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THE BROWNSTAR REVOLUTION presents...
UNIFICATION 2010
Featuring performances by:
DJ Rekha
The Kominas
Hari Kondabolu
Fair and Kind
Curated by: BROWNSTAR
11pm Saturday, August 14
Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette St between East 4th St and Astor Place), New York City
ONE NIGHT ONLY
Commencing at 11 pm on Saturday, August 14 (Pakistan's Independence Day) and continuing into the early morning hours of August 15 (India's Independence Day), UNIFICATION 2010 celebrates 63 years of independence and the voices of talented, socially conscious South Asian/American artists. With performances by DJ Rekha, The Kominas, Hari Kondabolu, Fair and Kind, and others, UNIFICATION 2010 will explore the politics of our motherlands, reveal the experiences of being brown outside of it, and question the tensions between us, while fostering a movement towards a more peaceful, unified South Asia. Proceeds from UNIFICATION 2010 will support South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT).
Advanced tickets $20 @ www.joespub.com
Same day tickets $25 @ the door
Co-sponsored by:
Asian American Writers' Workshop
Indo-American Arts Council
Naan Sense Radio
PakUSonline
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Often credited for introducing bhangra to North American audiences, DJ Rekha is a producer, activist, and musician. Named her one of the most influential South Asians in the United States by Newsweek, DJ Rekha was proclaimed by “one of the ten women of downtown music” by the New York Times Magazine.
The Kominas are a punk rock bank based in Boston, Massachusetts, comprised of four brown sons of South Asian parents. Inspired greatly by Taqwacore, The Kominas released an album in 2008 called "Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay." Ever since the media has stuck them to this “phenomenon” like white on [basmati] rice. They play shows and record music and find themselves in the company of people like George Romero and Aamir Khan. Sometimes they make short youtube movies too.
According to the Seattle Times, Hari Kondabolu is a "young man reaching for the hand-scalding torch of confrontational comics like Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor." An accomplished and socially-minded comedian, Hari has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and was featured in the 2007 HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. You can learn more about Hari at www.harithecomic.com.
Fair & Kind is the dream pop collaboration of siblings Arthi Meera and Anand Subramanian, featuring exquisite vocals, sparkling guitars, and lavish melodies. Their debut album, "A Little Past Twilight," was self-released in October 2008.
BROWNSTAR (Pushkar Sharma and Sathya Sridharan) merges high-energy comedy, personal memoir, and science fiction to ignite a dialogue about the South Asian American experience. The spoken-word duo will be premiering their theatrical show, FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF WHITE, at the New York International Fringe Theatre Festival in August 2010. More at: www.BROWNSTARREVOLUTION.com
About SAALT
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) is a national, nonpartisan, non-profit organization that elevates the voices and perspectives of South Asian individuals and organizations to build a more just and inclusive society in the United States. SAALT is the only national, staffed South Asian organization that advocates around issues affecting South Asian communtiies through a social justice framework. SAALT’s strategies include conducting public policy analysis and advocacy; building partnerships with South Asian organizations and allies; mobilizing communities to take action; and developing leadership for social change.
** For press passes or to schedule interviews with the artists or organizers, contact Amita at amitam@gmail.com
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Call for Submissions Marking the
10-Year Anniversary of September 11th
As we approach the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 in 2011, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts are inviting submissions for an issue entitled "Field Notes on the 9/11 Moment: Transformations in Community and Country."
This issue, to be published in June 2011, will provide an opportunity to discuss and engage with the complexities presented by the 9/11 moment for communities in the United States and the rest of the world.
Please see below for more information and circulate this notice to your networks!
Submission deadline is October 15, 2010.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Who can submit?
A. We invite submissions from anyone who wishes to share reflections, critiques, and analysis connected to the 9/11 moment. For example, we encourage activists,and community-based organizations who responded to the crisis that enveloped the South Asian, Muslim, Sikh and Arab American communities after 9/11 to submit, as well as international experts, and academics.
Q. What can I submit?
A. Submissions can include analysis, critiques, reflections and documentation. Topics can include, but are not limited to:
- How has 9/11 changed the way we think about race, religion, national origin and immigration status in the United States and abroad?
- What tools and strategies have been used by community activists to sustain and build community during and after the 9/11 moment?
- How does being targeted as "suspect" by the United States government impact an individual? A family? A community?
- What are some coalition-building and race relations success stories since 9/11?
- What lasting impacts, if any, have the events of 9/11 and their aftermath had on relationships between racial and ethnic minority communities in the United States or abroad?
- What lasting impacts, if any, have 9/11 and the subsequent decade-long global War on Terror had on the political consciousness of Arab American, South Asian, Muslim and/or Sikh communities inside or outside the United States?
Read more about the call for submissions here.
Suggested style guidelines for submissions can be found here.
Cover artwork submissions that relate to the theme of the issue are also welcome (see artwork guidelines here).
