Leeway Foundation

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Who are you? I usually define myself in terms of food, because it's what I love most. My cultural heritage is kebab and grits and kale —I was born in Iran and raised in the US South by hippies. I'm a digital media maker and community curator who is dedicated to centering the voices of women, immigrants and people of color. I'm also a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy and recently have been focused on producing films more in these genres. When I'm not running the grants and residency programs at Leeway, I'm usually involved in some fantastical storyline playing pretend with my 4year-old, reading comic books, or watching sports games. I'm also an amateur DJ, spinning mostly music from the SWANA (South West Asia and North African) region. How would you define your relationship with Leeway's community? At Leeway, I feel like I'm part of a big experiment. I was raised by a scientist, so I often approach things in life with questions and openness which is important to any research process. For my mom, that is what kept life interesting for her when she was alive; she described life as a big mystery novel and each day was an opportunity to turn more pages and unveil more of the story. Even though I am in arts and culture, I see myself as still carrying on her approach. Leeway is this rare place where we get to experiment with questions about money, power and community, tangibly. Like, what happens when a family walks away from its wealth and fully releases their power to the community? What happens when we bring different people together in a consensus process to decide on the grants while also building community and trust with each other in the process? What would it look like if we valued artists' work outside of a capitalist or post-colonial framework of marketability or museum exhibitions? Artist/activist adrienne marie brown talks about modeling at the microlevel the kind of world we want at large, and Leeway is a place where we get to do that. It's not always perfect, but it's not about perfection. It's about continuing to show up, observe, and grow. And so that's what I'm doing everyday, together with the Leeway community-at-large; it's a mystery novel about liberation, and I'm excited to see where the story goes. What role has Leeway played in your own evolution? Before working here, my relationship with Leeway started as an applicant. As an artist, I was originally only making work from the heart and emotional level. The process of applying for Leeway grants (and sometimes not getting them!) required me to define more about why I do the creative work I do and think more strategically about it. Doing work to process personal trauma and address the lack of representation in the media is super important, but I really credit my experience applying to Leeway for pushing it beyond that to see how it connects with a larger picture. It helped me make the connection like, for example, it’s not just that I was isolated and depressed when I was younger, it is that I was raised with conflicting images of what it meant to come from a Middle Eastern country and what it meant to "belong." Experiencing the work of other Leeway artists inspired me to take those personal experiences to a mindset where I was thinking about it more systemically from issues of media ownership to foreign policy and war profiteering. Leeway artists and staff also helped realize that I was part of something larger. It can be hard as a community based artist because you can easily put yourself down and think you’re just making these piddly little underfunded films or hosting small screenings, what change are they going to make?! But now, for example, you see all the conversations that are happening in Hollywood and television. No one person is responsible for that, but it is a result of decades of work by independent filmmakers and curators, which I feel excited to have been a part of. If Leeway was a playlist, what song would it be? Janet Jackon's Rhythm Nation. "This is the test/No struggle no progress."

Our Window of Opportunity (WOO) Grant launched last year as a means to fund time-sensitive opportunities that support the art for social change practices of Leeway grantees. We are happy to announce February's WOO grantees: Lela Aisha Jones (LTA '15) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/lela_aisha_jones) will participate in a week-long residency with multiple public and community-based components in Minnesota's Twin Cities. She will perform Native Portals as part of an evening curated by St. Paul's Brownbody, an original repertory whose mission is to build artistic experiences that disrupt biased narratives and prompts audiences to engage as active participants in the journey. Yinka Orafidiya (ACG '10) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/yinka_orafidiya) will exhibit her most recent body of work, Freedom Cups, during the 2018 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. The conference, which runs March 14-17, 2018, will attract an estimated 5,000 ceramic artists, collectors, and curators from around the world.

In 2018, Leeway Foundation celebrates twenty-five years of grantmaking and community building among Philadelphia-based artists, cultural producers and organizers. To celebrate, we're highlighting some of the change makers and visionaries within Leeway's community who have helped to set the course for Leeway's own transformation. Who are you? In relation to Leeway, I’m the daughter of the founder, and I was at one point board chair. I am trained as a writer (I’m not currently writing but that’s part of who I am). In my more recent years, I have come to think about art, for me– not so much as identifying as this kind of artist or that kind of artist, or as having a particular kind of artistic training, but in my own life, there is no boundary between art and my deepest sense of expressing who I am. I am not a dancer, but I love dancing, so the way art most actively operates for me is as a way of being most fully human. As far as my communities, I am definitely aware of being privileged in just about every possible way, and I guess that’s part of my history with Leeway. I am a straight, rich, white lady! Can you tell the Leeway story from your perspective? How do you see your role in the Leeway community and family? I don’t really think I can tell much of the story from after I left, so I wouldn’t presume to tell any of that. And I can only tell my point of view. So, the part that I would tell: my mother started Leeway because she wanted to do something for women and the arts. And there’s a history in our family, like with her parents, of generosity – some impulse to give back in some sort of way. She wanted to do something for women in the arts because she identifies as a woman artist. So, she started this foundation as a one-member family foundation, I think partly out of family history. And she brought on a lawyer and an accountant and I think a friend or two, and me because I was her daughter. So, I was not really interested at the beginning – I was sort of like, “whatever, my mom’s doing this thing!” And then two things happened, one was the executive director at the time put me in touch with Bread and Roses, maybe in the hope of keeping me more interested in what was going on? [Laughs] And, at another point, somewhat later, my mother asked me if I would be president, and I felt like it was sort of my obligation because of having benefitted from being my mother’s daughter. But it wasn’t clear how what I cared about and what Leeway was doing were going to match for me – that was my main concern. There was a bunch of strategic planning, and what was articulated was that, really at the heart of both my mother’s drive and my interest was this sense that injustice around gender and the desire for inclusion really mattered to my mother and me. So, we started to look at it more in terms of social justice, or whatever else you want to call that. And that was something that, if I hadn’t been connected to Bread and Roses and, at that time, Spiral Q Puppet Theater, I wouldn’t even have known how to remotely think about, let alone how to articulate, that work. So, we started to look at grants in terms of what was happening, if people actually had financial need, what was the need of people getting grants, and then there were changes. It was not an easy transition. My mother decided to have me become president – I guess she had a vision for me! But otherwise, I wasn’t necessarily an obvious choice. There was the question of, how do we as a group – none of us had thought deeply about social justice or community stuff – so how do we, coming from different places, where none of us have thought about this, suddenly do this? And as part of all this, there was basically a total turnover of staff – and that was major, and often painful. Barbara Silzle was executive director during most of the transition during the time I was there. She was a huge part of what made me able to function as board chair. She was completely behind helping Leeway realize the new vision, and she really helped get the board to a place where they were willing to trust and engage in the change process. At Bread and Roses, Denise became someone I was close with because I was working with the community funding board, and she was doing work with that board. And she and Matty Hart from Spiral Q really helped us move through something that basically no one on the board had any real experience with. And then new staff came on, and they were all amazing in their own ways, and it was a complicated mix of people. I had a great desire for justice, and a lot of confusion and ignorance and guilt – and because Leeway needed to do this stuff, there were all of these trainings, I got to learn more, which I felt was amazing. And of course, learning is always a process, but it was amazing. A lot of personal transformation happened for the people on the board. Denise was kind of standing behind during the time I was there, but obviously has emerged since then! But if Denise hadn’t talked to me individually during the final stages of the anti-racism training, then I think everything might have fallen apart. I mean, she was really able to see beyond what people there at the time were doing and have conversations that other people couldn’t have. Also, doing this interview and thinking about Leeway’s anniversary, I can’t help feeling deeply about [former Leeway board member] Jennie Sike’s profound contribution, and her very recent death and want to express how very present she is in my heart. So, it sounds like those moments and those trainings were really transformational for you. What happened for you at this point, in terms of being in a position of leadership at Leeway? I feel like what happened to me in having found myself the president of Leeway was probably an extremely unusual situation to begin with. I mean, utterly not wanting to lead, but feeling a sense of obligation – I didn’t really have leadership skills, and I didn’t make the money, so I didn’t have money-making skills at all, so I was just this person from a family with money who found themselves president of this foundation. That was weird--and fortunate in a way, because I never wanted to hold on to any kind of power, I always felt I was the wrong person to have it. I mean that was sort of in line with my mother’s thinking, but it wasn’t structured that way. It was really just a question of, like, how do you make the transition to having the people who Leeway is designed to benefit be the same people who lead? And then, you know, even if you do have that clear intention, there’s the question of “are you guys really sincere?” And then beyond that, there was still a lot buried history: even if you’re completely sincere, there’s the foundational beliefs and structures of power that the foundation grew out of, so even if it’s moving there’s still this history. Conceptually, it wasn’t hard for me or my mother [to let go of the money and decision-making power]. We’re both control freaks, it’s true, but control freaks about our personal space, not about the world. [Laughs.] I think we both have a lot of experiences of helplessness and oppression of ourselves, even though we’re both super privileged. It’s always been really important to both of us to make sure that we each do as much as we can to lessen that, (though it’s not as if we don’t also perpetuate it with our ignorance)! But when it came to the money, there wasn’t a lot to talk about! I mean the transition with the board and staff, that was super, super hard. You know, because you have this idea, but then there are all of these amazing people who are trying to work through this difficult transition and it brings up everybody’s conscious and unconscious stuff. So, there were some interpersonal challenges. I wasn’t there for that whole transition, but I felt like it was hard for the facilitation team to hold the dynamics in the room. All of the people in the room were not necessarily feeling safe or able to express themselves. At what point did you feel like you could look at Leeway and say, I feel good handing off this organization? I mean, I think Denise had a huge amount to do with that. In that moment, Denise was the only person who was able to speak to everybody. This is my view, but I felt that Denise was the only person who could talk to everyone. So, I felt like we were moving in the right direction, and that my being there was making things harder. It wasn’t helping for me to stay at that point. How would you see Leeway playing a role in your own personal transformation? It was huge, it was just huge. I so didn’t want any part of it, and it sort of like put my life into a crazy place, but everything that I love the most right now is because I went through that! I can’t even imagine what my life would be like without that experience. Because I had had this desire for rightness or justice or love, but I had absolutely no analysis of what that was or how that related to anything in the world. I was pretty much like, “let’s just all be nice to each other,” and Leeway gave me an opportunity to have really difficult conversations with people who were different than myself, begin to think systemically, and question just about everything about who I thought I was and what I valued. What would you like to see in the next 25 years for Leeway? You know, I’m just thrilled to think about the people who are here now, asking those questions. I think back to fifteen years ago and who was asking then, and the people asking now are people I only had the foggiest vision of fifteen years ago. I feel like there is an intention to continue to cultivate inclusiveness and justice and art – you know, art in the sense of broadly defined expressions of creativity and humanity. I see that as evolving and deepening and expanding, not in the sense of getting unfocused, but as it is lived and as people who are currently holding that charge. Because, who you are and where you all come from – it’s like a river of people! It’s not like there’s one group of people, and then bam, another group of people, but it’s like a flow of people, and that flow of people is embodying and holding – this flow will bring it to the next stage in a really beautiful way. If Leeway were a playlist, what song would you be? There’s this song – I think its origins are African, I don’t actually know beyond where I encountered it, but it was really helpful for me in the space I was in [when I worked with Leeway]. I went to Alternate Roots – that was my favorite conference I ever went to when I was at Leeway. They were singing this song – the version of it that moved me went: “We are going/ Heaven knows where we are going/ But we know within/ And we’ll get there/ Heaven knows how we will get there/ But we know we will.” (the song is Woyaya written by Ghanaian drummer Sol Amarifio), It really moved me because I had a feeling that something was possible, but I had no idea how to do it, and knew we were not the people to do it – but it was like, “let’s just aim ourselves in this direction, and see what happens.”

In 2018, Leeway Foundation celebrates twenty-five years of grantmaking and community building among Philadelphia-based artists, cultural producers and organizers. To celebrate, we're highlighting some of the change makers and visionaries within Leeway's community who have helped to set the course for Leeway's own transformation. Who are you? I am a very down-to-earth country girl that came to the city. I was a little uneducated about the community that I was actually a part of, due to being from the south. I rose above the barriers that continued to marginalize me, and now I am the woman I knew I had the potential to be. That’s an advocate, sometimes an activist (occasionally), an educator, a sister, a mother figure to some. I guess in a nutshell, I never really know who the day is going to call for me to be, and I try to conform to what is needed because I tend to feel the need to want to please, and to want to help, and to want to satisfy, and to want to put a smile on people’s faces, and so there are times I can be very catering. That causes me sometimes to be a sort of shape-shifter. How did you come to do the advocacy work that you do today? Well, a lot of people don’t know this, but I was working for a trucking company before I started doing this work. And doing that work I dealt with a lot of sexualization – there was a lot of sexual harassment. And I don’t know! I wanted a change, so my mind began wandering to, you know, what else can I do? I wanted to give back and I wanted to do something meaningful, so I started to volunteer at the Trans Health Conference. So that was my first step into the nonprofit realm. My volunteering with the conference gave me insight into what was going on. And I was only a room monitor, and no one told me that – I wasn’t expecting to have to say anything like that, but the person who was actually conducting or facilitating the workshop, wanted an introduction! [Laughs] So I had to welcome people and do a little talking and then introduce this person and I was like, okay… You know, I didn’t know if that’s how things were typically done at the conference or not! So after that, someone approached me and was like, have you ever done this kind of work? You know, speaking in front of crowds and stuff like that. And I was like, no. And they were like, “I like you and your personality – I have a position that may be coming available soon,” and it was at Mazzoni Center. And that was my first experience. That’s what got me into it. Several months went by because at the time there wasn’t a position available. So, I went back to my little trucking job, and I would look for ways to volunteer and do little things with the homeless and stuff. But I got hired at the Mazzoni Center to do part-time outreach work. From there, I started to do just outreach, then we had Sisterly Love and I facilitated that, and I learned how to put together a workshop, and do presentations and all that stuff. As time went on I just wanted to learn more and more, and the more I got involved, the more I saw a need for, you know, folks from our own community to get involved. How did you come to be involved in the Leeway community? It was during the time early on, when I was working at the Mazzoni Center and the Trans Wellness Project received a grant from Bread & Roses [Community Fund]. That was my initial introduction to the community, and then I started to attend the networking events that Leeway would have. I would kind of keep up, because I was really intrigued by the organization when I went to an event that was focused on women artists that were incarcerated. And being from the south, I continued to be so intrigued by all the resources and the events and the things that trans folks were actually included in. And I remember seeing that there were trans women included in that exhibit and in that program, and it put a warm spot in my heart. And then, on top of that, I started to engage with the folks who work at the organization. I was like, “these folks are really amazing!” And it made me want to learn more, it made me want to engage with them more. I would try to be at their events that they would have where people from the community come and talk about the work that they were doing. I was always wanting to find a way to work with them or to engage with the organization, even though I’m not an artist. But I’ve always been a fan of the work that Leeway has done. And this past year (2017) I finally got the opportunity to meet Lee Alter (Leeway founder). And that was exciting! So, I developed a real love for Leeway and the people that work there. I was invited to Lee’s apartment for an event to talk about the things going on at William Way. It was a small little networking thing with about 12 of us – we talked about programs at William Way and what brought us there, because Lee sits on our arts committee. It was a really really nice event! And her apartment was nothing short of amazing. It was really close-knit and personal – it was one of the best things that I was a part of in 2017. Because she showed us some of her art, and she told us some of the stories that were behind the pieces she showed us, and I got the feeling that I was experiencing something that not a lot of people get to experience because I know for artists it’s really personal to invite people into their space. So, to be a part of that really spoke volumes to me – furthering my love for Leeway! How has Leeway played a role in your own evolution? When I first started doing this work and I started attending events at Leeway, um, I really didn’t know what I was doing [laughs.] I didn’t really have a lot of experience in advocacy work. I didn’t know much about being an activist. I knew right from wrong. I knew how to express my feelings. But, I didn’t know much about networking. Attending those networking events at Leeway helped me get comfortable with talking about the work that I was doing to people that I didn’t know. And also, being able to talk and be comfortable in my skin, with my experience or lack thereof compared to others in the room. And I never felt less-than – and that also spoke volumes to me. You know, it meant a lot to me that I was in there with people with degrees and had been on their jobs for many years and all of these experiences, and they’re well off and all of these things that I don’t have a history of being or experiencing or having. But it didn’t matter in that room. You know, we were there to talk about the work that we’re doing and to possibly see overlapping opportunities and opportunities to help our communities. And that’s what was – that was awesome to me. And it made me want to keep coming back. If Leeway was a playlist, what song would you be? It may not make sense to you, but it’s such a feel-good song for me, and it kind of describes the feeling that I get when I’m at Leeway. It’s “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John. That song just fills me with – I don’t know I just feel so clean and happy! And that’s the way I feel when I’m at Leeway.

The Temple News LIFESTYLE PROFILES Alumna makes poetry accessible for marginalized groups Kai Davis, a 2016 alumna, received a $15,000 grant from the Leeway Foundation for her poetry. by Khanya Brann | 23 January 2018 Read this article online at Temple News (http://temple-news.com/lifestyle/alumna-makes-poetry-accessible-for-marginalized-groups/) On an unseasonably warm day in early December, Kai Davis opened her mailbox to find a fat envelope. It was the kind she thought could only contain good news. Inside, Davis found a packet from the Leeway Foundation congratulating her on being one of 10 artists to win a $15,000 Transformation Award. The award recognizes women and trans artists in the Philadelphia area who have been creating art for social change for five years or more. “I cried all the way up the stairs to my apartment, and I live in a four-story walk up,” said Davis, a 2016 Africology, African-American studies and English alumna. Davis, a poet, author and editor at the Philadelphia-based Apiary Magazine, plans to use the grant to host a series of free poetry workshops for Black women and femmes — an umbrella term for feminine-identifying people — in the city. Many of her poems explore the intersection of race, power, gender and sexuality and the effect it has on people’s identities and society as a whole. Videos of Davis, a two-time international grand poetry slam champion, performing poems that are focused on her identity as a Black queer woman, like “F— I Look Like” and “Ain’t I a Woman?,” have tens of thousands of views online. Davis shared the news of the grant in a video on Instagram, where she said, through tears, “For anyone who knows me…you know that this last year has been hard. I lost my father, I’ve been struggling trying to be a full-time artist, so this award means more than anything right now.” Davis, a Philadelphia native, moved back in with her parents in August 2016 when her father became sick. He died in January 2017 due to multiple organ failure. Davis was in the middle of rehearsals for “How to Take Space,” a poetry show she co-produced and directed with The Philly Pigeon, a poetry collective that runs some of the city’s largest adult poetry slam events. “It had been the hardest year of my entire life, and at the end of it, I won this,” Davis said. “It felt like a wave of relief, like a big break that I really needed at the time. She first learned about the Transformation Award through Jacob Winterstein, the co-founder and co-host of The Philly Pigeon, and she was later encouraged to apply by Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela, an author who received a grant from the Leeway Foundation in 2012. “I remember writing ‘Leeway’ on a sticky-note and taping it to my mirror, and it was there for months as a reminder that despite everything I was dealing with, ‘I need to do this, I need to do this, I need to do this,’” Davis said. Even though she has been teaching poetry workshops for people of color and creating art for marginalized communities for several years, Davis initially felt like she hadn’t accomplished enough to apply for the grant. “The criteria asks for people who have been creating social change for five or more years, and I had, but I still didn’t feel like I deserved to apply,” she said. “There were a lot of things related to elitism in the poetry industry that I was concerned about, like not having been formally published.” She overcame her reservations and submitted the second round of applications last October, and waited two months to hear back from the foundation. “As a Black queer woman who has done a significant amount of work to cultivate art in Philadelphia, it’s beyond time someone has recognized her contributions and given her a grant,” said Jamal Parker, a senior Africology and African-American studies major who succeeded Davis as the artistic director of Babel, Temple’s poetry collective. “She is exceptional on and off the stage, and has a gift for bringing people together.” Parker was also Davis’ teammate when Babel won the 2016 College Union Poetry Slam Invitational, which is an annual international tournament where poetry teams compete. Davis is also always thinking about ways art spaces can be more accessible. She came up with the idea to do ticket giveaways for The Philly Pigeon shows, so people who can’t afford them could have the opportunity to attend the collective’s monthly shows. They prioritize people of color, financially insecure people, people with disabilities and LGBTQ people, Davis said. “Poetry is something that a lot of marginalized people are interested in and practice or explore on their own,” Davis said. “But because of the elitism in the poetry world, in both the slam scene or page poetry, they don’t have a lot of access to poems that might change their life or ideas that might change how they move through the world.” Davis said she’s grateful for her mentors at the Philly Youth Poetry Movement, a nonprofit that offers literary art education for teens, for giving her the opportunity to grow as a writer, performer and teacher, especially Cait Kay, who gave Davis her first opportunity to teach a poetry workshop in 2013. While Kay was on maternity leave last year, Davis substituted for her classes at the Academy at Palumbo, a high school on Catherine Street near 11th, and had the opportunity to connect with students. Davis wants to continue to give Black and brown kids “a reason to speak up, to read and to question.” “My mentors were all able to see talent and understand that it needs to be fostered,” she said. “It’s really important that we create spaces for young people to tap into their potential, and give them the tools to do so, because it really makes a difference. I want to be able to provide that for people.”

In 2018, Leeway Foundation celebrates twenty-five years of grantmaking and community building among Philadelphia-based artists, cultural producers and organizers. We approach this milestone as an opportunity to share Leeway’s story – a story grounded in the founder's feminist principles that explore the intersection of art, culture, community, and change. Over these twenty-five years, Leeway has become more inclusive in how it defines its community in terms of who (practitioners) and what (practice) the foundation supports; initially funding women identified artists, then expanding its criteria to embrace women, trans, and gender-nonconforming artists with a vision for social change. These changes came about as a result of the vision of those in the Leeway community committed to the use of art and culture as vehicles for social change and community transformation. To celebrate this history, we’ll highlight examples from a series of conversations and interviews about this landmark anniversary. Each month, we’ll talk to former and current staff and board members, grantees and panelists, including Leeway’s founder Linda Lee Alter and her daughter, Sara (Becker) Milly, whose path-breaking choices set a course that allowed Leeway to transform over the last twenty-five years. We hope these conversations provide some insights into the important changes that Leeway has undergone, while giving space to celebrate the individual contributions and accomplishments of a range of artists, change makers, and visionaries. Who are you? Denise Michelle Brown The only child of Bernice C. Lewis and William Alfred Brown, Jr.; the eldest grandchild of Mildred, Edna, Clement and William Sr.; seeker, artist, cultural organizer and strategist; and Executive Director of the Leeway Foundation. How would you define your relationship within Leeway’s community? I come into the Leeway story out of my experience at Bread & Roses Community Fund with Sara Becker, who is the sort of second generation [of Leeway] as the founder’s daughter. I invited Sara to be a part of what was then called the Community Funding Board at Bread & Roses, folks from the community that were making the grant decisions. At that time I was managing the process, and folks on that committee were separated into working groups, they would review certain applications in-depth, do site visits, and then report back to the full body on decision-making day. Sara was part of a group that was looking at cultural organizations. I think it was likely that she was already thinking about this, but I think her experience on the funding board of Bread & Roses really piqued her curiosity about community arts and transformation. So this is the early aughties, like 2002, 2003, and she was being invited to be really active in the leadership of Leeway at that time. So, it was really through her that they embarked on this process of investigating what it would mean to support women whose art was about community transformation – that was sort of how Sara framed it. They went through a process that engaged a lot of people, they started going to national convenings where people were talking about this nexus of art and social change and social justice. Places like Alternate Roots and spaces in Philadelphia; they did focus groups with people who were institutional representatives and individual art practitioners and talked through this idea, through more convenings; and in 2003 a consulting team of three women presented what was called the program design report. It was after that that I was invited to be part of the discussions with the then-board. I kept saying, you know, you gotta be really clear if you want to do this, this is really going to shift this organization in a lot of different ways, and if you’re not really serious about it, you shouldn’t engage it! Because at that point the conversation was really about marginalized communities, and given that the mission was explicitly about women at that point, it was more about the inclusion of people of color, or people who claim certain ethnic identities. As they moved on in the process, new staff were brought on, all who had authentic relationships and connections to the field. And the transition began bringing on certain advisors (I was one of those advisors) – setting a course to shift the organization from being this family-run foundation, this one-member structure, to more of a community-based foundation. It wasn’t long after that that the conversation began about gender. New programs were implemented in 2005, and this idea of trans inclusion became [prevalent] in 2006. The initial shift was related generally to the criteria: we support women and trans artists doing this work. And some work was done in terms of shifting the guidelines. If we had been a different kind of organization, a different kind of family foundation, that had a larger or more entrenched board, it would have been a different set of conversations. It likely would have taken longer. So we moved from that and engaged with our first community board. Now you have an organization that’s made this decision and commitment to this constituency, that hasn’t really trained or educated itself to engage that. And so I think in my experience of it, there was some hesitancy – we had to catch up with the commitment we made... how do you do that internally, right? At different points in the process – and we’re talking about over the course of a few years – there were things like, "oh my god, I need to review the personnel policies, to make sure they’re gender neutral." There was a lot to consider – especially in terms of the internal dynamics of the organization. How do we not continue to marginalize folks – that became part of the process. It had to be more than, “we’re saying that this constituency can apply for a grant,” but, “how do we create the same space for everyone?” And also to not think about Leeway as a trans organization; I guess we could say it’s a feminist organization that funds women and trans artists, right? I’m using feminist right now, I don’t know if we’ll come up with something else – maybe it’s about looking at gender inclusivity in a different way. And holding that as well – so the work becomes about how to build community from those constituencies. What role has Leeway played in your own evolution? I think of Leeway as an incubator kind of space. We can be experimental, and I want to be able to expand while maintaining that. But that’s a question for the future. The experience of how much I’ve grown in my time here really moves me, and thinking about what a privilege it is, really, truly. I think I have this way of talking about Leeway as a learning community or at least that’s kind of how I’d like to envision it. And the learning is for everyone who’s involved with the organization. It’s not the notion of what we give grantees, its sort of what – what is everyone involved in this organization bringing to it? So, that’s staff, board, interns, and volunteers, right? And what is each of us learning? I always say to people who work here that the goal is to support everyone’s leadership development because it’s ultimately not about Leeway. You know what I mean? In this way it’s sort of like, we’re all passing through, right? If there’s a way in which this organization can support your growth as a community leader, that you then go off and do remarkable things in other spaces, in other communities, it’s all good! So I think we can provide that kind of grounding for people, to sort of test things out about themselves. I think for me, I found my voice in a setting and an organization [that] was primarily an all women’s organization. It was a really safe space for me to experiment with my leadership and my voice and all – and explore conflict and all that stuff. I think it was really important for me to create something similar here. We don’t and can’t always agree about everything – that’s an unrealistic expectation. But when you know, when you push back, just have thought it through! You know what I mean? Anything is possible! So creating that is always really exciting to me. If Leeway was a playlist, what song would you be? Hmmm… I’m Every Woman. The Chaka version of course!

What does protest sound like? For this Philadelphia activist, it's the eight-string jarana. Yared Portillo, a Philadelphia community activist, has four of them: One she built from scratch; two others were secured from renowned artisans; the final one — received broken and in pieces from a friend — she carefully repaired and made whole again. The repaired instrument isn’t a bad metaphor for the role the jarana has played in the US immigration protest movement for the past two decades. It's a small, eight-string instrument from Veracruz, Mexico, patterned after a 16th century baroque Spanish guitar that is often confused with a ukulele. In the hands of Chicanos or recent Mexican immigrants, the jarana — as well as the son jarocho musical form with which it is inextricably associated — energizes rallies and undergirds the chants of those who want to repair not only a broken immigration system, but the increasingly broken relationship between two nations sharing both borders and histories. In Philadelphia, Portillo punctuates chanting while strumming the tiny, “mosquito”-size jarana during a protest rally at a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters: Me gusta la lima, me gusta el limón, pero no me gusta la deportación. I like lime, I like lemon, but I do not like deportation.

Listen to the full story or read the transcription at pri.org (https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-12-21/what-does-protest-sound-philadelphia-activist-its-eight-string-jarana).

"What's behind that boy you see in South Philly windows" by Jeff Gammage, Staff Writer for Philly Inquirer

Erika Guadalupe Núñez dwells at the intersection of art and resistance. So when the activist group Juntos needed a bold image to inspire neighborhood solidarity amid unnerving immigration raids — federal authorities snatched 107 people in a single September sweep — it turned to her. The result: a full-color placard for households to display in their front windows, alerting all, “This home resists.” It anchors a “community resistance zone” that Juntos has launched across a large swath of South Philadelphia. One side of the poster shows a young Latin boy standing in front of a brick rowhouse, his hand raised as if to say, “Stop.” On the back, in English and Spanish, is a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” if immigration agents or police come pounding on the door. Tip No. 1: Don’t open the door. “It speaks across languages,” said Núñez, 26. “It’s community members saying, ‘We have to start looking out for one another.’” She enveloped the poster boy with an elliptical, blue background, as a way to make him more prominent. But others see the sacred, an outline similar to the aureole that surrounds the Aztec goddess Tonantzin or the Virgin of Guadalupe. Núñez swears that was unintentional. Whether secular or religious, that art now hangs in an outsized gallery: The windows and doors of shops and homes from Third Street west to Ninth Street, and Washington Avenue south to Oregon Avenue. There Juntos has created its first “resistance zone,” a block-by-block effort to oppose the Trump administration’s tough stance on immigration and undocumented immigrants. During one weekend this month, Juntos’ volunteers knocked on 3,000 doors, handing out posters as they went. They trained people how to protect their rights and those of their neighbors, should they be approached by local police or agents from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. “It was really important to have something you put up in your window, so that when they’re at your door, and they might be banging on the door, that you’re reminded of your rights,” said Juntos Executive Director Erika Almiron. “It was important for community members to see these posters in the windows and know our neighbors and friends have committed to be our allies."

Read the full article here (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/window-poster-boy-resist-south-philadelphia-ice-juntos-nunez-20171124.html).

Today, Leeway Foundation announced $150,000 in grants to 10 women and trans* artists and cultural producers in Greater Philadelphia, acknowledging their commitment to art and social justice that impacts a larger audience or community. This year’s recipients work in an array of disciplines, including visual arts, literary arts, and performance. The 2017 Leeway Transformation Award (LTA) recipients are as follows (in alphabetical order): Ana Guissel Palma (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/ana_guissel_palma_lta_17) of West Kensington, Crafts & Textiles and Visual Arts Catherine Pancake (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/catherine_pancake_lta_17) of West Philadelphia, Media Arts and Visual Arts Cynthia Dewi Oka (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/cynthia_dewi_oka_lta_17) of Collingswood (Southern New Jersey), Literary Arts Dinita “Princess Di” Clark (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/dinita_princess_di_clark_lta_17) of Mantua, Performance Erika Guadalupe Núñez (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/erika_guadalupe_nunez_lta_17) of South Philadelphia, Visual Arts Eva Wŏ (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/eva_wo_lta_17) of West Philadelphia, Visual Arts and Media Arts Kai Davis (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/kai_davis_lta_17) of West Philadelphia, Literary Arts and Performance Nehad Khader (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/nehad_khader_lta_17) of West Philadelphia, Media Arts and Literary Arts Sheena Sood (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/sheena_sood_lta_17) of West Philadelphia, Folk Arts and Literary Arts Tawanda Jones (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/tawanda_jones_lta_17) of Parkside (Southern New Jersey), Performance A national panel of artists and cultural producers convened to review applications and work samples in this two-stage process. The 2017 panel consisted of Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed; Philadelphia-based movement performance artist Lela Aisha Jones (LTA '15); Brasilian-American filmmaker Luisa Dantas; Chicago-based queer Latinx artist and organizer Monica Trinidad; and Oakland-based writer, public health consultant and cultural competency trainer Willy Wilkinson. Queer black feminist love evangelist and prayer poet priestess Alexis Pauline Gumbs facilitated the panel’s second stage. The next Leeway Transformation Award deadline is May 15, 2018. In addition to the Transformation Award, Leeway offers the Art and Change Grant two times per year. These project-based grants of up to $2,500 are awarded to women and trans* artists in Greater Philadelphia. The 2018 Art and Change Grant deadlines are March 1 and August 1. Both applications are available on the Leeway website, and may also be obtained by calling 215.545.4078 or emailing [email protected]. Interested applicants are encouraged to attend one of the many support sessions offered throughout the year, or schedule an appointment with a foundation staff member for one-on-one support. Press inquiries and photo requests should be directed to Denise Beek at 215.545.4078, ext. 14 or [email protected]. *Leeway is a trans-affirming organization committed to gender self-determination, and we use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is nonconforming and/or different from their gender assigned at birth. Download the 2017 LTA Press Kit (http://www.leeway.org/images/news/2017_LTA_PressReleaseFinal.pdf) (PDF)



18 women and trans artists and cultural producers receive project-based grants to further social change in Greater Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA – Today, the Leeway Foundation announced $43,500 in grants to 18 women and trans* artists and cultural producers in Greater Philadelphia, supporting their work to address a range of social change issues. Leeway’s Art and Change Grant provides project-based funds of up to $2,500 to women and trans artists and cultural producers who: propose a project that impacts a larger group, audience or community; have financial need; and live in the Greater Philadelphia region. The grant supports artists practicing a variety of disciplines including performance, crafts and textiles, and visual arts.

The following 18 artists and cultural producers were awarded grants (in alphabetical order): Adonis BC Okonkwo (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/adonis_bc_okonkwo_acg_17) of West Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary, $2,500 Amy June (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/amy_june_acg_17) of West Philadelphia, Visual Arts/Media Arts, $2,500 Ana Martina (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/ana_martina_acg_17) of Kingsessing, Multidisciplinary, $2,500 Annie Mok (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/annie_mok_acg_17) of West Philadelphia, Media Arts, $2,500 Ants on a Log (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/ants_on_a_log_acg_17) of West Philadelphia, Music/Performance, $2,500 Barb Baur (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/barb_baur_acg_17) of Mayfair, Media Arts/Crafts & Textiles, $2,500 Bonita Elaine Taylor (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/bonita_elaine_taylor_acg_17) of Chester, Folk Arts/Visual Arts, $2,500 Boston Gordon (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/boston_gordon_acg_17) of Center City, Literary Arts/Performance, $2,000 Denise Allen (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/denise_allen_acg_17) of Jenkintown, Multidisciplinary, $2,500 Erika Guadalupe Núñez (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/erika_guadalupe_nunez_acg_17) of South Philadelphia, Visual Arts, $2,500 Heather Raquel Phillips (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/heather_raquel_phillips_acg_17) of South Philadelphia, Media Arts/Visual Arts, $2,500 Hye-Jung Park (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/hye_jung_park_acg_17) of West Philadelphia, Media Arts, $2,500 Juliana Reyes (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/juliana_reyes_acg_17) of Cedar Park, Literary Arts/Media Arts, $2,500 Kathryn Smith Pyle (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/kathryn_smith_pyle_acg_17) of Center City, Media Arts, $2,500 khari jackson (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/khari_jackson_acg_17) of Glenwood, Visual Arts, $2,500 Maria Dumlao (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/maria_dumlao_acg_17) of East Kensington, Visual Arts/Literary Arts, $2,500 Mary DeWitt (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/mary_dewitt_acg_17) of Media, Visual Arts/Media Arts, $2,500 Mina Zarfsaz (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/mina_zarfsaz_acg_17) of Kensington, Media Arts/Visual Arts, $1,500 Art and Change Grants are distributed twice a year and evaluated by an independent peer review panel. The Fall ACG 2017 review panel consisted of arts administrator and nonprofit development professional Amanda Morales Pratt, vocalist and pianist Dena Underwood (ACG ‘16), and social research activist artist Julie Rainbow (LTA '16, ACG '14). Applications are available on the Leeway website, and may also be obtained by calling (215) 545-4078 or emailing [email protected]. Potential applicants are encouraged to attend one of the many support sessions offered throughout the year, or schedule an appointment with a staff member for one-on-one support. Press inquiries and photo requests should be directed to Denise Beek at (215) 545-4078, ext. 14 or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]). *We use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and more generally, anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is nonconforming and/or different from their gender assigned at birth. ABOUT LEEWAY The Leeway Foundation supports women and transgender artists and cultural producers working in communities at the intersection of art, culture, and social change. Through our grantmaking and other programs we promote artistic expression that amplifies the voices of those on the margins, promotes sustainable and healthy communities, and works in the service of movements for economic and social justice. For more information about Leeway, its grant programs, grantees and events, visit www.leeway.org. ### Download the Fall 2017 Press Kit (http://www.leeway.org/images/news/2017ACGFallPressKit_Final.pdf).

Sarah Mueller (ACG ’16) In June, thanks to a generous gift from Leeway Foundation, I had the incredible privilege of traveling to Detroit with my partner to attend the Allied Media Conference (AMC). I had long heard of AMC and have always wanted to attend in order to experience the real Detroit. The most resonating impact of AMC is that this annual gathering of community builders, activists, media makers, is perfectly housed and grounded by the great city of Detroit with its rich history of resistance —a history that is as complex and politically-tainted, as it is beautifully intersectional and perseverant. The 2017 AMC, in particular, was wildly special, as this Summer marks the 50th Anniversary of the Detroit Uprising—a title which, all these years later, even in the wake of the Ferguson and Baltimore, is still controversial and debated as to whether it was a riot or a rebellion. There are a lot of different things that a lot of different people will tell you about this city. They will tell you it’s broken and that it is spent. You will hear that it’s been abandoned and blighted. You’ll also be pitched that it’s a “blank slate,” that it is up-and-coming. Corporations, like those that abandoned the very People—black, brown and indigenous—whose labor they exploited and the booming economy they milked, are now returning and “re-discovering” Detroit. So, we must ask the question with all histories—Who gets to control the narrative? AMC centers the People, as the gatekeepers of Truth. The guidance and lens provided by AMC showed me, in my short residence, that while a myriad of lower case t truths proliferate and coexist, we must continually fight for the illumination and (re)centering of Capital T Truth. AMC provoked us, as storytellers and narrative keepers, to ask the questions, first proposed by vital feminist, activist and writer, bell hooks—in her coining of the Oppositional Gaze—“Who is looking? What are they seeing?” It is true that large swaths of Detroit are abandoned and do appear broken beyond repair. It is true that miles of former bustling shopping districts and blocks on blocks of handsome brick homes are shuttered closed. Places like these are where seeds of the lies of the American Dream were sown and the fruits of which were destroyed. No one can fault a family for leaving for more and better paying work. No one ever willingly abandons the happy home they’ve created. My limited observation has shown me that it is nothing short of a miracle that folks have remained, continue to organize and rally for Justice there. Native Detroiters, like Arabs in Occupied Palestine, possess a wild sumud or perseverant steadfastness — in that, their very existence and refusal to leave their land is their resistance. The power of Detroit and of the Allied Media Conference is in the People. It’s beauty stretches back to trailblazers like James and Grace Lee Boggs, who proudly called Detroit their home. We were reminded that the Struggle is on going and that while long from over, it is easier and better fought when we all come together—fighting for one another’s liberation. Detroit activist and healer, Charity Hicks, first issued the call to “wage love” in the ongoing fight against water shut-offs. It is in this spirit that I close and encourage us to in all aspects of daily work and practice continue to … #WAGELOVE.

Our Window of Opportunity (WOO) Grant launched earlier this year as a six-month pilot program. Open to previous Leeway grantees only, the grant was meant to fund time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. The pilot program is now closed. We are currently evaluating the program and will make an announcement should we decide to continue in 2018. We are happy to announce July's grantees. Carman Spoto (ACG ’17, ’15) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/carman_spoto) has the opportunity to utilize camera and lighting equipment donated by a vendor to shoot her feature film What Color Is Blue this August, which centers on the life of a black transgender woman in West Philly. These funds will allow Carman to purchase the required production insurance in order to use the equipment, which will increase the production value of the film as well as its chances of being shown in festivals, picked up by a distribution company, and seen worldwide. Stephanie Amma (ACG ’17, ’10, ’08, ’06) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/stephanie_amma_young) teaches African dance and drumming to students at Eleanor Emlen Elementary Public School’s Arts and Culture Club. The students have been invited to perform at the very first Black Expo America Inc., which will be held in Philadelphia on October 14 and 15 in partnership with the Philadelphia Black Entrepreneurs Network. These funds will allow Stephanie Amma to purchase fabric and accessories and make 30 costumes for the students’ performance, since otherwise they would not be able to afford them.

By Stephanie Amma Young (ACG '17, '10, '08, '06) Urban Bush Women Founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and dancers are fierce, fabulous, and on fire. I am extremely grateful for Leeway's lottery to the Generative Dancer: Black Radical Traditions of Practice & Thought opportunity. The Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center Faculty facilitated a comprehensive nine-day intensive. We had daily technique classes and learned to generate movement through UBW's process and learning. It was rigorous for me because of the modern and ballet classes taught which are not my dance forms, and enlightening because I was challenged do work outside my comfort zone. I had many "A HA" moments. The Generative Dancer: Black Radical Traditions of Practice & Thought is a full day workshop experience from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM for intermediate/advanced choreographers and performers who want to deepen their practice through participation in an immersive learning environment. The choreographic intensive did just that. Scholars were brought in to give us research and experiences in music, dance history, writing, and drama and put us to task to create. Everyday Director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar was present to impart her knowledge, wisdom, experience, and passion--a treasure for me and I am sure for all those who participated. I will forever keep the experience in my heart, replay it in my mind, and rejoice in my soul because Jawole kept her knowledge alive in her dance, lived in her knowledge, and is totally about the knowledge she creates stories from to share with the world. It’s amazing to learn how to really tell a story verbally and amazing transferring it into movement UBW style; that was simply a divine highlight for me. It’s a transcribing transformation process that happens on the dance floor. I can’t stop talking about my experience and encouraging other dancers to check out the Urban Bush Women’s programs. I knew they were good; I did not know how great their art form was. UBW’s work is important and translates our African American heritage into a creative language that gives a voice to our African American ancestors, our history, struggle and victory, culture, cultural norms, music, language, poetry, and stories. UBW has an impact on any dancer with African American or African diaspora roots, or enthusiasts. Each one of the Urban Bush Women and men were fascinating artists; I could have watched them all day. It is especially awesome to participate in the first UBW Summer Choreographic Intensive program hosted by the UBW artisans; I truly love them all. They had energy, vitality, and boldness and were humble, helpful, and always willing to share their skill and knowledge. Thank you, and much more continued success to Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and staff, all the professors, and cohort. *** The Generative Dancer: Black Radical Traditions of Practice & Thought workshop intensive was held from June 24 through July 2, 2017 at the Mark Morris and Gelsey Kirkland studios in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Urban Bush Women at urbanbushwomen.org (http://urbanbushwomen.org).

Our Window of Opportunity (WOO) Grant launched earlier this year as a pilot program. Open to previous Leeway grantees only, the grant is meant to fund time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. We are happy to announce June's grantee. Nehad Khader (ACG ’08) will travel to Chicago in July to document a farewell event held in honor of Rasmea Odeh, Palestinian American community organizer, former political prisoner, and elder, who will be deported and stripped of U.S. citizenship this August. Nehad will continue to deepen her relationship with Rasmea, her supporters, and the Palestinian American organizing community in Chicago. Nehad will produce media that she hopes to share with Palestinian communities across the country.

