Mika in Edinburgh 2009 – Mika in Sofia 2013 by Penel Alden
My boots on these cobbled streets,
Pressed hard against stone between
The little crisscrossed valleys,
Each narrowing towards a center,
Displaying some famed socialist revolutionary.
Continue reading Mika in Edinburgh 2009 – Mika in Sofia 2013 by Penel Alden
Two Halves, One Whole by Antonio Palmer
I’ve always believed that every heart is split from creation.
Two halves uniquely different sharing the same journey.
To seek a love of acceptance, because not every heart will open to you.
To seek a love that is patient, for the times you will fall short.
Genre: Urban Arts Open Mic at International Print Center New York
Genre: Urban Arts as a community partner with The Mile Long Opera and International Print Center New York presents a night of spokenword and art. Local NYC spokenword performers and local organizations that include Umar Siddiqui, Roomana Shaikh, Cheyenne Jacobs, Nia Mora, Astrid Ferg, Nakeysha Roberts, Ricardo Hanley, Jr., Shanice Ariel, Richard E. Pelzer II of Harlem 2020, and Sarah & Nene of Black Girls Blues.
Location: International Print Center New York, 508 W 26th St, Suite 5A New York, NY 10001
October 6th, 205:00 PM00PM -7:00PM.
On view at International Print Center New York (IPCNY) is Edge of Visibility. The exhibition was curated in conjunction with the September-October issue of the journal Art in Print by its editor-in-chief Susan Tallman and focuses on low-visibility strategies in printmaking. Exhibiting artists include Fiona Banner, Barbara Bloom, Jacques Callot, Megan Foster, Levi David van Gelder, Samuel Levi Jones, William Kentridge, Matthew Kenyon & Douglas Easterly, Glenn Ligon, Christian Marclay, Boris Margo, Kerry James Marshall, Chris Ofili, Philippe Parreno, William Pratt, Johann Michael Püchler, Walid Raad, Ad Reinhardt, Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly, Timorous Beasties (Alistair McAuley & Paul Simmons), and Susan York.
Two Poems by Greg Bronson
Man for my Man
My mirror isn’t accurate it tells a convenient lie my masculinity in question clothing that makes me hide inside i love him dearly details are kept quiet stares from his girl- searing the soul of my pride she knows not who i am retreat my benefactor performs when shes around my gosh im a good actor until such time that we can kick it be real with our thoughts i’ll continue to long quietly Quiet in my thoughts
@Bowery Poetry: Astrid Ferguson
My name is Astrid Ferguson. I am the momma of the book Molt. I am a mom of two boys and a wife to an emerging Philly artist. Aside from poetry, I blog and work full time in the pharma industry. I began performing poetry as a way to market my book, but I’m finding I’m connecting with people like never before. I’m also outgrowing my shell of quiet Astrid who hardly spoke up. Through my poetry, my objective is to promote awareness of social and emotional issues revolving Afro-Latinas and women in general, including but not limited to domestic violence, abuse, and feminism. I also want to promote healing. I became serious about my journey after battling postpartum and this is what helped me overcome it.
A friend of mine Evany Martinez put me on Genre. I also decided to apply and Genre is the first place outside of my book where my work will be published. I also follow you guys on social media.
I have several YouTube and IGTV of my spoken word relating to my experience with domestic violence, Afro-Latina cultural issues, relationships as well as mental health awareness. I’m more of a poet who likes to speak about subjects that are thought-provoking by inviting the audience into my reality. I make great use of imagery because I want the audience to paint a picture and envision the emotion I’m trying to portray. Sometimes, I will also speak about the natural human behavior of rejecting what is not considered a norm like mental health.
I am mostly excited to perform alongside great performers in NY. I have never performed in NY before so this will be a great experience.
Genre: Urban Arts will be at Bowery Poetry in NYC October 28th, 2018, 6- 7:30 pm. We will have spoken-word, live music, and other performance arts. Click the button to purchase tickets.
Bowery PoetryBring The Beat Back
A Music, Drama and Dance Party
By Derek Lee McPhatter
Bring the Beat Back is a queer, black, sci-fi music-theater experience, set in a funky futuristic, groove-centered alternative reality. Inspired by Afrofuturism, house music and the underground ball scene, the show follows a young man struggling to reconcile his sexuality with his faith.
The hero journeys towards spiritual affirmation and self-discovery as conservative religious authorities and an ostentatious queer subculture clash over the music at the center of his world.
Bring the Beat Back is the brainchild of playwright Derek Lee McPhatter, who explored the tradition of sci-fi themes in black popular music as he developed the world of the show. McPhatter explains further: “the story reflects some of my own challenges growing up as a black gay male. I struggled to overcome the homophobia I internalized from church, school and in our culture. I found hope in music, particularly artists like Parliament Funkadelic, Sun Ra, and Meshell Ndegeocello. That journey at the core of Bring the Beat Back.”
