambridge Street. Cambridge, MA 02139

 

PINT AND PEN:

Submission deadline Monday, June 18

Announcement Party Tuesday, June 26

 
Details:
Stories must include the words: PINT, PEN, DIG, and HARPOON. 
500-750 words in any form of prose (short story, poetry, screenplay, etc...)
Entries must be typed. Contestants must be 21 years of age or older. You can't work here. And you gotta drop it off here or at Bukowski Boston.

 
First Prize: $2500

Second Prize: $1000

Third Prize: Set of Dirty-Ass Steak Knives

SNEAK PREVIEW:

Through A Lens Darkly

Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People is a two-hour film that will explore the role of photography, since its rudimentary beginnings in the 1840s, in shaping the identity, aspirations, and social emergence of African Americans from slavery to the present.

Through A Lens Darkly Trailer

Award winning filmmaker, journalist, artist, and activist, Thomas Allen Harris, is currently in production with his fourth feature-length documentary, “Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People.”  Co-produced by noted scholar, curator, and author, Dr. Deborah Willis, “Through A Lens Darkly,” is the first documentary and multimedia outreach project that explores how African American communities have used the medium of photography to construct political, aesthetic, and cultural representations of themselves and their world.

The “Through A Lens Darkly” project is part of a new generation of interactive media that expands the boundaries of participatory filmmaking by using both traditional documentary and multimedia platforms to engage television and internet audiences in new, creative, and transformative ways.