"Trans, queer projects get boost with Leeway funding (http://www.epgn.com/news/local/12089-trans-queer-projects-get-boost-with-leeway-funding)" by Ray Simon for Philadelphia Gay News (May 31, 2017)

The Leeway Foundation, a Philadelphia nonprofit supporting women and trans artists, recently awarded $47,500 to 22 local artists. The recipients are the latest group of artists to receive Leeway’s Art and Change Grant, which is awarded twice a year, in the spring and again in the fall. According to Denise Beek, Leeway’s communications director, the Art and Change Grant is “a project-based grant up to $2,500 to women and trans artists who have an idea for a project that intersects with art, culture and social justice within 11 Social Change Intents.” The Leeway Foundation was begun in 1993. Its original purpose was to support women artists working in the greater Philadelphia region. In 2007, the nonprofit broadened its mission in two significant ways. First, it placed a greater emphasis on social change; second, it began making its resources available to trans artists. Leeway defines trans in the broadest possible sense, Beek explained. “We actually make a point to not say transgender, because we feel like the term trans should be an inclusive word to mean if you identify as transsexual or transgender or genderqueer or two-spirit people.” The recipients of this spring’s Art and Change Grant are working in a wide range of disciplines, including music, performance and visual arts. Carman Spoto, a queer trans woman from Downingtown, will use her grant to make a feature-length film about queer and trans youth. And Alex Barrett and Kris Moore of University City will be working on a book about gender-nonconformity for youngsters, along with an accompanying curriculum guide for parents and teachers. A significant aspect of Leeway’s Art and Change Grant is what it refers to as Social Change Intents. All applicants are asked to select three from a list of 11 possibilities. “What we mean by that is basically focuses, ranging from cultural preservation to environmental justice to displacement and immigration issues to transgender justice and gender self-determination,” Beek said. Before this year, Beek noted, Leeway categorized LGBTQI social movements and transgender justice and gender self-determination under one rubric. This spring, however, it was agreed that they should be two separate Social Change Intents. That was partly due to Leeway’s longstanding recognition of the importance of gender self-determination. But it was also a response to societal threats to the trans community, from so-called bathroom bills to outright violence against trans women. “We thought that was a very important change to make to the application,” said Beek, who pointed out that six current grantees selected transgender justice and gender self-determination. Kayleb Rae Candrilli is one of them. Candrilli, whose preferred pronoun is they, is a trans, gender-nonconforming poet living and working in the Point Breeze neighborhood of South Philadelphia. “My poetry is pretty much directly in conversation with trans rights and trans joy,” they said when asked to describe their work. “So it’s what I do and it’s my personal politics.” Candrilli applied for Leeway’s Art and Change Grant to work on a book of poems in dialogue with the paintings of Hernan Bas. They described Bas as a wonderful painter whose work celebrates queer bodies. “I wanted to write an entire collection that was focused on the queer body and the trans body as one of joy,” Candrilli said. “I think too often trans people are reduced to their trauma, and I didn’t want to write that book.” The Art and Change Grant is a boon to Candrilli, giving them time to work on the book, a chance to visit a current Bas exhibit and a financial cushion as they look for a publisher. Overall, their experience with Leeway has been so good that they wholeheartedly recommend it to others. “I would really like to encourage female-bodied and trans artists to apply to this, pretty much no matter what,” Candrilli said. “I think that writing about your work and applying to something, even if you don’t get it, teaches you a lot about who you are as an artist and what your intentions are.” That’s timely advice. The deadline for Leeway’s fall Art and Change Grant is Aug. 1. Beek urges artists from Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs to give it a shot. There will even be an applicant-support session on July 19 at Historic Germantown, 5501 Germantown Ave. It is open to anyone, whether they’re in the process or filling out an application for the Art and Change Grant or still just considering the idea. It makes no difference, Beek said; Leeway staff will be there for advice, feedback and help. “You do not need an appointment, you don’t need to necessarily say that you’re coming, you can just pop in, talk to somebody,” she said. To learn more about the Leeway Foundation and the fall 2017 Art and Change Grant, visit www.leeway.org.

Far too often, the contributions to social justice movements by artists and cultural producers are seen but uncelebrated. In recognition of Philadelphia Reentry Month (http://www.philadelphiareentrycoalition.org/reentrymonth), Leeway spotlights just a few individuals who believe that social change happens when we work together to dismantle oppressive power structures and see possibility beyond the confines of stigma associated with people in reentry. Do you know of other women and trans artists doing work in communities affected by incarceration? Encourage them to apply for the Art and Change Grant, deadline: August 1 (https://leeway.formstack.com/forms/acg2017). 1. Faith Bartley (ACG ’15) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/faith_bartley): Faith is an organizer and multidisciplinary artist who creates resources for women living in halfway houses. Working with The People’s Paper Co-op – an initiative by the Village of Arts and Humanities that works directly with individuals impacted by incarceration to develop the tools, skills, and networks to advocate for themselves and their loved ones- Faith uses the process of papermaking, gatherings, and speaking engagements to provide information and tips meant to ease the process of reentry for formerly incarcerated women. Faith aims to heal, unite, and empower women who have been oppressed all their lives. 2. Mary DeWitt (ACG ’16, ’15, ’09, LTA ’10, WOO ’03, ’00) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/mary_dewitt): Since the late 1980's, Mary has repeatedly painted portraits and collaborated with women serving life without parole in Pennsylvania. Her goal is to show their depth and humanity through exhibitions and YouTube videos of developing portrait images paired with their voices. Currently she is painting ceramic tile mural portraits of the women who are juvenile lifers, to be installed around the city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia has incarcerated more juveniles to life without parole than any city in the United States- over 300. The murals with narrative will include her websites www.juvelinelifers.com and www.lifersontile.com where viewers can hear and learn more about the women and this crisis so relevant to our city. 3. Ras Mashramani (ACG ’16) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/ras_mashramani): Ras is a writer and co-founder of the DIY sci-fi collective, Metropolarity. She believes that sci-fi is a technology that allows those without a way forward in the economic and criminal justice systems to build futures where they are alive and thriving. Ras is currently working on a dystopia sci-fi novel that explores the intersection of mental health treatment, mass incarceration, racism, and poverty from the perspective of a social work trainee at a local juvenile detention center. Ras aims to raise awareness around issues of surveillance and violence in poor communities and amplify the voices of both survivors and workers who are impacted by these systems in hopes to promote solidarity. 4. Courtney Bowles (ACG ’16) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/courtney_bowles): Courtney is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and community organizer. She is the co-director of The People's Paper Coop and the Philadelphia Reentry Think Tank, a project that connects returning citizens with artists, activists, and legislative experts to destroy stereotypes about returning citizens, connect them with organizations and individuals in power, and advocate for platforms that will help those in reentry succeed. At the core of her practice is the belief that those most impacted by systemic social issues are the experts society needs to listen to, and that by connecting those directly affected with a multitude of community experts and political stakeholders, change can happen on personal and systemic levels. 5. Romeeka Williams (ACG ’16) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/romeeka_williams): Romeeka is an organizer who is creating a collection of writing and poetry from workshops with youth within the Philadelphia prison system. Romeeka uplifts the voices of young people tried and incarcerated as adults by sharing where these young writers come from, how they got to this point in their lives, and what trauma they experienced that influenced their decisions. As a supervisor at the Youth Arts Self-empowerment Project, Romeeka talks to student groups about the school-to-prison pipeline and offers support for those returning from prison. 6. Emily Abendroth (ACG ’15) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/emily_abendroth): Emily is a poet, teacher and anti-prison activist. Her project, entitled LifeLines: Voices Against the Other Death Penalty, is a media/cultural project intended to inform and transform the nature of public discussions and understanding of Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentencing in Pennsylvania. Emily conducted written and audio interviews with people serving life in Pennsylvania, which she used to create a pamphlet that can serve as a tool to inform campaign strategy, educate, and generate dialogue with people across the state. Emily believes that successfully defeating LWOP will require a profound cultural shift as well as artistic collaborations that engage people on both sides of prison walls. 7. Rachel Zolf (ACG ’16) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/rachel_zolf): Rachel is a literary artist who developed and piloted an eight-week writing group with incarcerated women at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Philadelphia. The group, called FreeWrite, fostered creative expression, critical thinking and community building as the writers responded freely to writing prompts drawn from published poems, fiction, and memoirs by formerly incarcerated people and other writers. Rachel and her co-facilitator, Penn student Camara Brown, coordinated FreeWrite for a second ten-week session, and the group will start up again this fall.

Our Window of Opportunity (WOO) Grant launched earlier this year as a pilot program. Open to previous Leeway grantees only, the grant is meant to fund time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. We are happy to announce May's grantees: Judith Sachs (ACG '15) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/judith_sachs) has the opportunity to attend The International Society of Gerontology World Congress, held this July in San Francisco. The Congress is the largest group of individuals working for the advancement of the elderly, and this year it features Age Stage, where those, like Judith, involved in fostering creative aging will speak and perform. Judith will take part in a variety of improvisatory sessions with them, and will also be able to network and expand the scope of her adaptive dance program and her founding group, National Council on Creative Aging, internationally.

Judith Schaechter (LAE '99) is featured on Articulate, an Emmy® award-winning arts and culture show nationally syndicated on PBS. Art, according to Schaechter, is a way of bridging the gap between mind and body. Judith sat down with Articulate to discuss the simultaneously cerebral and emotional nature of her work, the importance of process, and how she has stretched the boundaries of her art form. Watch the segment at pbs.org (http://www.pbs.org/video/3001142394/).

Songs in the Key of Free (https://www.songsinthekeyoffree.com/) is the first formal music program at Graterford Prison in more than a decade. The program was founded by August Tarrier (ACG '12) and Miles Butler in October 2016.

[T]hrough it, inmates have already written and recorded an EP of original songs, with a lyrical focus on issues like mass incarceration and systemic racism, and they are working on a full album. They also have two concerts prepared: one to be performed inside Graterford by the men, and a parallel performance-by-proxy, featuring professional musicians, video clips, and the EP release on June 16 at the Painted Bride (https://muralarts.ticketleap.com/songs-in-the-key-of-free/). August Tarrier, who founded the program with Butler last fall, says the goal is artistic, with a side of advocacy. “It’s countering the idea that people who end up in prison, who made a mistake or a bad decision, that they deserve for us to lock them up and throw away the key,” said Tarrier, an editor and writer who has taught writing courses at Graterford for Villanova University. “What we’re trying to do is make an intervention and to bridge the divide between inside and outside.”

Continue reading the full article at The Philadelphia Inquirer (http://www.philly.com/philly/living/after-a-decade-without-music-pa-prison-inmates-play-again-the-result-is-remarkable-20170524.html).

The Underground Railroad Game, written by Philly thespians Scott Sheppard and Jenn Kidwell (ACG '15) and produced by their Philly company, Lightning Rod Special (https://lightningrodspecial.com/), tied Monday night for the Obie Award for best new American theater work. The Obies reward excellence in Off-Broadway productions. Read the full article at The Philadelphia Inquirer (https://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/two-philly-linked-plays-tie-for-first-at-obie-awards-20170523.html).

May 2, 2017 The Temple University Department of Dance, Institute of Dance Scholarship, is delighted to announce the sixth Reflection:Response Choreographic Commission has been awarded to Lela Aisha Jones/FlyGround. Building on her current series of episodic works, Plight Release & the Diasporic Body, Jones will create Ancestral and Everyday Saturday, new works that traverse, through the body and movement, what the black/African Diaspora offers as an archive of and guide towards individual and collective transformation. Jones is asking, “what if keepers of cultures in societies also let traditional practices breathe and become tapestries grounded in histories and discoveries that collide, merge, diverge, and converge?” The Reflection/Response Choreographic Commission includes a cash award of $5,000 and access to rehearsal space at Temple University throughout summer 2017. Past commission recipients include Laura Peterson, Charles O. Anderson, Tatyana Tennenbaum, Jennifer Weber, and Kathy Westwater. Ancestral is an interlude and cast-specific movement experience that purposefully brings performers and audiences together around their practices of honoring ancestors to create pathways for understanding and connection along with problems and challenges in U.S. society. Everyday Saturday works to capture and imagine the gestural, common, and less visible locations of black/African diasporic movement. It is inspired by the Saturday morning clean up ritual that took place weekly in the Southern U.S., North Florida city of Tallahassee, in the Jones home. Cleaning up was/is a time to get down to LPs, cassette tapes, CDs, and eventually streaming. Singing and dancing while cleaning goes way back and makes work feel like family. Students of the Temple University Department of Dance will join Jones and her company in Everyday Saturday. In addition to the premiere of Ancestral and Everyday Saturday, Jones will perform her critically acclaimed trio, Jesus & Egun (2016). Performances will take place in Temple University’s Conwell Dance Theater on Friday and Saturday, September 22 and 23 at 7:30 PM. Additional public programming includes a Round Table Discussion on Saturday, Sept 23 from 4-6PM, and a public workshop on Sunday, Sept 24 from 2-5PM.

DURHAM, N.C. — On Thursday afternoon at Moogfest (http://www.moogfest.com/), electronic sounds whooshed and crashed and videos of waveforms flickered and rippled behind Camae Ayewa, a musician, producer, poet, rapper and community organizer based in Philadelphia who records as Moor Mother (https://moormothergoddess.bandcamp.com/music). From her nest of equipment, she layered tumultuous beats and brittle electronic loops, and she declaimed ideas about history, racism, memory, technology and transformation. “Everyone is at home deleting the human parts of themselves/ControlAlt-Delete,” she intoned. Moor Mother was playing a “durational performance,” one of the marathon four-hour sets that are a highlight of Moogfest, which took place Thursday through Sunday across downtown Durham, N.C. Continue reading the full article at nytimes.com (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/arts/music/moogfest-festival-best-performances.html?smid=tw-nytimesarts&smtyp=cur&_r=0).

22 women and trans artists and cultural producers receive project-based grants to further social change in the Delaware Valley.

PHILADELPHIA – Today, the Leeway Foundation announced $47,500 in grants to 22 women and trans* artists and cultural producers in Greater Philadelphia, supporting their work to address a range of social change issues, from immigration and transgender justice to cultural preservation and environmental justice. Leeway’s Art and Change Grant provides project-based funds of up to $2,500 to women and trans artists and cultural producers who: propose a project that impacts a larger group, audience or community; have financial need; and live in the Delaware Valley area. The grant supports artists practicing a variety of disciplines including performance, visual arts, and literary arts.

The following 22 artists were awarded grants (in alphabetical order): @Pormisjoyas (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/pormisjoyas_acg_17) of West Philadelphia, Folk Art Alex Barrett and Kris Moore (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/alex_barrett_and_kris_moore_acg_17) of University City, Literary and Visual Arts Amber Emory (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/amber_emory_acg_17) of West Philadelphia, Performance and Literary Arts Ana Guissel Palma (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/ana_guissel_palma_acg_17) of West Kensington, Crafts & Textiles and Visual Arts Carman Spoto (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/carman_spoto_acg_17) of Downingtown, Media Arts Carolyn L. Payne (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/carolyn_l_payne_acg_17) of Chester, Multidisciplinary Cassendre Xavier (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/cassendre_xavier_acg_17) of University City, Multidisciplinary Davy Knittle and Mel Bentley (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/davy_knittle_and_mel_bentley) of Cedar Park and Allegheny West, Literary Arts and Crafts & Textiles JBK (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/jbk_acg_17) of North Philadelphia, Visual Arts and Folk Art Kara Crombie (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/kara_crombie_acg_17) of East Kensington, Music and Performance Kayleb Rae Candrilli (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/kayleb_rae_candrilli_acg_17) of Point Breeze, Literary Arts and Performance Leah Stein (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/leah_stein_acg_17) of South Philadelphia, Performance and Music Li Sumpter (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/li_sumpter_acg_17) of Walnut Hill, Multidisciplinary Meg Lemieur and Bri Barton (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/meg_lemieur_and_bri_barton) of Fishtown / Port Richmond and Norris Square, Visual Arts and Performance Nkechi (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/nkechi_acg_17) of Germantown, Multidisciplinary Priscilla Anacakuyani (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/priscilla_anacakuyani_acg_17) of Grays Ferry, Visual Arts and Performance Stephanie Amma (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/stephanie_amma_acg_17)of East Mount Airy, Folk Art and Music Stephanie Yuhas (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/stephanie_yuhas_acg_17) of West End, Media Arts and Performance Susan Lankin-Watts (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/susan_lankin_watts_acg_17) of Ardmore, Music Art and Change Grants are distributed twice a year and evaluated by an independent peer review panel. The Spring 2017 review panel consisted of arts administrator and nonprofit development professional Amanda Morales Pratt, vocalist and pianist Dena Underwood (ACG ‘16), and social research activist artist Julie Rainbow (LTA ‘16, ACG ‘14). Press inquiries and photo requests should be directed to Denise Beek at (215) 545-4078, ext. 14 or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=2017%20Spring%20ACG%20%20Press). *We use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and more generally, anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is nonconforming and/or different from their gender assigned at birth. ABOUT LEEWAY The Leeway Foundation supports women and transgender artists and cultural producers working in communities at the intersection of art, culture, and social change. Through our grantmaking and other programs we promote artistic expression that amplifies the voices of those on the margins, promotes sustainable and healthy communities, and works in the service of movements for economic and social justice. For more information about Leeway, its grant programs, grantees and events, visit www.leeway.org. Download Spring 2017 Press Release, Infographic, Project Descriptions, and Panelist Bios (http://www.leeway.org/images/news/2017SpringACGPressKit.pdf)

Our Window of Opportunity (WOO) Grant launched earlier this year as a pilot program. Open to previous Leeway grantees only, the grant is meant to fund time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. We are happy to announce April's grantees: Elizabeth Hamilton (ACG '15) (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/elizabeth_hamilton_woo_17) has been invited by the Immigrant Affairs Department of City Hall to create a Mini Museum exhibit in Chinatown and host a free community art making workshop in June as part of Immigrant Heritage Month. Mini Museum is a project that focuses on exhibiting miniature art works, no greater than 6 x 6 inches. The works are created during free community workshops and installed in publicly accessible areas, dismantling boundaries around who can be exhibited and what it means to “be in a museum.” Funds will be used for weather-proof exhibition installation materials, framing and presentation, documentation, and workshop supplies. Jos Duncan (LTA '13, ACG '11) (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/jos_duncan_woo_17) has the opportunity to have her work as a cultural producer documented by a filmmaker and videographer. A series of short videos will be made during her event, 11 Days of Love Stories, that she’s directing with her nonprofit social enterprise Love Now Media, which will be held over 11 days (July 5 - 15) in 11 locations throughout Philadelphia. Each event or workshop will be free, open to the public, and hosted in partnership with a group that is making a social impact. The focus is to engage these community groups in her art for social change practice, which centers love-activism and the power of love-based storytelling and media-making within social justice work. Video documentation will affirm this practice and help Jos develop it as something that could be implemented in other cities. Mayada (ACG '16) (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/mayada_woo_17) has the opportunity to exhibit her paintings at Philadelphia Folklore Project in June. Mayada will be able to use video projection to present Iraqi songs, lyrics, and stories bilingually in English and Arabic, and will also serve Iraqi tea and cookies (klecha) to accompany the songs. Mayada has also been invited to participate in the Letters from Iraq event at International House Philadelphia in May. In conjunction with a musical performance by Iraqi musician Rahim Alhaj, Mayada will display her paintings centering Iraqi folklore. Funds will be used to frame the art, rent easels, and purchase exhibition supplies.

Our Window of Opportunity (WOO) Grant launched earlier this year as a six-month pilot program. Open to previous Leeway grantees only, the grant is meant to fund time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. We are happy to announce March's grantees: Melissa B. Skolnick (ACG ’12) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/melissa_b_skolnick) has been invited by LEA (Latinos and Education in America) to travel to Austin, Texas to share her multimedia work and conduct a training with local Latinx immigrant youth in the Austin Public Schools in May. Melissa will participate in a panel and screen her film The Engine of My Life, the story of how two immigrant sisters in Philadelphia fight for their rights (co-directed by Milena Velis/Media Mobilizing Project). Melissa will also conduct a training with Austin youth on how to document their stories through photography. These stories will be shared with Latinx immigrant youth in South Philly, as Melissa develops a tool and collaborative process for sharing these stories across cities. Michelle Angela Ortiz (ACG ’13, ’12, ’05, LTA ’08) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/michelle_angela_ortiz) has been invited by Taller Puertorriqueño to create a solo exhibition in May, her first solo exhibition in six years. Michelle has the opportunity to collaborate with an animator and video mapping projectionist to create some of the content of the exhibit. Quizás Mañana will examine memory and the act of narrative retelling through the creation of visual artifacts and installations. Sistah Mafalda (ACG ’13) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/sistah_mafalda) has the opportunity to travel and teach in a cultural dance exchange project with the Obatala group in Oaxaca, Mexico. The Obatala, a group of Afro-Mexican women who are dancing to reconnect with their African roots, have invited Sistah Mafalda to teach them African drum and dance and share their own dance practices with her in June. Applications will be accepted May, June, and July on the 15th of each month. Learn more and apply online (http://www.leeway.org/grants/).

Betty Leacraft (LTA '11, ACG '16, '14, '09, WOO '99) talks fibers, family, ancestors and Philadelphia Assembled in this podcast by The Galleries at Moore TGMR radio project, recorded February 21, 2017. Listen here (http://www.theartblog.org/2017/03/betty-leacraft-talks-of-fibers-family-ancestors-and-philadelphia-assembled/).

Monnette Sudler (LTA '11, ACG '15, '14) was interviewed by Alex Lewis for a WHYY-FM / NewsWorks broadcast. Listen to "Musician and composer Monnette Sudler is Philadelphia’s 'First Lady of Guitar'" here (http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/newsworks-tonight/101843-musician-and-composer-monnette-sudler-is-philadelphias-first-lady-of-guitar). (March 1, 2017)

Monnette Sudler says the guitar feels less like an instrument and more like a part of her body. “Because now, at this point in my life, when I pick it up, it just feels natural,” she says from her apartment in Germantown. “I'm supposed to hold it, and it's really just an extension of myself now. Whatever I'm trying to convey — if it's excitement, or if it's love or blues, happy times or gratefulness — I believe I convey that.”

Leeway’s Window of Opportunity (WOO) Grant launched this earlier this year as a six-month pilot program. Open to previous Leeway grantees only, the grant is meant to fund time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. We are happy to announce February's WOO grantees: Catherine Pancake (http://www.leeway.org/artists/catherine_pancake) (ACG '16) will prepare a rough cut of her feature film, Queer Genius, for a residency at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Heidi Saman (http://www.leeway.org/artists/heidi_saman) (LTA '09) will prepare her first feature film, Namour, for distribution by ARRAY and Netflix. Pia Deas (http://www.leeway.org/artists/pia_dias) (ACG '16) has an opportunity to host an artists' roundtable at the Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia on March 25, 2017 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tentatively titled Power to the People: Celebrating The Black Imagination, this event will feature five Philadelphia artists speaking about their work, the importance of the Black imagination, and how it informs their art and their activism. Applications will be accepted from March through July on the 15th of every month. Learn more and apply online (http://www.leeway.org/grants/).

M. Asli Dukan (LTA '16, ACG '16, '14) is featured in Geekadelphia's Geek of the Week (http://www.geekadelphia.com/2017/03/01/geek-of-the-week-asli-dukan-writer-and-director/) (March 1, 2017).

Geekadelphia: Why do you feel that a documentary such as “Invisible Universe” is important in this day and Time? Dukan: I think it is important because it is not just about speculative fiction, it is ultimately about Black speculation, basically the capacity of Black people to imagine different worlds and futures for ourselves. It’s not new for us. In the United States, Black folk have always lived in a kind of state of emergency, so we have always had to use our imaginations as the first step towards recovering our full humanity in a society that has never really valued it. So for me the documentary is important because it is a document of our resistance to what I call the “white fantastic imagination” or white supremacy that is inherent to the genres of speculative fiction, and consequently in the society we live in. It’s ultimately important because for Black creators,Black struggle and Black speculation, have often gone hand in hand.

Read more (http://www.geekadelphia.com/2017/03/01/geek-of-the-week-asli-dukan-writer-and-director/).

Leeway Foundation stands with our community alongside those most often marginalized and demonized by power — gender non-conforming, trans and LGBQI folks; immigrants and refugees; women and girls; the disabled, and people of color — by supporting work that intends a social impact by challenging or questioning societal norms including prevailing attitudes about race, religion, class, gender, sexuality, identity, age, and ability.

“…. Leeway dreams a world Where the communities That have been blanketed in silence Are finally heard To be screaming. Where no one owns our bodies And the community owns The pieces of it that go out into the world Where art knows the heavy And joyful Responsibility it carries. We dream a world where The one is part of the many Like rivulets of water That forms a raging ocean….” - excerpted from Leeway's Vision Poem (http://www.leeway.org/about/vision_poem/) by Walidah Imarisha

LaTreice Branson and Drum Like a Lady did an extraordinary job kicking off the Women’s March on Philadelphia yesterday, setting a tone that was energetic, positive, and truly inclusive.

Read the full article "Drum Like a Lady at Women’s March on Philadelphia: Photos and an open letter (https://medium.com/@JackFirneno/drum-like-a-lady-at-womens-march-on-philadelphia-photos-and-anopen-letter-34dc649f2739#.sqw66fwev)" by Jack Firneno for Medium.

Dr. Pia Deas' (ACG '16) "Contemporary Black Canvas," with its focus on modern-day Black artists and intellectuals, is bringing some much-needed diversity to podcasting. Read Donte Kirby's full article at Generocity: "How this podcast is fighting underrepresentation, one artist at a time (http://generocity.org/philly/2017/01/10/contemporary-black-canvas-podcast-pia-deas/)"

The 2016 awards were presented to a diverse group of artists and cultural producers who have worked for five years or more to further social change in the Delaware Region PHILADELPHIA – Today, the Leeway Foundation announced $150,000 in grants to 10 women and trans* artists and cultural producers in Greater Philadelphia, acknowledging their commitment to art and social justice that impacts a larger audience or community. This year’s recipients work in an array of disciplines, including performance, media and folk arts. The 2016 Leeway Transformation Award (LTA) recipients are as follows (in alphabetical order): (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/indah_nuritasari_2)Indah Nuritasari (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/indah_nuritasari_2) (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/indah_nuritasari_2)of Center City, Literary Arts and Media Arts Julie Rainbow (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/julie_rainbow_lta_16) of Germantown, Media Arts Kavindu “Kavi” Ade (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/kavindu_kavi_ade_lta_16) of West Philadelphia, Literary Arts and Performance Ksenya Leah Basarab (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/ksenya_leah_basarab_lta_16) of West Philadelphia, Music LaTreice V. Branson (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/latreice_v._branson_lta_16) of Mantua, Music and Performance M. Asli Dukan (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/m._asli_dukan_lta_16) of West Philadelphia, Media Arts Marie Nyenabo (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/marie_nyenabo_lta_16) of Southwest Philadelphia, Music and Folk Art Merián Soto (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/merian_soto_lta_16)of Mt. Airy, Multidisciplinary Misty Sol (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/misty_sol_lta_16) of South Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary Noelle Hanrahan (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/noelle_hanrahan_lta_16) of Frankford, Media Arts and Literary Arts “The 2016 Transformation Awardees are all artists that represent what is at the core of Leeway’s mission: visionary, community-based cultural work,” said Sara Zia Ebrahimi, Leeway’s Program Director. “Each of these artists practice their own craft as well as mentor, teach, or bring others together. Their artistic practice is not in isolation; they understand that social change does not happen by exceptional individuals, but rather by strong communities that work together.” A national panel of artists and cultural producers convened to review applications and work samples in this two-stage process. The 2016 panel consisted of Chicago-based Palestinian author and graphic novelist Leila Abdelrazaq; queer, trans, Filipino multimedia artist and Director of Operations and Communications at the Trans Justice Funding Project Marin Watts; New-York based, Caribbean-born choreographer Paloma McGregor; 2016 Doris Duke Artist and Creative Capital awardee Sharon Bridgforth; and poet, author and Pew Fellow Trapeta Mayson (ACG '14, LTA '07) (http://www.leeway.org/artists/trapeta_b_mayson). Advocate, educator, doula, and facilitator Erme Maula facilitated the panel’s second stage. Applications are made available on the Leeway website, and may also be obtained by calling 215.545.4078 or emailing [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]). The next Leeway Transformation Award deadline is May 15, 2017. Interested applicants are encouraged to attend one of the many support sessions offered throughout the year, or schedule an appointment with a foundation staff member for one-onone support. Press inquiries and photo requests should be directed to Denise Beek at 215.545.4078, ext. 14 or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]). *We use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and more generally, anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is nonconforming and/or different from their gender assigned at birth. Download 2016 LTA Press Release and Panelist Bios (http://www.leeway.org/images/news/2016_LTA_Press_Release.pdf)



Dear President-Elect: Our Pilot Has Shown Up - Cussing, Snorting, Handsy, Full Of Spite and Trifles By Yolanda Wisher for CBC Radio November 9, 2016

Yolanda Wisher is the poet laureate of Philadelphia. Here is her letter to president-elect Donald Trump, commissioned by The Sunday Edition. A Letter to the President-Elect and to All of US November 9, 2016 Dear Co-Pilot(s) of These Upper Ethers & Downy Domains, Before I knew about Peter Pan or Dorothy's tornado, I knew about The People Who Could Fly. Magic folk, ancient people who possessed the knowledge of flight. Slavery took their wings but some still remembered how and flew away from the lash. The griot Virginia Hamilton wrote that they flew like blackbirds over fields. Black, shiny wings flappin' against the blue up there. America is a flight of fear and a fear of flight. Democracy is this plane we're on. This air we're in. At our worst here. This is Democracy formerly known as the journey, The Promised Land. Formerly known as the slave ship. Formerly known as the railroad car. Democracy formerly known as the bus, get on to the back now. Not the freight train Elizabeth Cotton called to carry me home. This plane runs on our fossilized dreams and the oil squeezed from our wings. And if I forget my place back here, it could all explode or combust. They say it's the pressure that keeps the plane in the air.. This pressure, this cramping, this root canal, charley horse, blood clot country that is supposed to be about freedom, but is so confined, so hampered, so suspect. Guards up. We've had so much reality, nobody believes in the myth of flight anymore. * * * And now our pilot has shown up. Looking a lot like the other good old boys in the air up there. Cussing, snorting, handsy, full of spite and trifles, lumbering up a flimsy moral ramp to the cockpit, joining a fraternity in the clouds. This election was all turbulence and fog, people deboarding the plane before it took off. Millions didn't get on board at all. Some folks swear they'll never get back on board again. The smell from the toilets funked up the whole joint, even reared its ugly head in First Class. The masks forgot to fall. We expected Her to crash us through, see us through the blue up there. For the last eight years, I've been Theo's mom and Theo (a boy born in America with the blood of Black farmers, Scots, Irish, Arawak Indians, and Garifuna medicine men running in his veins) has only known Barack Obama as his president. He knows knock-knock jokes, but he doesn't know the centuries-old parodies about black presidents and power, never tasted the primordial minstrel stew we call this Birth of a Nation. He was conceived in the weeks before Obama's inauguration, when we felt the country's chest swell up and the guardians of history sigh with wonder and relief. He looks up to Obama. Obama is Theo's personal president. And it's hard to let go. Theo and Jasper and Jericho, first graders, gather at recess to discuss the country and where's it going. They believe in Democracy. They still have wings. They believe that girls can fly, too. * * * But today we woke up to rain in America. When Theo came into our room, and Mark told him who won, he started crying. He asked, Will we have to leave? I said, No, baby, this is our country, too. We cuddled in the 6 a.m. sheets, and when they were heading out the door for school, Mark reminded me about that day when we came home to towers falling on TV just days after we had decided to split up and go our separate ways. I remember how fear flew in from all sides as we looked across the room at each other and said, let's stay together. And now I'm saying, y'all: Get on, strap in, and let's ride this sucker. Let's push the call button and clog the toilets. Be unruly and unruled. Let's give the pilot hell back here. I am willing to forget my deepest fears of flight, that angst of no return, the snapping ties of my heart as the wheels tuck under and out. I know what to save. "Hello, this is your co-pilot speaking. Welcome to America. We could be our best up there, down here. Thank you for flying." Sincerely, Theo's mom Philadelphia, PA Read and listen to the original article here. (http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/president-elect-trump-the-truth-class-letters-media-and-foreign-policy-1.3847616/dear-president-elect-our-pilot-has-shownup-cussing-snorting-handsy-full-of-spite-and-trifles-1.3848312)

‘A Brutal Year’ For Mt. Airy Artist/Author/Radio Host By Len Lear For Chestnut Hill Local October 28, 2016

Mt. Airy author, graphic artist and radio show host, Kay Wood, has had, in her words, “a brutal year… It was just so horrible in so many ways.” Wood’s husband and companion of 35 years, Michael Silverstein, a business writer and former senior editor at Bloomberg’s Market magazine, died on Sept. 27 of lung cancer at the age of 75. “But even during Mike’s grueling battle with cancer, he always encouraged me to keep up with the (radio) show… “We’re so great together,” Wood told us in an interview last year. “We encourage each other. I realized I could make a story out of the struggle for corporate greed over human sanity (in her first graphic novel, ‘The Big Belch,’ a satirical adventure of environmental crime fighters that was awarded a Leeway Foundation Arts and Change grant in 2014 and is available on Amazon.com). Laughing at the world and what people do seems the only way to stay sane … “(And) Mike advised on the radio show all the way till he could no longer do it, and it gave him a good thing to focus on – a distraction we both needed.” (Kay’s radio show, “Planet Philadelphia,” which is one year old, streams 4 to 5 p.m. on gtownradio.com (http://gtownradio.com/) the 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month. Podcasts of the live shows generally become available the day after they broadcast at planetphila.com (http://www.planetphila.com/) or gtownradio.com (http://www.gtownradio.com/). Wood recently was awarded another Leeway Foundation grant for $2,500 for “Planet Philadelphia.”) In addition to being a business writer, Silverstein was a poet, editor, humorist, social commentator and humanitarian. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., he might have stayed there had he not been inducted into the Army. He served honorably as a Military Policeman in West Germany, for which he remained proud the rest of his life. Upon discharge, he went on to live in a lighthouse in Spain, in London, New York again and Boston before finding his home in Mt. Airy. His varied career included serving as a senior editor for Bloomberg News and writing a dozen books, serious and comic, fiction and non-fiction, in poetry and prose, on subjects ranging from politics to the financial derivatives market, the environment, solar energy, etc. Hundreds of his articles and op-ed pieces appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Constitution and Christian Science Monitor. He was a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and Boston Phoenix and was a regular commentator on National Public Radio. According to Kay, “He was almost certainly the only person to ever covet the title ‘America’s Best-Loved Financial Poet,’ but he was always more interested in promoting good ideas than in personal advancement. So he would move on to something new whenever he saw that others were catching on, never sticking around long enough to take credit or cash in.” (Silverstein’s final book was his entertaining personal memoir, “Gorilla Warfare Against the Bureaucratic State; Confessions of a Lefty Libertarian.“) Wood, 64, who has lived in Mt. Airy for more than 20 years, was always a talented graphic artist but had never worked in radio until “Planet Philadelphia.” Her twice-a-month show is a mix of environmental news, interviews, music, poetry, etc. What prompted her to want to host a radio show in her mature years? “Over the last several years,” she explained, “I’ve met many people who are incredibly dedicated in their efforts to help clean up our world, both physically and socially. They are my inspiration in creating, producing and hosting the radio show that I will be doing for the foreseeable future. I do everything to make it as engaging as possible.”

Wood’s first graphic novel, ‘The Big Belch,’ a satirical adventure of environmental crime fighters, has earned rave reviews, including one from Signe Wilkinson, Chestnut Hill’s Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist. In a typical program last Friday, Wood interviewed Christine Dolle, a field organizer for “Moms Clean Air Force,” about how our children are not now getting the clean air or water the PA Constitution is supposed to guarantee — and the power of parents to change this sad state of affairs. Wood, a native of North Jersey, originally studied illustration at Philadelphia College of the Arts (now University of the Arts) and made a living painting and drawing, mostly medical or scientific illustrations, for more than 40 years. After three-and-a-half years of hard work and a successful Kickstarter funding campaign, Wood published “The Big Belch” in July, 2014. The title refers to “a hastily concocted and volatile new oil spill cleanup method” that releases possibly harmful methane gases when oil-eating bacteria are unleashed into the waterways. How has the book done? “Pretty well,” Wood said, “considering I had no experience whatsoever doing a graphic novel and starting on my first in my 60s. I got some pretty fine reviews.” According to Signe Wilkinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a Chestnut Hill resident, “Kay Wood’s graphic novella pits a gang of haplessly humorous activists against an environmental Armageddon in the making. In the ‘Big Belch,’ the stakes are high, but so are the spirits of characters bumbling their way to a better world.” (See other reviews on kaywoodart.wixsite.com/thebigbelch (http://kaywoodart.wixsite.com/thebigbelch)) Wood said the best advice she ever received was “probably something I should be doing right now — not to hold on to anger, and as my Uncle Harold told me in my 20s, ‘In this life you just have to shake the blood out of your eyes and keep on going.’” Planet Philadelphia’s (http://planetphila.weebly.com/) listener comment line is 484-278-1846. One can record a message anytime. Read the original article here. (http://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/2016/10/28/a-brutal-year-for-mt-airy-artistauthorradio-host/)

Moor Mother: Hardcore Poet By Jenn Pelly for Pitchfork October 26, 2016 “Basic” may be the most chilling pejorative of our time. And it is never more severe than when Philadelphia’s Camae Ayewa, aka Moor Mother, churns it out on one austere, Nicki Minaj-sampling single from last year: “Look ma, we made it/Only lost a hundred thousand coming over on them slave ships/That’s just one ship,” she booms. “Muhfuckas, I’m jaded/I’m in one big room, and everybody basic.” Ayewa articulates so lucidly and irreducibly that it’s like she is writing with a ballpoint pen; if you have chosen to remain silent in the face of injustice, which is to say in the face of our world, this artist is staring you in the eye. On a weekday night on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Ayewa caps off a performance at a stranger’s apartment—10 foldings chairs, Christmas lights, a bevy of plants—with “Basic.” Her set, which is part of a series highlighting politically-oriented artists, is a mix of soundscapes and poetry. Phrases I jot down during the show include: “no more androids for president, no more zombie artists”; “cops are grim reapers, violence costs nothing”; “the public housing of minds”; and “at what age do we teach our daughters to play dead?” Reality is rendered as hard as it ought to be. “Everything I do is a true story,” she says to the crowded living room. “I just tell the truth.” After a decade spent in the Philly underground—as show-booker, community organizer, punk musician, rapper, poet, and multidisciplinary visual artist—Ayewa’s work has coalesced into a total vision. It is concrete-heavy, abrasive, and generative. Ayewa reimagines protest songs as radical electronic noise montages, but her lyrics about systemic racism and historical trauma are searing Afrofuturist statements. Take, for example, this incendiary line from Fetish Bones, her recent solo debut: “I’m bell hooks trained as a sniper,” Ayewa snarls, transmuting the intersectional feminist theorist into a warrior. She then declares herself “Sandra Bland returning from the dead with a hatchet,” referencing the 28-year-old black woman who was found dead in jail after being pulled over for a minor traffic violation last year. Befitting the tremendous fire of Ayewa’s words, a 122-page book of poetry was released alongside Fetish Bones. “I let these stories pass through me—I’m the narrator,” Ayewa tells me over Skype a couple of weeks after her house-show set. In conversation, she is a calming and genial presence; she measures her thoughts, and when she mentions Alice Coltrane, it’s not hard to imagine her in graceful meditation like the cosmic jazz swamini herself. This is in utter contrast to the unwavering anger of Ayewa’s staggering performances. “I start out so smiley, but as soon as the lyric comes, I’m pissed,” she says of her live shows. “When you’re telling the truth, and trying to be respectful to the things that are happening around you, it comes out like that.” For Fetish Bones, Ayewa was awarded a grant from the Leeway Foundation, which supports women and trans artists whose work promotes social justice. This allowed her to create a studio from scratch in a closet of her North Philadelphia home. The process of making Fetish Bones coincided with Ayewa’s process of learning to produce electronic noise, practicing on her hardware and drum machine. “There’s so many mistakes,” Ayewa says. “Limitations helped it.” But she’s learning everyday. She mentions a recent trip to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where she had access to a studio full of synths; she used the tools to blend the Dutch version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin with her own “noisy techno craziness.” In March, Ayewa began a performance art series called “HOUR/SHIFT.” The first piece was a 14-hour endurance test, a “sonic act of protest” in solidarity with survivors of domestic and sexual assault; the second was Ayewa’s attempt at resurrecting the unmarked graves of Potter’s Field, a burial place for poor black people before the Civil War. In addition to her art, Ayewa’s projects include Black Quantum Futurism—the name under which she and partner Rasheedah Phillips lead community workshops. In June, they opened a physical space called Community Futures Lab in North Philly, which also offers discussions, exhibitions, readings, performances, and housing resources. Beyond that, by day, Aweya coaches soccer and basketball at a Quaker school; even there, her lessons naturally transcend athletics. “These kids are never meeting anyone like me,” she says with a laugh. “One of them came up to me right before a game once and she was like, ‘You know, I really didn’t like Lemonade that much,’ and then just ran onto the field.” The awkward moment eventually led to a discussion about alienation in music. These projects all speak to Ayewa’s desire to make noise that is practical, that processes history, that can actually teach. She raises her voice and the voices of her community so that they may beget more like their own. She solidifies stories that would otherwise evaporate. She performs magic. Born in the small town of Aberdeen, Maryland, Ayewa came up around gospel music; she sang in choir and had a rap group with friends called Sister Soldier. But when rap started sounding too “poppy” to her, she sought out harder, political artists. She ultimately got into reggae, ska, and punk via Operation Ivy, 7 Seconds, X, Sleater-Kinney, and Bikini Kill. Riot grrrl particularly inspired her song “Of Blood,” an eerie psalm for menstrual cycles. “I love how everything women were supposed to hide, riot grrrl was just like, ‘No, shove it in their fucking face,’” Ayewa says. She eventually relocated to Philly to study photography at the Art Institute. “I grew up with not a lot of photographs of myself,” she says. “So I wanted to be a part of helping to document people who don’t have records of their families, stuff that’s not seen—but that’s really expensive, so I got kicked out of school.” She still does photography, though, and her work as a preservationist continues with Fetish Bones. For six years, Ayewa toured as bassist and vocalist in the DIY punk bands Girls Dressed as Girls and the Mighty Paradocs. In 2012, Moor Mother grew from her desire to say much more; she’s posted some 100 recordings to Bandcamp, with samples ranging from children’s hand games to Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” bassline to the poets Maya Angelou, June Jordan, and Ntozake Shange. The poetry energizes her most. “That’s the stuff that gives me life,” she says. “Poetry is my hardcore. I will rage to that stuff.” But she brings the unsparing spirit of punk to her spoken-word: “People are so confused every time I play a show. They’ll be like ‘What? You just started screaming!’ I scream! I do poetry and I scream.” “I’m pissed because people who are supposed to be doing what I’m doing—their lyrics are mad soft. I feel like it’s getting there, it just takes time to get back to a more political place. But with this election, it seems like people are honestly worked up about it—and not just worked up as a trending topic.” Pitchfork: What was your introduction to protest music? Moor Mother: My family used to listen to scary gospel—Mahalia Jackson, people who were not just waiting for Jesus to come, but being like, “This is what we’re living with, we’re going to push through. I’m climbing up the rough side of the mountain, and we’re going to get into this chariot and go to a better place.” I grew up in Maryland right by the Chesapeake Bay, and my family was involved with the church in the 1700s. Everyone participated in these prayer choirs—where a group of women, or healers, or priests come together at your deathbed and say this soft prayer, but it’s almost like a song. That’s a tradition of the area. By the time I was coming up in the church, it was no more, but I was in the choir. I love that stuff. Not so much that I was a Christian, even as a kid—I had too many questions that just seemed weird—but I loved the music. How else did growing up in Maryland shape you as an artist? My neighborhood offered endless inspiration. My area didn’t have stores close by, so people would open up stores within their apartments: the candy-apple lady, the guy selling cigarettes, the guy that fixes your bike, the guy that is like the cab service, but not the cab service. That’s just so inspiring to me, how we can create our own marketplace and be there for each other without outside help. All that stuff is so vivid and beautiful. And most of my family were not born in a hospital, like my mom, because [my grandmother] wasn’t allowed to go there. So the doctors had to come to the house. We’re still in that house that my grandmother had owned. Everyone has been born there. What kind of music were you into playing in Maryland outside choir? The number one goal was to try and be in a punk band. That was everything. But nobody was into punk or even knew anything about it where I grew up. So I just searched and searched. With ska being the influence of early Jamaican music and punk, I was able to find groups like the Specials. I liked Operation Ivy so much, they weren’t under any rules. Where I grew up, it seemed that you almost couldn’t do anything. You had to stay within rules just because it was, like, hood. I would get on the bus, and they would be like, “You’re gonna get out of this [punk] phase soon.” When you were younger, was there anyone in particular who warped your brain or changed the way you thought about music? I saw Patti LaBelle live, and she had these huge high heels and she kicked them off, and she was holding this note and slammed down on the stage and was rolling around. And I was just like: Yo, you can do anything you want. She wasn’t trying to be classy. All these people dressed in drag were giving her flowers. And I was like, I want to be like that. But I can’t sing like Patti LaBelle. You have said that you’re interested in honoring music made by people who came from nothing, and music that is made from nothing. Can you elaborate on that? Let’s start with tap dancing—that’s just your feet. You can put soda pop tops on and just go. I’ll sample that all day. And chain gangs—I love that all day because it’s in response to so many things: “I’m working, keeping busy at this hard task, with the chain on my ankle to the hit on the metal, like some beautiful music.” It’s every person’s history with the prison system. One of my favorite instruments is the water drum. There’s tribes in Africa where women just play on the water. [makes sounds] There’s so many different sounds than a splash. I love that. I didn’t have instruments growing up. I didn’t know that I could ask for them. It was like this thing behind a glass case, like some Tom Hanks movie where you have to go to some fancy big store in New York to find some. So I would just fool around—pencils, desk, the wall, anything. What was your first instrument? A desk and a broom? I did get a broken guitar. I was using tapes to make things off the radio, but it didn’t make sense. I just didn’t know a lot. I still don’t, but it’s cool to work through trial and error. I never had a computer, but I saved up for an iPad. I used that thing up. Do you have a personal definition of protest music? It’s like the heartache and the troubles of the people trying to find their way. The true testimony of the people. Stuff that is heavy, that affects so many people, like breast cancer—but there’s not many breast cancer songs. Women need to be the ones doing protest music, really. I’m not trying to alienate anyone, but I feel like that would be the perfect definition: A woman singing trials and tribulations. I read that you did a 14-hour performance to honor women who face domestic abuse and sexual assault. How did it go? It was my protest for them. I was using sound to almost shut that man’s mouth, or make that home peaceful for that night. Because [women suffer abuse around the world] every nine seconds. That’s so much. It was an electronic set, all improv. I had a record player, this one Sun Ra record, a drum machine, every synth I had. I had this film playing the whole time, about a woman who killed her husband and was in prison for a long time; the husband was sexually assaulting the kids. The day after the performance, I went to thank the gallery and I just cried and cried. It just all hit me what I was trying to do. The blessing was the messages of people saying: “Today, no one commented on my body going around the neighborhood.” Or hearing about the case of a woman facing 60 years for killing her abusive husband, and she got off, which never happens. That really touched me, but it was draining. There’s a great place in Philly called Women Against Abuse, but you need a million of those. Say you finally decided to leave a [domestic abuse] situation—there’s a waiting list to find another place to live. It’s crazy. We’ve done events for people to move, to buy the U-Haul. And it’s like—why are we doing this? It happens so often, you would think [the city] had some sort of plan for this. It’s very archaic. I’ve gone to do workshops at places that are off the grid because women are in hiding from their abusers. You’re speaking to someone that had to go into hiding. It’s things that so many of us have experienced as kids of abuse. These cycles just keep coming up. It’s every woman’s story in a sense. Have you always been interested in processing history through music and art? Always. When hip-hop went dance, there was no story there, and that’s why I got into punk and Bob Marley, because I needed to hear the history—otherwise, where was I going to hear it from? Music is the way that I’m informed. It helps me know what is happening. What do you want your own music to inform people about? I’m trying to get to the level of being as simple as possible, telling a unified story. Everything is a reflection, or a ripple, a wave, the quantum mirror. It’s circular. We’re all more interconnected than we think. I’m trying to get to that every-person story. But we’re slow to honestly reveal what we’re going through. That’s one of the hardest things. We think we’re so isolated or alone in our issues. I try to tell the truth, the stories that haunt me. It’s interesting to hear you say the story’s not linear. In your music, too, the way it’s structured is also very nonlinear. It’s just because of my means and how I’m not that smart at this stuff. I’m just teaching myself. I listen to music that I can’t make. I can’t do Alice Coltrane. I have a heart, but I still can’t do it. Alice Coltrane’s whole situation is inspiring to me. I just think about the time that she was making music, and artists who were making music a little before, like Billie Holiday. They stifled and continue to stifle women’s voices. Today we have Kesha, a pop star in a rough situation with a contract, and that’s very difficult—but do you know they killed Billie Holiday? Imagine the government being against you for singing a song. Imagine people trying to drug you and all these shady situations. In that time, you were used and left behind. It was such a struggle to be a woman making music. The fact that she was able to persevere touches me so much. Because so many did not. And there’s so many that are still unknown. I saw you post on Facebook: “If we don’t forgive our mothers, we cannot forgive ourselves.” What did you mean by that? There’s a war against women right now. There’s a war against mothers, and single mothers. I see it every day. We’re just throwing each other away. We’re breaking down roles of gender, but one simple disagreement and we will cast off our own mother. We are connected to our pasts, but we are taught to hate yesterday and hustle for the next. It’s like we’re writing off our mothers. The conversation needs to expand. What are we disconnecting ourselves from when we say these things? So many people are hurt, hating their mothers, no respect for the elders in their community, for the elders in their art scene. Like when I was talking about Patti LaBelle—she is a rock star. She paved the way. But then she’s gonna be invited on “The View” to cook potato salad. That’s ridiculous. And I would like to eat her potato salad, too. Is your name Moor Mother linked to this—honoring people who came before? Definitely. I’m influenced by space and time and growing up, but that’s what it’s really all about: honoring the mother. If you just look at some of these statistics happening with women, it’s outrageous. Everything’s taboo. Menstrual cycle’s taboo, breast cancer’s taboo. Losing your hair and having to deal with that. It’s affecting so many of us. Why are we hiding? One line that completely gripped me from the album is, “I’m bell hooks trained as a sniper/Sandra Bland returning from the dead with a hatchet.” I wrote that, and then all of a sudden I get an email about opening up for bell hooks. So I’m like, “Oh shit. I hope she doesn’t hear this song—or maybe I should tell her about it.” After that line, I say that “lyrically only I can match it.” It’s a very hip-hoppy thing to say, but I’m not playing when it comes to the lyrics. I’m so interested in spreading positivity, but that’s how I felt. I’m angered by feeling like I’m the only one saying this shit. I’m pissed because people who are supposed to be doing what I’m doing—their lyrics are mad soft. It’s mad basic to me. I feel like it’s getting there, it just takes time to get back to a more political place. But with this election, it seems like people are honestly worked up about it—and not just worked up as a trending topic. I think music is going to get more literal, and then I hope that it can start getting practical, where we could actually take these songs into a workshop or into the community and be like, “This is a song that we can use to teach about history or what’s happening, not just a hook.” It’s so easy to say a bunch of bullshit and then just have the hook be “Black Lives Matter” and that’s it. That’s cheap. I want to encourage people to dig deeper lyrically. I want to encourage myself to write better. I love finding anyone better than me. You have a new space in North Philadelphia called Community Futures Lab—what has that taught you as a musician? Has it informed what you want to do with your music? Yeah. The whole idea is making it practical. I want to make things or create spaces where you don’t have to be on the internet and you don’t need some sort of degree. The space is there, you can just come in. We live in this community and this is where we work—the part of town I live in is one of the highest crime, lowest-income areas, and they just moved 1,300 people out of their homes. It’s this barren area at the moment. Community Futures Lab is showing me that there’s not a lot of spaces for discussion between people of color. We do a lot of stuff—zine making, dream workshops, we have a library. We’re also recording stories of the community. We’re asking questions that deal with temporality, the memory, creating future memories for the neighborhood that we’re living in. It’s going through such rapid development. There was a house that Malcolm X spent some time in that just got knocked down. Across the street was a boxing gym where Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier would work out, but there’s no plaque. It’s really slow in North Philly as far as marking these historic moments. That’s really what we’ve always been about: collecting memories, doing workshops to show kids and adults, “Why do you think this way about the future? Why are you not included? What can you do about it? What’s the importance of writing yourself in the future, under your own definition, not what people have prescribed for you?” So many people, when we ask the first question—“how do you see the future?”—it totally mimics popular movies. The Hunger Games is a main one. In that movie, certain people are in these districts, certain people are farmers, and all the black people die first. These movies prescribe what so many of us think about the future, especially people of color. Being so disconnected from so many of our histories, as far as what’s beyond our great grandmother. It’s very dire times for us keeping track and documenting what we’re going through and what we’ve been through. That’s what the lab is there for. What does the title Fetish Bones mean to you? Fetish Bones is how I think about the way we sell ourselves. Like, using each other. Being a musician, I see a lot of this. I see the way we fetishize over our skin color, over how we dress, over class. All of these ways that we toss people aside if they’re what we deem not useful. I just feel like we look at each other like meat. All across the board. We look at our own selves, our own culture, just like meat that is there to devour and not there to be preserved. Everyone wants to burn everything, and eat everything. Eat each other, the whole thing. That goes back to the woman—just because you are the creator, you’re not everyone’s savior. At the end of the day, you’ve been used and ran through. No. I’m not even a mother of children. After I did my recent festival, I was like, “I want to go home and feel inspired. I don’t want to go home used, crying about not being appreciated.” Traditionally, mom is supposed to be in the kitchen with little whoever on their titty and daddy on their lap. It’s time for women, for everyone, to start walking in that space—we’re not going to be used. Redefining all of this. Having more compassion. Redefining what that means, when everything can be a meme of everything. That’s what Fetish Bones is. Feeling like a hunk of bones. Read the original article here. (http://pitchfork.com/features/rising/9968-moor-mother-hardcore-poet/)