McPhatter explains further: “the story reflects some of my own challenges growing up as a black gay male. I struggled to overcome the homophobia I internalized from church, school and in our culture. I found hope in music, particularly artists like Parliament Funkadelic, Sun Ra, and Meshell Ndegeocello. That journey at the core of Bring the Beat Back.”
Executive Producer Bryan E. Glover explains: “April will be the first time we present the show with a live audience – part performance, part dance party. There aren’t very many queer, black, sci-fi, music-theater projects out there for us to learn from, so we’re definitely charting our own path.”
MORE ABOUT THE SHOW
The April presentations at JACK are the next phase of the show’s evolution, building on music workshops in Chicago in 2016. Executive Producer Bryan E. Glover explains: “April will be the first time we present the show with a live audience – part performance, part dance party. There aren’t very many queer, black, sci-fi, music-theater projects out there for us to learn from, so we’re definitely charting our own path.”
The show is poised to even more opportunities following the April presentations. Director Christopher Burris has been awarded a residency with The Drama League to support show development, and an exciting roster of producers and collaborators are providing a solid foundation for next steps. Derek reflects, “we’ve got big dreams for the project – a dance workshop, a touring production and more. But we can’t do that without more help, and I’m thrilled about the amazing support that has mobilized to make this a success.”
His enthusiasm is shared by many members of the team, some black, some queer, some sci-fi fans, and some are none of the above. But all of them have found something resonant about Bring the Beat Back, and audiences are in for a treat: a funky example of what becomes possible when we celebrate the diversity of our experiences.
A look inside of Genre: Urban Arts: Nakeysha
Nakeysha Roberts Washington, M.S. Ed is the Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director of Genre: Urban Arts (GUA), a platform where artists can become published digitally and in print. Genre: Urban Arts also provides exhibiting and performing opportunities for visual and performance artists via pop-up galleries. Nakeysha has been published in Routledge, other literary journals, and anthologies. In Spring 2018, she was honored with having a monologue performed in Brooklyn, New York, at the Billie Holiday Theater as part of a showcase entitled 50 in 50: What Place Do We Have in this Movement? In June of 2018, a piece of creative nonfiction entitled, “No Cream” was published in Wisconsin’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Nonfiction. Nakeysha’s writing focuses on social justice issues because she believes that it is a creative’s responsibility to interrogate and reveal the intricacies of social constructs through art.
Nakeysha spends much of her time preparing opportunities for creatives to share their art as part of the necessity for inclusion. All of this with the knowledge that working in the space of developing yourself as a creative is often seen as a privilege and the connections with a plethora of artists who work jobs that they do not love as a means to support their art. Pop-up galleries and performances organized by Nakeysha via Gene: Urban Arts allows everyone in the creative community the ability to develop themselves as artists, become published and showcase their art through performance and exhibition. GUA is now a playground for 60+ creatives, all who have their own medium in which they create— Their own Genre.
Genre: Urban Arts is turning the intangible into the tangible. GUA pop-up galleries uniquely organize and support artists who have an appetite to share art with the community. Genre: Urban Arts is a true friend to the creative, a support for the artist in a world that wants us to end our dance with our connection to divinity- end our connection with the most innate part of ourselves. Here we are protected & freed from the societal pressures of mundanity.
Red Blossom
A poem by Trixi Rosa
i don’t know
why all the layers
spell dirt
and afraid
and run
find me dust
feel me rust
skin and shiver
@BoweryPoetry: Nia Mora
About me: Nia Mora is a Harlem based poet and writer. she’s come undone is Nia’s debut poetry collection. Nia holds an MA in Creative Writing but credits her 8th grade English teacher, David Ivesoli and high school creative writing teacher, Francine Witte for turning her into a professional. In addition to birthing books, Nia is the mother of two girls and the wife of one husband.
About my writing: My body of work is much like the city I come from good vibes that intersect with breaks, sharp turns, yet there is a softness to it like the sun setting over the Hudson. There are rises and falls like the hills of Harlem. I write about what I feel and the things that need to heal in me and in you.
#GenreFam: I learned about Genre on Instagram just seeing a post someone shared and then I started following Genre. I submitted and now I’m here!
I decided I wanted to be a writer at four. Fell in love with poetry after reading a June Jordan poem, “Alla Thas’ All Right” so much so that I never returned the anthology– it was featured in the library. Fast Forward to me writing poetry throughout high school and college, doing readings, hosting shows, and all of that and then I stopped. I just stopped for 10 years and returned again April of 2018. Now my debut collection of poetry, she’s come undone is about to be released and I’m in Genre (yay).
I am most excited about performing in the historic Bowery Poetry Club. Back in high school, I wrote a poem that a friend of mine still talks about and performing at a place like the Bowery, so I would be living a dream I wrote down for myself 20 years ago. I am happy that despite the fact I abandoned my dream it never abandoned me.
