of  note


 � julien de bock


of note  is a weekly publication celebrating the arts, culture, and history of our distinct, yet, intersecting diasporas. It is a forum that  entertains and enlightens - a space where art meets activism and social responsibility.


March 17, 2008                                                                                                                      Send to a Colleague

Spirit of Uganda

Tuesday, March 18 - Sunday, March 23

"Invigorating the stage with that elusive thing called joy," (The New York Times), Spirit of Uganda presents riveting programs of music and dance for audiences of all ages.

Ferocity and softness, melodic, layered tones, dramatic choreography and gorgeous call and response vocals are brought to life by a vibrant cast of young performers.

Ambassadors for Uganda's 2.4 million orphans, these children personify the promise of Africa's next generation, as they promote awareness of Uganda's AIDS crisis and civil war and raise funds to support themselves and others displaced in their homeland.


Performance Schedule
Tue-Fri 7pm; Sat 2pm & 7pm; Sun 2pm
 
The Joyce Theater
  175 8th Ave
 @ 19th Street
Chelsea
New York, NY 10011


MoMA Presents: Poor Boy's Game


Showing through Tuesday, March 18

The "poor boy's game" in question is boxing, and Clement Virgo's most recent feature is a knockout, set in the racially divided, working-class neighborhoods of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where there has been a sizeable black community since the 1840s.

Dockworker and former boxer George wants vengeance for his son, a promising young black boxer who was assaulted and crippled by Donnie, a man who is about to be released from prison after serving time for his crime. As tensions and violence rise in the community, the narrative cannily shifts focus. Poor Boy's Game may be more about kinship and its demands than boxing, but  it
nevertheless ends with an extra-ordinarily suspenseful 
match-one in which the viewer wants neither of the
fighters to win or lose.

Directed by Clement Virgo. Screenplay by Chaz Thorne,
Virgo. With Rossif Sutherland, Flex Alexander, Danny Glover.
MoMA: The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
btw 5th & 6th Avenues
New York, NY 10019


Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes

Wednesday, March 19 @ 7 pm

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes takes an in-depth look at masculinity and manhood in rap and hip-hop, where creative genius collides with misogyny, violence and homophobia, exposing the complex intersections of culture and commerce.

Sparking dialogue on hip-hop and its declarations on gender, filmmaker Byron Hurt provides thoughtful insight from intelligent, divergent voices including rap artists, industry executives, rap fans and social critics from inside and outside the hip-hop generation.

The film includes interviews with famous rappers such as Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D and Jadakiss and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; along with commentary from Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Kevin Powell and Sarah Jones and interviews with young women at Spelman College, a historically black school and one of the nation's leading liberal arts institutions.
The Brecht Forum
 451 West Street
btw Bank & Bethune Streets
New York, NY 10014


Independent Lens: Iron Ladies of Liberia

Premieres Friday, March 21 @ 10 pm on  WNET/New York
CHANNEL 13


IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA follows leaders in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration such as Beatrice Munah Sieh, the newly appointed national police chief. The film also follows Dr. Antoinette Sayeh, the minister of finance, as she battles a crippling national debt of over five billion dollars and a notoriously corrupt staff.

As Dr. Sayeh says, "Women have not been, to the same extent as men, party to all of the bad things of the past. They certainly were very strong voices against the atrocities in Liberia in the war,
and they fought very, very hard to make sure that the
democratic process worked this time around. And so,
this is our biggest opportunity to change Liberia."



OFF THE WALL: Celebrating Arts and Human Rights

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 21 @ 5 - 8 pm
On View March 17 - April  12


The time to engage in defending human rights and free expression has never been as important as it is today. With so many issues of censorship facing individuals and communities around the world, the question becomes how  can we learn and share from each other to make information more accessible.

freeDimensional, an international nonprofit organization based in NYC, has teamed up with Casa Frela Gallery in presenting OFF THE WALL
featuring the art work of Kathy Dolgy Ludwig, Delphine Diallo, Doa Aly and Issa Nyaphaga.

freeDimensional will also be in residence at Casa Frela Gallery from March 17th - April 12th, to make learning about and connecting to the world of human rights, free expression and the arts a more accessible exercise.