PHILADELPHIA – Today, the Leeway Foundation announced $54,975 in grants to 26 women and trans* artists and cultural producers in Greater Philadelphia, supporting their work to address a range of social change issues. Leeway’s Art and Change Grant provides project-based funds of up to $2,500 to women and trans artists and cultural producers who: propose a project that impacts a larger group, audience or community; have financial need; and live in the Delaware Valley area. The grant supports artists practicing a variety of disciplines including performance, crafts and textiles, and visual arts. The following 26 artists were awarded grants (in alphabetical order): Anne Harrison (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/anne_harrison_and_linda_fernandez) of South Philadelphia and Linda Fernandez (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/anne_harrison_and_linda_fernandez) of West Philadelphia, Multi-Disciplinary Betty Leacraft (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/betty_leacraft) of North Philadelphia, Crafts & Textiles/Visual Arts Catherine Pancake (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/catherine_pancake) of Cedar Park, Media Arts/Music Courtney Bowles (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/courtney_bowles) of Kingsessing, Multi-Disciplinary Cynthia Dewi Oka (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/cynthia_dewi_oka)of Collingswood, Literary Arts/Performance Debbie Rudman (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/debbie_rudman) of Kensington, Media Arts Dena Underwood (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/dena_underwood) of Italian Market, Music/Performance Diane Monroe (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/dian_monroe_acg_16) of East Norriton, Music/Performance Emily Bunker (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/emily_bunker_acg_16) of Fishtown, Media Arts/Crafts & Textiles Jai Arun Ravine (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/jai_arun_ravine_and_coda_wei_acg_16) of West Philadelphia and Coda Wei (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/jai_arun_ravine_and_coda_wei_acg_16) of Upper Darby, Media Arts/Performance JD Stokely (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/jd_stokely_acg_16) of West Philadelphia, Performance Kay Wood (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/kay_wood_acg_16) of Mount Airy, Media Arts Lauren Vargas (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/lauren_vargas_acg_16) of Hunting Park, Visual Arts Li Sumpter (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/li_sumpter_acg_16) of Abington, Multi-Disciplinary Mayada (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/mayada_acg_16) of Northeast Philadelphia, Visual Arts/Folk Art Nanci Hersh (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/nanci_hersh_acg_16) of New Garden, Visual Arts/Literary Arts Pia Deas (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/pia_dias_acg_16) of Art Museum, Media Arts Romeeka Williams (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/romeeka_williams) of North Philadelphia, Literary Arts Shivon Pearl Love (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/shivon_pearl_love_and_khaliah_pitts_acg_16) of Brewerytown and Khaliah Pitts (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/shivon_pearl_love_and_khaliah_pitts_acg_16) of East Mount Airy, Folk Art/Literary Arts Tessa (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/tessa_acg_16)of Southwest Philadelphia, Visual Arts/Media Arts Yasmine Awais (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/yasmin_awais_and_k.c._wuebbling_acg_16) of West Powelton and K.C. Wuebbling (http://www.leeway.org/grantees/yasmin_awais_and_k.c._wuebbling_acg_16) of Cedar Park, Visual Arts/Literary Arts, Art and Change Grants are distributed twice a year and evaluated by an independent peer review panel. The August 2016 review panel consisted of playwright and devised theater maker MJ Kaufman (ACG ‘13), educator and community organizer Rochelle Nichols-Solomon, and folklorist and curator Selina Morales. Applications are made available on the Leeway website, and may also be obtained by calling (215) 545-4078 or emailing [email protected]. Potential applicants are encouraged to attend one of the many support sessions offered throughout the year, or schedule an appointment with a staff member for one-on-one support. Press inquiries and photo requests should be directed to Denise Beek at (215) 545-4078, ext. 14 or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]). *We use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and more generally, anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is nonconforming and/or different from their gender assigned at birth. ABOUT LEEWAY The Leeway Foundation supports women and transgender artists and cultural producers working in communities at the intersection of art, culture, and social change. Through our grantmaking and other programs we promote artistic expression that amplifies the voices of those on the margins, promotes sustainable and healthy communities, and works in the service of movements for economic and social justice. For more information about Leeway, its grant programs, grantees and events, visit www.leeway.org. Download Fall 2016 Press Release, Project Descriptions, and Panelist Bios (http://www.leeway.org/images/blog/Falll2016ACGPressRelease_Descriptions_FINAL.pdf)



‘Professional Black Girl’ Is a Love Letter to Black Women Worldwide Josie Pickens for Ebony Online September 9, 2016 In her 1975 Choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, feminist author and activist Ntozake Shange demanded—through her character lady in brown—that “somebody/anybody sing a Black girl’s song.” Here we Black women are, some 40 years later, still fighting to be seen, to be recognized for all we give to this nation (and the world!) by way of our loving, sacrificial battles for Black lives, our endless contributions to Black culture, and especially our effortless beauty—which is constantly and savagely co-opted every damn day. What we have learned, and certainly what Ntozake Shange was trying to teach us all those years ago, is that we have to be willing to sing our own songs, to ourselves and one another. And there aren’t many sisters to who sing to us in the ways that educator, cultural critic, producer and activist Dr. Yaba Blay does. Dr. Blay (http://yabablay.com/about/) loves us Black girls how we deserved to be loved. Whether she is talking the politics of colorism (http://1nedrop.com/the-book/) in our collective communities, teaching our young, gifted and Black (http://www.nccu.edu/academics/sc/socialsciences/politicalscience/dan-blue-endowed-chair.cfm) as the Daniel T. Blue Endowed Chair of Political Science at North Carolina Central University, or filling our social media feeds with the kinds of gorgeous images of Black womanhood (http://prettyperiod.me/) often overlooked in the mainstream media and beauty industry, Blay’s love for Black women is bone marrow deep. The ultimate Black girl lover has penned a new love letter to Black women through her original video series Professional Black Girl, which seeks to, “celebrate everyday Black womanhood, and to smash racist and ‘respectable’ expectations of how they should ‘behave.'” For the series, Blay interviewed 15 Black girls and women (who range in age from 2 to 52) asking each participant to talk about what makes them, and all Black women, professional Black girls—Black girls who take their style, beauty and cultural expression of Blackness to expert levels. “When I say I’m a Professional Black Girl, I’m not identifying myself as someone who is well-accomplished in her job, her career, or her profession,” Blay explains. “Though I am – Be clear. When I say I’m a Professional Black Girl I’m announcing myself as someone who takes being a Black girl very seriously. Like to professional levels. So WHATEVER it means to be be a Black girl, I’m THAT.” While Blay is a fierce advocate for Black women and girls, she didn’t intend to create this new series. “I didn’t originally set out to produce Professional Black Girl. I was actually producing another original series and had planned to end each episode with a Professional Black Girl segment,” she tells EBONY.com. “But the more interviews and conversations I had about the project in general, and with the women themselves, the more I began to feel like this was something of its own.”

Instead of forcing the segments, or worse, shortening the conversation, Blay decided to turn the discussion and insights into its own project, especially when she saw the topics she wanted to cover resonating on social media. “The kind of joy it brought me made me think of the many times in my social media experience where me and another sister (or two or ten) in my age set would start reminiscing about our teen years. We’d have 100+ comment threads discussing old hairstyles and hair products, what we used to do, the music we used to listen to. For some reason, those moments make me happy,” says Blay. “Just from the comments sisters make, I can tell whether we would have been good girlfriends back in high school, whether we could be good girlfriends now. It’s not only a vibe, or a shared experience, but the value we all place on that experience.” And according to the mother and grandmother (who is most interested in created a better, brighter world for the #ProfessionalBlackGirls to come—through her own lineage and through our communal ones) we desperately need to tap into the joy these kinds of conversations create. “We use a lot of language to describe and define Black girls, very little of which is affirming of who they are. Bad. Grown. Fast. Ghetto. Ratchet. And when we say those words, we spit them out with a type of energy that somehow distances ourselves from those Black girls,” Blay explains. “Listen, let’s not act like we weren’t bad, grown, fast, ghetto, or ratchet. I know I was, at least according to the adults in my life. But really, I wasn’t any of those things. I was simply a master of the art and the science of Black girl culture.” Dr. Blay speaks what we all know: Black girls begin to wrestle with misogynoir (http://moyazb.tumblr.com/post/84048113369/more-on-the-origin-of-misogynoir) at such a young age, by the time we become adults we are trying to piece together our fractured identities and (often) attempt to shame and distance ourselves from the kinds of Black girls and women we have been pushed to believe aren’t respectable, and thus aren’t lovable and worthy of praise. She hopes to mend our broken relationships with one another by challenging us to face our sisters and ourselves in this new series, by simply making space for us to celebrate our full selves. “I think it’s important to contextualize Professional Black Girl within the context of the current #BlackGirlMagic moment that we’re in. While I am a card carrying member of the #BlackGirlMagic Executive Board, I recognize that when we share stories, images, or videos on social media and use the hashtag #BlackGirlMagic, we tend to only highlight examples of what is widely perceived as ‘excellence,’ she says. For Blay, being an every day, around the way, dope Black woman or girl is enough–no special magic or achievements necessary. “Being a Black girl IS our excellence. I want ALL of us to be able to connect to #BlackGirlMagic as a reflection of our everyday lives, not just an aspirational goal,” she says of the hashtag movement that has spread widely across social media. “Have you seen how Black women do hair? All over the world? Who does hair like us? NOBODY. And the little girl in her mirror fixing her hair for school has inherited some of that magic. She should know. So I’m celebrating the culture of being a Black girl in all of its excellent and unique ways – our hairstyles, our adornment, our style, etc.” Sounds amazing, right? Watch the first episode of the series below, and get your #ProfessionalBlackGirl merchandise here (https://www.philadelphiaprintworks.com/).

Read the original article here (http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/tv_film/professional-black-girl#ixzz4KjSGqXyn).

Here’s Your Primer on Afrofuturism August 18, 2016

Julie Zeglen for Generocity How do Rasheedah Phillips’s two passions — law and Afrofuturism — relate? Easy. As she’s seen in many of her clients at Community Legal Services, those who are oppressed are typically “denied access to the future.” Afrofuturism can offer that access. For those who don’t know, Afrofuturism is a future-focused and speculative culture and genre of art examined “from the concerns of Black people across the diaspora,” as Phillips puts it. Phillips is both the managing attorney of landlord-tenant housing at CLS and the founder of The AfroFuturist Affair, which brings the ideas of Afrofuturism to underserved communities that might not have access to them — for instance, those who don’t have access to the internet, and therefore can’t easily read speculative stories. In her Around the Corner interview with Generocity Community Manager Mo Manklang, Phillips explains the benefits of Afrofuturist thinking and the impetus for the Afrofuturist Affair’s newly opened Community Futures Lab in North Philadelphia.

ATC: Afrofuturist Affair (https://vimeo.com/175567299) from PhillyCAM (https://vimeo.com/phillycam) on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com). Read the original article here (http://generocity.org/philly/2016/08/18/heres-primer-afrofuturism/).



Every ZIP Philadelphia’s Storytelling Block Party: “Stories For Our Younger Selves” at The Village of Arts & Humanities, 19133 Alex Lewis for WHYY

Our second public storytelling event was held on June 18th, 2016 in scenic Ile Ife Park at The Village of Arts & Humanities in North Philadelphia. For nearly two months, we collaborated with The Village to put together this event that would highlight their organization’s people and initiatives through live storytelling, music, food, and an array of community-based activities. The event was hosted by Philadelphia Poet Laureate Yolanda Wisher, the music was provided by DJ Dilemma, and many people from The Village, WHYY, and from across the city contributed as well. Thanks to everyone who performed and to the warm audience who made the event a resounding success. This page is designed to document and celebrate the Storytelling Block Party. Below you’ll find full versions of each live story alongside photos and other media from the event. The theme of the day was: “stories we would tell our younger selves”. Introduction: Yolanda Wisher





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Philadelphia Poet Laureate Yolanda Wisher emceed the storytelling program. She started the event by reading this poem by a young woman who had recently passed away. Yolanda had mentored her in a poetry workshop the previous summer. She follows that poem with a poem of her own. Jasmine Combs





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Poet Jasmine Combs was the afternoon’s first storyteller. She’s a recent Temple University graduate and a rising force in the local poetry scene. She shared her story about becoming a poet. It’s a montage of growing up and finding your voice as an artist. Tony Jones





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To commemora e he 100 h ann versary o he s ar o he mass m gra on o A r can-Amer cans rom he sou h o he nor h wes and m dwes Scr be V deo Cen er ounder Lou s Mass ah pu oge her The Grea M gra on Pro ec as a co abora ve exh b on o ex raord nary ar ac s shor ms pho ographs and ar d sp ays exam n ng severa aspec s o wha The Grea M gra on was ke or hose who ved ESSENCE caugh up w h a en ed mmakers Ju e Dash and T na Mor on bo h o whom have m shor s nc uded n The Grea M gra on Pro ec o nd ou more abou he r v sua s Accord ng o T na producer Lou s Mass ah used a comp e e y organ c me hod o umps ar he research process or each nd v dua shor m “How he se up s he had d eren ar s s ge nvo ved w h d eren B ack ns u ons n Ph ade ph a ha were ns rumen a n he p ng m gran s when hey go here So he p ace ha was ass gned was The Ph ade ph a Tr bune wh ch s he o des con nuous y c rcu a ng B ack newspaper n he na on So when o ks wou d come here he Tr bune wou d show hem where peop e cou d have hous ng sa e p aces or women o go and us d eren ns u ons ke ha ha hey kep hem n con ac w h ” she e s ESSENCE For Ju e her nvo vemen w h he pro ec seemed a na ura nex s ep g ven ha The Grea M gra on was one o he under y ng hemes n her cr ca y acc a med 1991 nd e avor e Daugh ers o he Dus “The who e Grea M gra on ve been work ng w h ha or many years Tha was one o he ma n hemes n Daugh ers o he Dus ” Ju e says “My am y s a so rom he ower coun ry o Sou h Caro na and hey m gra ed nor h dur ng he grea m gra on So de n e y wan ed o be nvo ved w h was exc ng ” Ju e s m S and ng a he Scra ch L ne h gh gh s he ro e o he B ack church n he ourneys o rave ers dur ng he grea m gra on wh e he e se serves as a me aphor o he m s message “Remember back n he day when peop e wou d draw a ne n a sand be ore beg nn ng a race? Tha s wha he scra ch ne represen s ” she says “They were wa ng o m gra e and make ha dec s on whe her hey were go ng o change he r e and he ves o he r am es mag ne us pack ng up your am y and ch dren and no know ng rea y wha you re go ng owards was a one-way r p or mos peop e They pu a he r money oge her o make h s r p and s no ke hey cou d go back because here was no h ng o go back o And hey were go ng owards…hope Tha s a hey had There were no obs wa ng or hem mos o he me ” Ra her han chron c e he rave s o ac ua peop e hrough he use o ac ors Ju e and her crew deve oped he crea ve dea o e he s ory hrough he “eyes” o a su case “We o ow a rave er e s say We o ow he rave er rom he ow coun ry as he prepares o m gra e rom he Emmanue Church o Mo her Be he n Ph ade ph a S nce he m was so ow budge and on y had abou 2 or 3 days o shoo dec ded o o ow he movemen o a su case So he su case s symbo c o a rave er and we o ow a he way o he b g c y where we ge a ook a he pa h o he s aves and some o he h ngs ha were happen ng a ha me ” Descr b ng he mpor an ro e o he B ack church re a ve o The Grea M gra on me per od and her m Ju e says churches were v a o he she er and surv va o he rave ers “ h nk he church has a ways p ayed an mpor an par n he soc a and cu ura h s ory o A r can-Amer cans ” she sa d “Even dur ng he per od o ens avemen was p ace o so ace com or escape and hope or he u ure Dur ng m gra on was very d cu or peop e o rave rom sou h o nor h or rom sou h o wes They wen rom church o church where you cou d nd re uge because a ha me he coun ry was no a r end y env ronmen a a or peop e o co or So he church has a ways been here ” For T na ga her ng he necessary n orma on o br ng her v sua When We Came Up Here o e nvo ved hav ng many n rospec ve conversa ons w h peop e who ved hrough The Grea M gra on and rans a ng he r exper ences on screen “Wha d d was nd peop e o n erv ew because my ocus was nd ng peop e who were a par o he m gra on and nd ng peop e who when hey came here he Tr bune was mpor an o he r arr va So he way ound o ks was o us asked e ders n he commun y Where d d you come rom? When you arr ved n Ph ade ph a was he Tr bune par o your ourney? And hrough hose wo ques ons ound a o o peop e who oved o share he r s or es ” T na s research a so ed her o earn more abou a Ph ade ph a es ab shmen known as The Assoc a on or he Pro ec on o Co ored Women The organ za on ounded n 1905 was a sa e haven or women and he r ch dren who were m gra ng o reedom Wh e speak ng o one woman n par cu ar T na says she was amazed a how v v d y he woman remembered some o he even s ha ook p ace desp e he ac ha she was us -years o d a he me o her am y s ourney The woman s memory o he me per od was connec ed o her grand a her s bru a bea ng a he hands o a mob or h s ro e as an advoca e or vo ng r gh s o B ack peop e “One o he women who n erv ewed -- hough was amaz ng ha she knew he exac da e When asked her how she remembered he exac da e she sa d “Because my grand a her was bea up by a mob and we had o ee up here ” He was bea en one day and hey ed he nex day And he was bea en because he was an advoca e or vo ng hough wow ha s ke oday And hen read ano her ar c e where hey sa d a man hung h mse n a and comm ed su c de bu h s am y sa d ha wasn wha happened know we ve made progress bu we re s ac ng some o he same ssues oday ” n speak ng w h many o her sub ec s wh e research ng or he m T na says a common hread be ween each o hem was he v a ro e he r am y members p ayed n he r ourneys o reedom She says he am y connec on w h n he B ack commun y s some h ng we shou d a remember oday when search ng or ways o move orward and rema n s ead as n he gh or soc a us ce “ h nk one o he mpor an h ngs we need o u ze s he am y connec on Mos o hese peop e came hrough a am y member and you know he am y member se hem up n he r house or a wh e un hey go a ob And no on y he connec on o am y bu he commun y asked one woman n erv ewed how d d he Tr bune nd you? She cou dn remember or sure because she was on y 9 years o d a he me bu she sa d “ rea y h nk was he por er a 30 h S ree S a on ” She sa d he saw how d sheve ed hey were when hey arr ved She sa d “we were ee ng or our ves and h nk he mus have o d someone a he Tr bune ” Ju e s m Daugh ers o he Dus s se o be re-re eased n hea ers h s a us ve mon hs a er Beyonce pa d homage o he m n her v sua a bum Lemonade Ju e says see ng he m nsp re such a bo d pro ec was qu e he exper ence “ was so p eased no us by he por on ha was a homage o Daugh ers o he Dus bu by who e Lemonade ourney The ex ens on he bo dness o was po ca was an ex raord nary v sua … was an even And was a new way o speak ng o everyone Through song hrough v sua hrough dance hrough movemen hrough cos ume… was ex raord nary us oved wan ed my bra ds ke ha wan ed any h ng Forma on aughs was a so ough and us spoke o so many d eren eve s o he d aspora exper ence “ The Grea M gra on Pro ec s se o prem ere on Augus 6 a he F h Annua B acks ar F m Fes va n Ph ade ph a Read or g na ar c e here (h p www essence com 2016 07 26 u e-dash- na-mor on-beyonce-grea -m gra on)

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The gran ees were se ec ed by a ury compr sed o mmaker SHARMEEN OBA D-CH NOY (SAV NG FACE A G RL N THE R VER THE PR CE OF FORG VENESS) Producer DEDE GARDNER (THE B G SHORT THE NORMAL HEART 12 YEARS A SLAVE) S MON K LMURRY(Execu ve D rec or n erna ona Documen ary Assoc a on) Ac or JOSH LUCAS (A BEAUT FUL M ND AMER CAN PSYCHO) DYLLAN MCGEE (McGee Med a & Founder and Execu ve Producer MAKERS) Th s year s gran ees showcase a var e y o wor d a a rs domes c ssues and soc a con c s nc ud ng he recen Ma heur Re uge s ando n Oregon a group o mm gran s a emp s o be depor ed o Mex co a woman gh ng o be n he Pa es n an Secur y Force and a mar a counse ng cen er n nd a n add on o und ng gran ees w each rece ve year-round suppor rom TF nc ud ng one-on-one gu dance and consu a ons o he p each m reach comp e on en er he marke p ace and nd he broades aud ence poss b e “A a me o ex reme soc a d v s veness bo h domes ca y and abroad we are proud o be ab e o gran hese mmakers he oppor un y o e such mpor an s or es hrough he Gucc Tr beca Documen ary Fund and he AOL Char ab e Founda on Award ” sa d Amy Hobby V ce Pres den o Ar s Programs a TF “These ms ack e ssues rom around he wor d and he backgrounds o he d rec ors and producers re ec a w de d vers y o hose w h mpor an s or es o e Thank you o our par ners on h s pro ec – w hou Gucc and he AOL Char ab e Founda on he suppor o hese ms wou d no be poss b e ” “A key p ar o he AOL Char ab e Founda on s m ss on s cen ered on mprov ng he ves o women g r s and underserved you h hrough cu va ng crea v y around he wor d ” sa d Sara L nk Pres den o he AOL Char ab e Founda on “Recogn z ng ha women and g r s are o en underrepresen ed n he s or es ha are wr en produced and d rec ed we are proud o work w h he Gucc Tr beca Documen ary Fund and Tr beca F m ns u e o e hese e-chang ng s or es ha are deep y cap va ng o a g oba aud ence By suppor ng he work o hese ground-break ng mmakers s our a m ha he r exper ences and messages he p o empower women and g r s rom a backgrounds ” “The power o a documen ary m s s ab y o re ec on o herw se ee ng ssues ha we see or hear abou every day n he news ” sa d Oba d-Ch noy “ s he r ab y o draw you n – whe her hrough ndep h n erv ews or s en poe c sho s ha speak or hemse ves THE NF LTRATORS MALHEUR MY COUNTRY NO MORE ONE BULLET AFGHAN STAN MARR AGE COPS RAD CAL BROWN ES and WHAT WALAA WANTS each accomp shed h s aw ess y ” 2016 Rec p ents of the Gucc Tr beca Documentary Fund

THE NF LTRATORS D rec ed and Produced by Cr s na barra and A ex R vera THE NF LTRATORS s a docu- hr er ha e s he rea – and surrea – s ory o a group o mm gran s n Amer ca who go hemse ves apprehended by Border Pa ro o n ra e secre ve or-pro de en on cen ers and o he p o her de a ned mm gran s ge ree MALHEUR D rec ed and Produced by Dav d Byars Produced by Dav d Ho brooke and Morgan Spur ock Ed ed Co-Produced by Dav d Os B er an agon sm be ween r gh -w ng m a and he edera governmen has bo ed over n o rebe on and b oodshed MALHEUR o ows h s nsurrec on rom ncep on o dem se and exp ores he e emen s ha made poss b e MY COUNTRY NO MORE D rec ed and Produced by R a Baghdad and Jerem ah Hammer ng Genera ons o am y arm ng rad on go up n ames as he Nor h Dako a o boom eaves human memory cu ure and den y scorched n s wake MY COUNTRY NO MORE o ows one am y s pa h o res s ance ra s ng a undamen a ques on wha are we w ng o sacr ce n our pursu o progress? ONE BULLET AFGHAN STAN D rec ed and Produced by Caro Dys nger Produced by Su K m One bu e red n o darkness h s a boy on a res den a s ree n A ghan s an send ng h m n o he pa h o a woman mmaker o ow ng he Amer can m ary Th s beg ns an n ma e ong ud na ook a a am y n cr ses hrough he eyes o s ma r arch – B b Ha – and an acc den a r endsh p be ween wo women wor ds apar

2016 Rec p ents of the AOL Char tab e Foundat on Award

MARR AGE COPS D rec ed and Produced by Chery Hess and Shashwa Ta ukdar n a sma c y n Nor hern nd a unhappy coup es seek re a onsh p adv ce n he mos un ke y o p aces RAD CAL BROWN ES D rec ed and Produced by L nda Go ds e n Know on Produced Ed ed by Ka e F n Execu ve Produced by Grace Lee Rad ca Brown es o ows he crea on o a roop o 8 o 12-year-o d g r s o co or – he Rad ca Monarchs – n Oak and CA A soc a us ce-or en ed a erna ve o he G r Scou s he Monarchs s earn badges – no or sew ng or se ng cook es bu or un s on B ack L ves Ma er Rad ca Beau y be ng an LGBTQ A y and Env ronmen a Jus ce WHAT WALAA WANTS D rec ed by Chr s y Gar and Produced by Anne Köhncke Ra sed n a re ugee camp n he Wes Bank wh e her mo her was n pr son Wa aa s de erm ned o become one o he ew women on he Pa es n an Secur y Forces – a b g cha enge or a g r who breaks a he ru es About Tr beca F m nst tute Tr beca F m ns u e champ ons s ory e ers o be ca a ys s or change n he r commun es and around he wor d Through gran s and pro ess ona deve opmen programs TF suppor s a d verse excep ona group o fi mmakers and med a ar s s prov d ng hem resources needed o u y rea ze he r s or es and connec w h aud ences The ns u e s educa ona programm ng everages an ex ens ve m commun y ne work o he p underserved New York C y s uden s earn mmak ng and ga n he med a sk s necessary o be produc ve c zens and crea ve nd v dua s n he 21s cen ury Fea ur ng hands-on ra n ng and exposure o soc a y re evan fi ms he ns u e adm n s ers programs o more han 25 000 s uden s annua y TF was ounded by Rober De N ro Jane Rosen ha and Cra g Ha ko n he wake o Sep ember 11 2001 and s a 501(c)(3) year-round nonpro ar s organ za on About Gucc Founded n F orence n 1921 Gucc s one o he wor d s ead ng uxury ash on brands w h a renowned repu a on or crea v y nnova on and a an cra smansh p Gucc s par o he Ker ng Group a wor d eader n appare and accessor es ha owns a por o o o power u uxury and spor and es y e brands For ur her n orma on abou Gucc v s www gucc com (h p www gucc com) About AOL Char tab e Foundat on AOL Char ab e Founda on s a 501(c)(3) pr va e ounda on comm ed o crea ng oppor un es or women g r s and nves ng n he nex genera on o young eaders hrough gran mak ng o excep ona nonpro organ za ons ocused on hese commun es The Founda on a oca es s resources n our s ra eg c areas nc ud ng os er ng eadersh p and empowermen mprov ng econom c oppor un y ncreas ng access hrough educa on and echno ogy and cu va ng crea v y For add ona n orma on on he AOL Char ab e Founda on p ease v s h p corp ao com our-va ues corpora e-c zensh p (h p corp ao com our-va ues corpora e-c zensh p) For he or g na ar c e p ease c ck here (h ps

r beca m ns u e org press_re eases de a 2016_gucc _documen ary_ und_gran ees_announced1)

n June Ju e Ra nbow (ACG 14) Mar a Sanchez (LTA 10 ACG 06 WOO 02) and Me ssa Bea r z Sko n ck (ACG 12) were se ec ed rom a gran ee o ery o rece ve u reg s ra on o he A ed Med a Con erence (AMC) n De ro M Here s wha Ju e and Me ssa had o say abou he r exper ence

Allied Media Conference: An Awesome Experience by Ju e Ra nbow

The 2016 A ed Med a Con erence was an awesome exper ence W h over hree hundred workshops en er a nmen ac v es and mee -up groups had some h ng or every ac v s Whe her you are a seasoned ac v s or a nov ce he workshops were engag ng and n orma ve The workshops were presen ed so ha a endees were ac ua y par c pa ed wh e earn ng Add ona y he AMC organ zers were ns gh u o nc ude workshops ha ocused on deve op ng echn ca sk s enhanc ng eadersh p capac es and ways o n egra e se -care oo s so ha we rema n nsp red wh e do ng compe ng y d cu work The workshop “M T Open Documen ary Lab ncuba ng Documen ary Forms and Processes ” was par cu ar y n eres ng o me as my work seeks o amp y he vo ces o e ders and share he r w sdom broad y The presen ers prov ded documen ar ans and commun y organ zers w h nnova ve n erac ve par c pa ory oo s or deve op ng a p a orm o share he r work Ano her workshop o par cu ar n eres was “Chan Down Baby on Yoga Man ras or Movemen Bu ders ” as engaged par c pan s o rec e man ras and use brea h ng echn ques o keep one grounded ocused and e ec ve wh e do ng he work wh ch a mes can be overwhe m ng Throughou he our-day exper ence here was a ee ng o co ec ve un y as you were among o her k ndred sp r s devo ed o crea ng a wor d where a are rea ed w h d gn y and respec o Ph ade ph a am u o nsp ra on ha w n orm my ac v s ac ons o shar ng he vo ce mages and w sdom o e ders AWESOME

Upon re urn ng

Allied Media Conference 2016 Reflection by Me ssa B Sko n ck

The A ed Med a Con erence ocuses on how we use med a-based organ z ng across commun es and soc a us ce ssues n co abora ve ways A er wan ng o exper ence he mag c beh nd he con erence or myse na y go he chance o a end hanks o he Leeway Founda on My rs day began by s umb ng upon he mpress ve De ro serve as a power u oo or cap ur ng s or es

ndus ry Mura s by D ego R vera a he De ro

ns u e o Ar s See ng a snapsho o he h s ory beh nd ndus r a za on rem nded me how ar can

The nex day once he AMC o c a y began spen my me a an assemb y w h he Med a Ac on Grassroo s Ne work (MAG-Ne ) MAG-Ne s he arges mu - ssue ac on ne work or commun ca on r gh s access and represen a on n he U S Dur ng he ga her ng we a ked abou he mpor ance o med a us ce and wha dr ves us o do h s work was rem nded ha we mus no on y crea e our own s or es bu a so educa e o hers o he h s ory o b as beh nd ma ns ream med a Dur ng he con erence a so had he chance o screen a m ha served as a S ory Producer or w h Med a Mob z ng Pro ec We screened he m Groundwork Jus ce n he B r hp ace o Amer ca and spoke w h he aud ence abou how he groups ea ured are connec ed across he ssues hey are gh ng or nc ud ng mm gran r gh s educa on equa y and env ronmen a sus a nab y One o my avor e sess ons a he AMC nc uded “The Revo u on W Be Podcas ed ” where we earned wha sk bu o be nsp red o crea e new deas and con nue work ng oward soc a us ce n a erna ve ways

wou d ake o aunch our own podcas s

was empower ng o no on y s ar o earn a new

There were so many power u o ks do ng work across ssues and med ums a he AMC Be ng around ha energy n person and earn ng abou he work o o her ar s s and organ zers was re-energ z ng n a way ha apprec a ed As ar s s we need momen s ke hese o come oge her spark and bounce deas o one ano her and re urn o our work w h a c earer v s on o how we can a work oge her oward he common goa o a more us soc e y or a

Leeway awards several LGBT projects June 23 2016 by Pa ge Cooperste n for PGN mage S

rom "A er he Da e" by r s Dev ns (ACG 16)

Severa LGBT pro ec s — nc ud ng a mob e pho o boo h o documen ba room cu ure and a ve-s reamed mus c even showcas ng queer and rans DJs — rece ved und ng rom he Leeway Founda on The group suppor s ema e and rans ar s s The Ar and Change gran awarded w ce a year announced s a es w nners h s mon h Th r y-one pro ec s rece ved $2 500 each Near y 100 pro ec s app ed or und ng The dead ne or he nex cyc e o he gran s Aug 1 “One h ng we saw par cu ar y w h n he LGBT commun y s he ro e o he DJ as a cu ura producer n queer spaces ” sa d Sara Z a Ebrah m program d rec or or Leeway “There can be a o o pressure o have ar s s a a ed w h a nonpro Bu ha makes hard or nd v dua ar s s ke DJs o ge und ng or exper men a work ” She sa d he mpor ance o he DJ s an espec a y mean ng u conversa on a er he Or ando shoo ng “ can

mag ne wha

ee s ke o have ha sa e space on he dance oor so horr b y v o a ed ” Ebrah m sa d

She added subm ss ons rom rans ar s s have sh ed n recen years oward s or es abou da ng Two pro ec s ha rece ved und ng n h s gran cyc e addressed he op c “A er he Da e ” a shor c ona m by r s Dev ns o ows he romance be ween Na e a s ra gh c sgender man and Emma a ransgender pho ographer Tr s an Powe s work ng on “Break n B oom ” a sem -au ob ograph ca shor m ha dep c s he re a onsh p be ween a c sgender man and a ransgender woman The m s expec ed o prem ere soon a he New Hope Ar s Cen er “We re rea y n eres ed n ar s s who are conven ng w h he r commun y ” Ebrah m sa d “ ook ng a he r work as engag ng he r commun y n d a ogue ” She added he Leeway Founda on s ar ed n 1993 or ema e ar s s Around 2003 he ocus expanded o nc ude ransgender ar s s The organ za on wan ed o crea e a em n s space ha ooked a gender n a broad ash on For more n orma on on he ounda on or s gran ees v s www eeway org (h p www eeway org) Read or g na ar c e here (h p www epgn com news oca 10642- eeway-awards-severa - gb -pro ec s)

Why the Philadelphia Public History Truck’s latest exhibit examines displacement in Chinatown

The h rd era on o ar s Er n Bernard s hyper oca arch va pro ec ocuses no on y on he Ch nese Amer can exper ence bu on ha o he “d sp aced and unhoused” genera y June 21 2016 by Ju e Zeg en for Generoc ty W h n an hour s me on a recen Fr day a ernoon ampons

ve peop e v s ed he ny cons ruc ed room nes ed n he rear o As an Ar s n a ve o co ec socks wa er bo es deodoran and

The room on he 1200 b ock o Pear S ree was ed w h ar ac s o Ch na own pas pho ographs o o d bu d ngs decora ed he wa s and a documen ary rom he 1970s show ng res den s pro es ng he cons ruc on o he V ne S ree Expressway p ayed on oop n he corner The o e r es and surround ng ems do connec Accord ng o ar s Er n Bernard hey bo h re a e o he heme o d sp acemen n he Ch na own ne ghborhood oge her or he Ph ade ph a Pub c H s ory Truck s a es exh b “A House ess Museum Home and D sp acemen Around he V ne S ree Expressway (h p as anar s n a ve org even ph ade ph a-pub c-h s ory- ruck) ”

s why she brough hem

“There are so many d eren vo ces n h s ne ghborhood ha don a ways a gn w h each o her o en ee s ke a con es ed space ” sa d Bernard he ounder and cura or o he H s ory Truck For h s h rd era on o he hyper oca arch va pro ec — prev ous y he ruck v s ed Eas Kens ng on and Nor h Ph y (h p generoc y org ph y 2015 06 17 exp ore-h s ory- ruck ) — was necessary o nd a heme ha somehow spoke o he many groups w h n he commun y D sp acemen s uck ou par a y because o where he ne ghborhood s name came rom n he rs p ace and par a y because o he presence o Sunday Break as Rescue M ss on he c y s o des home ess she er oca ed a b ock away rom As an Ar s n a ve (AA ) “ we cons der d sp acemen over me s easy or us o a k abou he h s ory o unhoused commun es ” Bernard sa d “ s a so easy o a k abou he h s ory o Ph ade ph a s Ch na own par y because o he way Ch na own was es ab shed n he rs p ace ” The area go s name rom he Ch nese men who moved o Ph ade ph a n he m d- o a e-19 h cen ury because o he rac sm hey were ac ng n Wes ern Amer can accord ng o Bernard The exh b exp ores h s as we as he deve opmen o he V ne S ree Expressway — “How do you ma n a n a sense o home when a number o your ne ghbors are ac ua y os ng he r homes?” she sa d U ma e y he commun y os s ba e aga ns he cons ruc on o he expressway bu won a sma er one preven ng he add on o a ramp a ong 9 h S ree To deve op he exh b unded by a pro ec gran rom AA and an Ar and Change Gran (h p www eeway org gran ees er n_bernard_acg_15) rom Leeway Founda on Bernard co abora ed w h AA he Rescue M ss on and o her s akeho ders She a so conduc ed ora h s or es o he ne ghborhood w h ong me res den s AA nv ed Bernard o br ng her exh b o s space because her par c pa ory approach o cons ruc ng he exh b a gns w h AA s m ss on o par c pa ory ar mak ng accord ng o Gay e sa AA s execu ve d rec or AA had s m ar y been work ng o “ rans orm he Pear S ree a ey n o a ne ghborhood asse ha connec s he many d verse cons uen s a ong Pear S ree ” by “hos ng pop up even s and ns a a ons ha ac va e he a eyway br ng more eyes and ee o Pear S ree and engage peop e who o herw se m gh no connec w h each o her ” sa sa d As or he o e r es “ knew rom he beg nn ng ha we were go ng o be us ng a space on Pear S ree S ree wh ch are gen emen who are usua y com ng o and rom he Rescue M ss on ” Bernard sa d

had o n some way o be d rec y use u o he peop e who spend me on Pear

The exh b w run a AA hrough Fr day June 24 on Wednesday and Fr day rom 1 o 5 p m A mob e exh b on w (h p www ph y com ph y b ogs he- ns der V aduc -Ra -Park-beer-garden h m ) 10 h and Ham on s ree s

aunch n Ju y a he V aduc Ra Park s pop-up beer garden

The nex ne ghborhood Bernard w documen s Fa rh w h an exh b debu ng n June 2017 She a so has a non-ne ghborhood-spec c pro ec n he works The Pew Cen er or Ar s & Her age s und ng an exh b and program ser es cen ered on he W C nu r ona ass s ance program (h p www pcah us gran s 9862_ he_h s ory_ ruck_w_ _c_work_shop) Read or g na ar c e here (h p generoc y org ph y 2016 06 21 ph ade ph a-pub c-h s ory- ruck-ch na own )