Genre: Urban Arts will be at Bowery Poetry in NYC October 28th, 2018, 6- 7:30 pm. We will have spoken-word, live music, and other performance arts. Click the button to purchase tickets.
My True Colors Festival
My True Colors Festival in association with Harlem 2020 present Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami. This electrifying journey through the public and private worlds of mega-icon Grace Jones contrasts musical sequences with intimate personal footage. Sophie Fiennes’s documentary goes beyond the traditional music biography, offering a portrait as stylish and unconventional as the larger-than-life, androgynous glam-pop culture diva.
Join us for a pre-screening Cocktail Hour plus a post-screening Book Signing and Panel Discussion: “The Power of Black Style On Fashion and Culture Worldwide” with industry experts, including Essence Editor-At-Large Mikki Taylor, Fashion Bomb Daily Founder and leading style blogger Claire Sulmers, legendary black supermodel Pat Cleveland, and Christian Ruart, a renown fashion guru and celebrity stylist who discovered and worked with models like Tyra Banks, Tyson Beckford, Naomi Campbell, and Claudia Schiffer. Join us for an insightful conversation led by My True Colors Co-Founder and Executive Producer Tai Chunn on the ins and outs of black style, its important contribution to fashion and its influence on culture worldwide. The panel also will discuss the industry influence of Grace Jones. While Beyoncé and Rihanna are among today’s major style icons, Grace Jones remains one of the most referenced fashion icons of all time.
Mikki Taylor will be on hand to sign her book, Editor in Chic: How to Style and Be Your Most Empowered Self, shares uplifting advice for women who want to cultivate their beauty both inside and out. As will Claire Sulmers, whose book The Bomb Life: My Brand. My Terms, is part memoir, part self-help with tips for aspiring bloggers;
and Pat Cleveland, whose memoir Walking With The Muses covers fifty years of fashion from the intersection of the Civil Rights Movement, the disco era’s decadence, and the grandeur of Hollywood’s late 70s renaissance
Film Running Time: 116 Minutes
Cocktail Hour begins at 6:00pm in the Media Gallery;
Film Screening starts 7:00pm in the Screening Room
Sliced Bread
A poem by Jessi Harrison
The easiest way to break
silence is with sirens.
Lights cutting through blackness
like bullets exiting guns.
That slow, cocked reflex.
That quick draw. That lack
of regret. That dawn rising,
masking any sense of mourning.
Become a Contributor
Contributorship with Genre: Urban Arts provides creatives with a platform to publish art digitally and in print.
Perks of being a contributor to Genre: Urban Arts:
- publish to a digitally
- publish in the Quarterly print magazine
- be featured on social media accounts
- become part of a global community of creatives
Requirements for contributors:
- construct a post 2-4 times a month
- promote content from the site
Exposing Politics
FREE Theater for disadvantaged youth and communities around the country!
Well, Oscar Sanders’ traveling political social justice spoken word play Exposing Politics: A Play of Acts Tour, is a New York Foundation for the Arts Fiscally Sponsored project that seeks donations and contributions to provide free theater to economically disadvantaged children and youth at college venues. Click the button to make a generous donation to our effort to put smiles on faces that haven’t experienced the joy of theater:
Two Poems by Douglas Cole
Thought Experiment
I am painting the door
to the garden
and I am reading
Orizaba Blues beneath
The Buddha fountain
The Art Project
A poem by Derrek Faraday
Always in your room
Bringing other things to life.
Don’t bother to groom,
The only thing you sculpt is your mind.
You sound like a painter,
But you look like a dreamer in bonds.
Berns and Valais
A poem by Mullen Metcalf
I’m watching the mountains from
the back of my skull
while Dan the German Tourist
buries his nose in the magazine left behind the train seat.
Ra
After all,
It is not important
to remember me
I will not be immortalized
As every god should be
organs removed
and placed aside
wrapped tightly
With such care
that I exist
in some way
for infinity
Who was I to you
And the universe
Anyways
Excerpt from philosophy grad school
A poem by Penel Alden
I
Scraping and rubbing
Thumbs pressing
Counter-directional
Against forefinger
On colophon corner and verso
Dedication corner and verso
Creaking forest growth
Tress groaning under the pressure
Of the other
Mike Brown
A poem by Greg Bronson
Big Mike stood in the street,
Looking for shade from the heat,
Gazing at the landscape.
People yelling, cop cars, a man in the street.
Concerned about the temperature, my thoughts turned to me.
On Origin: Religion and Science
A poem by Michael Demaranville
God talked to Moses about rolling
Mud dolls to life through the burning
Bush of a smoking-hot redhead.
Fire, volcanic mixing Darwin stirring
Soup, meat stock brew boiling minerals
From soil into fish into monkey into me.
Both too stubborn in belief to see
creation, evolution have more than similarities.