Last week, we launched the report, “Solidarity Not Charity: Arts & Culture Grantmaking in the Solidarity Economy” which was commissioned by Grantmakers in the Arts and written by yours truly and Caroline Woolard. Visit www.art.coop to download the report, executive summary, watch the summary video or join the community! A big thank you to the … Read More
I never got to share a workshop from last year with digital creators about the political economy of arts and culture; and why artists need a solidarity economy and the solidarity economy needs artists! I did this workshop with my partner, Francisco Perez of the Center for Popular Economics. Graphic notes by @RadicalRoadmaps on IG. … Read More
This weekend! Join a slew of incredible artists, culture bearers and organizers from across the country for the “Artists Dismantling Capitalism” symposium. It’s free! “The aim of Artists Dismantling Capitalism is to bring together artists, culture workers, social change agents and anyone and everyone who knows that we can collectively create a society that is … Read More
(Please note: The 2019 La Isla Bonita Festival was canceled due to the NYC Mayor’s Declaration of a heatwave in NYC on July 20th. See the full note from the festival organizers, here!) La Isla Bonita Festival (with SummerStage) is back and celebrating 5 years of local and global arts, culture and activism on Staten Island! Learn … Read More
I learned about the amazing work of New Economy Coalition from a conference I had been hearing about whose name I loved, CommonBound. It was incredible to learn there was a national movement of people building tomorrow, today through solidarity economies. Now I get to work with over 200 organizations in coalition across many sectors … Read More
Congrats to 95 year old bullerengue singer Magin Diaz and the transnational team of collaborators who successfully crowdfunded and released his “El Orisha de la Rosa” album this year. It just won a Latin Grammy for Best Album Packaging. But inside the package, you’ll be inspired by the global collaboration connecting folkloric Colombian music to … Read More
“AfroRazones – a space for Afro-Cuban expression, archiving a Cuban manifestation of Black resistance in 2017 – was born last year inside DJ Jigüe’s Guampara Studios. It was nurtured by a team of Cuban and U.S.-based artists and organizers (including LPZ who produces for Cuban hip-hop luminaries, Danay Suarez and Los Aldeanos) that recognized the impending changes of the current sociopolitical … Read More
I landed this piece in Public Radio International (PRI’s The World) for Cuban songstress Daymé Arocena in advance of her Summer tour in the US. Check it out in full here! “My link with Santería is more musical,” she says. “I fell in love with Santería music before the religion.” She’s a classical composer and director trained … Read More
Thanks KCETlink for sending this my way on the airing of Resident Advisor‘s series, Real Scenes. Loved this half hour episode on Mexico City‘s electronic dance scene, its players and how colonization memory still plays out when it comes to access to space, visionary programming and the magic which should come from building an inclusive, … Read More
“I ain’t a Navajo, Blackfoot or Crow. I rep the Iroquois nations for the next 7 generations” – Dio Ganhdih. Photo by Elena Kulikova. I met Dio in New York City a few years ago and loved watching her bounce from different worlds like I was – navigating the wild space where tech & culture intersect in … Read More