An Afrofuturist Community Center Targets Gentrification June 22 2016 by Hyun ee N co e K m for HyperA erg c

The bus dropped me o a b ock away rom 22nd S ree and R dge Avenue n Nor h Ph ade ph a where Commun y Fu ures Lab (h ps www acebook com even s 279944169019626 ) s oca ed A me a cred hear -shaped ba oon ed o a cha kboard announc ng he grand open ng bobbed cheer y n he w nd A coup e o sm ng ska ers sa ou s de he s ore ron and a chubby odd er amb ed hrough he en rance under ghos y pee ng e ers ha nd ca ed he s ore ron s ormer occupan s a pawnshop B ack Quan um Fu ur sm (h p b ackquan um u ur sm umb r com ) (BQF) a ong w h he A roFu ur s A a r (h p www a ro u ur s a a r com) bo h ac v s -or en ed co ec ves ce ebra ng and d ssem na ng b ack sc ence c on cu ure has opened a commun y resource space env s oned as a “ me capsu e” n Sharswood B umberg The Nor h Ph y ne ghborhood has seen much soc oeconom c s r e over he years and s now undergo ng a $526 m on do ar redeve opmen pro ec (h p www sharswoodb umberg com hous ng ) ha c eared housands o res den a un s v a em nen doma n The Commun y Fu ures Lab was crea ed n response o h s rea y and s a so ask ng he ne ghborhood wha po en a needs he ab can u rom organ z ng hous ng resources workshops and sk -shar ng pane s o z ne brunches and yoga c asses Loca ed nex o Temp e Un vers y he b ocks around he ab are emp ng and grabs or h rs y rea es a e deve opers — n h s case he Ph ade ph a Hous ng Au hor y — who wan o w pe he s a e c ean o he pover y and nequa y ha have ong p agued he area Bu he c y neg ec s o cons der he chaos ha he d sp acemen o human be ngs and commun es causes o he res den s who are uproo ed Persona s akes are gnored and bur ed under he rubb e n he name o pro ab y B ack Quan um Fu ur sm encompasses he work o he awyer-ac v s -wr er Rasheedah Ph ps (h p www a ro u ur s a a r com # crea ve-rasheedah-ph ps c12 w) and mus c an-des gner-pho ographer Camae Ayewa as we as he e or s o o hers who have co abora ed w h he wo ar s s Ph ps s he ounder o he A roFu ur s A a r and pub shed (h ps www amazon com B ack-Quan um-Fu ur smTheory-Prac ce dp 099600503X) he B ack Quan um Fu ur sm man es o wh ch proposes a crea ve and cr ca v s on ha va ues and rewr es b ack d aspor c h s ory hrough an A ro u ur s ens She has par c pa ed n The Shadows Took Shape (h p www s ud omuseum org exh b on he-shadows- ook-shape) he group exh b on a he S ud o Museum n Har em ha exp ored A ro u ur s aes he cs as we as he year ong Oc av a Bu er ce ebra on (h p c ockshop org even rad o- mag na on- aunch-par y )a C ockshop n Los Ange es Ayewa per orms and ours as Moor Mo her (h ps moormo hergoddess bandcamp com) a so o mus c pro ec crea ng memor a soundscapes and wha she ca s “s avesh p punk ” and co ounded Rockers Ph y (h ps www acebook com hegood o ksa rockers ) a es va devo ed o marg na zed ar s s n add on o her ar s c prac ce Ph ps s he manag ng a orney or he Commun y Lega Serv ces o Ph ade ph a wh ch es her n ma e y o he concerns o oca s who are e he p ess n he s a e o he curren hous ng cr s s She a so a ended Temp e Un vers y or bo h her BA and JD and has ved abou 10 b ocks rom Commun y Fu ures Lab or he as s x years Ph ps says “u ze me ” and wan s her ne ghbors o know ha she has a s ake n Sharswood B umsberg and n ends o ac a e change hrough c v c engagemen To k ck o Commun y Fu ure Lab s open ng Ph ps read her de n on o “ u ure ” pub shed n Keywords or Rad ca s (h ps www akpress org keywords- or-rad ca s h m ) (AK Press 2016) wh ch nc uded many re erences rom A ro u ur sm sc ence c on b ack h s ory quan um phys cs Wes ern ar s c movemen s and beyond Ph ps and Ayewa s pro ec “Commun y Fu ures T me & Memory n Nor h Ph y ” suppor ed by a e owsh p rom A B ade o Grass (h p www ab adeo grass org e ow b ack-quan um- u ur sm ) con nues he programm ng hread n a ed by he A roFu ur s A a r by o er ng workshops (h p www a ro u ur s a a r com # workshops-pane s c17sp) ke quan um even mapp ng wh ch asks par c pan s o e go o no ons o near me n he r crea ve wr ng and “Sc ence s F c on ” wh ch exam nes how women and peop e o co or are shown n ma ns ream sc ence c on and shares examp es rom A ro u ur s ex s ha can empower he marg na zed Seek ng o pos ve y change he phys ca andscape and pro ec he psycho og ca andscape o Nor h Ph y he BQF co ec ve and he space s n erns are a so co ec ng “ora h s ory u ure n erv ews” rom ormer and curren res den s o Sharswood B umberg Throughou Ph ps s per ormance Moor Mo her supp ed a mus ca accompan men a uzzy rad o-e ec ron c se ha hypno ca y raversed space me and he presen rea y Ph ps s vo ce was c ear u o conv c on and he suppor rom he crowd was pa pab e A erward peop e m ed abou he space perus ng he bookshe ves o he end ng brary s pp ng re reshmen s cha ng and popp ng n o he back rooms o record he r memor es o Nor h Ph ade ph a and wa ch he ooped oo age o March s demo on o he Norman B umberg owers wh ch pu hundreds o am es ou o he r homes As he Commun y Fu ures Lab aunches s n a s x-mon h run p ans o co abora e w h o her Nor h Ph ade ph a-based ar s organ za ons such as The Peop e s Paper Co-op (h p peop espapercoop weeb y com abou h m ) o he V age o Ar s & Human es (h p v agear s org) Th s s no he rs me an ar s c group has arge ed d scr m na on and gen r ca on n spec c commun es n a ves n o her c es nc ude Deco on ze L A (h ps www acebook com deco on ze agroup ) and E Museo de os Sures (h p hypera erg c com 305545 a-brook yn-ne ghborhood-cha enges- he-memory-ho e-o gen r ca on ) n New York However Commun y Fu ures Lab s un que or s spec c A ro u ur s v s on one ha does no e eva e above hose who need and crave he mos and ha rans ers a comp ex heory o an engaged cr ca prac ce Commun y Fu ures Lab (h ps www acebook com even s 279944169019626 ) s oca ed a 2204 R dge Avenue Ph ade ph a W h he ass s ance o vo un eers he space w be open a ew days a week and mos Sa urdays Check or Commun y Fu ure Labs (h ps www acebook com commun y u ures ab ) and B ack Quan um Fu ur sm (h ps www acebook com quan um u ur sm ) upda es on Facebook ns agram @commun y u ures ab (h ps www ns agram com commun y u ures ab ) and @b ackquan um u ur sm (h ps www ns agram com b ackquan um u ur sm ) Read or g na ar c e here (h p hypera erg c com 307013 an-a ro u ur s -commun y-cen er- arge s-gen r ca on )

Local artist recognized for work on immigrant crisis June 21 2016

by A exandra V arrea for the Ph ade ph a nqu rer

A na ve o Ph ade ph a s a an Marke ne ghborhood M che e Ange a Or z was born o a Co omb an mo her and Puer o R can a her These days her work can be seen n p aces near and ar rom Cuba and Mex co o Sou h 6 h S ree She s an ar s bu she s a so a s ory e er g v ng a vo ce o o herw se marg na zed commun es wor dw de “ ee ha some o he am es ha

ve connec ed w h are re ec ons o my paren s ” she sa d “The r ch dren are re ec ons o me and my s ory and wha

ve gone hrough ”

On June 17 Amer cans or he Ar s named Or z one o 38 Pub c Ar Ne work Year n Rev ew honorees or her oca pro ec Fam as Separadas The pro ec was h gh gh ed hrough he Mura Ar s Program s Open Source (h p opensource mura ar s org ar s s# m che e-ange a-or z ) exh b on Th s s he rs me a oca ar s co abora ng w h he Mura Ar s Program s honored by he Amer cans or he Ar s Pub c Ar Ne work Year n Rev ew award The ser es wh ch ocused on he hardsh ps aced by undocumen ed mm gran s n he Un ed S a es ea ured our ns a a ons a oca ons around Ph ade ph a rom a e Sep ember hrough Oc ober 2015 “The emporary na ure o each p ece s rea y connec ed o he emporary presence o undocumen ed am es when hey re a r sk o be ng depor ed ” Or z sa d “By he end o he mon h o Oc ober you see and hen s gone A o o peop e were ke Some h ng s m ss ng was h s sense o oss And doesn compare a a o he n ens y o os ng someone hrough depor a on bu does g ve a re erence o h s hough o We us os some h ng Th s mage h s mpac h s s ory has been erased ” To conce ve o each p ece Or z spoke w h am es hrough Jun os a non-pro ha advoca es or he r gh s o Ph ade ph a s La no mm gran s (h p vamos un os org) The works are nked o m nu e- ong vo ce record ngs ha exp ore he s or es beh nd hem Two women su er un us depor a on A hardwork ng man s de a ned a er 20 years n he s a es Eres M Todo - You Are My Every h ng - was he name o he ns a a on a C y Ha Or z ns s ed ha her pa n ng be ns de he C y Ha compass a g oba emb em or nd ng d rec on She dep c ed Mar a a mo her o ve ch dren Mar a s v ng n he s a es and s e ec ve y a s ng e mo her Her husband was arres ed wh e a emp ng re-en ry rom Mex co n ac 94 percen o a Amer can depor a ons n 2013 were o men eav ng househo ds ha needed wo ncomes o surv ve w hou resources or he r k ds many o whom are U S c zens “Mos o hem are born and ra sed and have been educa ed here n Ph ade ph a ” Or z sa d “So hen wha happens o hose am es ha are a ready s rugg ng bu hen a deeper and deeper n o pover y because o he e ec s o depor a on?” A Love Park Or z ns a ed Te Amo a render ng o he neck ace Honduras mm gran Suyapa wears o rem nd her o her e des daugh er Bes de Rober nd ana s LOVE scu p ure and n a spo where undocumen ed mm gran s o en ake he r am es o p ay he symbo sm becomes c ear “Wha happens o ove n he m ds o mm gra on?” Or z asked “Wha happens o ove n he m ds o depor a on no on y when you dec de o eave bu hen when you re orced o eave? Wha happens o he ove o your coun ry he ove o your ch dren he ove o your am y?” Perhaps he mos recogn zab e work rom Fam as Separadas was Somos Seres Humanos a ru h ha s o en orgo en n he po c za on o mm gra on A ong w h 30 vo un eers some o whom were undocumen ed hemse ves Or z ns a ed he ar ou s de o he mm gra ons and Cus oms En orcemen bu d ng on 16 h and Ca owh S ree s wh ch s o en he rs s op or hose ac ng depor a on A quo e rom Ana a Gua ema an mm gran who was recen y sen o her coun ry o or g n a ong w h her daugh er be ore a udge ru ed he r depor a on un us he bo d ye ow e ers read “We are human be ngs r sk ng our ves or our am es and our u ures ” A o he works rom Fam as Separadas were n en ona y p aced so hey cou d be seen rom he a r mak ng a schema c ou o he ves o undocumen ed mm gran s n he c y “ were y ng over Ph ade ph a and had an aer a map hese p eces wou d serve as e andmarks or po n s o where he am es have e her passed by shared oved or even worked ” Or z sa d They a so open he poss b y o a d a ogue nsp r ng d scuss on abou sub ec s ha are o en oo ho o ouch d rec y and w hou an en ry po n “ ee ha m expand ng he conversa on when br ng o pub c spaces ” Or z exp a ned “You don usua y see hese s or es represen ed And or someone who was comp e e y d sconnec ed or uneduca ed abou he ssues o mm gra on h s s he r way o connec ng Peop e came and s ar ed ask ng ques ons or s ar ed shar ng he r own mm gra on s ory And ha s he beau y o pub c ar and be ng ou n open spaces hav ng peop e be cur ous bu a so s ar ng hose conversa ons ” U ma e y Or z wou d ke o con nue w h Fam as Separadas spread ng her message desp e wha she ca s he curren “an - mm gran c ma e” n he Un ed S a es where she c a ms depor a on has become more and more ub qu ous under he Obama adm n s ra on and one o he pres den a nom nees cons an y spews ha e u rhe or c abou undocumen ed nd v dua s She s espec a y n en on promo ng a we com ng c ma e n Ph ade ph a “” s ve on he b ock where was born and ra sed ” she sa d “ m very much ed o he c y And so when h nk abou he ssues o depor a on and how undocumen ed am es and mm gran commun es are ry ng o make a u ure here s rea y abou pos ng he ques on o he c zens o Ph ade ph a and o he governmen and o he ne ghbor who s a c zen or he person who cou d be an a y How are we crea ng a c y ha opens s arms o hese commun es ha are ry ng o seek a be er u ure or he r am es and a be er e or hemse ves? How are we crea ng ha ? ” Read or g na ar c e here (h p www ph y com ph y b ogs he-ar s Loca -ar s -recogn zed- or-work-on- mm gran -cr s s h m )



31 women and trans artists and cultural producers receive project-based grants to further social change in the Delaware Valley PH LADELPH A – Today he Leeway Founda on announced $66 985 n gran s o 31 women and rans* ar s s and cu ura producers n Grea er Ph ade ph a suppor ng he r work o address a range o soc a change ssues Leeway s Ar and Change Gran prov des pro ec -based unds o up o $2 500 o women and rans ar s s and cu ura producers who propose a pro ec ha mpac s a arger group aud ence or commun y have nanc a need and ve n he De aware Va ey area The gran suppor s ar s s prac c ng a var e y o d sc p nes nc ud ng per ormance cra s and ex es and v sua ar s The fo ow ng 31 art sts were awarded grants ( n a phabet ca order):

A sha Adams o Kens ng on Per omance and L erary Ar s Ants on a Log o Wes Ph ade ph a Mus c and Per ormance Beth A Uzw ak and Laur an R Bow es o German own Med a and V sua Ar s Chaska Sof a o Sou hwes Ph ade ph a Mus c and V sua Ar s Donna Ob ongata o Wes Ph ade ph a Per ormance Gabr e a Sanchez o Overbrook Farms Mus c g na kath een o Wes Ph ade ph a Mu -D sc p nary r s Dev ns o Wes Ph ade ph a Med a Ar s Kate B ack-Regan o Wes Ph ade ph a Mu -D sc p nary Kathryn Pannepacker o German own Cra s & Tex es Kr st n Schwab and Laquanda Dobson o The Bo om Fo k Ar M As Dukan o Wes Ph ade ph a Med a Ar s Maor Karmae Ho mes o Spr ng Garden Med a Ar s Marce ne Mandeng and Zubeyda Muzeyyen o Lawncres Mu -D sc p nary Mar Mora es-W

ams o Hun ng Park Mu -D sc p nary

Mar a Khr st na Acosta o Garden Cour L erary Ar s Mar on Be o Wes Ph ade ph a L erary Ar s Mary DeW tt o Med a V sua and Med a Ar s M sty So o Wes Ph ade ph a Mu -D sc p nary Rache Zo f o Sou h Ph ade ph a L erary Ar s Ras Mashraman o Cedar Park L erary Ar s Sarah Mue er o Brewery own Med a Ar s Sh ra Wa nsky o Fa rmoun Med a Ar s Son a C axton o Un vers y C y Med a Ar s Tr stan Powe o Fur ong Med a Ar s and Per ormance V

Rao o Nor heas Ph ade ph a Fo k Ar

Vasht DuBo s o German own Mu -D sc p nary

The March 2016 rev ew pane cons s ed o p aywr gh and dev sed hea er maker MJ Kaufman (ACG

Ar and Change Gran s are d s r bu ed w ce a year and eva ua ed by an ndependen peer rev ew pane

13) educa or and commun y organ zer Roche e N cho s-So omon and o k or s and cura or Se na Mora es App ca ons are made ava ab e on he Leeway webs e and may a so be ob a ned by ca ng 215 545 4078 or ema ng n o@ eeway org Po en a app can s are encouraged o a end one o he many suppor sess ons o ered hroughou he year or schedu e an appo n men w h a s a member or one-on-one suppor The nex Ar and Change Gran dead ne s Augus 1 2016 Press nqu r es and photo requests shou d be d rected to Den se Beek at (215) 545-4078 ext 14 or dbeek@ eeway org *We use he erm “ rans” n s mos nc us ve sense as an umbre a erm encompass ng ranssexua

ransgender genderqueer Two-Sp r peop e and more genera y anyone whose gender den y or

gender express on s noncon orm ng and or d eren rom he r gender ass gned a b r h ABOUT LEEWAY The Leeway Founda on suppor s women and ransgender ar s s and cu ura producers work ng n commun es a he n ersec on o ar cu ure and soc a change Through our gran mak ng and o her programs we promo e ar s c express on ha amp es he vo ces o hose on he marg ns promo es sus a nab e and hea hy commun es and works n he serv ce o movemen s or econom c and soc a us ce For more n orma on abou Leeway s gran programs gran ees and even s v s www eeway org Down oad Spr ng 2016 Press Re ease (h p www eeway org mages news Spr ng_2016_ACG_Press_Re ease_F NAL pd ) Down oad Pane s B os (h p www eeway org mages news ACG_16_Pane _B os_F NAL pd ) Down oad Pro ec Descr p ons (h p www eeway org mages news ACG_March2016_Pro ec _Descr p ons_F NAL2 pd )

Adversity has only hardened the resolve of ceramics artist Stefani Threet March 31 2016 by Mar yn Anthony for Gr d Magaz ne

L e- hrea en ng hea h ssues Gun v o ence Rac sm A o hem cou d have mo ded ceram c ar s S e an Three (h p www hree ceram cs com) n o a very d eren person Bu a every urn o a e s whee she coun ered her cha enges w h s rong es o am y r ends and o her po ers her ove o na ure and w h her a en and pos ve energy— he as o wh ch comes beam ng hrough n wha her mo her Jacqu S mmons ca s her daugh er s “Cherry Koo -A d sm e ” Over he as hree decades Three has managed o grow rom a s ck y k d n eres ed n ar n o an es ab shed ar s Dur ng he recen P casso exh b a he Barnes Founda on her mas ery o sgra reehand me hod o carv ng ne nes n o c ay was on d sp ay n her d s nc ve p a ers mugs and bow s n he museum g shop

o a

Wh e she says ha “s ence and no h ngness” nsp re her organ c pa erns o sw r ng concen r c c rc es she o en s ens o wor d mus c wh e work ng and a so has wha she ca s her “Beyoncé and Bruno Mars days” o keep her energy up She spends a eas 40 hours week y n he Wes Ph ade ph a Cedar Works (h ps hecedarworks com) s ud o space she shares w h 11 o her po ers Happ y s en ng o mus c wh e she works has come a er a ser es o hardsh ps ha wou d have broken many peop e “My s ory ” says Three “ s abou overcom ng advers y

m 36 now and m where

Cha enges came ear y The younges o hree s b ngs Three was os her 15-year-o d bro her o gun v o ence

hough

d be n my 20s

s been a ong ourney ge ng here ”

so o en ha S mmons reca s “ v ng” a Ch dren s Hosp a

n 1988 a 8 years o d Three and her am y were devas a ed when hey

There were pos ves An ear y pr va e schoo educa on exposed Three o ar s and cu ure Bu when her paren s separa ed she had o rans er o pub c schoo n Wes Ph ade ph a and here she s ood ou as “ he k d who spoke oo proper and was n eres ed n we rd h ngs ” says Three Her mo her re ess y sough ou enr chmen programs o prov de more han he ne ghborhood s ree s o ered wa ng hours n pour ng ra n o enro her daugh er n he F e sher Ar Memor a (h p e sher org ) programs and spend ng Sa urdays rekk ng across own on SEPTA or he ree ar c asses When Three was 15 her essay or he Academy o Na ura Sc ences Women n Na ura Sc ences program won her a up n o caverns w h “humongous po s s uck n o he wa ” These anc en Mayan po s e a as ng mpress on

e-chang ng r p o Be ze Three descr bes craw ng n o ho es n he ground ha opened

Three he rs person n her am y o a end co ege chose o s udy ceram cs a A red Un vers y She s a so ved n Mex co—where she says a er much b ack and wh e ceram cs work “my wor d became co or u ” She s a so spen me n Sea e and a Arrowmon Schoo o Ar s and Cra s n Tennessee where she encoun ered n uen a po ers Sana Musasama Margare Boh s and Ph ade ph a po ers Sand P eran ozz and Ne Pa erson As Three reca s P eran ozz and Pa erson saw he need or more A r can-Amer can ar s s each ng a he co ege eve and encouraged Three o re urn o A red She d d bu soon cha ed a A red s ack o d vers y rece v ng her degree bu dec d ng aga ns an academ c career She re urned o Ph ade ph a n order o care or her paren s who were now oca ed on wo d eren coas s Her a her passed away and a new round o se backs h Three reca s 2014 as a “rock-bo om year ” Tha June she had ma or surgery n Augus she was a d o rom her ob as a Mura Ar s each ng ar s work ng w h marg na zed you h n Oc ober a cab s ruck her eav ng Three bare y ab e o wa k Mon hs o n ense phys ca herapy sh a su massage and suppor rom her mo her and boy r end res ored her hea h Three dec ded h s was her momen o pursue po ery u - me Desp e her many cha enges Three den es one n par cu ar ha he d her back “ a ways e ha he on y h ng s and ng be ween me and do ng po ery u - me was nances ” she says A oan rom a r end enab ed her o app y o h gher ca ber cra shows and n 2015 she hrew herse n o a grue ng Apr - o-December produc on schedu e se ng po s a over 40 shows across he m d-A an c reg on Th s broad exposure brough he ack o d vers y n he cra wor d n o ocus aga n or Three “ m very much aware ha n he cra marke c rcu am one o a ew— no he on y—person o co or For some reason have been ab e o break some o hose rac a barr ers My mom ough very hard or rac a equa y and she s augh me a o For my own progress on ve sor o s enced ha vo ce s ened o a e b oo oud hen wou dn be ab e o do he h ngs ha am do ng ” Her mo her s s her b gges champ on bu her perseverance a en and w ngness o g ve back have earned her w despread respec Mu med a ar s and men or Leroy Johnson 78 who remembers be ng “ he one b ack ranger” n he ar s and cra s scene ca s her “a ro e mode or young cra speop e ” Hope He ner a ormer s uden o Three s agrees w h Johnson “ S e an

oves her cra

no o ur her her own agenda bu o he p he commun y ” she says “She wan s o he p o her peop e o connec and nd ar as a way o enhance

e”

For he or g na ar c e p ease c ck here (h p www gr dph y com gr d-magaz ne 2016 3 28 ceram c-ar s -s e an - hree )

The Soft Inside Meets the Hard World: Kay Healy’s ‘What is Real’ An Essay by Dan e O vaa

Kay Hea y wa re e wou d no hur you e o he wa and anded aga ns your body Her s u ed ex e scu p ures h de he r hang ng hardware and some mes appear o hover ke memor es and hey prom se o cush on your hands you ouch hem wh ch peop e have been known o do Hea y s new work con nues o expand owards a gura ve area o so -scu p ure o en us ng ound ex es sourced rom hr s ores o cover arma ures o Po y a wh e b owy ma er a per ec or s u ng sacks or s and ng n or a cumu ous c oud

To gaze upon Hea y s curren work s o your senses w h so ness and o de gh n sh ng ex ures rom he organ zed rows o corduroy o he even hum o b ack ve ve A Hea y p ece con ron s you gen y and as she moves away rom dep c ng househo d ob ec s and owards gures we beg n o recogn ze ha her p eces can re a e d rec y o us o our own bod es These works are supreme y po sed be ween wo hard sur aces he wh e wa and your ough sk n

Hea y s prev ous works ound he r genes s n he s or es and memor es o peop e she n erv ewed n an ear y ns a a on Com ng Home she n erv ewed our Ph ade ph ans rom d eren soc o-econom c cu ura and geograph c backgrounds recrea ng urn ure based on descr p ons o he r ch dhood homes n a 350 square oo d orama ns a ed n he Ph ade ph a n erna ona A rpor she p aced hand-drawn and screen-pr n ed abr c represen a ons o s nks s oves hu ches and ove sea s n o our e abora e n er ors By comb n ng he r memor es n o one ns a a on Hea y ound commona es be ween peop e o d eren backgrounds She s now m n ng more o her own memor es wh ch nc ude reco ec ons o her paren s d vorce when she was s x years o d She has ound garmen s n hr s ores ha rem nd her o her mo her and a her bu as an ar s who pays c ose a en on o a ma er a s assoc a ons she recogn zes ha hese “pre- oved” garmen s are a ready s re ched by o her e bows or kneecaps hey come w h he r own h s ory When she began pu ng he s ch ng ou o one su acke severa bus ness cards be ong ng o he prev ous occupan s pped ou o he pocke Hea y he d hem or a momen and p aced hem back n o he pocke asser ng he ma er a s own memory She some mes even sews he or g na abe back on he c o h ng she has d sassemb ed h dden rom v ew bu here none he ess

As her work deve ops we see ha s no onger so much an n erpre a on o memor es as an n erpre a on o dreams The adherence o m me c rea y has g ven way o an exp ora on o emo ona s a es hrough a comb na on o arch ec ura and gura ve e emen s Hea y s n eres ed n exp or ng he surrea s c no on o a body n un on w h s avor e urn ure embedded n a wa or urned n w h he shee s Hea y s gures and ob ec s become un ed a person can be made o cedar sh ng es wh e a camera wh ch s bo h an ob ec and a ace can g ance a you shy y as prepares o snap a sho

Hea y responds sensua y o her ma er a s Her Mom Bus s a s u ed b ack ve ve bus w h a b ond w g represen ng her mo her She re shes rubb ng her hand gen y up he ve ve o draw ou s so ness ke pe ng a ca o e c a purr Wh e ve ve s a ma er a she assoc a es w h her mo her corduroy s a ma er a ha evokes her a her She aps her ngers aga ns he pocke sewn n o he ace o Corduroy Bus wh ch ng es because she has ed he pocke w h oose change abou as much as her a her used o keep n h s pocke s “Peop e ouch my ar a he me ” she says adm ng ha he everyday ma er a s and s u ed do aes he c beckon v ewers o engage w h he work

She uses her own head and body as a emp a e or he gura on br ng ng he s ze and sca e o her work n o he rea wor d n h s way her work evokes he u -body ndexes o Ana Mend e a s body orms hough bo h ar s s use vas y d eren ma er a s Mend e a exp ored he us on o em n ne orms w h na ure s ear h wood ora and re nav ga ng n a wor d apar rom he mundane Hea y n con ras sugges s ha he everyday s a mos a “na ura ” s a e she embeds he ex ures o our c o h ng deep n o our psyche Hea y s work p ays w h he s mu a on o domes c ma er a s by us ng draw ng echn ques o ha ch ng and shad ng yp ca y used o crea e he us on o hree-d mens ona orm on a a sur ace bu as Hea y uses hem hey sugges awkward a ness on s u ed ob ec s ha bu ge round y owards he v ewer The symme r ca s ra gh orward presen a on and e-s ze sca e d rec y con ron he v ewer and nvade our ac ua space Her work can be so con ron a ona ha resemb es a re ec on we may ee ha we are ook ng n o a m rror and beg n ad us ng our own mbs n re a on o he mage ac ng us Hea y says o her work ha “ compe es w h your wor d because s he same s ze as you The sca e s he same ”

Hea y s very ocused on he ways n wh ch we n erpre our re a onsh p o our bod es Body-or en ed me aphors y e d ma er a or Hea y o exp ore She s par cu ar y ond o say ngs such as “ nd ng your ee ” wh ch sugges s nd ng con dence and so d ground n a new s ua on Ano her ar s c n uence on Hea y s he scu p or Rober Gober whose s nks w hou dra ns or auce s and egs popp ng ou o wa s (wear ng o d- ash oned pan s socks and shoes) have n ormed her surrea s c endenc es She exp ores he ac s o carry ng and bu d ng n her p ece Carry a bus w h arms ha s ho d ng ( s own?) egs and s a so covered n a br ck pa ern Does he br ck add we gh o he egs s reng h o he arms or bo h? Hea y who o en has o carry “ mbs” wh e mak ng her work exp ores bo h a paren a ges ure o suppor and an ar s s necessary mo va on n bu d ng one s own body (o work) wh e v ng w h n

“Wha s Rea ” s no a ques on and a ye s a so no en re y a s a emen By re us ng o nc ude a ques on mark n h s phrase Hea y sugges s ha rea s a s ppery erm she says ha her work “becomes rea n go ng rom he draw ng o crea on” Her ob ec s have a begun as ske ches and deve oped hrough sma er maque es owards he r endpo n wh ch s he s ze o our “rea ” wor d Hea y adm s ha he represen a on a ways a s because s unm s akab y made o c o h n h s curren body o work she s ry ng “rep ca e he ee ng” us ng he ob ec o cap ure emo on Wh e Hea y s work deve ops n he d rec on o our rea y once has arr ved we as v ewers are we comed o s p back owards a surrea s a e Wh e we con emp a e he orm s s a e o be ng we can a so recogn ze he way Hea y power u y weaves he w n senses o ong ng and hope u ness by crea ng n ma e ma er a assoc a ons

Hea y has ound a way o exp ore hemes o memory and oss wh e con nu ng o expand her oo k Her works are no onger ob ga ed o express ano her person s reco ec ons and ye he prev ous owners o used c o h ng are we comed by Hea y as con r bu ors o he grow h o each scu p ure W h each new comb na on o mb ges ure c o h ng and ob ec Hea y expands he narra ve poss b es o her work and nv es he v ewer o add he r mpr n or a eas o ake a new memory w h hem as hey eave he show About the Author: Dan e O va s an ar s and wr er based n he Ph ade ph a area He was he Cura or a Ass s an a The Ga er es a Moore and s a pro essor a Penn S a e Ab ng on Read or g na ar c e here (h ps napo eonnapo eon com 2016 05 01 he-so - ns de-mee s- he-hard-wor d-kay-hea ys-wha - s-rea -an-essay-by-dan e -o va )



PH LADELPH A – Sara Z a Ebrah m (LTA 14 ACG 13 09) a “My ab y o ar cu a e he cu ura s ra egy o my

mmaker and cura or s epped n o he ro e o Program D rec or on Monday Apr 18 2016

mmak ng prac ce emerged because Leeway pushed me o name

my ar The gran app ca on process s no us a ransac ona exchange reserved or hose awarded w h a gran s ra eg ze

makes us p ace ourse ves bo h n he con ex o h s ory and n our v s on o he u ure

Leeway made me app y he s ra eg c h nk ng had encoun ered n he ac v s wor d o s a means o movemen bu d ng or a nvo ved The process requ res ar s s o

he ps so d y ha pa hway nav ga ng n be ween he ar wor d and ac v s wor d

am exc ed o o n he s a and board members o Leeway n ask ng ques ons abou how he organ za on s programs can con nue o be more han a ransac ona exchange or ar s s

wan o he p

Leeway grow n a way ha weaves oge her he cu ura s ra eg es o hundreds o ar s s ke me n o some h ng s rong and durab e ” Sara Z a Ebrah m has produced

m screen ngs and exh b s n he Ph ade ph a area or over a decade An MFA gradua e o Temp e Un vers y her own shor

ms have screened n erna ona y and been

awarded gran s rom Ch cken & Egg P c ures Roo op F ms and he Leeway Founda on Her recen work nc udes Ba ou a web ser es she wro e and d rec ed and The FB B ew Up My ce Ska es an an ma ed shor

m co-d rec ed w h L ndsey Mar n

Sara Z a re urns o Leeway a er a wo-year ou reach and even s consu ancy w h he organ za on n 2010 S nce hen she s prov ded soc a med a and commun y engagemen consu ng o nd v dua ar s s and ar s and cu ura organ za ons produced

m screen ngs nc ud ng he F cker ng L gh and K nowa ser es and augh med a produc on a Temp e Un vers y Mos recen y Sara Z a was he Soc a

Med a Spec a s a Amer can Fr ends Serv ce Comm ee

Meet the woman behind the Colored Girls Museum By Mon ca Pe ers Ph ade ph a Sun S a March 18 2016

Vash Dubo s s mak ng h s ory w h her Co ored G r s Museum oca ed n German own s poss b y he rs museum o s k nd n he na on and you don have o be an Oprah or M che e Obama o be honored n h s museum The museum a so ho d ng s Women s Her-s ory Mon h even on March 20 ce ebra es he “ord nary” ex raord nary co ored g r Dubo s makes

c ear “A n no h ng bu ove or he co ored g r s n here ”

“Peop e se dom ho d us up even as co ec ve ” re err ng o soc e y s ack o acknow edgemen o women o co or s accomp shmen and s rugg es She a so s resses ha he museum s no on y or co ored g r s bu or anyone who s ready or a consc ous revo u on and has an apprec a on or see ng he wor d hrough he ens o “co ored g r sm ” “You ake care o your am y You s and or your r ends and commun es

n sp e a o he nsan es h s ory heavy we gh ha wou d keep you down n sp e o –you ge up every day ”

The Brook yn ransp an came up w h he dea o a memo r museum or co ored g r s wh e a sophomore ma or ng n Women s S ud es a Wes eyan Un vers y The museum based n Dubo s s home we comes v s ors w h a d sp ay o un que ar ac s nc ud ng a hos o rooms re ec ng d eren per ods n he s ory o B ack women n Ph ade ph a “Hones y

sa d don have much Bu

do have ove ” re ec ed Dubo s d scuss ng her des re o s ar he museum wh ch opened as year

Fam es en oy exh b ar ac s n he museum (Pho o Cour esy o Co ored G r s Museum) The museum oca ed n Dubo s home honors he s or es exper ences and h s ory o co ored g r s The museum n a es he ord nary” ob ec —subm ed by women hemse ves ha represen an aspec o he r s or es and persona h s or es ha are mpor an and mean ng u o hem Memo rs subm ed n any orm as we as ob ec s o persona and h s or c s gn cance are cons dered as va uab e The ca a ys ha compe ed Dubo s o ac va e he museum was her own exper ence near y wo years ago when her husband passed away n a car acc den “ ma

eracy coach

m a mom a r end o many ” no ng ha he norma cy o her

e was “knocked o

ne” and many h ngs d dn ge done wh e she recovered rom he oss o her husband

Wh e ge ng back n o he sw ng o h ngs Dubo s had an ep phany abou he ex en o how much he commun y depends on B ack women “ rea zed ha so many peop e re y on he co ored g r or so many h ngs hey don even know hey re y on her When she ge s knocked o “Peop e have become dependen and aken

ne–who e bunch o peop e ge knocked o

ne

or gran ed ” re err ng o co ored women s suppor and ro es as he so e and some mes on y p ars n he r commun es

On March 20 he museum con nues s ce ebra on and presen a on o Women s Her-s ory Mon h rom noon o 4 p m w h a ve r bu e o ar s Barbara Jane Bu ock who ves and works n German own No on y w he ce ebra on h gh gh Bu ock as an n erna ona y ce ebra ed ar s and con r bu ons o he ar commun y bu her con r bu ons as an “ord nary” s s er r end and educa or Abou he Museum The Co ored G r s Museum 4613 Newha S Museum hours are Sundays noon o 4 p m Mar 20 s Women s Her-s ory Mon h Tr bu e o Barbara Bu ock Sugges ed dona on $10 www heco oredg r smuseum com

no

Read or g na ar c e here (h p www ph asun com d aspora mee - he-woman-beh nd- he-co ored-g r s-museum )

A PHILLY LATINA ARTIST DOING BIG THINGS, LITERALLY. March 8 2016

For n erna ona women s day we go o a k w h M che e Ange a Or z a Ph ade ph a-based v sua ar s sk ed mura s commun y ar s educa or who uses her ar as a veh c e o represen peop e andcommun es whose h s or es are o en os or co-op ed Check ou he n erv ew (h p m en e ne 2016 03 08 ma-or z ) be ow Te us about yourse f what s your story? am a ch d o mm gran s am he s reng h o he women ha came be ore me am he commun y- broken orgo en and gnored am he commun y- beau u

rans ormed and um na ed

am a sma woman ha crea es b g h ngs am a ca a ys or change grew up w h ee ngs o be ng o her o be ong ng and no be ong ng s rugg ed w h ssues o c ass and race am a ch d o mm gran s (Co omb a and Puer o R co) come rom a rad on w h s rong ora h s or es ha were no wr en down or v sua y represen ed and r sk be ng os For hese reasons my work as an ar s akes p ace n commun es where h s ory has been os s or es have no been o d and nd v dua s have e power ess o crea e change Through my ar work a m o represen he peop e who crea e he sp r o he space ha hey nhab revea he r aces and keep a ve he r s or es hrough my mages n he cons an da y bombardmen o mages n he med a we se dom see ourse ves or have he oppor un y o de ne and dec are TH S S WHO WE ARE Be ng La na goes beyond he anguage and cu ura rad ons encompasses he mm gran exper ence and s mpac on he am y dynam c means be ng aware o he soc o-econom c nequa es ha ex s w h n our commun es s acknow edg ng he sh ng o our den es n h s coun ry and he ee ng o be ong ng nor here or here For hese reasons make ar ha s deep y roo ed n our s or es o our commun y ar ha s soc a y engaged and ha con rad c s and cha enges he econom c and soc a power s ruc ures ha we ve n There s power n presen ng mages ha are a re ec on o who we are and demand ha our vo ces and s or es are heard and va ued When d d you start do ng pub c art? How come? As an ar s know ng abou Marce Duchamp s as mpor an as know ng abou my grandmo her s s rugg es be eve ha he wa s n a ne ghborhood are as mpor an as he wa s n a ga ery or museum For hese reasons have ocused my ar prac ce n ne ghborhoods and pub c spaces ha are ou s de he ga ery museum se ng For over een years as a v sua ar s commun y ar s educa or and h gh y sk ed mura s my crea ve process con nues o be embedded n c a m ng and rans orm ng space n ways ha a rm or cha enge peop e s exper ences n ha space and prov d ng he oppor un y o crea e a d a ogue hrough ar around he mos pro ound persona or commun y ssues Ar s s p ay an mpor an ro e n commun es and movemen s ha advoca e or soc a change As an ar s work ng n commun es am aware ha am s an ou s der en er ng n o ano her wor d When beg n a process w h he commun y am c ear abou my n en ons and wou d never ask a ques on ha am no w ng o answer myse Possess ng ar s c sk s s no enough… o engage commun es s necessary or he ar s o be sk ed n ac a ng d cu d a ogues den y ng hemes rans a ng hemes o v sua represen a ons and do ng h s w h n egr y and respec w h he commun y A hough s hard o measure he process he co abora on has a rea mpac on he peop e nvo ved and beyond ha mpac s he peop e who see hemse ves n he ar work presen n ha pub c space A s ng e ar work s no go ng o br ng abou wor d peace bu can crea e a sa e space or someone o speak up or he rs me o make a mark abou he r exper ence and he r ves w h no udgmen and o have he oppor un y o co ec ve y rans orm pub c spaces as a p a orm o presen a v sua a rma on ha honors and va ues he r s or es Th s past year you got to do a b g nsta at on at Ph ade ph a s C ty Ha

te us about what you d d and how you dec ded on that work?