Q. What is the deadline and how do I submit?
A. The deadline for all submissions is October 15, 2010. Final submissions should be sent to shortlidge.2@osu.edu.
Q. How are SAALT and the Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts collaborating?
A. Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of SAALT, is guest editing the 9/11 issue with the editorial staff of Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts, a publication of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Office of Minority Affairs at The Ohio State University.
Q. How can I learn more?
A. You can:
Read more about the call for submissions and the Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts journal here.
Please feel free to email info@saalt.org with questions.
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Press Release:
Lionsgate To Release “Ninja’s Creed” DVD Coming July 20
Los Angeles, CA - 06-07-2010 -- Starring Academy Award nominee Pat Morita (The Karate Kid) in his final role, Lionsgate brings Ninja's Creed to DVD and digital download this July. Combining eccentric martial arts choreography with a regal cast, this critically acclaimed film by Writer/Director Babar Ahmed also stars WWE Diva Gail Kim, Academy Award® nominee Eric Roberts (Batman - The Dark Knight) and Lalaine (Disney's "Lizzie McGuire").
Ninja's Creed is the DVD title of last year’s limited release box office surprise Royal Kill. The film follows a ruthless assassin sent to Washington, D.C. on a mission to kill a high school teenager in order to end the modern day Himalayan Kingdom's line of succession. When the King sends one of his soldiers to protect the endangered princess, a battle quickly ensues and the lines between good and evil are profoundly blurred.
Ninja’s Creed is 'a true hybrid... a well plotted script with an array of twists and turns' (Fangoria Magazine)
The DVD, to be released on July 20, will make use of Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and contain 10 extra minutes compared to the theatrical release. Fans can also enjoy additional bonus material such as deleted scenes and outtakes, as well as interviews with the film's cast & crew.
Royal Kill, which extended its playtime to three weeks in theaters across the nation, is Pakistani director Babar Ahmed’s second feature film.
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Feb 18 - June 27th, 2010
A new, expanded (thirteen artists - fifty works), redux version of Beyond the Page opens in Pasadena, Los Angeles on Thursday, February 18th, 2010. Green Cardamom has organised this with the Pacific Asia Museum (PAM). Bridget Bray from PAM and Anna Sloan (who also co-curated the US version of Karkhana) have co-curated the show with Hammad Nasar.
Press Release:
Pacific Asia Museum Announces
Exhibition of Contemporary Art from Pakistan,
Taking Viewers Beyond the Page
Pasadena, January 29, 2010 – Exploring the transformation of historical miniature painting from the Mughal courts of South Asia into a stunning contemporary art form by current Pakistani artists, Pacific Asia Museum will present a new exhibition, Beyond the Page: The Miniature as Attitude in Contemporary Art from Pakistan, focusing on the contemporary miniature movement in Pakistan. The exhibition will be on view from February 18 until June 27, 2010, and features fifty works by thirteen artists. The exhibition is guest curated by Hammad Nasar with Anna Sloan and Bridget Bray, and organized by Green Cardamom and Pacific Asia Museum.
The contemporary miniature movement builds on the centuries-old tradition of miniature painting in South Asia and innovates through tradition, instead of being limited by it. The artists featured in Beyond the Page take different approaches to this innovation, whether through novel treatments of classic subject matter or technique, playing with ideas of scale, or utilizing digital and other forms of media instead of painting. Much of this new movement centers around the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore, Pakistan. The Miniature Department at the NCA–while in existence since before the exit of the British and the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947–experienced a renaissance over the last thirty years under the leadership of Professors Zahoor ul Akhlaq, Bashir Ahmed and Salima Hashmi;
which has been carried on by the next generation of influential art teachers including Imran Qureshi and Rashid Rana.
Seven of the artists included in the exhibition (Noor Ali Chagani, Aisha Khalid, Rehana Mangi, Hasnat Mehmood, Imran Qureshi, Nusra Latif Qureshi, and Muhammad Zeeshan) received their training through this program and use it to help them navigate through and combine elements that are often set up as binary choices: modern or traditional, local or international, content or form, and aesthetically seductive or conceptually rigorous. While the other six (Hamra Abbas, Zahoor ul Akhlaq [who taught at NCA but was not a student there], Faiza Butt, Ali Kazim, Rashid Rana, and Anwar Shemza) did not formally ‘major’ in miniature painting, they continue the exploration of this form and its potential.
"This exhibition provides a fresh perspective on contemporary art in Pakistan while continuing the Museum’s strong tradition of connecting past and present through the arts. The exhibition presents a diverse picture of contemporary culture in Pakistan and the global community where Pakistani artists live and work, whether that be in Lahore, San Francisco or Berlin," said Pacific Asia Museum Executive Director Joan Marshall.