Future Events
March 22 - BK Factory Performance
April 4 - Screening: Prisoners of Freedom City
April 5 - Global Potential

Click here for detailed description of events.

Casa Frela Gallery
47 West 119th Street
New York, NY 10026


Whitney Biennial 2008
Coco Fusco: A Room of One's Own, Women and Power in the New America

Friday, March 21 @ 7 pm & Saturday, March 22 @ 7 pm

Coco Fusco explores the expanding role of women in the military, specifically as interrogators in the war on terror. Referring to Virginia Woolf's assertion that every woman needs a room of her own, Fusco raises issues related to sexuality, power, and gender.

Coco Fusco is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and curator. Born to Cuban and Italian parents, she often explores the dialogue between identity, globalization, technology, gender, and race. 
Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue
@ 75th Street
New York, NY 10021


Jacob Lawrence: Moving Forward, Paintings, 1936- 1999


Through March 22

     
 Jacob Lawrence, New York in Transit, 1998
DC Moore Gallery
724 Fifth Avenue
@ 57th Street
New York, NY 10019


The State of Women's Health in 2008

Saturday, March 22 @ 12:30 pm




Dr. Terri Kennedy, President of Power Living Enterprises, Inc. and Founder of the Ta Yoga House in Harlem, will be speaking at The State of Women's Health in 2008 event as part of Healthy Eating And Living (HEAL) initiative sponsored by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce.

Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue
@ 103rd Street
New York, NY 10029


Welcome to Chishawasha, Zambia
A Kids with Cameras Partner Project

On view through March 28, 2008


In May 2007 NYC Photographer Klaus Schoenwiese brought a Children's Photography Workshop to Chishawasha - a small Zambian Home and School for children orphaned by AIDS. His workshop was prominently featured in the November issue of Smithsonian Magazine .

While retroviral drug programs and health education certainly make inroads, the AIDS crisis continues to affect Zambia gravely. In its wake, thousands of orphans struggle for themselves or are barely strung along. While modern life's flood of imagery may not help us see more clearly, photography - when used as a tool of illumination, continues to empower those who still have much to gain. This Kids with Cameras project passes the torch to the children of Chishawasha, letting them experience and describe their place in the world in new and surprisingly hopeful ways.
 
Manhattan World Culture Open Center
19 West 26th Street, 5th floor
btw 6th Ave & Broadway
New York, NY 10010


African American Master Artists


On view through March 29


A significant exhibition of African

American Masters, which  includes the work of
Charles Alston, Romare Bearden, Glenn
Ligon, Norman Lewis, and Charles Sebree.


Bill Hodges Gallery
24 West 57th Street
btw 5th & 6 Avenues
New York, NY 10019


Lower Ninth


Through April 5



Inspired by the effects of Hurricane Katrina, LOWER NINTH tells the story of  two men stranded on a roof after a terrible storm. As Malcom and E-Z struggle to survive, they must battle heat, hunger and their pasts. Ultimately, their only hope for salvation rests with each other.

Written by Beau Willimon
Directed by Daniel Goldstein

 
The Flea Theatre
41 White Street
btw Broadway & Church Streets
Tribeca
New York, NY 10013

Herbert Gentry: The Man, The Master, The Magic


On view through April 12



               Herbert Gentry, I and Other

"You paint from what's inside; its very hard to describe why it comes together, your hands move like magic, it's beyond you."  ~ Herbert Gentry

G.R. N'Namdi Gallery
526 West 26th Street #316
New York, NY 10001


Grace Aneiza Ali                                                                                                                           Sandrine Colard
Founder and Publisher                                                                                                                Executive Editor


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