My ns a a on a Ph ade ph a s C y Ha s par o my “Fam as Separadas (h p am asseparadaspro ec b ogspo com)” pro ec The pro ec s a ser es o emporary s e-spec c pub c ar works ha marks oca ons and documen s or es o mm gran am es a ec ed by depor a ons The rs se o pub c ar works were ns a ed n he c y o Ph ade ph a n Oc ober 2015 and were a cu m na on o over a year s work deve oped w h undocumen ed am es and you h rom Jun os (h p vamos un os org) My arge ns a a ons were a so a par o he Mura Ar s c y-w de Open Source (h p opensource mura ar s org abou ) c yw de exh b on wh ch nc uded works rom e ow ar s s Shepard Fa rey Swoon Momo JR and o hers The p ece en ed “Eres M Todo (You Are My Every h ng)” s an mage o Mar a p aced n he ac ua cen er o he c y pa n ed he mage o Mar a and her daugh er wh ch was hen d g a y en arged and ns a ed n a pa n ed compass (The Compass Rose) ha marks where nor h sou h wes and eas mee The compass s a symbo o he ac o search ng and m gra ng wh ch connec s o he mm gran h s or es ha con nue o hr ve n our c y P ac ng he mage o Mar a on he compass n ron o he W am Penn s a ue n he cen er o he c y was my way o e eva ng Mar a s s ory and demand ng a en on and crea ng awareness o he e ec s o depor a on on undocumen ed am es “Eres M Todo” are he wr en words rom Mar a s husband who s curren y ncarcera ed Mar a s husband ved n Ph ade ph a and s n he process o depor a on He a emp ed o cross he border aga n o be reun ed w h h s am y He was caugh by CE n Texas and now has 6 mon hs e o h s 3 year a sen ence n Ca orn a Once h s sen ence s over he w be sen back o Mex co Mar a con nues o ve n Ph ade ph a and has ve ch dren ha she s ak ng care o She speaks abou he d cu y o mak ng he dec s on o s ay or eave o Mex co o be reun ed w h her husband Depor a ons have separa ed over wo m on am es n he as our years Many mes women have been orced o choose be ween he r ch dren and he a her o he r ch dren n 2013 94% o a depor a onswere men orc ng many women o become s ng e mo hers and dr v ng mm gran commun es deeper n o pover y be eve empowers o hers when we rea ze he courage and s reng h o women ke Mar a Mar a s s ory s he s ory o housands o women ha are s rugg ng n keep ng he r am es oge her and she shou d be heard C ck Here (https: soundc oud com m che eange a-1 open-source-fam as-separadas-s te-1-mar as-story-trans ated) to L sten to Mar a s Story n Eng sh Escucha a H stor a de Mar a Aqu (https: soundc oud com m che eange a-1 s te-1-mar as-story- ocat on-c ty-ha -compass) en Españo The other work that rea y grabbed our attent on was outs de the mm grat on and Customs Enforcement Off ce what was that pro ect ke? s ened o an aud o n erv ew conduc ed by Jun os o Ana (h ps www you ube com wa ch?v=6C8Xr73C cg& ea ure=you u be) an undocumen ed mo her rom Gua ema a who was de a ned a he Berks De en on Cen er The Berks Coun y De en on Cen er s a coun y run pr son oca ed wen y m nu es ou s de o Pennsy van a wh ch curren y ncarcera es mm gran am es w h ch dren as young as wo weeks o d be ng de a ned The cen er has recen y had he r cense revoked by he s a e due o a s o abuses aga ns he de a ned undocumen ed am es A erspend ng a mos a year n Berks De en on Cen er Ana and her daugh er were depor ed back o he r na ve coun ry o Gua ema a A udge dec ared her depor a on un us and ordered ha hey be brough back o he Un ed S a es o gh he r depor a on “Somos Seres Humanos Arr esgando Nues ras V das Para Nues ras Fam as Y Nues ro Fu uro” are Ana s words rom her n erv ew ha deep y resona ed w h me Her words were so hones poe c and power u ha dec ded o p ace hem n ron o he mm gra ons Cus oms En orcemen bu d ng was s ra eg c n choos ng he oca ons o each one o my ns a a ons and he CE bu d ng was rs on my s o oca ons when hough o h s Pro ec e ha Ana s words needed o be rans a ed n Eng sh o commun ca e c ear y her message o passerbyers bu mos mpor an y he CE agen s work ng ns de he bu d ng The perm ss ons o p ace he ar work on he s ree rom he C y were secured hrough my con nued pers s ence and he suppor o Jun os and he Mura Ar s Program w h he commun y where we crea ed he 90 ong s enc o Ana s words

ac

a ed wo ar mak ng sess ons

On Monday Oc ober 12 h 2015 (Co umbus Day) over 30 vo un eers undocumen ed am es commun y members rom Jun os o ns a Ana s words WE ARE HUMAN BE NGS R SK NG OUR L VES FOR OUR FAM L ES AND OUR FUTURE” n ron o he CE bu d ng n Ph ade ph a See he v deo here (h ps www you ube com wa ch?v=2z7KsOKGQq ) The CE bu d ng s a p ace ha ns s so much ear n our commun es was nsp r ng o he vo un eers n so dar y w h he undocumen ed am es who were ear ess and work ng oge her n p ac ng hese words ha connec o us a Th s ac on w a ways be a s gn can momen n my e Do you have p ans for what s next? Where do youwant to take the work from here? My p ans are o expand my “Fam as Separadas” pro ec o o her c es The pro ec began n Ph ade ph a and my goa s o con nue o h gh gh he s or es o he e ec s o depor a ons and de en ons spec ca y n he nor heas o he Un ed S a es am curren y search ng or und ng and work ng w h Jun os n den y ng organ zers and oca ar s s o expand he pro ec R gh now am ead ng a mura pro ec n Havana Cuba as par o my ar s res dency hrough Mer d an nternat ona Center Cuba s one o 9 coun r es se ec ed or h scu ura program suppor ed by Mer d an and par a y suppor ed by he U S Bureau o Educa ona and Cu ura A a rs Th s s my second pro ec w h Mer d an (see my work n Honduras n 2015 here (h ps www you ube com wa ch? v=hKRu9JQvyRE) ) am among he rs group o Amer can ar s s conduc ng h s ype o cu ura exchange n Cuba Th s pro ec s pav ng he way or u ure cu ura exchanges espec a y dur ng h s de ca e me w h bo h he U S and Cuba ded ca ed o rebu d ng he r es am ra n ng oca ar s s and work ng d rec y w h commun y members n he deve opmen o 4 mura s ha w be pa n ed n he h s or ca Parque Maceo n Cen ra Havana The mura s are oca ed n a pub c space ha w con nue o be ac va ed w h exh b ons and even s rom he nearby cu ura cen er and pro ec par ner- Casa Cu ura de Ar s as Creadores

There are some deas am work ng on or he upcom ng DNC n Ph ade ph a around he ssues o mm gra on Whe her s a mura or emporary ns a a ons every pro ec akes me o he nex dea and cha enge Wha s mos mpor an o me s con nu ng o rans orm spaces and crea e a p a orm or our s or es o be amp ed How can peop e f nd out more and fo ow your work Webs e www m che eange a com (h p www m che eange a com) NSTAGRAM @m che eange aor z (h ps www ns agram com m che eange aor z ?h =en) TW TTER @m che eaor z1 (h ps

w er com m che eaor z1)

Facebook h ps www acebook com M che eAnge aOr z (h ps www acebook com M che eAnge aOr z ) M che e Ange a Or z (h p www m che eange a com) s a v sua ar s sk ed mura s commun y ar s educa or who uses her ar as a veh c e o represen peop e and commun es whose h s or es are o en os or co-op ed Through pa n ng pr n mak ng and commun y ar s prac ces she crea es a sa e space or d a ogue around some o he mos pro ound ssues commun es and nd v dua s may ace Her work e s s or es us ng r ch y cra ed and emo ve magery o c a m and rans orm “b gh ed” spaces n o a v sua a rma on ha revea s he s reng h and sp r o he commun y For over een years Or z con nues o be an ac ve educa or n us ng he ar s as a oo or commun ca on o br dge commun es As a h gh y sk ed mura s Or z has des gned and crea ed over 50 argesca e pub c works na ona y (PA NJ MS NY) and n erna ona y S nce 2008 Or z has ed commun y bu d ng and ar or soc a change pub c ar pro ec s bo h ndependen y and hrough he Un ed S a es Embassy as a Cu ura Envoy n he Ocean a Europe and Nor h Cen ra and Sou h Amer ca Read or g na ar c e here (h p m en e ne 2016 03 08 ma-or z )

ACSJN (h p ar cu ure us ce com ) presen s wo Ne work earn ng exchanges s ory shar ng and connec on crea ng ca s RSVP now or one or bo h po n or broader ne work engagemen deas sugges ons and ques ons we come

The ca s are mean o be a s ar ng or res ar ng

March 15 2016 Jo n ACSJN eadersh p eam members Den se Brown ED o he Leeway Founda on and Car on Turner ED o A erna e ROOTS on March 15 h a 1pmEST 12noonCST 10amPST Car on and Den se w open a conversa on abou he s a e o he ar cu ure and soc a us ce e d and hen nv e your perspec ves A er ha he Ar Cu ure and Soc a Jus ce Ne work w prov de a br e overv ew on he organ za on and exchange deas abou wha gaps or connec ons he ne work cou d prov de RSVP here (h ps docs goog e com orms d 1uopuQM F0BFK8rMDxZNkRbCk4D GRDz 00_bOwdnNU v ew orm)

March 24 2016 Jo n Jud Jenn ngs ACSJN Leadersh p Team Member and Mo W s Program D rec or A ed Med a Con erence on March 24 h a 5pm You re nv ed o re ec on How s ar and cu ure advanc ng soc a us ce as you see n your commun y? Then de ve n o how par c pa ng n a ne work ke ACSJN can amp y h s work and how bes o share our ns gh s and earn ngs RSVP here (h ps docs goog e com orms d 1uopuQM F0BFK8r-MDxZNkRbCk4D GRDz 00_bOwdnNU v ew orm)

A Pop-Up Museum Documents the Stories of Philadelphia's Black Women Vash DuBo s s ook ng o bu d commun y and pr de n underserved ne ghborhoods s ar ng w h her own

By Heather Hansman sm thson an com February 9 2016

Wa k n o he ron door o Vash DuBo s house n Ph ade ph a s German own ne ghborhood and you nd yourse

n a v ng room

ed w h ar ac s—wooden s a ues and ace do es on he man e huge o

pa n ngs on he wa s Go ups a rs and each o he 10 rooms s a d eren chap er n he s ory o b ack women n he c y The bedroom h s on hemes o ove and she er (and nc udes voodoo do s) and he oo shed ho ds horse ack and o d pho ographs o ema e ac ory workers DuBo s an ar s and Ph ade ph a na ve saw a gap n he s or es be ng o d n Amer can h s ory abou women o co or She dec ded o urn her home n o a pop-up cu ure cen er and ar exh b on ca ed he Co ored G r s Museum She s ves n he house and h nks o k nd o ke a bed and break as as o her peop e come hrough her space “There shou d be a p ace n he wor d where co ored g r s h s ory s be ng bu

and arch ved ” DuBo s says

n 2014 DuBo s pu a ca ou hrough he nonpro and ar s commun es she d worked n o b ack women n Ph ade ph a She asked women o a ages o con r bu e ar ac s ha embod ed he r exper ence as g r s—any h ng rom co ee cups o he r oom pa n ngs She rece ved a huge co ec on o ob ec s rang ng rom hand oo s o a pa n ng o he s nger Lauryn H Then she had 10 oca ar s s each cura e a room For ns ance he aundry room s a shr ne o he concep o he washerwoman a power u concep or many o he women “For a o o women o co or our grandmo hers ook n aundry s very persona and ha h s ory was no ha ong ago ” she says Many o he rooms b end h s ory ar and soc a commen ary The dea was o crea e a co ec on o exper ences o show wha e ooked ke or hese g r s and o draw a broader p c ure o wha mean o grow up as a woman o co or n Amer ca

Vash Dubo s n ron o her house (Zaman Fee ngs) DuBo s has been push ng he boundar es o ar ns a a ons s nce she was a sophomore a Wes eyan Un vers y n he a e 1970s There she saw her peers gnor ng he ar s n avor o more rad ona career pa hs so she cura ed an ar show ca ed "Women s Work " n he B ack S uden Un on house “ s ar ed as a way or women o co or o come oge her around some h ng genera ve ” she says A er co ege wh e runn ng ar s programs a a cen er or ad ud ca ed you h n Ph ade ph a she saw how ar was an avenue or g r s o process and con ex ua ze he r dec s ons and exper ences The Co ored G r s Museum s mean o expose peop e o ar n a non- rad ona museum venue and o be a we com ng p ace

The aundry room unpacks he concep o he washerwoman (Deborah Lehman) “Houses pu peop e a ease ” DuBo s says “We re re mag n ng he museum as a sanc uary or co ored g r s wan o be a ga her ng space ce ebra ng and acknow edg ng and ook ng c ose y a he h ngs ha have shaped us n he coun ry and n he wor d ” The museum s a m x o rad ona ar s ke qu s and rag do s modern ar ha speaks o he exper ence o be ng a b ack woman and he r ooms s a mashup o com cs mura s and s a ned g ass DuBo s s curren y a na s n he Kn gh C es Cha enge wh ch gran s a o a o $5 m on o c v c pro ec s ocus ng on hree areas a rac ng a en ed peop e expand ng econom c oppor un y and crea ng a cu ure o c v c engagemen The gran wou d he p her bu d ou a web exh b on or hose who can v s n person and rep ca e he mode n o her c es De ro and Ra e gh are nex " s a rave ng pop-up even ha can and n any c y ” DuBo s says “Museums are cu ure s symbo c a ar We re ook ng a he h ngs ha cu ure says s mpor an Tha s rea y power u and we recogn ze ha d eren commun es are go ng o be ab e o re a e n a d eren way " Read or g na ar c e here (h p www sm hson anmag com nnova on pop-up-museum-documen s-s or es-ph ade ph as-b ack-women-180957996 #837azL7sS8 6D5r 99)

Yolanda Wisher named Philly's third poet laureate by John T mpane Staff Wr ter for ph y com February 5 2016 Photo by Mark Pa ac o

A o o peop e n he Ph ade ph a poe ry wor d are very happy oday On Fr day morn ng Mayor Kenney s schedu ed o announce ha Yo anda W sher a poe w h a ong h s ory o pub ca on and commun y ac v sm has been appo n ed Ph ade ph a poe aurea e or 2016-17 The even s o nc ude a shor read ng by he appo n ee W sher s he c y s h rd aurea e succeed ng Frank Sher ock (2014-15) and Son a Sanchez (2012-13) Her du es w nc ude read ngs commun y serv ce pro ec s and men or ng o her poe s She a so w he p se ec he nex you h poe aurea e who w succeed Dav d Jones The appo n men carr es a s pend o $5 000 o a or he wo-year erm When her rs n erv ew came by ce phone W sher 39 was wa k ng down German own Avenue Thursday n gh sa d "w h a o o oppor un y " She had a read ng Thursday n gh a Far ey s Bookshop n New Hope " m rea y ee ng us hr ed and a e " She ound ou v a a phone ca

n he ne ghborhood where she was born and ves - "a very spec a par o Ph y " W sher

e overwhe med " W sher sa d " ound ou a coup e o weeks ago and had o keep h s b g secre

o d my mom o course my husband a ew peop e k nd o had o

rom Be h Fe dman Brand execu ve d rec or o he poe aurea e govern ng comm ee Brand sa d W sher was an dea cand da e

"You have o be a rea y s rong poe and she rea y s on he page and n per ormance " Brand sa d "And you have o buy n o he ac ha h s s a pos on o c v c serv ce And she has a ready done so much n German own and hroughou h s area us ng poe ry o ge peop e o h nk more deep y abou he commun y We rea y e as we were h ch ng up o wha she was a ready do ng " Sher ock wro e by ema ha he was "very happy o be pass ng he aurea e pos on on o Yo anda W sher ve been a an o her work adm red her ac v sm and road- r pped w h her o some un and kooky g gs hope here s more o ha And ook orward o her v s on o Ph ade ph a s poe ry u ure s n ru y good hands " Ke y Lee ch e cu ura o cer or he c y s O ce o Ar s Cu ure and he Crea ve Economy pra sed W sher s dynam sm "She s go ng o br ng poe ry o a sor s o peop e who never hough hey d ke poe ry " Lee wro e W sher grew up n Nor h Wa es When she was 13 her mo her e her ake he ra n n o Ph ade ph a o ake a poe ry c ass a he Un vers y o Pennsy van a " wa ked down Wa nu S ree rom he s a on o he c ass " she sa d " was a s x h grader n a c ass u o h gh schoo ers who were very ser ous poe s My eacher and he o her s uden s ooked a er me And ha s where a rea y began " W sher earned a bache or s degree rom La aye e Co ege and a mas er s a Temp e Un vers y She was he rs poe aurea e o Mon gomery Coun y augh or a decade a German own Fr ends Schoo was d rec or o ar educa on or he Mura Ar s Program rom 2010 o 2015 and has been a ma ns ay a oca read ngs s ams workshops poe ry even s commun y ac v es and comb na ons hereo "Wha

rea y wan o do wha h s g ves me a p a orm o do " W sher sa d " s connec he wr ng o poe ry w h my commun y ac v sm

wan o crea e a use u poe ry a poe cs o use "

One o W sher s rs ac v es as aurea e w be a 7 30 p m Feb 20 a he Pa n ed Br de Ar s Cen er She w hos he Poe c Address o he Na on an ou grow h o her work w h a na ona ar s group (no a edera agency) ca ed he U S Depar men o Ar s and Cu ure "The Poe c Address s a huge co abora ve poem read a d eren p aces a over he coun ry " W sher sa d "wr en w h peop e ke Los Ange es poe aurea e Lu s Rodr guez Ross Gay and oca poe s ke Frank Sher ock " w be broadcas ve on he on ne news ne work FreeSpeechTV (www reespeech org) @ph ynews com215-854-4406 @ mpane Read or g na ar c e here (h p www ph y com ph y news 20160205_Yo anda_W sher_named_Ph y_s_ h rd_poe _ aurea e h m # 2bx4JBcaYVbU S 99)



Leading Women: Denise M. Brown By Le gh Stuart for Ph ade ph a L fe Magaz ne December 2015 ssue Photograph by Noe e Theard Advanc ng d a ogue a he n ersec on o ar cu ure and soc a change “Ar s and cu ure are a bas c par o us ce movemen s ”

e Whe her we rea ze

or no we a bene

rom even pass ve par c pa on n ac s o cu ure and so be eve ha ar s and cu ure have a ways been a par o soc a

So says Den se M Brown execu ve d rec or o Ph ade ph a s Leeway Founda on ( eeway org) wh ch has been crea ng und ng oppor un es or ar s s s nce s ncep on n he ear y 1990s The organ za on s ounder Ph ade ph a based ar s L nda Lee A er s ar ed sma by award ng gran s n par cu ar ar s c d sc p nes each year bu over me he organ za on and s scope o ar s s and d sc p nes grew Today he Leeway Founda on suppor s women and rans ar s s and cu ura producers work ng n commun es “a he n ersec on o ar cu ure and soc a change ” Through n a ves nc ud ng he $2 500 pro ec -based Ar and Change gran and he Leeway Trans orma on Award wh ch s g ven n recogn on o a body o work or an nd v dua s comm men o ar s cu ure and soc a change he Leeway Founda on suppor s approx ma e y 60 ar s s each year “Some mes we have g ven shor shr o hose con r bu ons and so h nk par o wha Leeway s ry ng o do s make more v s b e hose connec ons o encourage peop e who are do ng var ous orms o cu ura work o h nk abou ways hey can engage n mov ng soc a us ce ssues orward ” Brown says “A o o mes n soc a us ce movemen s we end o de au o he use o words o ry o make our case—wh ch s cer a n y mpor an —bu h nk some mes wha can be done w h a power u mage a s ng e pho ograph or a pa n ng or a per ormance o some sor can a so move peop e n ways ha some mes we can w h words h nk hese h ngs are us sor o n er w ned and a ways have been ” Brown who a so serves on he board o d rec ors or Gran makers n he Ar s became execu ve d rec or o he Leeway Founda on n a e 2006 Pr or o ha she was assoc a e d rec or o he Bread & Roses Commun y Fund a group compr sed o ac v s s ded ca ed o suppor ng causes o soc a us ce where she ran he gran program Brown says here s much on he hor zon or he Leeway Founda on no ab y n erms o he group s advocacy o gender equa y and gender us ce “ h nk s mpor an o be deep y connec ed w h n he reg on ha we re n and hen bu d na ona re a onsh ps o he p e eva e he k nd o work wh ch s our core m ss on ” she says “To beg n o bu d re a onsh ps n erna ona y h nk ha s some h ng ha and o hers n he organ za on wou d ke o see … There are cer a n soc a us ce movemen s and ssues ha rans a e n o o her coun r es n o her ways and cou d be rea y n eres ng o br ng hese perspec ves n o he m x so we re h nk ng g oba y ” Read or g na ar c e here (h p d g a sou h ersey com ndex c m? a=v ew ssue&mag d=15& ssue d=493&s ar page=15)

Philly muralist gets a great big wall to paint in Havana By John T mpane nqu rer Staff Wr ter January 21 2016 mage M che e Ange a Or z works on a 2015 pro ec n Teguc ga pa Honduras Ju ssa Gomez For a mura s a b g wa w h no h ng on

s ke

a b ank canvas as b g as a park ng o

M che e Ange a Or z s a Ph ade ph a pa n er per ormer and wr er - and a cu ura envoy On Sunday she w y o Cuba o he p pa n a arge mura n Havana She be here or 31 2 weeks on a cu ura exchange program organ zed by he Mer d an n erna ona Cen er n Wash ng on a nongovernmen a organ za on ha works w h he U S S a e Depar men On Dec 11 w h a new gran rom he S a e Depar men Bureau o Educa on and Pub c A a rs Mer d an sen represen a ves o Havana o mee w h ar s s ga ery owners ounda ons and po en a ncoun ry par c pan s - and o scou ou a n ce b g b ank wa They ound one very n ce very b g very b ank " s an amaz ng space " Or z says " s a wa k ng unne ha connec s he Parque Maceo n cen ra Havana w h he Ma ecón ha wa er ron you a ways see n pho os o Havana own w h o s o pedes r an ra c We have he wa s go ng n and ou o pa n s huge and a o o peop e w see "

s a b g mee -up p ace n

No h ng s drawn ye no h ng des gned The who e dea s or Or z o work w h oca ar s s n Cuba o gure ou wha he mura w show and say and hen ge he equ pmen and supp es and crea e he h ng There s a schedu e The unve ng w be on Feb 15 or 16 Accord ng o Terry K Harvey v ce pres den o cu ura programs a Mer d an "You shou d have seen M che e when she saw how wonder u he space s - she was ke a k d n a candy s ore " Ge ng perm ss on o do mura s on pub c wa s s no so easy o do n Cuba Ye he M n s ry o Cu ure came across and qu ck y "We were rea y amazed ha he mun c pa y o Havana sa d yes and sa d yes so as " Harvey says "Maybe s a s gn o he mes a s gn o grow ng rus " Or z born n Ph ade ph a o Puer o R can and Co omb an paren s s among he rs ar s s o be se ec ed or h s k nd o exchange o Cuba She cer a n y has a rack record hav ng been a cu ura envoy s nce 2008 Las year she ook par n a mura n Teguc ga pa Honduras and she recen y re urned rom an envoy m ss on o Mex co Her pub c ar work has appeared a over Ph ade ph a a grea p ace or mura s n Oc ober as par o an mm gra on- heme pro ec ns a a on Eres M Todo (You Are My Every h ng) n C y Ha s compass rose cour yard

ed Fam as Separadas (Separa ed Fam es) she crea ed he emporary

Tha was a cu m na on o years o c ose work w h Mex can mm gran am es n own She s a so known as par o he per ormance-ar r o Las Ga as n May 2014 hey rave ed o Cuba or a workshop w h h p-hop ar s s and o per orm She a so ne worked wh e here den y ng some o he ar s s she work w h on h s new mura "Over he as 15 years n Ph y and abroad n pro ec s n p aces ke Cos a R ca and Ecuador ve been us ng ar as a means o soc a ca a ys s a orum or he commun y o rans orm phys ca spaces n o some h ng new " Or z says She has a s rong ph osophy " ve r ed o make ar ha n ervenes n pub c spaces speak ng hrough he vo ce o he commun y n p aces where peop e have o pay a en on " Br ng ng Or z o Havana was Harvey says arge y a ma er o m ng Mer d an had a mura -ar s n a ve ha had gone o he Democra c Repub c o Congo Honduras N caragua and Co omb a Then he S a e Depar men ex ended gran money or programs n our more coun r es Turkey nd a Braz and - he as one chosen - Cuba "A h s " he says "o course co nc des w h Pres den Obama s recen ac ons w h regard o Cuba " The po n s no o pro ec Amer can va ues "We re no ry ng o go down here and e hem wha we wan or wha hey shou d do " Or z says "We re rea y ry ng o shy away rom po cs and propaganda and ocus on hese peop e hese ar s s n h s ne ghborhood We re pu ng he r work ron and cen er m more o a ac a or The ar s s w go away and use he res o he supp es and do mura s n o her commun es " Go ng away s a so par o he dr

Mer d an and Or z wan h s pro ec o resona e

" wan o ensure ha he ra n ng o he ar s s means he ar s s can sus a n he work pas my depar ure " Or z says "and s reng hen he work hey are a ready do ng "

Read or g na ar c e here (h p www ph y com ph y en er a nmen ar s 20160121_Ph y_mura s _ge s_a_grea _b g_wa _ o_pa n _ n_Havana h m #Jb 03wJc15V rb X 99)

New Music Monday: Taina Asili's #Blacklivesmatter Anthem "Freedom" By Sarah M rk for B tch Med a January 18 2016 Photo by Kather ne Wr ght We ea ure new mus c rom ema e- ron ed bands every Monday Today we re exc ed o debu he new mus c v deo or “Freedom ” by Ta na As

y a Banda Rebe de

“ Freedom s a mus ca con r bu on o he #B ackL vesMa er movemen and was nsp red by he organ z ng work do n my commun y o end mass ncarcera on and s a e v o ence ” says As shows a young B ack woman runn ng rom po ce a er a pro es n erspersed w h scenes o he same woman por ray ng a runaway s ave ee ng a ong he Underground Ra road

The v deo

Ta na As has been mak ng mus c or 20 years—you m gh have go en o know her when she ron ed he punk band An -Produc Th s song s o her mos recen a bum Fru o Hope wh ch came ou n 2014 and s made w h La Banda Rebe de an e gh -p ece ensemb e ha comb nes rock reggae and A ro-La n sounds Wh e work ng as a mus c an As has a so been an an - ncarcera on ac v s She curren y organ zes w h he Cap a Area Aga ns Mass ncarcera on n A bany New York Members o he group are ac ors n he mus c v deo oo As exp a ns ha her ac v sm comes rom a persona p ace as he he daugh er and s s er o wo ormer y ncarcera ed men “ have seen up c ose he ways he U S pr son sys em nega ve y e ec s am es and commun es o co or W h h s song and v deo hope o br ng more awareness o he rac sm nheren n he pr son sys em and o nsp re peop e o gh or an end o mass ncarcera on n h s coun ry ” says As The song a so ea ures Ch cano Mex cano poe and emcee M chae Reyes Check ou he power u v deo be ow and read he yr cs o he song < rame w d h="560" he gh ="315" src="h ps www you ube com embed wDEebbQ-E" rameborder="0" a ow u screen>< rame>< rame w d h="560" he gh ="315" src="h ps www you ube com embed wDEebbQ-E" rameborder="0" a ow u screen>< rame>

Lyr cs to "Freedom" Wha do we wan ? Freedom When do we wan

? Now

Pr sons are our reedom h eves dec ma e commun es des roy ng our am es eav ng no oppor un es Rac a cas e a ve and we now we re ca ed a cr m na and we re seen d sposab e m ons s uck n Amer ca s he Canno ea he my hs hey ve ed h - ech cages r ons spen say no money or ch dren schoo s he p pe ne o pr son D scr m na e ega y emp oymen

o vo e hous ng

permanen y ocks he key s ea ng our human y Bu we w evoke he gh n ng o s r ke n us ce down we w br ng he hunder o break our am y ou we w br ng he gh n ng o s r ke n us ce down we w br ng he hunder o break our am y ou From he reedom o he bea o he cha ns on he ee o he mass ncarcera on am y separa on mm gra on go me chas ng bera on new s aves n a new s ave na on modern day p an a on mak ng produc s or a corpora on b ack co d cha n gang gang bang guns bang bang dope sa es s ng ha h ng ropes hang s

s

bang nsane

our wa s bars cha ned wo m on names s rugg ed no n va n so we gh or hose h ngs ha we can change and so we s ng reedom o he m nd reedom o he sou reedom o he hear and reedom here we go ba e or he ves and he o ks ha we know ba e or he seeds and he u ure ha we sow p an ng seeds so w can see em grow gh ng hrough he sky so everybody know hunder crash ve can

ve rom dea h row

ame he sp r o he re o he sou

break ng down he aws o he new J m Crow Bu we w evoke he gh n ng o s r ke n us ce down we w br ng he hunder o break our am y ou we w br ng he gh n ng o s r ke n us ce down we w br ng he hunder o break our am y ou Wha do we wan ? Freedom When do we wan

? NOW

Read or g na ar c e here (h ps b chmed a org ar c e new-mus c-monday- an a-as s-an hem- reedom)

N ne ar s s & cu ura producers have been named 2015 Leeway Trans orma on Awardees he ounda on announced oday The Trans orma on Awards are gran ed annua y o women and rans* ar s s who have worked a he n ersec on o ar and soc a change or he pas ve years or more and mpac ed a arger group aud ence or commun y The $15 000 award s unres r c ed—no pro ec s requ red The 2015 awards were presen ed o a d verse group o ar s s & cu ura producers work ng n a range o d sc p nes nc ud ng per ormance mus c and o k ar s Th s cyc e s n ne awardees se ec ed ou o 72 app ca ons are ( n rs name a phabe ca order) Camae Ayewa (http: www eeway org grantees camae_ayewa_ ta_15) of Strawberry Mans on Mu t -D sc p nary Ce Be (http: www eeway org grantees ce _be _ ta_15)of West Oak Lane L terary Arts E a ne T Jones (http: www eeway org grantees e a ne_t _ ones_ ta_15) of Northeast Ph ade ph a L terary Arts Kerr Rad ey (http: www eeway org grantees kerr _rad ey_ ta_15) of South Ph ade ph a L terary Arts and V sua Arts Lan ca Angpak (http: www eeway org grantees an ca_angpak_ ta_15) of South Ph ade ph a Fo k Art and Performance Le a A sha Jones (http: www eeway org grantees e a_a sha_ ones_ ta_15) of East Oak Lane Performance and Fo k Art Magg e E ghteen (http: www eeway org grantees magg e_e ghteen_ ta_15) of West Ph ade ph a L terary Arts and Performance Nancy Lew s-She (http: www eeway org grantees nancy_ ew s_she _ ta_15) of Crescentv e Crafts & Text es and V sua Arts Zaye Tete (http: www eeway org grantees zaye_tete_ ta_15) of Southwest Ph ade ph a Mus c and Fo k Art “The awardees represen ed here u y embody Leeway s m ss on and pa n s such a v bran p c ure o Grea er Ph ade ph a ” says Den se Brown Leeway s Execu ve D rec or “The work hey ve done ru y speaks o he v brancy and res ence o our ne ghborhoods and he crea ve

eb ood ha

ows hrough he reg on ”

A na ona pane o ar s s and organ zers convened o rev ew app ca ons and work samp es n wo s ages The 2015 pane cons s ed o graph c nove s and prev ous Trans orma on Award rec p en Ann e Mok (LTA 14 ACG 13) (h p www eeway org ar s s ann e_mok) med a ar s and documen ar an Port a Cobb wr er and per ormer Leah Lakshm P epzna-Samaras nha DJ and educa or Lynnée Den se and dancer Mar a Bauman Cu ura organ zer Om sade Burney-Scott ac a ed he second s age App ca ons are ava ab e on he Leeway webs e and may a so be ob a ned by ca ng 215 545 4078 or ema ng n o@ eeway org (ma o n o@ eeway org) The nex Leeway Trans orma on Award dead ne s May 15 2016 n eres ed app can s shou d a end one o he many app can suppor sess ons he d hroughou he year or schedu e an appo n men w h a ounda on s a member or one-on-one suppor Press nqu r es shou d be d rected to Den se Beek at (215) 545-4078 ext 14 or dbeek@ eeway org *We use he erm “ rans” n s mos nc us ve sense as an umbre a erm encompass ng ranssexua gender express on s noncon orm ng and or d eren rom he r gender ass gned a b r h

ransgender genderqueer Two-Sp r peop e and more genera y anyone whose gender den y or

Down oad 2015 LTA Press Re ease (h p www eeway org mages b og 2015_LTA_Press_Re ease_dcb_ed pd ) Down oad 2015 LTA Ar s Pro es (h p www eeway org mages news LTA_2015_Ar s _Pro es pd ) Down oad 2015 LTA Pane s B os (h p www eeway org mages news LTA_2015_Pane _B os pd )



mage above Amanda Sm h s one o he a en ed b ack ba er nas who s go ng o have o ace he ac ha he wor d o c ass ca ba e has a h s ory o b as aga ns a en ed back dancers spann ng many decades

Film explores racism in world of classical ballet December 18 2015 By Sue Ann Rybak for Chestnut H

Loca

M A ry res den Nad ne Pa erson 50 s he p ng o produce a ea ure eng h documen ary “B ack Ba er na ” wh ch e s he s or es o s x A r can-Amer can women rom d eren genera ons and he r s rugg e o pursue he r ove o ba e n he “overwhe m ng wh e wor d o c ass ca dance ” Pa erson an award w nn ng ndependen wr er producer and d rec or sa d he documen ary exam nes 60 years o ba e n he m wh ch s s n progress p oneers Joan Myers Brown ar s c and ound ng d rec or o Ph danco De ores Browne who per ormed w h he New York Negro Ba e Company n he 1950s and Raven W k nson he rs A r can Amer can woman o dance w h he Russe de Mon e Car o Ba e Company a k abou he rac sm hey con ron ed n pursu ng he r dreams o careers n c ass ca dance n he 1950s Pa erson who s he ou reach producer or he m sa d Frances McE roy producer and d rec or o “B ack Ba er na ” a so n erv ewed hree A r can Amer can women n 2015 who are curren y pursu ng careers as ba er nas and asks hem “ he co or o ba e has changed ” “ s hard o be a ba er na regard ess o race ” she sa d “On y he creme de a creme make

”

n he m Joan Myers Brown De ores Browne and Raven W k nson a k abou he C v R gh s Movemen and how a ec ed hem a he me “These women who are now n he r 80s have a o o ns gh o o er abou wha ba e was ke n he r day ” McE roy sa d “Un or una e y when hey ook a he e d oday hey rea ze hasn rea y changed ha much When you see hese mages you beg n o unders and ha he d scr m na on hey aced n he ba e wor d s he same underp nn ng ha b ack peop e ace across Amer can Soc e y oday ” Pa erson who co-owns Harmony mage Produc ons a m produc on and med a consu ng company w h her mo her Mar ene Pa erson sa d he documen ary s “beyond us ba e Peop e w nd he m engag ng even hey are no n o dance Th s s some h ng ha every paren w care abou n erms o ex racurr cu ar ac v es whe her s oo ba baske ba drama c ub gymnas cs or ba e The m shows how spor s and he ar s he p peop e grow n o ma ure we -rounded human be ngs “ you rea y suppor your ch dren n wha ever hey ove o do ha can make a wor d o d erence s a e ong hobby or ac v y ha br ngs hem oy as a human be ng ”

your ch d has an ar s c n eres even

doesn end up be ng par h s her career

ss

a good h ng

Pa erson who grew up n N ce own-T oga and H s or c German own sa d ha s on y one componen o he m She sa d paren s and commun y members mus “push adm n s ra ors educa ors managers d rec ors and producers n he ar s o open up he r doors o women and peop e o co or Ta en s everywhere Don exc ude a who e e d o a en because hey don ook ke you Everyone can par c pa e n h s ar orm You don have o be a sk nny wh e person o do h s “ s abou open ng peop e s m nds and expand ng he r hor zons Look a he poss b es espec a y a ch d rea y oves wh e he documen ary s abou ba e s abou e and our soc e y We us need o open he door and e hem n ”

Suppor hem 100 percen and ha goes across he sc en

c e ds as we

So

D scover ng he h dden s or es Pa erson whose work nc udes “Anna Russe Jones Pra sesong or a P oneer ng Sp r ” wh ch won bes documen ary 1993 A r can Amer can Women n he Ar s F m V deo Compe on n Ch cago L and “Mov ng w h he Dream ng ” Pr zed P eces award rom he Na ona B ack Programm ng Consor um n 1997 sa d she r es “ o uncover he h dden h s or es o peop e o A r can As an La n and Na ve Amer can descen There s a wea h o un o d s or es ou here and rea y en oy d gg ng n o hem do ng he research process ng he narra ve and crea ng some h ng new and resh n he m ” Un or una e y Pa erson who has augh v deo produc on or over 20 years sa d can ake “anywhere be ween wo and en years o make a on y o arch ec ura n erms o expense bu when you are n shed you have a snapsho o h s ory

m However

s a co abora ve ar s c endeavor

s second

“Even you do a narra ve s s a documen ary because you are documen ng a me Th s s how he peop e n 2015 n Ph ade ph a ooked Th s s how hey sounded Th s s he ood ha hey a e These were he bu d ngs ha were n ex s ence a he me To be ab e o cap ure ha snapsho n a m s a rea y asc na ng h ng o do and ee s good o be ab e o preserve h s ory and cu ure n ha way Tha s wha ove abou m ha am preserv ng he pas or he u ure ” Pa erson who worked or 10 years as a con rac producer d rec or or he Schoo D s r c o Ph ade ph a s Cab e Te ev s on S a on Channe s 51 and 52 seeks o crea e works grounded n h s or ca con ex s w h un que v sua pa e es n 2001 she crea ed “LoqueeshaAsh eyFrank nJoseBrown” an exper men a documen ary abou ch dren v ng n Ph ade ph a “ wan ed o show how our c y ha had enormous po en a was n danger o os ng ha po en a by neg ec ng a arge par o our popu a on our ch dren There was a sw ch n he po ca env ronmen n pub c educa on The s a e was cu ng und ng o schoo s and bera ng educa ors and paren s who were ry ng o suppor he r ch dren wan ed o do a p ece ha showed eachers were engag ng s uden s n a pos ve way The sw ch o pr va z ng schoo s was us s ar ng n 2001 wan ed o show how he de und ng o pub c n ras ruc ure mpac ed our c es ch dren and ha d dn us a ec he b ack or brown k ds a ec ed everybody “ you don have a soc e y where equa y and nc us on and d vers y are he s andard hen you w have a soc e y where exc us on so a on and ack o unders and ng are he norm ” she sa d “How can you de und he u ure? s nsane when you h nk abou Why are we as soc e y ak ng resources away rom he mos vu nerab e a so wan ed o work w h Ursu a Rucker who s a an as c poe s nger and mus c an n her own r gh A ha me she had wo sons who were under 10 years o age Ursu a shared my concerns and agreed o co abora e w h me on he p ece ” Pa erson sa d when she o d Lenny Se dman who crea ed mus c or he p ece ha she was shoo ng a sequence on he Ches nu H Wes ne ook ng ou on he c y scape hrough he w ndows on he ra n ne Se dman crea ed a rack ha had a very ocomo ve rhy hm o “ was rea y a asc na ng crea ve process work ng w h mus c ans ke Se dman o crea e some h ng ha was evo v ng and grow ng very organ ca y ” she sa d Un or una e y Pa erson d dn rea ze n 2001 ha he prob em was go ng o ge even worse She sa d ns ead o schoo s becom ng more d verse – bo h rac a y econom ca y and soc a y – he rac a and soc o-econom c d v de has on y w dened Ph ade ph a ne ghborhoods have “ ewer schoo s ewer eachers and ewer nurses ” Through her work as a mmaker Pa erson hopes o “open peop e s m nds” and enr ch he r ves by educa ng oday s aud ences abou he un o d s or es he h dden s or es “The Amer can F m ndus ry n Ho ywood s so a ra d o e ng hese s or es ” Pa erson sa d She sa d her ob as a s ory e er s o uncover he d amonds n he backyard As n Temp e Un vers y ounder Russe H Conwe s amous speech “Acres o D amonds ” one has on y o search o d scover he r ches n one s own backyard For more n orma on abou Nad ne Pa erson go o h pc nema ne (h p h pc nema ne ) For more n orma on abou Ba er na documen ary or o make a dona on go o b ackba er nadocumen ary org (h p b ackba er nadocumen ary org ) Con r bu ons are ax deduc b e Read or g na ar c e here (h p www ches nu h oca com 2015 12 18

m-exp ores-rac sm- n-wor d-o -c ass ca -ba e )

Meet Camae Defstar, The Philly Activist Channelling Her City's Pain Through Music December 19 2015 By Laurent F nton for FADER Magaz ne

When Camae De s ar was a k d she wou d grab he broom n her Mary and home and pre end o be a mus c an rock ng ou un he wood gave n A er ge ng her rs acous c gu ar she d ask he k ds n her ne ghborhood o “come make some punk sh ” bu on y go con used ooks n re urn “ was a ways ry ng ” she remembers speak ng rom her curren home n Nor h Ph ade ph a Tha k d who wan ed o rock was on o some h ng— oday De s ar s a poe ac v s and mus c an who g ves vo ce o he unheard and mag nes new u ures or he descendan s o s aves a s ar ed n 2005 w h he ound ng o he M gh y Paradocs a ew years a er De s ar had moved o Ph ade ph a A punk band born o an ear er duo w h Rebecca Focus M gh y Paradocs used punk w h h p-hop and a rad ca s ance The exper ence o M gh y Paradocs ed De s ar and Focus o crea e ROCKERS n 2007 an ongo ng ve mus c ser es and year y es va n Ph y ha channe s he po ca power o mus c—chosen ac s “have o be say ng some h ng or ry ng o make he r commun y s ronger ” De s ar exp a ns a so ac s as a genre- ess showcase or a erna ve ar s s and marg na zed vo ces women peop e o co or and he LGBT commun y And hen hree years ago n December 2012 De s ar happened upon a d eren crea ve oppor un y “The band ook a o o schedu ng n order o ge oge her and wr e new songs ” De s ar exp a ns “bu e ec ron c mus c was some h ng you cou d se up n your house and us ge deas ou ” Keen o harness her crea ve urges De s ar crea ed Moor Mo her Goddess (MMGz) (h ps soundc oud com moor-goddess) a so o pro ec From d verse samp e sources— e d record ngs speeches rom ac v s s and poe s ke Maya Ange ou and Assa a Shakur and repurposed breakbea s—she ash ons bea s ha s radd e b ues punk and h p-hop w h wha ever oo s are ava ab e be an Pad app or a samp er “ m a produc o my means ” she adm s “Wha ever m ab e o use s wha make mus c w h ” MMGz s mus c s de bera e y raw and un ered ke human ee ngs A cen ra ocus o he pro ec s h s ory and memory A subs u e eacher vars y baske ba coach and advoca e or marg na zed women dur ng he day De s ar a so runs commun y workshops nc ud ng one where she nv es peop e o v s spaces oaded w h a h s ory o v o ence or pro es “P aces w h rue s or es ne ghborhoods w h crazy sc - sh go ng down We go here and ry o ee wha has happened because s s n ha space doesn go away And crea e rom ha ” she exp a ns She a so s ud es h s ory such as how peop e have made “mus c w h no h ng” hrough he ages One par cu ar n eres s n he o d cha n gang songs o pr soners “The mus c can be so r ch ” she en huses “L ke hey have someone d rec ng hem n he d r ” The common nk be ween De s ar s punk pas and her e ec ron c presen s he need o vo ce he rus ra on she ee s a he s a e o he wor d The samp es are “sad and angry ” he yr cs abou be ng p ssed o he mood s m ar o he “o d sou hern wa s and cr es” o her A r can Me hod s background “There s so much pa n here n Ph y s hard no o express ” she e s me “Or grow ng up n pub c hous ng n he s cks Or he sh my am y s go ng hrough s he on y h ng have o say r gh now ” Then she ca ches herse and adds w h a sm e “ ke ove oo and sh ke ha bu he rus ra on s wha h s mus c s abou ” n he summer o 2014 De s ar ook ye ano her urn n her crea ve pa h h s me owards a more med a ve approach She me Rasheedah Ph ps crea ve d rec or o The A ro u ur s A a r (h p www a ro u ur s a a r com )—a commun y pro ec ha ce ebra es b ack sc ence c on cu ure—and oge her hey ormed B ack Quan um Fu ur sm (h ps b ackquan um u ur sm bandcamp com ) an ar s c and erary co abora on Where MMGz can be sad and angry BQF s hough u and res ra ned The mus c s s heavy w h samp es bu s more de ned s ng somewhere be ween he bassheavy bea s o Los Ange es Ras G and he e ec ron c soundscapes o K ng Br one o Ph y s mos auded modern producers and an ear y champ on o De s ar Aga ns h s backdrop he words and deas o Ph ps De s ar and o her h nkers n eres ed n man pu a ng space- me narra e new poss b es “We re n o he dea o me rave ng w h sound ” she exp a ns “We ocus on he quan um phys cs s de o A ro u ur sm o ry and crea e a new prac ce a new sc en c heory L ke open ng a door o dream ” B ack Quan um Fu ur sm aunched w h a handbook n February 2015 comb ned w h soundscapes by De s ar A second vo ume s due n ear y 2016 h s me dea ng w h “s ave me rom he Congo o he Caro nas” and he ourneys nvo ved BQF ns a a ons are a so schedu ed or Ch cago and New York C y n he rs ha o he year These ac as a makesh ve show or he pro ec by comb n ng per ormance read ng sounds and v sua e emen s ha re a e o BQF s n eres n man pu a ng me such as m rrors wh ch De s ar ca s “a orm o me rave ” Hav ng bus ed herse n he Ph ade ph a underground and commun es or more han a decade De s ar ook her rs r p o Europe h s pas Oc ober or a s r ng o shows n he UK and The Ne her ands showcas ng a he s des o her crea v y n Ro erdam she o ned K ng Br a he A ro u ur sm Now (h p a ro u ur sme worm org ) es va ak ng par n he prem ere o Br s new p ece abou po ce bru a y ca ed “To Unpro ec And Subserve ” Speak ng over he phone Br reca ed he rs me he saw De s ar per orm “The n ens y pass on and ru h she resona ed b ew me away ve been a an s nce She s made me re h nk my approach ” Regard ess o genre scene or prac ce s De s ar s ab y o speak ru h o wha she sees and ee s ha resona es oudes Dur ng a per ormance a he G r s Rock summer camp n P sburgh h s pas Augus De s ar was n errup ed by a young g r who spoke ru h back o her “You do h s because you care ” Read or g na ar c e here (h p www he ader com 2015 12 18 camae-de s ar-mmgz- n erv ew)

Leeway mourns he oss o ac v s and ph osopher Grace Lee Boggs who d ed on Oc ober 5 2015 a 100 years o d Grace s be e ha "Crea v y s he key o un ock human bera on ” s a he essence o our work Wa ch a message rom Grace a REVOLVE 2013 Ar or Soc a Change Sympos um and read he essay be ow abou Grace wr en by Execu ve D rec or Den se Brown rom our 2011 Ar s Book (h p www eeway org gran ees ar s s_books )

Den se M Brown Ph ade ph a 2012 “When ar s s make ar or ar s sake or o e

he r persona s ory ha s a ready mpor an Bu

s even more power u when comb ned w h crea ng change n he r ves and he ves o he r commun es ” —