Guest curator Hammad Nasar sees the exhibition as an ongoing exploration of the significance of miniature painting for contemporary art: "We all know the debt artists like Rembrandt, Matisse, Paul Klee and Howard Hodgkin owe the conventions and techniques of miniature painting; its use of color, space, composition and portraiture. But the creative energy that continues to flow from this centuries old practice at a time where contemporary art has moved away from the painted surface is a cause for wonder. A new generation of artists from Pakistan is using not just miniature’s characteristic features, but its very attitude–a rigor of application and an intimacy of encounter–to create a way of working across a multiplicity of media, from installation to video, that suggests an ‘ism’ for the twenty-first century. One whose influence is sure to grow."
Media coverage in the U.S. concerning Pakistan focuses almost exclusively on military and geopolitical issues. The dynamic and burgeoning contemporary arts scene in cities such as Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad is routinely overshadowed by such attentions. Ayesha Kamran, President of Pacific Asia Museum’s Pakistan Arts Council, sees the exhibition as part of a long-standing tradition of featuring art from Pakistan at the Museum: "After bringing several diverse Pakistani exhibitions to Pacific Asia Museum, we once again hope to showcase a different side of Pakistan with this exhibition Beyond the Page, a modern, youthful sometimes avant-garde display of Pakistani art. We are proud to be able to play a small part in building an understanding between our American and Pakistani heritage."
The artists featured in the exhibition are:
Hamra Abbas (b. 1976; lives and works in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and Boston)
Zahoor ul Akhlaq (b. 1941, Delhi; d. 1999, Lahore)
Faiza Butt (b. 1973, Lahore; lives and works in London)
Noor Ali Chagani (b. 1982, Karachi; lives and works in Lahore)
Ali Kazim (b. 1979, Pattoki, Pakistan; lives and works in Lahore)
Aisha Khalid (b. 1972, Faisalabad, Pakistan; lives and works in Lahore and London)
Rehana Mangi (b. 1986, Larkana, Pakistan; lives and works in Lahore)
Hasnat Mehmood (b. 1978, Jhelum, Pakistan; lives and works in Lahore)
Imran Qureshi (b. 1972, Hyderabad, Pakistan; lives and works in Lahore)
Nusra Latif Qureshi (b. 1973, Lahore; lives and works in Melbourne)
Rashid Rana (b. b. 1968, Lahore; lives and works in Lahore)
Anwar Shemza (b. 1928, Simla, India; d. 1985, Stafford, UK)
Muhammad Zeeshan (b. 1980, Mirpurkhas, Pakistan; lives and works in Lahore)
The exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the Pacific Asia Museum’s Pakistan Arts Council, Qaiser Madad & Meher Tabatabai, Amina Adaya, Aziz & Deanna Khan, Salim & Yasmin Adaya, Mansoor & Fiza Shah, Hamid & Javeeda Malik, Anonymous, and Asal Partners Limited. The Museum also wishes to thank Shahid & Ayesha Kamran, Ahmed & Perveen Ali, Shabbir & Tahira Ali, Ali Pourmola & Zara Shah, and Amr Tannir & Tehmina Adaya.
An earlier version of this exhibition was conceived by Hammad Nasar and organized by Asia House, London and Manchester Art Gallery with Shisha in the U.K. in 2006-7.
About Pacific Asia Museum
Pacific Asia Museum is one of only four institutions in the United States dedicated exclusively to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. The museum’s mission is to further cultural awareness and understanding through the arts. Since 1971, Pacific Asia Museum has served a broad audience of students, families, adults, and scholars through its education and outreach programs.
Pacific Asia Museum is located at 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101. Museum open Wednesday through Sunday 10 am to 6 pm. Admission is $9 general, $7 students/seniors, and free for museum members and children ages 11 and younger. Admission is free every 4th Friday of the month.
For more information check www.pacificasiamuseum.org or call (626) 449-2742.
About Green Cardamom
Green Cardamom is an arts organization that develops and runs visual arts projects in collaboration with public museums and galleries. They work on a not-for-profit basis and are supported by the Rangoonwala Foundation. Green Cardamom runs a regular gallery program in their London space, where they also develop new curatorial projects. These are realized as exhibitions, events and publications. Their primary focus is international contemporary art viewed from an Indian Ocean perspective and their program is informed by artistic practice in Pakistan, South, Central and West Asia. Recent institutions they have collaborated with include the British Museum, Tate Britain, and the Whitechapel Gallery in the UK; and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum in the US. Recent exhibitions in the U.S., in addition to Beyond the Page, include the influential exhibition Karkhana: A Contemporary Collaboration which toured the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT and the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, CA from 2005 to 2007.
For more information see http://www.greencardamom.net Images are available from Pacific Asia Museum
Contact b.bray@pacificasiamuseum.org or (626) 449-2742 x 26
The LA Times has done a little taster arts piece ahead of the opening.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-miniature14-2010feb14,0,5641957.story
You can get details of the venue and the show on
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_new=36113&int_sec=2
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