“ nv nc b e” Weaver

Some peop e h nk abou an asy spor s eams or d nner par es a Leeway we an as ze abou peer rev ew pane s You m gh h nk ha s range bu we h nk o our work n he con ex o bu d ng commun y and have an ever-expand ng s o ar s s cu ura producers and organ zers we wou d ke o o n n our process and become par o our ex ended commun y Though he cu ura geograph c and po ca con ex may vary or each po en a pane s we a ways ask ourse ves s h s an ar s cu ura producer whose prac ce s borne ou o a c ear n en on? Are hey prepared o ar cu a e he r ana ys s and n use wha (we hope) s a ve y and nsp r ng conversa on abou ar cu ure soc a change and rans orma on w h he r po n o v ew? Do hey have he capac y o rema n open o o her exper ences and new earn ng? And no eas o cons der Who do we wan o hang ou w h? One name we carry on ha s s au hor ph osopher commun y organ zer and ac v s Grace Lee Boggs even as we rea ze ha he poss b y becomes more remo e s nce rave has become more cha eng ng or her a age 97 n sp e o ha she ho ds a very prom nen p ace on our an asy pane By every measure Grace s someone whose e s an exemp ar o he k nd o exper ence n en on and perspec ve we wan n he room Through her e ong comm men o commun y bu d ng rom he ear y days o he c v r gh s movemen o her par c pa on n he 20-year-o d n ergenera ona mu rac a commun y movemen and organ z ng pro ec De ro Summer she con nues o p an seeds and nsp re ssue-based commun y and cu ura organ z ng O he pro ec she has sa d “We wan ed o engage young peop e n commun y-bu d ng ac v es p an ng commun y gardens recyc ng was e organ z ng ne ghborhood ar s and hea h es va s rehabb ng houses pa n ng pub c mura s Encourag ng hem o exerc se he r Sou Power wou d ge he r cogn ve u ces ow ng Learn ng wou d come rom prac ce wh ch has a ways been he bes way o earn ” Th s year s gues essay s and 2008 Leeway Trans orma on Award pane s “ nv nc b e” Weaver has par c pa ed n De ro Summer or over a decade n he r p ece “ Re use o Choose” on page 6 (h p www eeway org mages news 2011_Essay- nv nc b e pd ) she speaks abou he d cho omy ha o en aces ar s organ zers As hey pu “… a mos everywhere urn am be ng asked more ke orced o choose be ween my crea ve prac ce and my commun y work ” The r work w h De ro Summer appears o have prov ded a “ h rd” way by embrac ng and encourag ng he r prac ces crea ve and ac v s resu ng n an exc ng body o work ha expresses a ha hey are L ke nv nc b e a Leeway we be eve hese are a se d cho om es one doesn have o choose be ween advoca ng and educa ng or hea ng and energ z ng or rans orm ng and me amorphos ng U z ng a he par s o ourse ves — our erceness … our k ndness … our crea v y — s essen a o our we -be ng and he express on o our human y so o ows ha engag ng w h a par s o our commun y s essen a o s hea h and evo u on n 2011 Leeway gave $267 500 o ar s s and cu ura producers work ng or he r commun es E even ar s s rece ved he Leeway Trans orma on Award n recogn on o he r comm men o a prac ce engaged w h he crea on o ar and cu ure or soc a change Ano her 53 rece ved he pro ec -based Ar and Change Gran The d sc p nes prac ced by hese change agen s crossed a med ums and med a rom puppe s and s op-mo on an ma on o he pre-Co umb an symbo s o Mesoamer can cu ure rom a rec a m ng o sp r ua prac ces hrough per ormance and song o he use o memo r as an ac o consc ousness ra s ng Pro ec s ook as he r ocus ma ers rea and presen n he da y ves o he ar s s and he r commun es ke d sp acemen and commun y accoun ab y consumer sm mm gra on and he mpac o na v sm home essness den y and be ong ng documen ng queer and or rans h s or es or speak ng or murder v c ms by connec ng a sp r o a s a s c Many hanks o Leeway s board and s a or a he energy and goodw hey br ng o he work o he ounda on To our a es co eagues and par ners n he e d and on he ground we ook orward o deepen ng our connec ons and crea ng an ever-expand ng commun y o hose n eres ed n he synerg es be ween crea v y and commun y and ar and change do be eve we earn hrough prac ce par cu ar y when he des re o earn s borne ou o equa measures o pass on and cur os y The ar s s who par c pa e n Leeway s programs are engaged n an era ve process ha beg ns w h hem c a m ng he r prac ce and ak ng ac on o crea e change They do h s n d s nc ve ways on d eren sca es bu one h ng s common n a cases — hey have ound and orged re a onsh ps w h o hers and are bu d ng commun es anew o ach eve a shared v s on Or as Grace pu s “We can beg n by do ng sma h ngs a he oca eve ke p an ng commun y gardens or ook ng ou or our ne ghbors Tha s how change akes p ace n v ng sys ems no rom above bu rom w h n rom many oca ac ons occurr ng s mu aneous y " beg ns rom he seed o a c ear n en on and ge s ar cu a ed hrough he prac ce Prac ce as we know be ng he bes way o earn — rs repe

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The Leeway Founda on recen y announced $67 500 n gran s o 28 women and rans* ar s s and cu ura producers n Grea er Ph ade ph a suppor ng he r work o address a range o soc a change ssues Leeway s Ar and Change Gran prov des pro ec -based unds o up o $2 500 o women and rans ar s s and cu ura producers who propose a pro ec ha mpac a arger group aud ence or commun y have nanc a need and ve n he De aware Va ey area The gran suppor s ar s s prac c ng a var e y o d sc p nes nc ud ng per ormance cra s and ex es and v sua ar s The o ow ng 28 ar s s were awarded gran s ( n a phabe ca order) A son McDan e F sh own V sua Ar s Ana B Hernandez Wes Ph ade ph a Cra s & Tex es V sua Ar s Betty Lawrence V sua Ar s Overbrook Farms Byhe a Sabree Camden Per ormance Fo k Ar Carman Spoto Pennspor Med a Ar s V sua Ar s C eon ce Fonseca German own Fo k Ar Per ormance Debra Powe -Wr ght A dan o De aware Coun y L erary Ar s E zabeth Ham ton Nor heas Ph ade ph a V sua Ar s Er ka Guada upe Nunez Wes Ph ade ph a V sua Ar s Er n Bernard Sou h Ph ade ph a Mu -D sc p nary Fa th Bart ey Nor h Ph ade ph a Mu -D sc p nary Fran Harmon Frank ord Med a Ar s Fo k Ar Grey Nebraska Un vers y C y L erary Ar s Med a Ar s Jenn fer K dwe F sh own Per ormance Jud th Sachs Queen V age Per ormance L nda Fernandez and Anne Harr son Sou h Ph ade ph a Cra s & Tex es V sua Ar s L sa Ne son-Haynes Lansdowne o De aware Coun y Med a Ar s Mar e Nyenbo Sou hwes Ph ade ph a Mus c Fo k Ar Mary DeW tt Med a o De aware Coun y V sua Ar s Med a Ar s M r Masud-E as Wes Ph ade ph a Mu -D sc p nary Monnette Sud er-Honesty German own Mus c N m sha Ladva Wynnewood o Mon gomery Coun y Per ormance L erary Ar s Sarah A derman Un onv e o Ches er Coun y Med a Ar s Cra s & Tex es Sarah Green Wes Ph ade ph a V sua Ar s Sarah M tte dorf Eas Fa s Per ormance Tara Burk Wash ng on Square Wes V sua Ar s L erary Ar s Yvonne Lung Ch na own Mu -D sc p nary Ar and Change Gran s are d s r bu ed w ce a year and eva ua ed by an ndependen peer rev ew pane The Augus 2015 rev ew pane cons s ed o hea ng us ce ar s Qu Dor an (ACG 14) qu er and do maker Ra sheedah Bey (LTA 10) and mmaker Wazmah Osman Aarat Kastur rangan d rec or o programs a Bread and Roses Commun y Fund ac a ed he pane App ca ons are made ava ab e on he Leeway webs e and may a so be ob a ned by ca ng 215 545 4078 or ema ng n o@ eeway org Po en a app can s are encouraged o a end one o he many suppor sess ons o ered hroughou he year or schedu e an appo n men w h a s a member or one-on-one suppor The nex Ar and Change Gran dead ne s March 1 2016 Press nqu r es and pho o reques s shou d be d rec ed o Den se Beek a (215) 545-4078 ex 14 or dbeek@ eeway org *We use he erm “ rans” n s mos nc us ve sense as an umbre a erm encompass ng ranssexua gender express on s noncon orm ng and or d eren rom he r gender ass gned a b r h

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ABOUT LEEWAY The Leeway Founda on suppor s women and ransgender ar s s and cu ura producers work ng n commun es a he n ersec on o ar cu ure and soc a change Through our gran mak ng and o her programs we promo e ar s c express on ha amp es he vo ces o hose on he marg ns promo es sus a nab e and hea hy commun es and works n he serv ce o movemen s or econom c and soc a us ce For more n orma on abou Leeway s gran programs gran ees and even s v s www eeway org

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Down oad Fa 2015 ACG Press Re ease (h p www eeway org mages news Augus _2015_ACG_Press_Re ease pd )

Down oad 2015 ACG Pane s B os (h p www eeway org mages news ACG_15_Pane _B os_F na pd )

Public Art in Philadelphia Tells the Stories of the Undocumented by C a re Voon for Hypera erg c October 16 2015

Throughou Ph ade ph a or he res o he mon h one may now s umb e upon and s en o he s or es o undocumen ed am es whose ves were a ec ed by depor a ons S nce Sep ember a sma number o arge-sca e pub c ar works based on hese rea - e narra ves have been popp ng up around he c y crea ed by ar s M che e Ange a Or z (h p www m che eange a com ) Par o he C y o Ph ade ph a Mura Ar s Program s Open Source (h p opensource mura ar s org abou ) pro ec Or z s “Fam as Separadas (h p www am asseparadaspro ec b ogspo com )” (Separa ed Fam es) shares he s or es o

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M che e Ange a Or z “Fam as Separadas Se S en e e M edo” (2015) (pho o by he ar s ) (c ck o en arge) “ wan ed o sh he ocus rom he s a s cs and numbers o peop e ha have been depor ed and have o hers see he nd v dua a her mo her or bro her who has been orn apar rom he r am es ” Or z sa d “The emporary mage ha w even ua y ade re ec s he ad ng presence o he person who has been depor ed wan o br ng he s or es o he depor ed back o he p aces where hey worked dreamed and oved and wan o hers o see he human y ha es here ” On Monday Or z pa n ed a arge s enc o he s ogan “WE ARE HUMAN BE NGS R SK NG OUR L VES FOR OUR FAM L ES & OUR FUTURE” n ron o he US o ce or mm gra on Rev ew a ded by over 30 vo un eers and commun y members rom Jun os The words orm a quo e by Ana an undocumen ed mm gran mo her who was n a y orced o re urn w h her daugh er o he r na ve Gua ema a n her n erv ew (h ps www you ube com wa ch?v=6c8xr73c cg& ea ure=you u be) she reca s a ch ng v s a 3am by wo mm gra on o c a s who ordered her o eave her de en on cen er where she had ved or a mos a year A udge recen y deemed he dec s on un us a ow ng hem o re urn o he Un ed S a es Ana s words now border he bu d ng where dec s ons o depor mm gran s are made O her s es Or z has chosen nc ude C y Ha where she pa n ed or her rs pro ec a arge compass enc os ng a por ra o a am y s d v ded oday and he c y s JFK P aza (a so known as Love Park or s Rober nd ana scu p ure) where she has represen ed a go d neck ace one mm gran mo her wears o remember her daugh er she was orced o eave Even he works are emporary he r oca on a such heav y v s ed s es ensures ha many w hear he s or es ha express exper ences am ar o on y se ec commun es “Ph ade ph a s a sanc uary or mm gran s and honor ng he r con r bu ons o he grow h o he c y s cruc a espec a y dur ng he curren na ona an - mm gran c ma e ” Or z sa d “For hese reasons h s pro ec s mpor an because o ers a p a orm o e he s or es o our undocumen ed mm gran commun es ha are o en unheard n our c y ” Or z has no ye revea ed he h and na work wh ch w appear nex week n Sou h Ph ade ph a near D ck nson Square Park bu oday separa ed rom her ch dren

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M che e Ange a Or z “Eres M Todo (You Are My Every h ng)” (2015) (pho o by S eve We n k)

M che e Ange a Or z “Te Amo ( Love You)” (2015) (pho o by S eve We n k)

M che e Ange a Or z “Eres M Todo (You Are My Every h ng)” (2015) (pho o by S eve We n k)

M che e Ange a Or z “Eres M Todo (You Are My Every h ng)” (2015) (pho o by S eve We n k)

M che e Ange a Or z “Te Amo ( Love You)” (2015) (pho o by S eve We n k)

Vo un eers and commun y members rom Jun os he p p ace “Somos Seres Humanos (We Are Human Be ngs)” on Oc ober 12 (pho o by Jose Mazare gos)

Vo un eers and commun y members rom Jun os he p p ace “Somos Seres Humanos (We Are Human Be ngs)” on Oc ober 12 (pho o by Jose Mazare gos)

Vo un eers and commun y members rom Jun os he p p ace “Somos Seres Humanos (We Are Human Be ngs)” on Oc ober 12 (pho o by Jose Mazare gos) Fam as Separadas (h p www am asseparadaspro ec b ogspo com ) con nues hrough he end o Oc ober a se ec s es (h ps www goog e com maps d u 0 v ewer? m d=zD nbbv1NRa8 kdp_ ND L1AU) around Ph ade ph a

Read or g na ar c e here (h p hypera erg c com 245607 pub c-ar - n-ph ade ph a- e s- he-s or es-o - he-undocumen ed )

Women Women by N co e B nd er Oc ober 9 2015 n June 2015 rave ed o Be h ehem Pa es ne o make an even ng eng h dance w h hree young dancers rom D yar Dance Thea er (h ps www acebook com d yardance hea re) a Dabke (h ps www you ube com wa ch?v=hoKsqHp5o9s) company was nv ed by he d rec or Ram Khader (h p www synergos org b os ram khader h m) o make a new p ece w h hem abou he r exper ences as women v ng n he occup ed Wes Bank Wha o ows are excerp s rom my wr ng abou our rehearsa process he cha enges we aced and he ques ons ha arose abou cross-cu ura co abora on Th s p ece s a so a documen o wha observed cross ng checkpo n s and borders he pr son- ke cond ons ha Pa es n ans ace and how a ec s hem on a bod y eve

1 A he s ud o mee he hree young dancers who be work ng w h Ha a Abusada age 23 D ma Awad age 18 and Chr s y Daboub age 16 ask hem ques ons abou he r ves as women n Pa es ne and he conversa on s s ed They repor ha here s no h ng ex raord nary abou he r exper ence as women here are ewer oppor un es or women han men n Pa es ne as s he case everywhere O course men speak over hem and don respec he r op n ons Men do ha everywhere e go o he conversa on and gu de hem hrough a con ac mprov sa on ead ng o ow ng exerc se where he o ower moves w h eyes c osed A erward hey repor ha mov ng w h eyes c osed ee s very re ax ng bu ha he ro e o he eader s cha eng ng or hem wan o nves ga e he ro e o he eader more Why s d cu or hem o d rec ? 2 ask hem o crea e a mono ogue abou a me when some h ng d dn go he r way They prac ce bo h n Arab c and Eng sh because hey w be expec ed o speak bo h anguages depend ng on where hey are per orm ng have hem per orm he r mono ogues s mu aneous y w h movemen phrases hey have crea ed D ma e s a s ory—as she sw ngs her arms rom s de o s de and bends her egs n o a deep second pos on p é—abou how she was hum a ed a a checkpo n She was orced o go hrough he me a de ec or mu p e mes wh e a so d er n erroga ed her abou whe her she was wear ng an underw re bra As compe ng as h s s ory s D ma ee s hes an o per orm ons age The women can even nd a soc a y accep ab e word or bra n Arab c ha cou d be sa d n m xed company ee rus ra ed ha we mus e go o such r ch ma er a because o cu ura conven ons bu n h s co abora ve process he dancers mus approve o a he ma er a Ha a e s a s ory abou when she bough a pa r o shoes espec a y or a r p o he U S When she arr ved she ook hem ou o he box and d scovered ha hey were bo h r gh - oo ed shoes Ha a prac ces ba e and she per orms he s ory wh e n re evé s ernum he d h gh The ux apos on o her e egance and he awkwardness o he anecdo e s cap va ng She agrees o per orm h s and p an o buy her wo r gh - oo ed shoes

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s no ramed ke Banksy s ar bu ns ead re ega ed o a rash dump

4 Ram and d scuss h s work a D yar and he e s me ha much o h s me s spen undra s ng n erna ona und ng or pro ec s n Pa es ne have enab ed a grow ng m dd e c ass o have seem ng y norma ves w h cars mor gages and pr va e schoo educa on or he r k ds (m nus reedom o movemen ) Bu h s curren economy s precar ous because re es so heav y on a d and pro ec -based und ng P us much o he energy ha was prev ous y spen on res s ng he occupa on s now spen undra s ng or human ar an pro ec s ha ac ua y requ re he occupa on o ex s Ram con des ha n essence he NGO economy crea es cond ons where some Pa es n ans have accep ed he s a us quo and are s mp y work ng o surv ve under he curren apar he d s ua on Ram says he doesn be eve ha res s ance and par c pa ng n h s NGO economy are mu ua y exc us ve D yar s work res s s he occupa on by ma n a n ng Pa es n an ar wh ch s endangered due o cu ura appropr a on and he e hn c c eans ng o Pa es n ans (h ps www you ube com wa ch?v= 1WCvmHc6PM) Bu s some mes d cu or Ram o keep h s eye on he pr ze when he s sw mm ng n a sea o paperwork

5 ask he dancers o he p me bra ns orm some con c and omn presen mages n Pa es ne wh ch we cou d use n ab eaus Handa a by Na A -A (h p www handa a org ) Came o Hardsh ps by S man Mansour (h p ac arch hku hk as an-c es-research wp-con en up oads o d-man pg) Far s Odeh hrow ng s ones (h ps en w k ped a org w k Far s_Odeh) Pa es n an oss o and (h p auphr org mages s or es maps pa m n mura na pd ) Pa es n ans (mos o en men) ash ng V or v c ory (h p www n ada-pa es ne com 2011 07 pa es n an-peop e-power-%E2%80%93-cou d- -be-a-game-changer pa es n an-you hs- ashhe-v-s gn- or ) Pa es n an Ke yeh (h p women nhebron com our-produc s ke yehs ) Banksy mages on he wa (h ps maz nx wordpress com 2008 05 22 he-apar he d-wa - n-pho os ) Checkpo n s (h p www haare z com news d p omacy-de ense new- srae -search-me hod-a -wes -bank-checkpo n -worr es-pa es n ans-1 409211) Dabke (h ps www you ube com wa ch?v=hoKsqHp5o9s) Parkour n Gaza (h p www buzz eed com onpremosch pa es n an-you h-per orm-parkour- n-gaza-war-zone# ee3pAV0qoY) Chr s y shows us an mage o unknown or g n ha she ound on Facebook o a woman p ay ng a v o n among so d ers w h guns She sugges s ha ns ead o hrow ng a rock ke Far s Odeh or a bouque ke he Banksy mage ha she hrow a v o n

6 work w h Ha a and D ma on an n ma e scene where hey bra d each o her s ha r and d scuss he nonex s ence o pro ess ona dance oppor un es n Pa es ne Wh e s d cu o choose dance anywhere here are no dance obs a a n Be h ehem so hey have bo h chosen a erna e career pa hs s pa n u o hear he r d sappo n men D ma had wan ed o s udy dance n he U S and had r ed o ge her a scho arsh p o a Ph ade ph a un vers y bu was unab e o ge her he u award ns ead she s go ng o B rze n Rama ah h s a o s udy nu r on

7 spend he day work ng on he sound score (h ps soundc oud com n co e-b nd er d yar-women- na ) n egra e he Arab mus c we re us ng n rehearsa w h my e d record ngs rom he Be h ehem marke down oaded sounds o gh er e s he sea and war exerc ses ake a break and wa k o Be h ehem rom Be Sahour A a bus ng ra c c rc e have a hard me gur ng ou how o cross he s ree A man n a ruck s ops and says o me n Eng sh “Do you need he p?” On my way home see a car n a ree

8 Ram ga hers rocks rom he rubb e ha can be ound on he s de o every road and we use hem o crea e a map o Pa es n an c es c es n Arab c ha now ex s across he Green L ne (h ps en w k ped a org w k Green_L ne_( srae )) under srae names D ma crea es a new mono ogue abou how a man n her commun y recen y o d her s eeve up o revea her shou der “And h s s no ok?”

s sad and ch ng o wa ch he women name he

s no okay or her o wear a ank op She po n s o her -sh r and says “Why s h s ok?” hen pu s he

The dancers are con used abou why hey re speak ng abou seem ng y unre a ed h ngs as hey dance e hem abou he surrea s s he concep o ux apos on and show hem h s mage by Hans Hemmer (h p 34 pho obucke com a bums d133 area usernames aken p nk ank pg) ha beau u y us ra es coun erpo n

9 Ram has nv ed me here o ns n he company new prac ces and deas He wan s us o make a provoca ve em n s work oge her wan o gen y prod he women oward he unknown bu a so earn rom hem and ma n a n a sa e space They are accus omed o h erarch ca s ruc ures where he choreographer e s hem exac y wha o do Tha s wha ee s am ar and sa e am ask ng hem o deve op he dance w h me based on he r n eres s goa s and dreams some mes ee ha am o s ng a co abora ve process on o hem and wonder here s a yranny o h s s range democracy m propos ng

10 We p ay sounds o he srae m ary order ng peop e home as he dancers per orm he ab eaus o con c Pa es n an mages Then we add he sound o gh er e s o he ha r bra d ng sec on As hey per orm hese sec ons he women beg n o recogn ze ux apos on as a power u oo o us ra e he s mu aneous bana y and error n he r ves

11 We crea e a new sec on w h sea sounds and wa er bow s a he edge o he Pa es ne hey have crea ed w h rocks They dabb e he r ngers n he bow s and rave o he Med erranean n he r m nds They have a been here (on y an hour away) us a ew mes They e me hey were unab e o re ax because hey e ke ore gners n he r own home

12 m headed o Jerusa em A a checkpo n here are 100 peop e wa ng o ge hrough a s ng e urns e ha un ocks w h a green gh abou once every ve m nu es The crowd swarms around he urns e There s no ne no order and peop e argue abou whose r p s more urgen The Pa es n an rave ers some o whom are commu ng workers and many o whom are go ng o pray a he mosque or Ramadan urn aga ns one ano her n h s sense ess sad s c human exper men When he crowd becomes rowdy a so d er w h a mach ne gun runs ou on a ca wa k above o ye menac ng y Many peop e urn around and dec de o go home

13 Ha a s ands n he m dd e o he rock-map o Pa es ne and char s he c es on her body She sugges s she name des royed v ages ns ead o ex s ng c es bu we rea ze we have o nd ou he r names and oca ons because we on y know o a ew Ram amen s ha many Pa es n ans have orgo en he names o he v ages des royed n 1948

14 rece ve a Jew sh Curren s ar c e rom a r end earn ha one o my dance hero nes L z Lerman crea ed a dance s m ar o Ha a s so o (h p z erman com sp r LL h m ) or srae s 50 h ann versary bu ns ead o des royed Pa es n an v ages she names srae c es On her webs e descr bes her p ece “ n one o he p ece s mos s r k ng segmen s Lerman nv es he aud ence o mag ne ha her body s he map o srae us ng ex and movemen o era y and gura ve y demarca e he s a e s con en ous borders and boundar es Po n ng o her orehead she oca es Ha a and uses her hands o draw a ne rom her ee up pas her head o represen he spraw o resor s n E a ”

15 have unch w h Basem Sba h rom Bad (h ps www bad org ) an organ za on ha advoca es or Pa es n an re ugees He spends an hour pour ng over pre-1948 maps o he p me nd he names and oca ons or Ha a s mono ogue

He akes me o Be Ja a and po n s o A Wa a e (h p www you ube com wa ch?v=gUQUY NELR8) a v age on a h o he r gh o us ha s surrounded by se emen s and s en re y enc osed by he wa nhab an s mus use a spec a perm o en er and use a s ng e road o access he r own They are cu o rom he r ne ghbor ng commun es and he r am es here who are no a owed o v s hem There s one doub y mpr soned am y rom he v age whose house es ou s de o he wa s oo expens ve o man a checkpo n a he wa or a s ng e house so he srae governmen has come up w h an absurd so u on They are bu d ng a unne rom A Wa a e cen er under he wa o he home and surround ng w h an e ec r ed ence so ha he unne s he on y way n or ou and he am y s caged n ke ca e

16 We have our rs rehearsa n he hea er and spend he who e me mapp ng ou he space Th s dance uses he who e s age space nc ud ng he edges o he back cur a n he p o he s age and a our corners Some mes he dancers creep oward cen er as he edges are an unp easan p ace br ng up he dea ha we re e ng he s ory o he marg na za on o Pa es n an women we need o use he marg ns o he s age space There are o en ac v es n he cen er bu wha s n eres ng s how hose ac v es re a e o wha s happen ng a he per phery How can we br ng wha and who ex s s a he marg ns n o he gh ?

17 Two hundred peop e show up o see he per ormance on a Wednesday n gh dur ng Ramadan wh ch s a grea urnou The r o dances beau u y ye see how he p ece s s un n shed The po gnancy o he gr e abou and oss and yearn ng or he sea s cu shor by an upbea end ng ha needs more exp ana on Bu how can we expec o have a n shed work n hree weeks? Even hough he p ece needs some ng ou w h con en he dancers n he ho es w h he r conv nc ng and comm ed per ormances They are n A he Q&A members o he aud ence wan o unders and wha a he mages mean Why are he dancers nam ng rocks as c es? Why are here wa er bow s? s ha supposed o be he sea or does represen wa er scarc y? Why do so many o he scenes repea w h d eren mus c? Why s here so much s ness and s ence? Many o hem have never seen non near per ormance be ore and w sh we had g ven hem more o a way n o a ow he mages o wash over hem o have mu p e n erpre a ons and o no worry abou “ge ng ” We ce ebra e our ach evemen over ce cream and ho d on o he pos ve response we rece ved rom severa women n he aud ence who sa d hey saw he r ee ngs and exper ence re ec ed back o hem rom he s age

18 Ram and have an eva ua on conversa on a a ca e near my apar men We wan o deve op he p ece ur her and crea e some aud ence engagemen ac v es so ha can be con ex ua zed or e her M dd e Eas ern or Wes ern aud ences We bra ns orm cur a n speeches and conversa on s ar ers or M dd e Eas ern aud ences who may have no been exposed o Wes ern concer dance We ge exc ed abou educa ona programm ng ha cou d suppor he dance n he U S and Europe We wan o ho d Dabke c asses and ec ures on Pa es n an cu ure s h s ory and how s appropr a ed We come up w h a pre m nary p an or undra s ng and our ng We say goodbye cer a n ha h s s us he beg nn ng and head back o Te Av v The bus s u and we are s opped a he checkpo n and orced o he bus or nspec on We wa noonday sun nex o he ho exhaus o he d ng bus akes he srae so d ers 30 m nu es o nspec he bus and our Ds When ge back on he bus my sk n s ender and red arr ve n Te Av v ha a ernoon and spend he even ng w h he paren s o an srae

ooks us

n he

r end They g ve me a purse o remember srae

ke he purse he dancers gave me o remember Pa es ne

Read or g na ar c e here (h p

h nk ngdance ne ar c es 2015 10 09 34 Women )





Wr tten by A M Weaver for The Ph ade ph a nqu rer August 6 2015

Betsy Casañas' Mission Unites Art and Activism

Be sy Casañas s an ar s on he move When she sn zoom ng around he c y rom her A Seed on D amond Ga ery n Kens ng on o soc a even s n Sou hwes Ph ade ph a she s e ng o Peru or Duba The 40-year-o d mura s educa or and ac v s hr ves on engag ng commun es wherever ha akes her and e ng he r s or es her m ss on or he as 20 years "Mura s are a s ar ng p ace " Casañas sa d "They prov de he oppor un y o rans orm spaces and n par cu ar ake back spaces or underserved commun es Ar s a necess y or

e"

On Fron S ree be ween A egheny and Wes more and s a b ock- ong mura by Casañas ed Aqu Se Resp ra Lucha(Here We Brea he S rugg e) ha chron c es he h s ory o La n peop e The n ense y pa erned mo w h wo monumen a gures n a warm embrace poss b y a mo her and daugh er graces he Asoc ac ón de Puer orr queños en Marcha bu d ng " Has o Come From Here Forgo en bu Unshaken " a quo e rom he Ju a DeBurgos poem "Farewe From We are s and " rames he under y ng con ex o Casañas power u magery Casañas whose am y s rom Puer o R co was born and ra sed n Nor h Ph ade ph a Las year she rece ved he H span c Cho ce V s on Award as ar s o he year or her ded ca on o mprov ng commun es and empower ng he r res den s hrough her ar work and commun y gardens Casañas rs garden Sem a Ar s n a ve Ch dren s Garden s now a andmark a Four h and Somerse S ree s n Nor h Ph ade ph a "There are no a o o ar venues n he Nor h Ph y area and Be sy s ga ery g ves access " sa d Dav d Acos a a oca poe and ar s ac v s "She had he v s on and ores gh o pu mprove he commun y She s someone who s connec ed o Nor h Ph y and her e re ec s ha connec on "

oge her o he p

Casañas says her goa s o ge peop e young and o d ac ua y work ng on ar pro ec s " go n o any ne ghborhood and work n some ha are dangerous ee ha here s a need or ha " Casañas sa d " m no a ra d bu here s an e emen o v o ence n he s ree s based on a comb na on o h ngs such as he ack o resources n he commun y and he schoo sys em ha does no ru y serve nner-c y k ds The mpe us or work ng n he ne ghborhood s a des re o ac a e change wan ed o he p crea e a commun y where my own ch dren can ve and hr ve " Casañas s ar ed ou as an educa or work ng w h young peop e be ore a end ng Moore Co ege o Ar a age 19 and

s hrough h s pr sm ha her ac v sm grew

"CHAD Char er H gh Schoo or Ar and Des gn was a mura s ud o workshop or me so every year my groups ass s ed me n crea ng mura s " she sa d "They earned abou every h ng rom por ra ure o co or heory " She a so nv ed ar s s rom d verse d sc p nes o work w h he s uden s

e draw ng

Her mos mpor an esson or her s uden s was or hem o unders and how hey cou d change he r env ronmen us ng very s mp e approaches She conveyed o hem ha "your commun y s more han your bedroom " She emphas zed bas c concep s ke "keep ng he commun y c ean and work ng o make beau u " Desp e her hard y mpos ng 5- oo -2 rame " never had d sc p ne prob ems " she sa d "The s uden s were excep ona " Casañas a so worked or more han 20 years w h Ne work Ar s Ph ade ph a and he Ph ade ph a Mura Ar s Program and has aken her work overseas crea ng mura s n Duba n he Un ed Arab Em ra es and severa c es n Peru Casañas nv a on o Duba came rom Lebanese mo her Gh a Haddad who dur ng a r p o Ph ade ph a n 2012 ook a our o he c y s mura s She hoped o aunch a "Be" campa gn n her c y and nv ed Casañas o crea e a mura or her pro ec because o he ar s s co age echn ques and work w h ch dren n mak ng arge-sca e mura s Though Casañas d dn work w h an underserved commun y n Duba she d d a k w h a oca paren - eacher group o her exper ences work ng w h commun es n Ph ade ph a And she managed o produce wo mura s n 14 days wh ch she unve ed dur ng a repea v s our mon hs a er n 2013 Casañas shared her communa approach o mura s w h res den s n Peru nc ud ng n he c es o Cuzco P ura and L ma The nv a on was arranged by Mon ca Rodr go a Peruv an board member o Ra ces Cu ura es n Nor h Ph ade ph a who had heard abou Casañas work n Duba Casañas worked d rec y w h he nd genous popu a ons as she rave ed hrough he h s o Cero Agus no n L ma " rea y connec ed w h he peop e " she reca ed "You had o n sh your work by ve o c ock n he even ng because became rea y dangerous a n gh The L ma commun y was r ve ed w h ssues o a coho abuse domes c prob ems and v o ence " Casañas work was seen as a veh c e o ac a e change w h n he commun y She worked n andem w h educa ors Jesu commun y workers adu s and eenagers Cha enges endem c n La n commun es hroughou he Un ed S a es and he Amer cas n genera are o par cu ar concern o Casañas Her A Seed on D amond Ga ery was an ou grow h o he co ec ve Sem a n a ed n 2007 w h Ph ade ph a ar s Pe e Osp na he ga ery opened n 2010 A recen pro ec s "Las Desaparec das de C udad Juárez A Homage o he M ss ng and Murdered G r s o Juarez " ea ur ng he work o D ane Kah o The por ra s pa n ed rom 150 pho ographs o m ss ng and murdered g r s are a s ark rem nder o he murders o women no on y n Mex co bu a over he wor d And Casañas akes on he recen horror o he murdered and m ss ng s uden s n Ayo z napa Guerrero Mex co She s work ng o secure und ng or a ser es o mura s o be crea ed n var ous par s o he c y o honor he ves o hese s uden s rans orm ng he r anonym y o hera ded presences For now she con nues o grow deep connec ons be ween ar s s and ac v sm n her ga ery And she shows no s gns o s ow ng down "Casañas s ex raord nary and energe c " says Thora Jacobson execu ve d rec or o he Ar A ance "She s u ma e y an ar s who makes

happen "

Read he or g na (h p www ph y com ph y en er a nmen ar s 20150806_Be sy_Casaas__m ss on_un es_ar _and_ac v sm h m #eaBFPhq2Zm7e8uOM 99)ar c e (h p www ph y com ph y en er a nmen ar s 20150806_Be sy_Casaas__m ss on_un es_ar _and_ac v sm h m #eaBFPhq2Zm7e8uOM 99) mage cred

M chae Bryan

By Lynda G B ack Summer 2015 As an ar s does my work exp o ano her person s exper ence? Am

ak ng advan age o someone s m s or une or my own ga n?

These ques ons and more rema n w h me a er a end ng he A ed Med a Con erence 2015 an amaz ng orum or med a makers engaged n soc a us ce The our-day even wh ch was he d n De ro

M

n June brough oge her an ncred b e mass o over 2 000 peop e o share he r work each and co abora e w h o hers abou e ec ve soc a us ce s ra eg es My n eres ed me o sess ons abou s ory e ng and s ory-shar ng n one such sess on a presen er d scussed her exper ence comp e ng her organ za on s gran app ca on wh ch nc uded an anecdo e rom a oca commun y member “ g ve you my s ory Now wha do ge n re urn?” ha same commun y member asked her The admon shmen orced her o rev s her process Ano her presen er rec ed a commen someone made o her dur ng a commun y mee ng “They on y d scr m na e when hey ge your s ory ” rare y use names or de a ed s or es o accompany my ber work

s mos y a ew sen ences nsp red by a s ranger or a prom nen news s ory – as n he case o he requen po ce bru a y even s

never

connec ed he r os w h my ga n As ar s s s or es are o en a pro ound source o nsp ra on a par o our process And o course s or es are s own ar orm Some mes hey are n ended or gran app ca ons Wha ever he r use hey can be a power u oo or connec ng hea ng and convey ng deas And more o us are recogn z ng he power o he med um and us ng So

we use s or es n our work or

hey are our work here a ew ques ons we m gh wan o cons der

Am be ng e h ca n s ory e ng and s ory-shar ng? As ar s s how do we make he s ory process or our use o s or es more democra c? How does one crea e rus when “m n ng” a s ory? As ar s s engaged n soc a change are we remember ng and g v ng back o he peop e ha nsp red our movemen and rom whom we may have cap a zed? Shou d we? Wha cha enges do exper ence when engage n s ory e ng and s ory-shar ng? Maybe some o hese ques ons app y o you

so e s a k abou

Building Equity and Inclusion by Assessing Demographic Data: Two Case Studies Den se Brown and Jud Jenn ngs Summer 2015

Jud Jenn ngs and Den se M Brown W h he much needed and we comed na ona a en on now be ng g ven o equ y n ar s and cu ura und ng here s grow ng d scuss on — and deba e — abou he mpor ance o co ec ng ana yz ng and repor ng demograph c da a re a ng o gran mak ng The Gran makers n he Ar s S a emen o Purpose on Rac a Equ y n Ar s Ph an hropy recommends advoca ng or research and da a co ec on ha accura e y represen s he demograph cs served by and serv ng n ar s organ za ons and ounda ons n a 2014 D5 a ve-year coa on o advance ph an hropy s d vers y equ y and nc us on announced a par nersh p w h Gu deS ar o he p se s andards or how da a abou d vers y w h n he nonpro sec or s co ec ed The Cu ura Da a Pro ec s curren y seek ng o expand na ona y and re eased a new repor n Apr 2015 ca ng or os er ng a cu ure ha va ues da a o mprove he e ec veness o he ar and cu ure sec or A o hese are wor hy and mpor an goa s bu demograph c da a co ec on and ana ys s are no a ways easy or com or ab e or ar s and cu ure unders o do Pay ng a en on o he demograph c d mens ons o gran mak ng goes o he hear o he comp ex re a onsh ps be ween gran maker and gran rec p en s ca s n o ques on some deep y he d deas abou pr vacy and ega y ra ses he spec er o res s ance o prov d ng such n orma on on he par o gran seekers and ra ses doub s by some gran makers abou he accuracy o he n orma on prov ded Mos o a co ec ng and assess ng demograph c n orma on p vo on es ab sh ng rus be ween gran makers and gran seekers n summer 2014 as eaders o wo ounda ons w h s m ar m ss ons opera ng n very d eren con ex s we presen ed case s ud es abou he ounda ons h s ory va ues and prac ces re a ng o demograph c da a co ec on a a mee ng o he Gran makers n he Ar s Rac a Equ y Learn ng Commun y a he Ford Founda on n New York C y Our presen a ons sparked a w de range o ques ons commen s and reac ons among our co eagues We o owed up by d s r bu ng more n orma on abou each ounda on s gran rev ew processes and assessmen prac ces o he Learn ng Commun y and a k ng o each o her n more dep h abou he wo ounda ons s m ar es and d erences Shor y be ore h s re remen Tommer Pe erson asked us o wr e up our case s ud es o o er nsp ra on n orma on and new ques ons o cons der o ar s and cu ure gran makers arge and sma across he Un ed S a es S nce hen Jud Jenn ngs has a so re red so here she presen s n orma on abou he Ken ucky Founda on or Women as was n June 2014 We hope hese case s ud es ur her he os er ng o a cu ure ha va ues co ec ng demograph c da a as core o equ ab e gran mak ng and ra se n eres ng ques ons abou wha we need o co ec who we are co ec ng or and how he ways we go abou co ec ng da a can a ec he commun es we serve The Ken ucky Founda on or Women (KFW) ounded by Sa e B ngham n 1985 s a pr va e ndependen ounda on suppor ng em n s ar ha advances soc a change hroughou he s a e B ngham s a con emporary and co eague o G or a S e nem and KFW s par o he women s und ng movemen ha nc udes he es ab shmen o he Ms Founda on or Women n 1973 and he rs con erence o he Women s Fund ng Ne work n 1985 KFW d d and con nues o surpr se hose v ng ou s de Ken ucky because o s ocus on em n s ar Ye d d and con nues o surpr se hose v ng ns de Ken ucky even more by hav ng a s a ew de ocus Ken ucky s marked by sharp y d eren geograph es s re ch ng rom he coa e ds o Appa ach a n he eas o co on arms a ong he M ss ss pp R ver n he wes A mos he en re nor hern boundary o he s a e s shaped by he curv ng and d pp ng o he Oh o R ver as meanders rom P sburgh Pennsy van a o Ca ro no s The ong a boundary ha d v des Ken ucky rom Tennessee n he sou h s more ke he surveyor-s ra gh nes mark ng o he o d Nor hwes Terr ory n h nk ng abou co ec ng demograph c da a s cr ca y mpor an o be aware o wha s ory you are e ng w h he numbers and wha ques ons he numbers m gh ra se mp c y or exp c y Here Jenn ngs descr bes KFW s con ex by he numbers because so many s or es rue and a se are o d n he med a abou Ken ucky w h e or no documen a on n 1985 when KFW was ounded Ken ucky s popu a on numbered 3 695 000 Accord ng o he 1980 census 78 percen o he peop e v ng n Ken ucky were born here Tha nc uded Jenn ngs a o her am y and a mos everyone she knew n 1980 91 percen o Ken uck ans den ed as wh e 7 percen as b ack and 0008 as Span sh Near y ha o he peop e o he s a e 49 percen ved n rura areas n 2000 een years a er KFW s ound ng he s a e s popu a on had ncreased o 4 041 769 w h 90 percen wh e 7 percen b ack and 3 percen “a o her ” Men compr sed 49 percen o he popu a on women 51 percen 44 2 percen o Ken uck ans ved n rura areas and 55 8 percen n urban Those v ng be ow he pover y ne made up 15 8 percen o he popu a on As a s re a ve y new execu ve d rec or hen Jenn ngs began ak ng c oser ooks a demograph c n orma on charac er z ng app can s who rece ved gran s and hose who d d no and mos mpor an y hose who were no app y ng a a Over he nex ew years he s a and board o KFW d scussed va ues and worked oge her o deve op po c es and prac ces o ach eve s a ew de equ y n KFW und ng ak ng many d eren ac ors n o accoun Funded by an n a g rom Ph ade ph a-based ar s L nda Lee A er n 1993 he Leeway Founda on was es ab shed “ o promo e he we are o women and o bene he ar s” n he ve-coun y Ph ade ph a area Grounded n a se o em n s pr nc p es s m ar o KFW s Leeway s ound ng ma er a s say he “Founda on s program o gran s o nd v dua women ar s s… encourages he r ncreased recogn on and represen a on n he ar s commun y ” Leeway qu ck y es ab shed se as an mpor an member o he ph an hrop c eco ogy o he reg on n he a e 1990s Leeway s eadersh p began o engage w h women ar s s who were ac ve y work ng oward commun y rans orma on and o re ec on how he ounda on m gh suppor h s work and express s comm men o ar as a veh c e or ach ev ng soc a change nsp ra on or h s comm men came rom organ za ons and ac v s groups n he reg on and na ona y ha were ded ca ed o work ng a h s n ersec on mak ng he connec on be ween ar cu ure and soc a change nd v dua s n he Leeway commun y nc ud ng board and s a be eved s rong y n he power u po en a o h s nk Leeway s eadersh p saw he oppor un y or he ounda on o suppor prac oners and he commun es hey work n and hereby con r bu e o arger movemen s or soc a us ce n 2003 Leeway began a program redes gn o ur her s comm men o exp ore he n ersec on o ar and soc a change w h a ocus on commun y rans orma on a s core Den se Brown who was hen assoc a e d rec or o he Bread and Roses Commun y Fund an ac v s -con ro ed und and member o he Fund ng Exchange (FEX) ne work was nv ed o be par o h s process Leeway s donor am y board o d rec ors adv sory counc s a ar s s ac v s s commun y par ners and a es n he reg on and beyond ac ve y engaged n and suppor ed he process Over he nex ew years he ounda on rans ormed rom be ng a mos exc us ve y wh e and woman- ocused o engag ng peop e o co or n pos ons o n uence and exam n ng he dynam cs o rac sm n organ za ona prac ces po c es and programs Leeway changed s governance and dec s on-mak ng au hor y rom a am y-run one-member s ruc ure o a board compr sed o peop e rom he commun y comm ed o an ac ve ramework o persona and po ca rans orma on The board mp emen ed new gran programs ocused on prac oners o ar or soc a change n 2005 n 2006 Leeway expanded s e g b y cr er a o nc ude rans ar s s as an ex ens on o he ounda on s e or s o suppor ar s s underrepresen ed because o he r gender (No e The ounda on uses he erm rans n s mos nc us ve sense as an umbre a encompass ng ranssexua ransgender genderqueer Two-Sp r peop e and more genera y anyone whose gender den y or gender express on s noncon orm ng and or d eren rom he r gender ass gned a b r h ) As s a ed n s m ss on Leeway s eadersh p s comm ed o us ng s gran mak ng o promo e “ar s c express on ha amp es he vo ces o hose on he marg ns ” den y ng where hose marg ns are has made he co ec on o da a an mpor an p ann ng and engagemen oo As hese br e h s or es show KFW and Leeway are s s er ounda ons n ha hey ocus ma n y on nd v dua women and rans soc a change (aka em n s ) ar s s bu he ounda ons opera e n very d eren soc a econom c and geograph c con ex s Wh e he con ex s are remarkab y d eren here are surpr s ng commona es regard ng va ues processes and prac ces re a ng o co ec ng and assess ng demograph c da a There are a so s gn can d erences as one wou d expec g ven he s gn can y d eren con ex s F rs we ook a he s m ar es Shared Organ zat ona Va ues That Bu d Trust The m ss ons o bo h KFW and Leeway ocus pr mar y on nd v dua s crea ng ar and cu ura express ons ha advance pos ve soc a change Bo h ounda ons a oca e s a me and resources o n en ona y cu va ng ransparen respec u and ace- o- ace under gran ee gran seeker and s a re a onsh ps Each year Leeway s a organ zes and pub c zes app can suppor and gran n orma on sess ons a commun y par ner s es around he c y o en ocus ng on ne ghborhoods and cons uenc es hey wan o engage Add ona y he s a we comes n-person mee ngs and o ers app ca on eedback o gran seekers KFW s a ho ds n orma ona workshops open o he pub c every year n each o Ken ucky s s x congress ona d s r c s The wo ounda ons prov de app ca on n orma on n bo h hard copy and d g a orma s recogn z ng ha no a cons uen s have equa access o echno ogy Th s re a onsh p bu d ng s par y a resu o bo h ounda ons be ng geograph ca y de ned The s a and boards are members o he commun es hey suppor and hey know gran seekers by ace because hey see hem n grocery s ores and books ores and a ga ery open ngs commun y mee ngs and per ormances Bu more mpor an y he va ue o s a and boards access b y s based on shared comm men o equ y and pos ve soc a change Tha comm men requ res ha he s a and boards work o bu d rus and demons ra e a rness o a as hey seek ou and engage w h hose mos a ec ed by nequ y n he r commun es Shared Pract ces n nformat on Co ected n App cat ons Bo h Leeway and KFW co ec demograph c n orma on re a ng o age and oca on n he r app ca on process Leeway has an age requ remen o e gh een or o der wh ch KFW does no and bo h have res dency requ remen s re a ed o he r geograph c scope Because bo h ounda ons ocus ma n y on nd v dua s crea ng soc a change bo h a so ask app can s or n orma on re a ng o he r own den es as ar s s and he r re a onsh p o he commun y hey seek o engage hrough he r ar There are a so s gn can d erences n how and wha demograph c n orma on each ounda on co ec s wh ch we exp a n be ow n he ear y 2000s KFW re mag ned and redes gned s gran mak ng programs As par o ha process he board des gna ed a se o “pr or y popu a ons” or und ng was a d cu and con es ed process bu n he end he board agreed ha g ven equa ar s c mer gran rev ewers shou d g ve pr or y o cer a n popu a ons nc ud ng (bu no m ed o) women o co or espec a y A r can Amer cans esb ans rura woman and women who d d no comp e e h gh schoo or co ege The pr or y popu a ons are s ed on KFW s app ca on orm and app can s have he op on o prov d ng ha n orma on or no When he prac ce was rs n a ed severa app can s expressed d ssa s ac on bu here has been e res s ance s nce hen A grea ma or y o he app can s op o prov de he n orma on KFW s a a er added a ques on o he ounda on s Ar Mee s Ac v sm app ca on abou he demograph cs o he commun y be ng engaged by he ar s W h he ocus o ar as a oo or soc a change n m nd Leeway dec ded ha w h he new programs was cr ca ha he ounda on “recogn ze women and rans ar s s whose work s o en gnored s enced and marg na zed because o wha hey crea e or who hey are — nc ud ng peop e o co or mm gran s gay esb an and b sexua peop e poor and work ng c ass peop e and peop e who ake r sks w h ar orm and con en o share he r soc a change v s on ” To ha end Leeway crea ed an app ca on process n eres ed n how ar s s work w h and n commun es bo h he r own and o hers and recogn z ng he va ue o e exper ences ou s de o orma s ruc ures o an ar s s deve opmen Leeway asks app can s o de ne he r commun y he r re a onsh p o he aud ences or commun es hey work w h and how he commun y w be engaged n he work Résumés or CVs are ne her requ red nor accep ed ns ead app can s are asked o comp e e an “exper ence page ” wh ch asks or our o en ar s c persona po ca pro ess ona or soc a change–based exper ences ha are re evan o a pro ec or he r prac ce These exper ences are o en e chang ng and have a deep mpac on he nd v dua ar s s and he r prac ce O en hese are he spaces where he des re o crea e change began As n he case o KFW here was some res s ance o hese changes when hey were mp emen ed W h me many app can s have come o apprec a e he app ca on as prov d ng a ramework or a new way o n erroga ng he r work Shared Pract ces n the Grant Rev ew Process Bo h ounda ons use a peer pane rev ew process o demons ra e he r comm men o ransparency and a rness n gran mak ng dec s ons Us ng he peer rev ew process a so bu ds rus be ween s a and gran seekers S nce he s a do no make und ng dec s ons gran seekers can v ew hem as sources o suppor and n orma on and be more open abou he s reng hs and weaknesses o he r app ca ons Bo h ounda ons cons der equ y n he se ec on o peer rev ewers ook ng a age den y and geograph c oca on n se ec ng a pane members Bo h a so cons der ar s c d sc p ne and prac ce KFW nc udes one ou -o -s a e member on every rev ew pane Jenn ngs o en asked Brown o recommend exper and sk ed soc a change ar s s o serve as ou -o -s a e rev ewers or KFW Leeway s Ar and Change Gran pane s convened or a year (curren y wo und ng cyc es) and compr sed o ar s s and cu ura organ zers rom he und ng reg on The Trans orma on Award pane s na ona and a ways nc udes a ormer rec p en o he award Bo h ounda ons a so prov de n orma on o rev ewers abou cons der ng nc us v y and equ y n he r assessmen o app ca ons pr or o he rev ew pane mee ng KFW prov des rev ewers w h “Ques ons o Cons der” as hey prepare he r wr en assessmen These ques ons re a e o he app can s v ews on soc a change and he h s ory o ar mak ng or soc a change as nd ca ons o he r comm men o equ ab e va ues Rev ewers are a so g ven he board s d rec ve o cons der pr or y popu a ons a he rev ew pane mee ngs Leeway s rev ew cr er a nc ude assess ng he app can s soc a change work n he commun y n wh ch he r work akes p ace or w h he aud ences engaged as ev dence o equ ab e and nc us ve work ng re a onsh ps Leeway s charge o he pane nc udes a se o key cons dera ons and gu d ng ques ons ha have come rom prev ous pane de bera ons and are o ered as an oppor un y or he pane o crea e s own ramework or dec s on mak ng Leeway a so asks he pane o upho d a se o va ues ha nc udes car ng crea v y nc us on and respec or a Shared Pract ces of Accountab ty to Boards and Commun ty Leeway and KFW s a bo h ana yze demograph c n orma on co ec ed dur ng he gran rev ew process and presen o he r boards as nd ca ors o equ y and nc us on The KFW s a assesses demograph cs w h n he geograph ca boundar es o each o he s a e s congress ona d s r c s o ensure s a ew de ana ys s and a so re a e o he demograph c d erences w h n he d s r c s W h n each d s r c s a ooks a age den y educa ona eve ncome eve and phys ca ab y o see he app can poo and gran awards are d s r bu ed equ ab y across he s a e n each ca egory A he end o he program year he Leeway s a presen s an ana ys s o age coun y ne ghborhood (z p code) pronoun cho ce number o rs - me app can s and whe her app ca ons were subm ed on ne or by hard copy as nd ca ons o equ y and nc us on The s a s o bo h ounda ons use he demograph c ana ys s re a ng o he r gran programs o make recommenda ons and ake ac on or more equ ab e engagemen Bo h or examp e n en ona y schedu e gran n orma on sess ons n oca ons ha show up as be ng underserved n he gran ana ys s Bo h cons der s ra eg c engagemen o correc or “ ypes” o app can s or examp e based on age ha m gh be underserved accord ng o he gran ana ys s n shor bo h use he demograph c n orma on n era ve processes o mprove equ y across he reg on or s a e be ng served Even more mpor an y however bo h ounda ons pub c ze he gran award w nners s ng he r oca on and descr b ng he r proposed gran ac v y on he ounda ons webs es and n he med a Leeway a so produces an annua Gran s and Awards book h gh gh ng ha year s rec p en s Commun y members hen see and assess or hemse ves how equ ab e and nc us ve he gran awards have been con r bu ng o ur her conversa ons and rus bu d ng hrough open d scuss ons w h s a concern ng he overa gran mak ng process D fferences n Co ect ng Demograph c nformat on Leeway does no curren y co ec da a abou race or gender den y App can s may nd ca e he r pre erred pronoun however prov d ng s op ona The ounda on s nc us on o rans nd v dua s and s work engag ng app can s rom mm gran commun es ra se comp ex ques ons re a ed o he va ue o cap ur ng den y-based demograph c n orma on par cu ar y when work ng w h commun es ha have o en been marg na zed or po ced hrough he use o den y-based da a The ounda on a so d scusses how and wha k nd o demograph c da a shou d or wan s o co ec and rom whom nc ud ng app can s gran ees commun y par ners and commun es a ec ed by he work Because Ken ucky s a predom nan y wh e s a e and KFW s board has es ab shed pr or y popu a ons KFW app ca ons ask d rec y abou rac a den y us ng he same anguage as he US census However he s a us o hese pr or y popu a ons has no been rev s ed s nce he ear y 2000s and mpor an demograph c and soc a changes have aken p ace s nce hen Be ween 2000 and 2010 he US census–de ned H span c popu a on ncreased 121 percen n Ken ucky A so he anguage used or sexua den y s nc udes on y he erm esb an The s a e s a so a cen er or he rese emen o Eas ern European A r can and Russ an mm gran s and hese demograph cs are no den ed n he app ca on Conc us on We hope hese wo case s ud es he p move d scuss on o he purpose o co ec ng demograph c n orma on beyond “check ng boxes ” Bo h KFW and Leeway care abou he den es o he ar s s and cu ure bearers he ounda ons und and he den es o he commun es w h wh ch hese ar s s n erac Bo h co ec demograph c n orma on rom he ground up o advance equ y and nc us v y n he gran mak ng process Here are some o he essons we have earned Know your commun y con ex hrough hard da a and regu ar n erac ons w h commun y members Se c ear n en ons abou equ y and nc us on and commun ca e hem requen y o app can s and rev ewers hroughou he gran mak ng process n egra e demograph c ana ys s hroughou he gran mak ng process no us a er he gran s made Regu ar y assess how equ ab e your gran mak ng s and ake correc ve ac ons o ba ance den ed gaps Be access b e and w ng o mee peop e where hey are Bu d ng re a onsh ps and engag ng w h commun es requ re a comm men o organ za ona resources Here are he cha enges we have aced and con nue o grapp e w h Wha s andards o equ y are we us ng? So or examp e s und ng popu a on groups n propor on o he r curren numbers n he commun y he r gh s andard or shou d a h gher s andard be used o correc or h s or c mba ances? How do ounda ons ba ance ead ng soc a change n a spec c geograph c area and respec ng s ncere and deep y he d re g ous and po ca v ews ha can cons ra n change? How do ounda ons dev se sys ems o da a co ec on ha are respec u o he commun es hey engage? How can ounda ons ha co ec demograph c n orma on avo d oken sm or he appearanceo oken sm? How can ounda on s a and board ba ance curren na ona anguage abou den y w h he anguage used by commun es who choose no o par c pa e or are exc uded rom hese na ona conversa ons? How are he o d rames abou den y and demograph cs sh ng? And how can ounda ons suppor new h nk ng and nnova on? How do ounda ons sh he age-o d qua a ve versus quan a ve deba e? Wha are a he ways o e he s ory? To descr be he sh s? Co ec ng demograph c n orma on rom he ground up undoub ed y con r bu es o os er ng a cu ure o mu ua rus a rness and accoun ab y be ween unders and gran ees C ear n en ons and good commun ca ons be ween gran seekers and gran makers mean ha bo h unders and why demograph c ques ons are or are no be ng asked and know ha answers and n orma on w be used o advance equ y Ye many ques ons and cha enges rema n and w undoub ed y con nue o ar se so shar ng case s ud es and e d-based n orma on s an mpor an componen o he na ona movemen or grea er equ y n ar s and cu ure ph an hropy Jud Jenn ngs now re red was he d rec or o heKen ucky Founda on or Women Den se M Brown s he execu ve d rec or o he Leeway Founda on C ck here o read he or g na ar c e (h p www g ar s org ar c e bu d ng-equ y-and- nc us on-assess ng-demograph c-da a- wo-case-s ud es)

The Leeway Founda on recen y announced $49 400 n gran s o 22 women and rans* ar s s and cu ura producers n Grea er Ph ade ph a suppor ng he r work o address a range o soc a change ssues Leeway s Ar and Change Gran prov des pro ec -based unds o up o $2 500 o women and rans ar s s and cu ura producers who propose a pro ec ha mpac a arger group aud ence or commun y have nanc a need and ve n he De aware Va ey area The gran suppor s ar s s prac c ng a var e y o d sc p nes nc ud ng per ormance cra s and ex es and v sua ar s The o ow ng 22 ar s s were awarded gran s ( n a phabe ca order) Ana Gu sse Wes Kens ng on Cra s & Tex es Fo k Ar Anu a Shetty F sh own Med a Ar s Apr G

am Sou hwes Ph ade ph a Mu -D sc p nary

Em y Abendroth Wes Ph ade ph a Med a Ar s Fernanda Marroqu n Goza o Wes Ph ade ph a L erary Ar s V sua Ar s Genes s Crespo K ngsess ng Mu -D sc p nary Kate Ga agher Cedar Park L erary Ar s Fo k Ar Kathryn Pannepacker German own Cra s and Tex es V sua Ar s LaNeshe M er-Wh te De cro

Per ormance

Lauren Vargas Hun ng Park V sua Ar s L y Hughes Wes Ph ade ph a Per ormance Med a Ar s Me ssa Ta ey-Pa mer German own Mu -D sc p nary N co e B nd er Sou h Ph ade ph a Per ormance Pasca e Bouc caut and Adach P mente Wes Ph ade ph a Fo k Ar s V sua Ar s Sarah M nsk Sou h Ph ade ph a Med a Ar s S nta Penyam H te Sou h Ph ade ph a Fo k Ar Per ormance Suzanne C oud and Rhenda Fearr ngton Co ngswood and Mor on Mu -D sc p nary Tara Fe c a Jones Worces er Townsh p L erary Ar s V sua Ar s Tayar sha Poe Wes Ph ade ph a Med a Ar s V sua Ar s Wes ey F ash Wes Ph ade ph a Mu -D sc p nary Ar and Change Gran s are d s r bu ed w ce a year and eva ua ed by an ndependen peer rev ew pane maker Ra sheedah Bey (LTA 10) and mmaker Wazmah Osman

a or and ar s Qu Dor an (ACG 14) qu er and do

The March 2015 rev ew pane cons s ed o ac

App ca ons are made ava ab e on he Leeway webs e and may a so be ob a ned by ca ng 215 545 4078 or ema ng n o@ eeway org Po en a app can s are encouraged o a end one o he many suppor sess ons o ered hroughou he year or schedu e an appo n men w h a s a member or one-on-one suppor The nex Ar and Change Gran dead ne s Augus 1 2015 Press nqu r es and photo requests shou d be d rected to Den se Beek at (215) 545-4078 ext 14 or dbeek@ eeway org *We use he erm “ rans” n s mos nc us ve sense as an umbre a erm encompass ng ranssexua gender express on s noncon orm ng and or d eren rom he r gender ass gned a b r h

ransgender genderqueer Two-Sp r peop e and more genera y anyone whose gender den y or

ABOUT LEEWAY The Leeway Founda on suppor s women and ransgender ar s s and cu ura producers work ng n commun es a he n ersec on o ar cu ure and soc a change Through our gran mak ng and o her programs we promo e ar s c express on ha amp es he vo ces o hose on he marg ns promo es sus a nab e and hea hy commun es and works n he serv ce o movemen s or econom c and soc a us ce For more n orma on abou Leeway

s gran programs gran ees and even s v s www eeway org ###

Down oad Spr ng 2015 ACG Press Re ease (h p www eeway org mages news March_2015_ACG_Press_Re ease pd ) Down oad 2015 ACG Pane s B os (h p www eeway org mages news ACG_15_Pane _B os_F na pd )



Bailout: Exploring Credit Card Debt and the Iranian-American Immigrant Experience Wr tten by Sara Z a Ebrah m for A am Med a Co ect ve May 14 2015

Many years ago was bemoan ng my cred card deb o a r end and her br an response was “Hav ng cred card deb doesn make you a a ure us makes you Amer can ” La er ha day wro e ha s a emen down sensed s mpor ance hough wasn sure why L e d d know a he me ha he s a emen wou d become he anchor or my new web ser es Ba ou (h p ba ou webser es com ) Se am d he nanc a co apse o 2009 Ba ou o ows he s ory o Sha ah or “Shay ” an ran an-Amer can woman v ng n Ph ade ph a who s rugg es o h de her own en rapmen n he mos Amer can o rad ons — cred card deb — rom her am y members who a harbor he r own un o d secre s The ep sod c narra ve s d v ded n o 5 ep sodes each 10 m nu es ong The ser es engages cha enges and con rad c ons ha many rs genera on ran an Amer cans — and many o her mm gran groups n genera — grow up w h n re a on o money and work L da Darm an s ars as Sha ah an ran an-Amer can woman who s dea ng w h cred card deb and a hos o o her prob ems On he one hand you are o d how much your paren s have sacr ced o a ow you o no have o work as hard or grow up under a undamen a s reg me n Pers an he drama and an are o he sacr ce s en mes more n ense han he Eng sh anguage cou d rea y ever proper y convey On he o her hand here are cons an comp a n s — some underhanded and some d rec — abou how azy you are and how you don know how easy you have The resu ? You never ee ke you re do ng enough You never qu e ee a ease many o my rs genera on mm gran r ends no us ran an-Amer cans

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n my case n par cu ar grew up w h a o o my ho ogy abou my am y s success ca my ho ogy no o doub he r ru h bu because o he seem ng y god- ke pos ons he s or es pu my am y members n One unc e go on a bus a a young age a er qu ng h gh schoo headed Wes rom ran and even ua y became he CEO o a success u company Ano her e ran or Germany a a young age augh h mse he anguage wh e n med ca schoo and became a be oved doc or n a sma Bavar an v age My aun moved o Aus r a w h wo k ds and on y a ew yards o c o h and became a ash on des gner ca er ng o h gh-soc e y V ennese women And my mom? She was he rs woman a a pres g ous eng neer ng un vers y n he Un ed S a es (no ran where she s ud ed w h p en y o women ) o rece ve a PhD and was one o 3 women ou o 257 men n he Co ege o Eng neer ng when she s ar ed on acu y a he Un vers y o F or da There wasn even a women s ba hroom n he Co ege o Eng neer ng a ha me n he m d 1980s — she had o gh or spen mos o my 20s para yzed by h s cu ura y- n ormed ee ng o nep ness

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On op o h s we gh was ashamed ha had dug myse n o an ndeb ed nanc a ho e and resen u ha hadn rec eved any gu dance rom my am y o pro ec me To be a r Preda ory enders are us ha preda ory They nd peop e who have enough o make a e paymen bu a so need more cash ow and s ay n deb The more wro e abou

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rea zed ha cred cards were a source o cu ura d erence be ween myse and my mo her

She cou dn mag ne ha someone wou d hand a 21-year-o d a $5000 cred ne How cou d she pro ec me rom some h ng she d dn know abou ? And was grow ng up as a young adu where a o my Amer can r ends had a eas a severa housand do ar ba ance on he r cred cards was comp e e y norma zed or me

n an env ronmen

The s ory ne o Ba ou (h p ba ou webser es com ) cap ures hose cu ura d erences be ween ch dren and paren s n rs -genera on mm gran am es us ng preda ory end ng as he oca po n o ens on Cred cards are such a qu n essen a man es a on o Amer can dom nan asp ra ons and v s ons o success n Amer ca a ow ng us o ve our ves among surp us and excess so ha we can ee ke we made The rea y s ha mos o he “m dd e c ass” you cons der he r deb - o- ncome ra o are n ac “poor ” am s ruck by how n coun r es ha don have he us on o a v bran m dd e c ass pover y ooks so d eren han deb - aden Amer can pover y s he ens on o h s aspec o Amer can cu ure ha has mos n eres ed me when wr ng h s scr p Sara Z a Ebrah m d rec s L da Darm an n he open ng scene o he web ser es wh e ar d rec or C a re Bous red manages v sua de a s s a so mpor an o me o crea e med a ha o er a w de spec rum o represen a on o peop e n var ous ro es Wh e peop e n Amer ca are a orded a w de spec rum o represen a on A o us no ma er wha race we be ong o are ra ned by he med a o be eve ha wh e peop e can be nerds ar s s eng neers r ch poor shy ou go ng e c Bu he res o us as marg na zed groups are no g ven ha range Our represen a ons are narrow and as a resu o en very s ereo yped (h p a ammc com 2013 12 03 are- ran ans-peop e-o -co or ) The rea y s ha every rac a group has he coun er-cu ur s s he conserva ves and he var ous subcu ures here s no one way o be La no or ran an even hough he med a r es o conv nce us o herw se and many o us buy n o ha and recrea e ha n our commun es The ssues ha am exp or ng n h s scr p add d mens on o o herw se a represen a ons o women o ran an descen n he d aspora The rs ep sode o Ba ou s now up on YouTube (h ps www you ube com wa ch?v=Ap9SJ7NX4rU) n orma on abou he ser es cas and crew can be ound on he pro ec s webs e (h p www ba ou webser es com ) We re a so do ng a K cks ar er o ra se money o shoo he rema n ng ep sodes Read he or g na ar c e (h p a ammc com 2015 05 14 ba ou -cred -card- ran an-amer can-exper ence )

F na y here s a ch dren s a bum on gender reedom Wr en by Assoc a e Ed or or LGBT Week y Apr 21 2015 NEW YORK N Y — Ph ade ph a-based s nger songwr er Chana Ro hman was unsure wha o do when her son a odd er asked o wear a dress o schoo She searched or ch dren s mus c roo ed n messages o gender reedom o engage n pos ve paren ng bu came up shor A er reach ng dead end a er dead end Ro hman dec ded o wr e her own a bum on gender den y and express on – he groundbreak ng Ra nbow Tra n wh ch debu s May 12 Ra nbow Tra n Ro hman s rs ch dren s a bum o ers gu dance o paren s and eachers who wan o suppor hea hy gender deve opmen by d sarm ng he gender b nary ha soc e y curren y mposes on us a “Today s young peop e need songs ha show hem a he cho ces and poss b and more con den hey w be Th s goes or adu s oo ” Ro hman says

es ha hey are a owed o become The more hey can see beyond he p nk” and b ue ha ge s pushed on hem he happ er

A sound rack or gender bera on Ra nbow Tra n covers a he bases – an -bu y ng ove accep ance and pr de – and s r ves o crea e a wor d where ch dren are ree o he expec a ons and pressures embedded n gender cons ra n s and s ereo ypes a so harks back o he m d-1970s “Free o Be… You and Me” by Mar o Thomas and Fr ends wh ch served as nsp ra on or her a bum Ro hman no es Though crea ed or ch dren he a bum s mus ca y advanced – u o ca chy hooks and me od es ha adu s won m nd s en ng o on repea Ra nbow Tra n has a s y e or everyone o k ba ad h p-hop d sco pop spoken word rock La n azz and ch dren s vo ces n d a ogue Ro hman grew up n Toron o be ore mov ng o New York C y and even ua y se ng n Ph ade ph a o s ar a am y She s per ormed her mus c a over he wor d and she hopes Ra nbow Tra n can become a va uab e resource or paren s and ch dren dea ng w h ssues o gender den y and reedom Read or g na ar c e here (h p mage Cred

gb week y com 2015 04 21 na y- heres-a-ch drens-a bum-on-gender- reedom )

Chana Ro hman

'Post Ferguson' Art Features Mother-Son Relationship Wr tten by Samar a Ba ey for the Ph ade ph a Tr bune Apr 22 2015

A co ec on o por ra s dep c ng B ack s ng e mo hers and he r sons are on d sp ay hrough May 31 as par o he “Pos Ferguson — My Son Ma ers ” ar exh b a he M A ry Ar Garage (MAAG) The 35 por ra s n he co ec on — some o wh ch nc ude on y B ack ma e you h — were aken by Den se A en a pho ographer educa or and s ng e mo her A en sa d she was nsp red o crea e “Pos Ferguson” upon he spa e o k ngs o unarmed B ack men and you h a he hands o wh e men who wen unpun shed She wan ed o commun ca e a sense o human y and a pos ve mage some h ng she sa d was m ss ng rom he narra ves n he med a “ m a s ng e mom and when adop ed my son needed o be d scussed ”

had a s o wha

wan ed o each h m ” sa d A en “When Trayvon Mar n go k ed

became a who e d eren p ece ha

was no ouch ng on and

A en s rs pro ec “By he Con en o My Charac er ” wh ch responded o he Trayvon Mar n case was he pho ography o 20 B ack ma e you h wear ng hood es n var ous se ngs — a church schoo p ay ng ns rumen s and n he gym She showed hese por ra s a a G ens de ar ga ery n 2012 Then she sa d as he “murders kep happen ng ” she observed how he med a wou d “s ck he m crophone n he mom s ace” and ask hem how hey were ee ng Th s observance ed her o crea e “Pos Ferguson ” “Th s show s o erec a p a orm o ce ebra e our sons and documen some o he concerns we have wh e ra s ng our k ds ” sa d A en “How do we exp a n wha s go ng on and don s She added ha she chose o dep c s ng e mo hers because re ec s her own exper ence and because “s ng e women go hrough so much ” The por ra s o he sons and he r mo hers show var ous express ons some are sm ng o hers are pens ve and s ra gh - aced and some are embrac ng A essays abou how he mo hers d scuss race and rac a pro ng w h he r sons

e our sons sp r s?”

he pho os are accompan ed by br e paragraphs or

One mo her “Vash ” wro e o he d cu y she has had w h each ng her son abou he ssue s nce h s dad d ed n a car acc den Par o her essay s a ed “He wonders why pressure h m abou grades and a h s o her s u when he has o rave home on h gh a er or po ce or cr m na s who m gh v ew h m as a arge or d eren reasons … He resen s he ro e-p ays ve r ed o o er o prepare h m or a po ce s op w sh or h s a her n hese momen s ” Andrea Law u Tra ner sa d she d scussed rac a pro ng w h her wo sons a an ear y age a move she be eves pa d o n he ong erm “ s ar ed he conversa on when hey were 7 years o d and m g ad d d ” she sa d Tra ner exp a ned ha her e des son when he was a eenager had h s hand broken by a po ce o cer who arres ed h m on a m sdemeanor charge o “res s ng arres ” Tra ner ough he charges up un

hey were hrown ou She sa d she knows her son s spo ess record was one o he ma n reasons h s name was c eared

“ each hem wha you do on he ron end w he p you on he back end Tha po ce o cer wa ked ou o cour w h h s head down ” sa d Tra ner “We ough un knew we d dn cou d o ow h m or he res o h s e ”

h s her son s record was c ear because

JeNa N ckerson a mo her o a son and daugh er sa d she eaches her son a s m ar approach “The area we ve n s a m xed area and here are more wh es come rom a m xed background so when speak o each h m n every aspec o h s e he has o carry h mse n a way ha he s no abe ed or s ereo yped ”

have o speak o bo h s des ” she sa d “ s a o o rac a pro ng see and

us wan

A en sa d she hopes when peop e v ew “Pos Ferguson” hey are more en gh ened “ s a p ea o o her mo hers say ng he p ook a wha

have o go hrough ” she sa d “Once peop e know h ngs have go o ge be er ”

C ck here o read he or g na ar c e (h p www ph y r b com me ros pos - erguson-ar - ea ures-mo her-son-re a onsh p ar c e_d9713698-8463-5e8a-9700-750d4ddba1ab h m ) mage Cred

Samar a Ba ey



Portraits of African-American mothers and sons declare ‘My Son Matters’ Wr tten by Tara Lynn Johnson for the Broad Street Rev ew Apr 14 2015

Pho ographer Den se A en s an A r can-Amer can s ng e mo her who has a ways augh her son o be respec u and do wha s r gh “Now rea ze ha a so have o each my son how o surv ve n a wor d where he w be rea ed d eren y because o he co or o h s sk n ” she sa d Because o ha she was nsp red o crea e her My Son Ma ers (h p m a ryar garage org 2015 03 pos - erguson-my-sonma ers ) pho ography ser es o honor young men o co or and he r mo hers More han 30 o her por ra s are d sp ayed hrough May 31 a M A ry Ar Garage (h p m a ryar garage org) “ n gh o he even s o Ferguson and Sou h Caro na and based on he qua y o Den se s work and he hear she pu s n o we e our respons b y o share her v s on ” sa d M A ry Ar Garage pres den and co ounder L nda S odk “Th s s he rs me we have moun ed an exh b on spec c o Mo her s Day We have he ab y o speak or a mo hers ” Don t wa t for tragedy to str ke A en he adop ve mo her o Jordan 15 prev ous y d d an exh b o young b ack men n hood es a er Trayvon Mar n was k ed n F or da wh e wear ng one Tha ragedy opened her eyes and nsp red her o show ha he boys who en oy ac v es ke cho r he r obs and u or ng o hers shou dn be udged or he r c o hes or sk n co or My Son Ma ers s a reac on o he ac ha more and more murders occur she sa d and when hey do he med a asks moms o commen on he r deceased ch dren She dec ded here s no reason o wa un ch dren are k ed or he wor d o d scover who hey are Vash DuBo s and her son DuBo s E ng on S ewar 16 were pho ographed oge her or he rs

me s nce her husband A s dea h n a car acc den a year ago

“We know how d cu s o ose someone you ove sudden y and v o en y ” she sa d For ha reason “my hear breaks every me see a mom cry ng over he dea h o her ch d on he even ng news We are no supposed o ou ve our ch dren ” Everyone s at r sk DuBo s s ke m ons o o her mo hers she sa d “ ove my wo sons my daugh er my grandson… because hey are unny and grea and a en ed and good peop e who are a ready mak ng h s wor d a be er p ace because hey are here ” she sa d “ wan he wor d o know ha our ch dren have am es and r ends dreams pass ons When some h ng happens o one ch d happens o a commun y ” DuBo s hopes he exh b w s ar a conversa on abou crea ng change “We are gh ng or our human y as a coun ry ” she sa d We re doomed “ we do no unders and ha ch dren are a r sk ”

any ch d s a r sk a

A en a so hopes or d a ogue and ha her pho os show he rea y benea h he sk n s sur ace — hey are mo hers w h he r sons he ch dren hey ove deep y “Our sons are us as mpor an as anyone e se s ” See My Son Ma ers a M A ry Ar Garage 11 W M A ry Avenue Ph ade ph a hrough May 31 The open ng recep on w be Fr day Apr 17 a 6pm Regu ar ga ery hours are Wednesday and Fr day rom noon o 7pm Thursday and Sa urday rom noon o 6pm and Sunday rom noon o 5pm C ck here o read he or g na ar c e (h p broads ree rev ew com wnwn por ra s-o -a r can-amer can-mo hers-and-sons-dec are-my-son-ma ers? u m_source=Broad+S ree +Rev ew+News e er&u m_campa gn=96e092d69 -RSS_EMA L_CAMPA GN&u m_med um=ema &u m_ erm=0_44323402b7-96e092d69 -75769185) mage Cred

Den se A en

Whose Burden?

Wr tten by Sara Z a Ebrah m wr tes for Mutha Magaz ne Apr 7 2015 Everyone warns you ha hav ng a young baby n your sure o re hem ou

ew

nvo ve o s o bod y u ds and

e s eep You re warned abou odd ers and he r seem ng y end ess source o energy and how you have o be

n some ways hose h ngs haven seemed so bad s nce was prepped o expec hem

No one warned me how d

cu

wou d be o s ay connec ed w h he ar s and ac v s commun es used o share w h ch d- ree r ends There s genera sweep ng s a emen s o how your

e w change

orever Bu somehow was comp e e y unprepared or he eve o naccess b y o commun es had prev ous y been a par o Fu d sc osure

m no someone who ever dreamed o hav ng a ch d My daugh er was a de gh u surpr se bu one can

mag ne v ng w hou now When my par ner and d scovered was pregnan one

o our many conversa ons am ds he urry o pan c and exc emen was abou our comm men o our ar prac ces No ma er how hard

was we wou d no s op be ng ar s s

We were de erm ned o no o become paren s whose ves on y cen ered around he r ch dren no as udgemen aga ns hose peop e bu because we knew we wou dn be happy And have o say we d d a pre y good ob a

h ngs cons dered and bo h comp e ed ma or crea ve pro ec s n 2014

Desp e our ab y o con nue on w h our ar prac ces we bo h s

e d sconnec ed My soc a op ons were sudden y m n ma a er hav ng a k d

rece ve nv a ons rom r ends we n en oned and n he

sp r o nc us on and over and over aga n have o ask hem s here ch dcare a h s even ? s here a space se up or k ds? no onger can go o workshops on

mmak ng o n a wr ng group a end

erary sa ons and poe ry read ngs or board game n gh a a r end s–because here s no space or ch dren made

can go o mommy groups and a k abou breas eed ng poop or how red we a are Bu ha doesn

eed me

don

ee who e or a ve n hose spaces And hey are segrega ed spaces or paren s on y

descr be my cu ura background as “kebab gr s and ka e”– am an ran an-Amer can ra sed by h pp es n he U S sou h where was ab e o w ness adu s as who e peop e who were un and a

grew up n commun es where n ergenera ona connec ons were s rong and

e crazy They were peop e who danced rec ed poe ry made okes and cr ed When someone hrew a par y here was a ways a

room se as de or he k ds The o der k ds ook care o he younger ones

s how

earned o ake care o bab es rom a young age and even ua y s ar ed babys

ng

hoped o be ab e o o er he same exper ence o my daugh er Whenever

a k abou h s o peop e

manage o s r ke a nerve one way or ano her On and o - ne

ve exper enced a w de spec rum o be ng shamed pra sed cha enged as we as he rece ver o many

sad con ess ons o s m ar ee ngs o so a on One o he cons s en h ngs ha emerges rom hese conversa ons s a repe

on o

era ons o he word “cho ce ” choose no o have ch dren so shou dn have o make space or yours

was your

cho ce o have a ch d so you shou d us accep ha you have o pr or ze hem rs The undercurren o hese d scuss ons s ch dren are a burden Some peop e are say ng

s one hey don

h nk hey shou d have o carry O hers ha

was one ha

m a “good mom” shou d be w ng

o sacr ce my n eres s and des res u y or The ques on on my m nd now s has he med ca echno ogy o b r h con ro and nsem na on made us n o nd v dua s s? s he ab y o “choose” now a pass o no be n eres ed n suppor ng he nc us on–and bera on–o a peop e? (And by he way

s no a cho ce or everyone n he U S as ong as women s reproduc ve hea h op ons are m ed)

When d d ch dren s op be ng seen as a par o a o our ex s ence and surv va ? Even we were a ch dren once Why sn

unders and he res s ance o “ ak ng on he burden” o o her peop es ch dren Cu ura y mos commun es don respec peop es cho ces o no have

ch dren Peop e who choose o be ch d- ree o en ee marg na zed don

h nk so a ng yourse

ed rad ca don you need more ch dren o con nue o carry ou he revo u on? And

n everyone s n eres o wan o prov de more n ergenera ona spaces where ch dren ge o w ness more o he wor d and connec w h more peop e?

As someone who never wan ed k ds or g na y

Bu

you are a ded ca ed se - den

s ur her compounded w h he we gh o he eronorma v y pa r archy and a

rom peop e w h k ds s he answer o ha oppress on

unders and

as a re ex bu

he ee ngs o be ng deva ued ha come w h hem

does no move us orward as we bu d movemen s or soc a change

doesn move

us orward as humans As paren s we can he p sh

ha cu ura endency by ak ng ac ons ha pr or ze and ce ebra e he accomp shmen s o r ends w hou ch dren oo w h he pomp and v gor ha he ero-norma v y

ce ebra es baby-mak ng Buy cards and send owers o r ends who have ar open ngs cook ood or commun y members when hey have he u buy rea s or he r pe who s a be oved member o he r am y hrow hemed par es Be ng n mono h c groups has never been how moved hrough he wor d Yes some paren s are a abou he r k ds and ha s a paren because mos y wan o a k abou ar and cu ure and crea ve process

don

hey a k abou We re no a

ke ha Tha s hard or me oo even as a

h nk shou d have o g ve ha up because had a k d Tha s a emen has proved o be more con rovers a han

cou d have mag ned work oward crea ng a wor d where you aren burdened w h he expec a ons o hav ng ch dren can you work oward one ha a ows me and my ch d o be nc uded? Read he or g na ar c e here (h p mu hamagaz ne com 2015 04 whose-burden-by-sara-z a-ebrah m ) mage Cred

Sara Z a Ebrah m

Spring Guide: A new exhibit shines a light on women living in Pennsylvania’s prisons Wr tten by Owen Lyman-Schm dt for Ph ade ph a C ty Paper March 26 2015

n he as 35 years Pennsy van a s s a e pr son popu a on has r sen by more han 550 percen an unpreceden ed ncrease now known as mass ncarcera on The overwhe m ng ma or y o hose pr soners are men bu RELEASE an exh b a he o ces o he Leeway Founda on open hrough June 30 h gh gh s he o en over ooked s or es o women caugh up n he same uggernau o pr son expans on The rs ha o he exh b

s a ser es o por ra s rom oca pa n er Mary DeW

who has been work ng w h ema e pr soners serv ng

e sen ences a SC Muncy s nce he a e 1980s

Case summar es are scraw ed n he marg ns o each por ra bu s he accompany ng aud o c ps ha de ver a more power u b ow These c ps are no c a ms o nnocence or ega de enses ns ead DeW has chosen s or es o ch dhood memor es rus ra ed dreams and res ence — compe ng es mony o he human y and persona y o he women dep c ed n her raw c ose-up por ra s Cr ques o he s a e aren necessar y exp c bu DeW s happy o ar cu a e hem n person “ s become a documen a on o he Un ed S a es pr son sys em ” she says “ s par cu ar y n eres ng s nce Pennsy van a has he mos uven e

ers n he wor d ”

She s re err ng o he ac ha Pennsy van a ho ds a en h o a he peop e n he Un ed S a es serv ng e w hou paro e and a mos a h o hose who rece ved ha sen ence as a uven e n 2012 he U S Supreme Cour ound manda ory e w hou paro e sen ences or uven es o be uncons u ona bu he Pennsy van a Supreme Cour b ocked re roac ve re-sen enc ng eav ng women ke Sharon W gg ns ea ured n wo por ra s o d e n pr son n 2013 a er be ng den ed commu a on 13 mes “Each o he r s or es s ke a m crocosm o how mass ncarcera on happened n h s coun ry and wha a m s ake us s ”

s ” says DeW

“

ke he dea o hem us e ng he r s or es so ha

DeW hopes o show Mar ame Kaba and Rache Ca dor are happy o e They co-cura ed No Se ves o De end he second ha o he exh b survey o women o co or who were cr m na zed or he r response o gendered v o ence

sn po ar z ng

wh ch s ess a co ec on o por ra s and more a h s or ca

beg ns n 1855 w h Ce a a s ave n M ssour conv c ed o murder ng he man who owned and raped her rom he age o 14 A udge den ed her c a m o se -de ense on he grounds ha she was proper y and here ore had “no se o de end ” From h s po n o depar ure he exh b o ows he s or es o 16 women un reaches Mar ssa A exander n 2012 A exander was conv c ed n F or da on mu p e coun s o assau w h a dead y weapon or r ng a censed gun when hrea ened by her es ranged husband Her de ense eam sa d sho aga ns a ong me abuser A udge agreed w h he prosecu on ha A exander seemed angry no ear u and a ury ound her gu y n 12 m nu es “Th s coun ry s s

was a warn ng

nves ed n an dea o peop e who are no u y human Tha n uences who has ground o s and on ” Ca dor says “A B ack person s never go ng o be he dea v c m ”

For women and ransgender peop e o co or a o recogn ze

v ng a ha n ersec on o rac a and gendered oppress on can mean be ng a arge or bo h sexua v o ence and s a e v o ence a ac even he r de enders o en

“E her peop e mob ze a ong he nes o race and e hn c y or peop e mob ze around he nes o gender oppress on ” Ca dor exp a ns c ng he de ense comm ees o Joan L excep ons She ca s hose co abora ons a “momen ha happened n h s ory ” a momen she no es “ s no happen ng now ”

e and nez Garc a as no ab e

“Wh e he B ack L ves Ma er movemen s ga n ng momen um and ga n ng v s b y s s arge y ocused on he way he cr m na ega sys em comes down on c sgendered b ack men ” says Ca dor “When Mar ssa s case came up here wasn he ou cry one wou d expec rom na ona groups or women who are su er ng domes c v o ence We need o h nk hrough why ha cross- ssue so dar y has a en o ” The por ra s n No Se ves o De end rendered beau u y n d s nc bu arge y compa b e s y es by n ne d eren ar s s are supposed o nsp re us o ake up he cause “We re v ng n a me where ar s cruc a because makes us h nk ”

g ves us a anguage ha our words don necessar y cover ” says Ca dor “ g ves us a po n o en ry ha s gen e bu a so con ron a ona enough ha

RELEASE hrough June 30 by appo n men Leeway Founda on 1315 Wa nu S mage Cred

Su e 832 215-545-4078 eeway org (h p www eeway org )

Mar a Pouchn kova

Read or g na ar c e here (h p c ypaper ne ar s spr ng-gu de-a-new-exh b -sh nes-a- gh -on-women- v ng- n-pennsy van arsquos-pr sons )

Gender Justice and Mass Incarceration: Bread & Roses Hosts Town Hall Event Wr tten by Er n Kane for Generoc ty March 19 2015

The Bread & Roses Commun y Fund (h p breadroses und org ) a gran mak ng organ za on ha has awarded more han $10 m on o suppor grassroo s organ z ng over he pas 40 years s hos ng a gender us ce and mass ncarcera on own ha on March 25 (h p breadroses und org re ease- own-ha -on-gender- us ce-and-mass- ncarcera on-march-25 ) The even s par o RELEASE (h p www eeway org news eeway_ ounda on_and_bread_roses_commun y_ und_presen _re ease # VQ EKBDF- 0) an exh b and program ser es presen ed by Bread & Roses n par nersh p w h he Leeway Founda on (h p www eeway org ) RELEASE ea ures or g na ar and he narra ves o women and ransgender peop e who have exper enced ncarcera on The exh b runs hrough June 30 A he own ha ac v s s ar s s and organ zers a ong w h he ormer y ncarcera ed w engage n d scuss ons o d scern ears and barr ers and bu d a “shared v s on or commun y sa e y and nd v dua sa e y ha doesn re y on mpr sonmen ” accord ng o an announcemen abou he even Aara Kas ur rangan he d rec or o programs a he Bread & Roses Commun y Fund exp a ned ha as coa ons are orm ng n he wake o B ack L ves Ma er (h p b ack vesma er com ) o address mass ncarcera on and commun y po c ng prac ces women and ransgender peop e are no ab y absen rom eadersh p ro es “There are o ks who ee ha he peop e who are s and ng n ron ook a o c ergy

ke he peop e who were s and ng n ron n he c v r gh s movemen ” Kas ur rangan sa d re err ng o men and members o he

No ng ha B ack L ves Ma er was ormed by hree queer women o co or she added “Where are he women who we know are ead ng hese e or s where are he ransgender o ks and where s he r v s b y?” The own ha

wh ch s expec ed o draw upwards o 200 peop e s a space o exp ore hose ques ons us ng he med ums o ar poe ry mus c and s ory e ng

A goa o he even Kas ur rangan sa d s o crea e “cross-d a ogue o e eva e h s conversa on o he nex phase and make mage Cred

a cen ra po n o conversa on ha grows rom here on orward ”

N co e My es

Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www generoc y org gender- us ce-and-mass- ncarcera on-bread-roses-hos s- own-ha -even )

New West Philadelphia Program Connects Artists and Community Wr tten by Kr sten G ette for Generoc ty March 16 2015

The Ne ghborhood T me Exchange program g ves se ec ed ar s s s ud o space n re urn or he r work on serv ce pro ec s n he commun y Be y Leacra a m xed med a ar s educa or and ec urer has ved her en re Church wh ch s ce ebra ng 100 years a er h s mon h

e as a res den o Wes Ph ade ph a She remembers go ng o Sunday schoo and summer camp a New Be h ehem Bap s

Now as par o her work w h Ne ghborhood T me Exchange (h p www ne ghborhood me exchange ) a new ar s res dency program n Wes Ph ade ph a Leacra w be work ng w h members o he church o pu oge her a qu us ng h s or ca pho ographs rom hroughou s h s ory “ h nk he ma n h ng h s res dency has done or me as a ch d ” Leacra sa d

has a owed me o be ab e o do some h ng ha

wan ed o do bu wasn sure how and ha was o do pro ec s w h n he commun y where grew up

The res dency wh ch cons s s o hree cohor s rom January o Sep ember 2015 g ves se ec ed ar s s s ud o space n re urn or he r work on serv ce pro ec s n he commun y Ar s s w work n ne ghborhoods w h n he Wes Ph ade ph a Prom se Zone a p ace-based rev a za on n a ve aunched by he Obama Adm n s ra on as year The zone nc udes he ne ghborhoods o Be mon Man ua M Creek Saunders Park and Wes Powe on Ne ghborhood T me Exchange s a program organ zed by a s ew o organ za ons n he c y he Mura Ar s Program (h p www mura ar s org ) The Peop e s Emergency Cen er (h p www pec-cares org ) and The C y o Ph ade ph a O ce o Ar s Cu ure and he Crea ve Economy (OACCE) (h p crea veph org ) as we as he Canad an-based Broken C y Lab (h p www brokenc y ab org ) “We wan o cha enge our ar s s o do some h ng n h s commun y — Man ua Be mon Lancas er Avenue w h a soc a purpose We be eve ha ar shou d have a soc a purpose ” sa d Jane Go den execu ve d rec or o he Mura Ar s Program “We be eve you shou d s re ch ar as ar as can go and when you h nk you ve s re ched ar enough you know wha — you go ur her ” Ne ghborhood T me Exchange had over 200 app can s w h some app y ng rom as ar away as Ch na An ar s rom Dub n re and w be a res den n he h rd cohor “The ma n h ng h nk ke abou h s oppor un y s he ac exchange ” Leacra sa d

can mee o her ar s s rom o her d sc p nes ha are o a y d eren rom m ne and earn some h ng rom hem and have a rea y grea

The rs cohor s oca ar s s are Leacra and an Sampson a car oon s pr n maker and eacher V s ng ar s s are Kand s Fr esan and Ph pe Leonard “We a so wan ed o make sure we nvo ved a s gn can componen o our oca ar s s because ha was very mpor an o us ” sa d He en Hayes ch e cu ura o cer a OACCE “We needed hose oca ar s s o anchor wha we d be do ng here n he commun y ” Sampson has ved n Wes Ph ade ph a s nce 2008 and h s goa or he res dency s o use com cs o documen he ne ghborhood “My goa com ng n o h s was o do some more sor o non c on documen ary work abou he ne ghborhood ” he sa d “Rea y ne ghborhood be er and ee more a par o he p ace ve ”

us wan ed o use h s who e h ng as an oppor un y o ge o know he

Sampson a so sa d ha yp ca y h s work s c on and ha h s seemed ke an oppor un y o change ha and crea e work w h a prac ca or soc a aspec “ ve been concerned abou he ssues ac ng Wes Ph y and par cu ar y he schoo ssue has been huge When moved here ooks ke be here or a ong me and s me or me o be apar o h s commun y and do some h ng mean ng u ” he sa d

hough

wou d be emporary and now ve been here or ong enough and

n add on Sampson s documen ng he process o Ne ghborhood T me Exchange or he en re s x mon hs s runn ng n a com c s r p (h p crea veph org pos 111384980189 ne ghborhood meexchangecom c- ansampson) o be pos ed on he OACCE s webs e Commun y pro ec s he rs cohor w be work ng on wh ch have been d rec y reques ed by he commun y members nc ude beau y ng abandoned homes a ong Be mon Avenue w ndow rea men s and banners a New Be h ehem Bap s Church ( n add on o he qu ) and week y commun y mee ngs n he ne ghborhood o he p crea e a brochure or he New Freedom H s or c Wa k ng Tour or he New A r ca Cen er “Th s s an oppor un y or he ar s s o make he r work be more soc a and by ha ex ens on make hemse ves more soc a ” Sampson sa d “You ge o be a par o ha commun y and ge o unders and hose ssues n a way you wou dn you weren work ng hrough ” The Ne ghborhood T me Exchange pro ec w run hrough Sep ember 2015 The s ud o space oca ed a 4017 Lancas er Avenue mage Cred

s open 1 p m o 5 p m on Wednesday Fr day and Sa urday

Mo Mank ang

Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www generoc y org new-wes -ph ade ph a-program-connec s-ar s s-and-commun y )

Homophobic Vandals Damage Philly Artist Rachelle Lee Smith’s “Speaking OUT” Exhibit Wr tten by Bryan Butt er March 9 2015

Ph ade ph a ar s Rache e Lee Sm h (h p rache e eesm h com ) s rave ng exh b Speak ng OUT Queer You h n Focus (h p rache e eesm h com speak ng-ou ) wh ch caused qu e a pos ve s r n own when was exh b ed on he corner o Broad and Wa nu n he now-de unc Rob nson Luggage s ore (some o he pr n s are s here) has a en v c m o homophob c vanda s dur ng an exh b n Connec cu Assa an s a eged y broke n o he d sp ay a he Un vers y o Connec cu (h p uconn edu ) s s uden un on ar ga ery and used markers o damage he p c ures The exh b was o be par o he upcom ng True Co ors Con erence (h p www our rueco ors org Programs Con erence ) accord ng o Sm h "There was a b nder e

n he exh b

ha says God ha es he gays

wo pr n s have pen ses on hem and was g ven a mus ache " says Sm h "

he pr n s hemse eves ge damaged

s a b g dea

They are one-o -a-k nd handpr n ed n an a mos obso e e darkroom mach ne And each mage comes w h a handwr en message by he sub ec s some up o 13 years ago " She shares some o he vanda zed mages be ow The Un vers y has reached ou o Sm h or gu dance regard ng how o hand e he s ua on and new rames have been purchased or some o he works Sm h a so sa d a po ce repor has been she s been work ng w h he v ce pres den o s uden a a rs a he Un vers y

ed and

Accord ng o Sm h s webs e she descr bes Speak ng OUT as "an ongo ng pho ograph c essay ha g ves members o he LGBTQ commun y a vo ce Over he as decade have worked bo h as ar s and ac v s o use pho ograph c por ra s w h he sub ec s own words o h gh gh he myr ad d erences and commona es o queer den y " Anyone who m gh have n orma on regard ng he de acemen o he exh b can subm an anonymous p v a U Conn s po ce depar men webs e (h p po ce uconn edu subm -an-anonymous- p )

Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www ph ymag com g-ph y 2015 03 09 ph y-ar s -rache e- ee-sm hs-speak ng-exh b -vanda zed-connec cu #VwJ 3X7F7OSL r v 99)

Artist Pheralyn Dove moves from words to photographs Wr tten by Bobb Brooker for the Ph ade ph a Tr bune March 13 2015

As a se -descr bed “word-warr or ” Phera yn “Lady” Dove has ong es ab shed herse as a poe spoken-word ar s au hor essay s p aywr gh educa or and workshop ac a or Wh e her words have cap va ed many over he years Dove has qu e y harbored a pass on or pho ography She began documen ng her wor d hrough he eyes o a camera ens when m and dark rooms were he norm Th s mon h he wordsm h s debu ng her rs pho ograph c exh b “The Ar o Na ure ” “ have a ways been a na ure g r so when ved n Nor h Ph y S rawberry Mans on Fa rmoun Park was my p ayground and wou d co ec s cks rocks and bu ercups n he course o my day ” reca ed Dove “Then my am y moved o M A ry when was n e emen ary schoo so Va ey Green became my p ayground As a young woman a er co ege s ar ed go ng o Va ey Green and ak ng p c ures w h my Canon SLR was rea y ak ng p c ures as a young woman a mos exc us ve y o na ure ” n he 1980s Dove pu her camera (and a he heavy equ pmen ha wen w h ) down o end o ch d-rear ng and concen ra e on her o her sk wr ng Save he our years she a ended Hamp on Un vers y he De ware Va ey has a ways been home or Dove whose work has been showcased na onw de and n erna ona y Dove was se ec ed or he ur ed NYC n erna ona Fr nge Thea er Fes va per ormed a V s on Fes va n NYC and Jazz a a V e e n Par s She s he ea ured poe on Khan Jama s “Re urn rom Ex e” and Tyrone Brown s “Moon o he Fa ng Leaves” CDs Over he nex 20 years she bu her repu a on as a wordsm h ( nc ud ng work ng as he Ar s repor er a The Ph ade ph a Tr bune) bu pho ography was s pr or o a 2008 r p ha opened he door o pho ography aga n

on her m nd

was he g

o a d g a camera

“ en oyed and ound even n cap ur ng news ar c es had good andscapes and na ure sho s n he m x o a o ha ” sa d Dove “Then my daugh er gave me an Phone A er ge ng n o my pho ography aga n upgraded o a DSLR camera go n o he hab o a ways hav ng my camera w h me so wou d cap ure he sunr se he dew on he roses or us pho ographs o na ure wh e wa k ng ” Dove con nued “ have a ways been a na ure over and have a ways apprec a ed owers and na ura se ngs and ee my sk se s su ed owards na ure pho ography because na ure s so pa en ” exp a ned Dove “ s here and doesn move For he mos par when you re shoo ng brooks s reams owers and pas ora se ngs s here or you nd ha my own p ece o m nd and crea v y comes rom be ng n na ure so ak ng he p c ures became a h ng or me ” “The Ar o Na ure A Pho ograph c Exh b by Phera yn Dove” s on v ew hrough March 31 a he Go d S andard Ca é 4800 Ba more Ave On March 13 a 10 p m Dove w d scuss “The Ar o Na ure” w h J M chae Harr son hos o “The Br dge” on WRT 90 1 FM Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www ph y r b com

es y e ar s -phera yn-dove-moves- rom-words- o-pho ographs ar c e_d85dea62-231e-5dbb-bc13-e0aab5007db9 h m )

Mt. Airy artist/novelist overcomes ‘dead arm’ Wr tten by A c a M Co ombo for Chestnut H March 17 2015

Loca

Ar wasn cons dered a v ab e pro ess on or women n he 1970s bu M A ry res den Kay Wood pushed hrough a

he nega v y o o ow her pass on even a er her h gh schoo gu dance counse or

adv sed her no o pursue he ar s “ s ud ed us ra on a Ph ade ph a Co ege o he Ar s (now Un vers y o he Ar s) because he nega ve percep on Wood says

was as c ose o pa n ng as my paren s wou d e me ” sa d Wood Desp e

was ac ua y much eas er o make a com or ab e v ng hrough ar years ago

“Back hen a you needed were some bas c ar supp es — wa erco ors a T-square r ang e and rad ograph — and ha was housands or compu er equ pmen and spec a programs and you make a o ess money ”

was earn ng $30 an hour do ng us ra ons Now you have o spend

Wh e her orma educa on was n us ra on she a ways wan ed o be a pa n er “ sw ched back and or h rom us ra ons o pa n ng when needed money ” sa d Wood who s made her v ng pa n ng and draw ng mos y med ca or sc en c us ra ons or more han 40 years “ earned o draw gures wh ch gave my ar a s rong ramework The each ng prac ce o pa n ng n mos co eges a ha me d dn each a s uden much n he way o rea sk s Pa n ng n rea e s an exac ng prac ce nvo v ng bo h phys ca and n e ec ua e or and sk ” A er gradua on Wood moved o Mar e a Georg a when her rs husband rece ved a ucra ve ob o er She so d many pa n ngs wh e v ng n Georg a bu when her husband s ob ook hem o Bos on a ew years a er she began o s rugg e n a arger more compe ve me ropo an ar scene “ had more roub e se ng my work n Bos on wasn recogn zed because hadn gone o schoo here and wasn es ab shed oca y ” sa d Wood who grew up n a sma suburban own n nor hern New Jersey re urned o Ph ade ph a n 1986 a er a d vorce and has ved here ever s nce n he ear y 1990s her career was hr v ng She had ar s ud os n her home n Cen er C y and a so n New York C y Then sudden y every h ng changed us woke up one day and my r gh arm was dead ” sa d Wood who s r gh -handed “ had a one-person show com ng up and was err ed ” When he random arm numbness urned n o pers s en neck pa n her ab y o pa n was a ec ed Wood does no know he spec c cause o her pa n bu h nks may be he a er-e ec s o an ear er car acc den m xed w h decades o repe ve mo ons rom pa n ng n an a emp o work hrough he pa n she s ar ed sca ng back he s ze and de a o her pa n ngs “ began o pa n he backgrounds w h my e hand and n de a s w h my r gh ” sa d Wood She hen sw ched rom o o acry c wh ch pu ess s ra n on her neck Abou 10 years ago she made he d cu dec s on o s op pa n ng en re y “Even handwr ng s pa n u Bu or some reason draw ng doesn bo her me as much excep or rare days when can even a g ass because he pa n s oo grea ” Wood 63 s ar ed wr ng and drew nsp ra on rom he news o pursue a new veh c e or her ar s c a en s n 2010 an underground BP o p pe ne had rup ured spew ng housands o ga ons o o n o he ocean “Wha was o en ca ed an o sp was ac ua y a mass ve uncon a ned eak n o he Gu o Mex co was horr y ng ” sa d Wood Na ure had been a heme n many o her prev ous works nc ud ng a ser es o 30-p us arge-sca e o pa n ngs “My work s abou na ure and how we perce ve We don ve w h n na ure we are par o And h nk we orge ha a our per ” sa d Wood who drew he ush green ora or a g gan c co abora ve mura “D nosaurs n The r T me ” a he Carneg e Museum o Na ura H s ory n P sburgh Her ove o na ure coup ed w h suppor rom her husband ed her o ake up graph c nove s Wood s husband and compan on o 34 years M chae S vers e n s a bus ness wr er and ormer sen or ed or a B oomberg s Marke magaz ne “Tha s why we re so grea oge her we encourage each o her ” sa d Wood “ rea zed cou d make a s ory ou o he s rugg e or corpora e greed over human san y Laugh ng a he wor d and wha peop e do seems he on y way o s ay sane ” she says A er hree-and-a-ha years o hard work and a success u K cks ar er und ng campa gn Wood pub shed her rs graph c nove “The B g Be ch ” n Ju y 2014 was awarded a Leeway Founda on Ar s and Change gran n 2014 and s ava ab e on Amazon com “The B g Be ch” s a sa r ca adven ure o env ronmen a cr me gh ers The ma n charac ers Maureen and Mon y resemb e Wood and S vers e n n appearance on y “They ook ke M ke and myse us because we re he mos read y ava ab e mode s ” she sa d The e re ers o “a has y concoc ed and vo a e new o sp c eanup me hod” ha re eases poss b y harm u me hane gases when o -ea ng bac er a are un eashed n o he wa erways Wood has a ready amassed no es or subsequen books n he ser es The nex s ory w have a oca sp n “Se n Ske chade ph a Penc van a s go ng o be abou rack ng and wha s do ng o he oca wa erways ” sa d Wood who adds w be a coup e years be ore s n shed “A hose draw ngs ake me ” Even hough she s exper ences pa n a mes she s ound a way o work around my way w nd a way o crea e ar So many peop e have ar worse prob ems ”

“When he pa n ge s oo bad

us have o s op Everyone has he r roadb ocks Bu

m an ar s

rs Wha ever ge s n

Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www ches nu h oca com 2015 03 17 m -a ry-ar s nove s -overcomes-dead-arm ) mage cred

A c a M Co ombo



At the Intersection: Leeway’s RELEASE Illuminates Stories of Gender and Mass Incarceration Wr tten by Em y Mayer for Groundswe March 6 2015

Wa k ng n o he Leeway Founda on s new exh b RELEASE s hard no o no ce ha you are surrounded by aces From he arge pa n ngs o ar s Mary DeW o he campa gn ephemera cura ed by Mar ame Kaba and Rache Ca dor he show s pro ec s c ear o br ng women and rans* peop es narra ves o ncarcera on and s a e-sponsored v o ence ou o he shadows Coord na ed by he Leeway Founda on wh ch a ms o “suppor women and ransgender ar s s and cu ura producers work ng n commun es a he n ersec on o ar cu ure and soc a change ” n co abora on w h he Bread & Roses Commun y Fund RELEASE s bo h “an ar pro ec and a h s ory pro ec ” accord ng o Ca dor “ n h s momen we are see ng more and more women be ng sub ec ed o he cr m na ega sys em and mass ncarcera on s rea y ramp ng up he ways ha espec a y women o co or are mpr soned ” Com ng ou o organ z ng or Mar ssa A exander a F or da woman who was conv c ed or aggrava ed assau a er her husband a acked and hrea ened her e Ca dor sa d she and Kaba rea zed ha “ A exander s no he rs person who had h s exper ence o hav ng o de end herse aga ns an abuser and hen ended up be ng v c m zed by he cr m na ega sys em ha s supposed o pro ec her ” Kaba and Ca dor s por on o he exh b uses newspaper c pp ngs campa gn ephemera and pho ographs o e he s or es o women who have been ncarcera ed as a resu o se -de ense hroughou Amer can h s ory beg nn ng w h a woman s ave who k ed her owner and end ng w h A exander Care u y cura ed he room serves as an echo chamber o h s or ca resonance as marks how women o co or have no on y been v c m zed by he cour room bu a so ough back aga ns he v o ence o he r da y ves “ s me or peop e o hear women who are ncarcera ed hear he vo ces o rans peop e who are ncarcera ed no on y o h gh gh ha hey are ex s ng bu ha hey are res s ng oo ” remarked Ca dor Mary DeW s por ra s demons ra e res s ance on a more n ma e sca e by dep c ng women serv ng L e w hou Paro e (LWOP) n Pennsy van a Pennsy van a s one o s x s a es n wh ch LWOP rema ns ega DeW has spen he pas wen y ve years pa n ng oca y ncarcera ed women record ng he r s or es and scraw ng ex rom n erv ews on he canvas so ha he r vo ces are nc uded n he work Ca ng her sub ec s “a m crocosm o he who e sys em ” DeW sa d her Leeway gran s have a owed her o prov de a m rror or women dehuman zed and homogen zed by pr son Ds and un orms “ can e you how many mes ve p ayed women s record ngs back and hey ve sa d rea y ke who am ” Taken oge her he work o DeW Kaba and Ca dor speaks o he nex r cab e es be ween ar and movemen -bu d ng The exh b s n ac par o a program ser es ha w a so hos a Town Ha on Gender and Mass ncarcera on on March 25 h (h ps www acebook com even s 1604311083139906 ) “Movemen bu d ng re es on ar whe her wan s o adm or no ” remarked Ca dor “We can separa e ac v sm and mob za on rom ar and aes he cs rom hea ng and car ng rom a work o soc a us ce ” n a c y and s a e where mass ncarcera on and d s nves men rom educa on oom arge RELEASE prov des a much-needed w ndow n o he s or es ha are o en erased and he oo s many are a ready us ng o bera e hem *Leeway uses he erm “ rans” n s mos nc us ve sense as an umbre a erm encompass ng ranssexua gender express on s noncon orm ng and or d eren rom he r gender ass gned a b r h

ransgender genderqueer Two-Sp r peop e and more genera y anyone whose gender den y or

For more abou RELEASE v s h p www eeway org re ease (h p www eeway org re ease) Exh b hours are by appo n men on y Monday - Fr day 10 00am - 5 00pm V s ors are asked o ca 215 545 4078 o schedu e a v ew ng n add on organ za ons are nv ed o reserve space a he Leeway Founda on o v ew he work n con unc on w h re a ed even s and or d scuss ons Read he or g na ar c e here (h ps www ph acu ure org groundswe n ersec on- eeway-s-re ease- um na es-s or es-gender-mass- ncarcera on)

Leeway Foundation Looking To Fund Women And Trans Artists To Prompt Social Change Wr tten by Er n Kane for Generoc ty February 23 2015

The Ph ade ph a-based Leeway Founda on (h p www eeway org ) a gran mak ng organ za on ha suppor s women and rans ar s s us ng ar o crea e soc a change s seek ng app can s or s upcom ng ar and change gran (h p www eeway org gran s ar _and_change_gran s ) The pro ec -based gran s o up o $2 500 are ava ab e o ar s s o a med ums rad ona and non rad ona who res de n Bucks Camden Ches er De aware Mon gomery or Ph ade ph a coun es Gran app ca ons are due on March 1 and Augus 1 A ook at a prev ous grantee Qu A exander s a se -descr bed queer and rans person o co or who ves and works n Wes Ph ade ph a n 2014 he was awarded an ar and change gran o produce Bodywerq a co ec on o ns ruc on a ong w h a documen ary ha h gh gh s queer and rans yoga prac oners

med yoga

The pro ec s des gned o he p queer rans and peop e o co or ee com or ab e prac c ng yoga A exander s curren y a yoga ns ruc or a S ud o 34 (h p s ud o34yoga com ) “Even hough was each ng hese c asses ” he sa d “ wasn ge ng a o o queer peop e or peop e o co or ” Those who d d come o en d d no ven ure back because hey e ou o p ace n he c assroom “The average yog has no dea ha many peop e ee so a ed rom he yoga commun y ” he sa d W h an dea o he p more queer and rans peop e bene

rom yoga A exander app ed or a gran rom he Leeway Founda on a process he ca ed “super access b e ”

S m ar o many o h s peers A exander s suppor rom Leeway represen s h s rs gran

has en h s work a new eve o cred b y

“ s rea y mpor an o h nk abou we ness and hea ng rom a soc a us ce perspec ve ” he sa d n add on o a pro ec ha addresses some e emen o soc a change ar s s are requ red o have a “change par ner ” a person organ za on or bus ness usua y n he commun y wh ch s connec ed o he work Change par ners may nc ude men ors ed ors co ec ves ar spaces hea ers nonpro s dance s ud os rad o s a ons and produc on compan es “We suppor ar s s ha engage n a rec proca process w h he commun es ha hey are work ng w h ” sa d Sham-e-A Nayeem he program d rec or a he Leeway Founda on D scover ng unknown ta ent n the commun ty Founded n 1993 o suppor women ar s s n he Ph ade ph a area he Leeway Founda on began o exam ne s d rec on soon a erward By he a e 1990s “ he ounda on expanded o con r bu e o arger movemen s o soc a us ce ” Nayeem sa d and n 2006 gran e g b y nc uded rans ar s s Mos o Leeway s gran ees are work ng n commun es and may no even cons der hemse ves ar s s Nayeem added because he ne ar s wor d e s hem hey are no Leeway has suppor ed cu nary ar s s and ha r bra ders or examp e and some o

s ar s s do no have orma ra n ng or ne ar s creden a s

To reach app can s who may no be aware o s gran mak ng Leeway par ners w h a range o commun y-based organ za ons nc ud ng Ar Sanc uary (h p ar sanc uary org ) GALAE (h p www ga ae org ) and Jun os (h p vamos un os org ) Ar s s can br ng he r deas o requen gran n orma on sess ons or “one-on-one he p ” Nayeem sa d “ you have an ar or soc a change dea ha nvo ves your ar prac ce mpac ng your commun y p ease cons der app y ng or a Leeway gran ” n add on o he ar and change gran s — rough y 42 are awarded each year — Leeway a so o ers he rans orma on award (h p www eeway org gran s eeway_ rans orma on_award ) unres r c ed suppor o $15 000 or women and rans ar s s who have demons ra ed he r comm men o soc a change work or a eas ve years The dead ne or ha award s May 15 Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www generoc y org eeway- ounda on- ook ng- o- und-women-and- rans-ar s s- o-promp -soc a -change ) mage Cred

LouRok Pho ography



PH LADELPH A – Leeway Founda on and Bread & Roses Commun y Fund presen RELEASE (h p www eeway org even s re ease_exh b _open ng_recep on # VOZR9LDF_ F) an exh b on and program ser es ha exp ores he n ersec on o gender us ce and mass ncarcera on On v ew rom February 26 o June 30 RELEASE prov des shared spaces or women ransgender and gender non-con orm ng surv vors o he pr son ndus r a comp ex as we as oca ar s s cu ura producers and ac v s s o cr ca y re ec and bu d power or change RELEASE nc udes a co ec on o por ra s and narra ves cura ed by Ch cago-based ac v s s Mar ame Kaba and Rache Ca dor Mar ame and Rache o ow he h s ory o women who have been ncarcera ed as a resu o se -de ense da ng a he way back o a woman s ave who k ed her owner up o he recen edera case surround ng Mar ssa A exander The or g na ar work by M cah Bazant Mo y Crabapp e B y Dee B anca D az Rache Ga ndo Lex Non Scr pta Ca t n Se d er Cr sty Road and Ar e Spr ngf e d are accompan ed by ephemera and ar ac s documen ng he campa gns ha demanded he reedom o some o hese women The o her ha o he exh b showcases pa n ngs by Ph ade ph a ar s and Leeway gran ee Mary DeW tt Mary DeW s por ra s narra e he s or es o women serv ng e sen ences w hou paro e n Pennsy van a Mary s pa n ngs are s r k ng mages o women who gaze d rec y a he v ewer She scraw s ex rom n erv ews d rec y on o he por ra s and aud o o he women s vo ces comp emen each p ece o er ng deeper ns gh n o he r ves and he cond ons hey have aced Mary be eves hese women are “ naccess b e o he pub c ye he r h s or es um na e a cr s s n our coun ry ha needs o be w nessed and rec ed They have so much o each us abou race c ass gender and he evo u on o he pr son ndus r a comp ex un que o he Un ed S a es ” Co-curator Rache Ca dor and featured art st Mary DeW tt w be present on Thursday February 26 from 5:30-8:00pm for a tour of the exh b t and open ng recept on at the Leeway Foundat on (1315 Wa nut Street Su te 832 Ph ade ph a PA 19107) Press are nv ted to o n us for a spec a prev ew from 4:30-5:30pm before the pub c open ng Mar ame Kaba shared n a recen n erv ew abou he co ec on “Th s pro ec and h s exh b on were work ng o um na e he og cs o ncarcera on and how hey s ruc ure our ves n var ous ways And we re n a momen r gh now when here s a grea er ab y o re ec on hese ssues han here has been n he pas Bu n he r se n consc ousness around mass ncarcera on one o he h ngs ha s been m ss ng has been a conversa on abou gender whe her ha means rans o ks or LGB o ks or women- den ed o ks Many o he conversa ons have been dom na ed by a k ng abou men o co or because hey have been caugh up n he sys em n such h gh numbers Bu wherever here s he poss b y o deepen and comp ca e ha s ory peop e have been n eres ed and wan ng o engage w h Th s pro ec has been a par o ha ” Exh b hours are by appo n men on y Monday - Fr day 10 00am - 5 00pm V s ors are asked o ca 215 545 4078 o schedu e a v ew ng n add on organ za ons are nv ed o reserve space a he Leeway Founda on o v ew he work n con unc on w h re a ed even s and or d scuss ons Leeway Founda on and Bread & Roses Commun y Fund has par nered w h Ph ade ph a organ za ons o hos pub c programs ha grapp e w h ssues o gender us ce and mass ncarcera on Program de a s o ow COMMUN TY TOWN HALL Wednesday March 25 5:30-8:30pm Fr ends Center - 1501 Cherry Street Ph ade ph a PA 19102 Loca ar s s commun y organ zers and ac v s s w ga her o d scuss deas and bu d a roadmap o end ng mass ncarcera on and gender-based v o ence Par c pan s w make ar have access o resources and suppor and co ec ve y exp ore e or s owards a sa er soc e y where he ves o a peop e are va ued and pro ec ed Free and open o he pub c SPEC AL SCREEN NG OF OUT N THE N GHT Tuesday Apr 21 5:00-8:00pm Locat on TBA The Ph ade ph a prem eres o he ea ure- eng h based v o ence have mpac ed he ves o hose bu d ng a movemen or rac a and econom c us

AND FREE CECE

m Ou n he N gh and he ra er o Free CeCe w be shown These wo documen ar es o er rs hand accoun s o how ac s o se -de ense aga ns gendernvo ved F mmakers and sub ec s rom bo h ms as we as members rom Hear s on a W re— a oca organ za on o rans and gender var an peop e ce— w be presen or a pos Q&A w h he aud ence

About Mar ame Kaba Mar ame Kaba s he ounder and d rec or o Pro ec N A a grassroo s organ za on w h he ong- erm goa o end ng you h ncarcera on Her work ocuses on end ng v o ence d sman ng he pr son ndus r a comp ex and suppor ng you h eadersh p deve opmen Kaba has a ong h s ory o educa ng and organ z ng aga ns v o ence She has co- ounded severa organ za ons nc ud ng he Ch cago Task orce on V o ence aga ns G r s and Young Women he Rogers Park Young Women s Ac on Team and he Ch cago Freedom Schoo Kaba runs he b og Pr son Cu ure where she wr es abou ssues o uven e us ce pr sons cr m na za on and rans orma ve us ce

About Rache Ca dor Rache Ca dor has worked n Ch cago rape cr s s and domes c v o ence cr s s cen ers s nce 1997 She has been ac ve n nc e Women o Co or Aga ns V o ence and was a ound ng member o he rad ca em n s dance roupe P nk B oque She curren y works a he Un vers y o no s a Ch cago

About Mary DeW tt Mary began work ng n pr sons a mos mmed a e y a er she n shed her gradua e work a he Un vers y o Pennsy van a n 1988 She augh pa n ng o men and women n he s a e correc ona sys em rave ng hroughou Pennsy van a Be ev ng ha hose serv ng e w hou paro e were he mos he p u and en hus as c s uden s she con nued o work w h he same e-sen enced women over 25 years a er Mary s hope s o commun ca e who hese nd v dua s are on he n erne and by exh b on us ng por ra ure v deo and he vo ces o he e-sen enced women

RELEASE s presented w th the support of our commun ty partners: 1Love Movemen Address Th s Ar Sanc uary A c You h Cen er B ackS ar F m Fes va Books Through Bars C y o Ph ade ph a Mura Ar s Res ora ve Jus ce Program Decarcera e PA Fem n s Pub c Works GALAE Gender Ree G r s Jus ce League Hear s on A W re m Free ns u e or Commun y Jus ce Jun os Le s Ge Free Morr s Home Na ona C ear nghouse or he De ense o Ba ered Women PA nnocence Pro ec Peop e s Paper Co-op Ph yCAM Recons ruc on nc Scr be V deo Cen er S s ers Re urn ng Home The S ock on Rush Bar o Founda on Trans Jus ce Fund ng Pro ec Trans Ora H s ory Pro ec Trans We ness Pro ec V c m W ness Serv ces o Sou h Ph ade ph a nc Why No Prosper? W am Way Commun y Cen er and You h Ar & Se -Empowermen Pro ec

About Bread and Roses Bread & Roses Commun y Fund prov des gran s and echn ca ass s ance o suppor commun es n he Ph ade ph a reg on ha are ak ng co ec ve ac on o br ng abou rac a and econom c us ce S nce 1977 Bread & Roses has d s r bu ed over $10 m on For more n orma on v s www breadroses und org (h p www eeway org )

About Leeway Foundat on The Leeway Founda on suppor s women and ransgender ar s s and cu ura producers work ng n commun es a he n ersec on o ar cu ure and soc a change Through our gran mak ng and o her programs we promo e ar s c express on ha amp es he vo ces o hose on he marg ns promo es sus a nab e and hea hy commun es and works n he serv ce o movemen s or econom c and soc a us ce For more n orma on abou Leeway s gran programs gran ees and even s v s www eeway org (h p www eeway org ) Press nqu r es shou d be d rec ed o Den se Beek a (215) 545-4078 ex 14 or dbeek@ eeway org Pho os and mages are ava ab e upon reques ### Down oad a PDF o he Press Re ease here (h p www eeway org mages news RELEASE_press_re ease pd )

5 Artists You Need to Hear Right Now Wr tten by Sunn v e Brydum for The Advocate February 10 2015

These spoken-word ar s s are serv ng up unapo oge c rea ness abou be ng a rans or queer person o co or n Amer ca S back

s en up and prepare o be b own away

A er decades o mak ng no se k ck ng ass and gh ng or queer v s b y he con c record abe known as R o Grrr nk e s en n November The se -proc a med " arges queer record abe n he wor d" has represen ed rough y 200 ar s s over he pas 15 years nc ud ng nd go G r Amy Ray s so o pro ec s B ch S aceyann Ch n and Nervous Bu Exc ed Bu n he wake o esca a ng na ona ens ons over po ce use o orce and dead y n erac ons be ween aw en orcemen and commun es o co or he abe s ounder and CEO G na Mamone dec ded he energy she spen promo ng bands was m sp aced And so he eader o he company ha has "never pre ended o be a rad ona record abe " ook he webs e o ne n November — shor y a er a grand ury dec ded no o nd c wh e ormer Ferguson Mo po ce o cer Darren W son n he shoo ng dea h o unarmed b ack een M chae Brown Today c ck ng on he URL R o Grrr nk com (h p R o Grrr nk com) shows v ewers a "parked doma n" no ca on comp e e w h a G F o a s eepy k en "We are c os ng or he rEvo u on " wro e Mamone n an ema sen o R o Grrr nk suppor ers n December "Be ng an a y s a verb on y you know your s reng hs and resources Th s s us ac ng w h ours " ns ead o promo ng he bands on s ros er Mamone red rec ed her e or s — nanc a co or

ega and o herw se — o suppor ng awQward a new a en agency s ar ed by and or rans and queer peop e o

As ounder J Mase e oquen y exp a ns n a Hu ng on Pos Gay Vo ces ar c e Mamone s dec s on o shu er he con c record abe garnered a mos no med a a en on Bu h s dec s on wasn abou a en on he earned was abou so dar y "Sudden y here was a k ng o someone who was an exper n her e d (now my e d) ha wan ed o make sure had he suppor needed " wr es Mase " n he weeks ha o owed we spen hours a k ng abou rad ca cap a sm ega suppor s bene s or my emp oyees and wha my 10-year nanc a goa s are or every ar s on our ros er Th s e ke a revo u onary momen " Here we presen ve o he mos compe ng spoken-word per ormances rom ar s s curren y on awQward s ros er — wh ch he organ zers hope o expand n he near u ure These ar s s have vo ces — and hey re ones we shou d be s en ng o Read he res o he or g na ar c e and more abou he o her our ar s s pro ed here (h p www advoca e com ar s-en er a nmen 2015 02 10 wa ch-5-ar s s-you-need-hear-r gh -now) Check ou he v deo (h p www eeway org med a v deo _mase_ # VN5 LDF_ E) o J Mase

per orm ng a Leeway s 2014 Trans L erary Sa on (h p www eeway org even s 2014_ rans_ erary_sa on)



niv Acosta

Wr tten by W am S Sm th for Art n Amer can February 2 2015 The per ormance n v Acos a was rehears ng when we me se s a sc ence- c on narra ve o d sco bea s and uses heore ca as rophys cs as a ens hrough wh ch o exam ne ssues o race and gender D SCOTROP C wh ch prem eres h s mon h n New York as par o he New Museum s Tr enn a ea ures a cas o our nc ud ng Acos a who w de ver a ragmen ary scr p he per ormers composed co ec ve y v a ex message wh e per orm ng choreography ha borrows equa y rom he h gh-modern s dance rad on and underground Bronx n gh c ubs o he 1970s Acos a a ransgender man o Dom n can descen descr bed h s new work as " u ur s c " hough h s show s aes he c hard y evokes space-opera c chés The se o D SCOTROP C w nc ude dec ded y homespun props croche ed beanbag cha rs ha resemb e g an mp pha uses The u ure Acos a mag nes s n ormed by he specu a ve era ure o Oc av a Bu er and Samue R De any b ack wr ers who used a m nor erary genre o ar cu a e progress ve deas abou rac a and sexua den y D SCOTROP C s n some ways a depar ure or he 26-year-o d Bronx na ve who deve oped prec se choreography or ra her han re y ng on he ypes o mprov sa on ha s ruc ured h s prev ous works Mos no ab y however he p ece s "abso u e y no abou Denze " as Acos a ns s ed n a recen s ud o v s Denze Wash ng on has been cen ra o he ar s s work s nce 2009 when Acos a began a cyc e o s x p eces ha grapp e w h h s re a onsh p o he mov e s ar an con o b ack mascu n y W h es ke denze denze pre ude and denze aga n he works yp ca y nvo ve a spoken mono ogue se o mus c o owed by Acos a s mprov sed movemen s nc ud ng ecs a c vogu ng The mos recen ns a men sho denze presen ed a New York s Judson Church n 2013 began w h a mono ogue abou e dea h des ruc on and regenera on ha was addressed o Wash ng on and se o gor S rav nsky s R e o Spr ng When he mono ogue ended and he room wen s en Acos a repea ed y spr n ed across he s age pounded h s s s aga ns one o he church s mass ve co umns and co apsed on he ground Though Acos a u ma e y nds e a n y w h Wash ng on he v ews he ac or as a re a ab e gure a popu ar o —"one o he ew cons s en y pos ve represen a ons o b ack men n he med a"—whose name makes even he mos d cu per ormance appear access b e o a w de range o aud ences L ke d sco mus c and sc ence c on "Denze " has broad cu ura appea an asse Acos a everages o speak abou h s own mu ace ed den y COM NG SOON Works by n v Acos a n Surround Aud ence The 2015 Tr enn a a he New Museum New York Feb 25-Apr 24 Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www ar namer camagaz ne com news- ea ures magaz ne n v-acos a )

Ursula Rucker Delivers Poems At Church Wr tten by Ar ene Edmonds for the Ph ade ph a Tr bune February 5 2015

Spoken word ar s poe and songs ress Ursu a Rucker o German own de vered se ec ed ep c poems a her home church as Sunday Feb 1 A er he morn ng Mass a he S V ncen s Ca ho c Church 309 E Pr ce S a were nv ed o he e owsh p ha or re reshmen s as Rucker opened s B ack H s ory Mon h ser es The se ec ons are par o a arger work he ar s s proud o ca ed “My Fa her s Daugh er ” The ar s s mo her Pa m na Rucker o Moun A ry reca ed how he e o he ep c poem came abou was dur ng a hea ed momen n he r househo d ha her a e husband rem nded Ursu a Rucker “she was her a her s daugh er ” accord ng o Pa m na Rucker a member o he S Therese Church n he Ho y Cross commun y “ am very proud o Ursu a s courage n do ng h s work ” Pa m na Rucker sa d “So many peop e don ge o do wha hey ove and express wha hey wan o say Th s s wha she s a ways wan ed o do Th s s her s ory us pra se God ha she d d h s a her church and hope ha God w a ways have a hand n wha ever she does ” The Rev Sy Pe erka pas or o S V ncen s ca ed Ursu a Rucker “one o he reasures n our own backyard ” Pe erka came o he par sh as year a er serv ng a a congrega on n Ba more He was a requen gues preacher a he Shr ne o he M racu ous Meda n German own So when he was p ann ng he church s B ack H s ory Mon h program many congregan s sugges ed Ursu a Rucker be nc uded “ hough her presen a on was power u ” Pe erka sa d “ s amaz ng ha she was ab e o rec e each poem ha was more han ve m nu es ong rom memory She d d much pass on and even us ng song So many us o d me ha hey were moved by “ am g ad she se ec ed he poems rom her co ec on ha were re a ed o B ack H s ory Mon h ouched by he poems and we were us b essed o have her ” Pe erka sa d

n such a rea manner w h so

d dn rea ze ha she had so much exper se The crowd us ound her o be so re resh ng We were a very

Rucker who s ha A r can Amer can and ha a an wro e “My Fa her s Daugh er ” nsp red by he s ory o her paren s n errac a marr age and some mes v o en re a onsh p Th s s one o her rs ma or works a er she made her h a bum “She Sa d” more han our years ago Th s s a s ory she open y shared a S V ncen s n he presence o no on y her church am y bu hree o her our sons who were n he aud ence For he ar s per orm ng comes eas y She has aken her work abroad o he Mon rea Jazz Fes va he Aus ra an Freedom Fes va Amnes y s g oba “S op V o ence Aga ns Women” and even concer s n Fabr ck Hamburg n Germany She has per ormed w h The Roo s and o her popu ar record ng ar s s and done so o ours across he coun ry was n 2001 she recorded her debu a bum “Supa S s er ” and hen came works ke “S ver & Lead” n 2003 “Ma a Mama” n 2006 and “She Sa d” n 2010 “ ge my nsp ra on orm us be ng awake ” Rucker sa d “ am a ch d o God and am o eran o o her peop e s exper ences am respec u o o hers am humb ed by he ac ha as around me see wha s go ng on and some mes don ke wha see So wr e abou a so share ar as an op on or hose who are res ruc ur ng he r ves ”

ook a he wor d

Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www ph y r b com re g on ursu a-rucker-de vers-poems-a -church ar c e_d49374c6-82d5-597c-bc70-53e43556e775 h m ) mage Cred

Ursu a Rucker



Ursula's Ultimate: Performing Her Memoir Live On Stage Wr tten by Sheena Lester for Ph ade ph a Week y February 4 2015

s been 20 years s nce ve ve -vo ced Ph ade ph a poe Ursu a Rucker was n roduced o he wor d on The Un ock ng he v v d y v scera sexua y super-charged s anzas ha c osed ou Do You Wan More ? ?? he sophomore a bum by The Roo s ha served as he r ma or- abe debu S x so o a bums 177 gues appearances m xes and some 270-p us cred s a er s c ear o anyone pay ng a en on ha h s na ve s s er and mo her o our s been as much an ambassador or her c y as her amaz ng a en s been a source o pr de or (How many Ph ade ph a gures have so o mura s n he r honor e ched on o a bu d ng? Exac y ) A day be ore head ng o A en own or her each ng g g a Muh enberg Co ege and ahead o her h gh y-an c pa ed per ormances o he brand-new My Fa her s Daugh er a he Annenberg Cen er he a ways en hra ng Rucker spoke w h PW abou an array o sub ec s nc ud ng her a es ep c work and wha aud ences can expec o encoun er h s weekend PW: So how and when d d the who e teach ng th ng start w th you? s that someth ng you ve been try ng to do for a wh e? URSULA RUCKER We h nk happened because had a re a onsh p w h Muh enberg Co ege d d a u res dency here n 2009 and hen d d a m n -res dency back n Oc ober So ve had a re a onsh p w h hem and s nce my m n res dency ve a ked o he pro essor and we ve became r ends He asked me wan ed o each and o d h m ha ha s wha rea y wan o do

e

That s great! He was ke “Hey e me a k o somebody or you ” and was ke “Rea y? ” He made happen very qu ck y And you know when some h ng happens very qu ck y you re ke “Oh wa a m nu e now ” So hough m gonna be each ng every week or a who e semes er s h s wha wan ed? s awesome ve augh workshops and h ngs ke ha bu now m h red as a eacher m no a gues ar s m on he payro now s a sma c ass Muh enberg s a sma schoo Maybe around 12 s uden s s n ce hough s us enough s uden s us have o keep hem n eres ed and keep hem mov ng every Sa urday The name o he c ass s "Page o S age Wr ng and Per orm ng Poe ry " d dn make up “Page o S age ” heard ha many mes be ore and m ke “We s us ha so m gonna s ea ” Do they ca you Professor Rucker? Ac ua y one o he s uden s sen me an ema ca ng me a pro essor and was ke “Wha ? No no

don

h nk so Bu okay ” (Laughs)

s there an approach you take to teach ng that you may have earned from a spec f c teacher that taught you? You sa d ts someth ng that you wanted to a ways do so s th s a you or do you take e ements from d fferent teachers you ve had? Tha s a grea ques on never rea y hough o ha be eve s a me because m so no organ zed and many o my o her eachers were very organ zed each rom a po n o go ng w h he ow so when had o wr e he sy abus—wh ch was my rs sy abus— s ressed me o no end m s ng here ke “ have o pred c wha m gonna be do ng? ” don know wha m gonna be do ng had o do because s a orma y bu rea y us go o o wha he response s rom he s uden s and wha hey need—wha he r s reng hs and weaknesses are So s rea y us go ng w h he ow bu w h n ha ow o course hav ng he s ruc ure o each ng he wr ng o poe ry he mask ng o rhy hm w h he wr ng and each ng o speak ng he poe ry—hear ng your own vo ce hey weren am ar w h hen per orm ng hen per orm ng w h mus c s k nd o ke a s ep process m us each ng rom my exper ence and hey can ake and see wha works or hem s your approach to teach ng—go ng w th the f ow but w th n a structure—your approach to wr t ng poetry too? Yes s my process or every h ng Some mes say o peop e and hey ook a me s deways and are ke ”We ha s he oppos e ” bu ha s how work s every h ng s ba ance Tha s how every h ng works or me When m work ng w h my gu ar s T m Mo zer her ong me co abora or m a ways us ng hose oppos es bu he unders ands me now say “Le s do h s” and g ve h m wo oppos es and he o a y ge s s us a abou he ba ance So when we do a show ke he one com ng up here s a o o s ruc ure here Bu s when we ve been a k ng and m ke “Okay s need o ee ke can move around so ha m no s uck or con ned Every h ng s med and don ke ha ” can work ke ha So here s s ruc ure bu here s a so room o move around s t ust go ng to be the two of you on stage at the Annenberg? Yes—and T m s g r r end De ha T s do ng he v sua s wh ch m super exc ed abou because she s amaz ng She s rea y spec acu ar surpr se We haven rea y worked ou a o o h ngs s go ng o be very spon aneous

can wa

o see wha she s do ng because

s go ng o be a

Obv ous y you have hometown fans on ock exc ted about th s show s there someth ng they are go ng to exper ence at My Father s Daughter that they haven t seen before? Oh or sure—a o s have he same hear and ha s am ar bu h s s a new err ory o me Th s s a ve memo r so m approach ng d eren y m read ng a o o cause s ke m read ng ou o my ourna bu here s some per ormance n as we There are a ew songs a coup e o poems bu he res s rea y ourna ng m k nd o shar ng a ove ourna sa e b o every h ng don rea y know wha s go ng o happen Have you ever performed any of t before? Oh no have been work ng my ass o wro e h s who e p ece work ng w h T m s a new m ac ua y scared o say some o he h ngs ha m go ng o be say ng My bro her ca ed me and asked wha day he shou d come see he show and was ke “Uh are you sure you wan o do ha ? m gonna be pu ng our sh ou on he s ree ” had o e h m ke “Look m go n n—a he way n ” s de n e y been a ourney and guess he ourney s go ng o con nue because haven per ormed ye wou d have a hand u o ssues a T m s house whenever we rehearsed As de from your ta ent there s such bravery n what you revea Even on soc a med a You open yourse f up and are so vu nerab e s that easy for you? s t natura ? s de n e y no easy Bu don rea y know comes na ura y ee ke s some h ng n he momen ha us have o do m a V rgo so h nk abou every h ng ha do wou d ove o say ha m o a y capr c ous and wh ms ca bu m no wan o be When m wr ng even s us on a soc a ne work orum s some h ng persona or wha ever us ook a and h nk abou and hen m ke “Fuck go ahead ” So guess yeah s par o my na ure bu s some h ng h nk abou Do deas for poems haunt you unt they come out? De n e y The p ece m do ng now has haun ed me or 20 years rom he momen hough abou up un s ar ed wr ng nd wo years a er and be ke “Yeah ha s r gh ” and hen ho d on o un he r gh me Son a Sanchez eaches ha ha doesn work or me ve r ed o do bu … s emp y m on y ab e o do when s me

carry e hough s n my bra n or wr e down on paper hen ose and you re a wr er you shou d wr e every day And even hough she s my men or

W h My Fa her s Daugh er ve been a k ng abou wr ng my mo her s memo r or 20 years so h s s or me a way o chea ng because h s s an exper men m no wr ng a book h s s a ve vers on o My mo her has been ask ng me o wr e and d dn wan o wh e my a her was on h s p ane because a o s abou h m and d dn wan o d s h m wh e he was s wa k ng he ear h S nce my a her d ed my mom s been ke “Come on come on—you ve go a wr e h s ” bu don h nk my mo her knew rea y wha ha mean And when o d her h s s gonna be raw—you know me—she was us ke “Yeah you re gonna e he ru h ” hough Yeah okay she s go bu nah My mom s rea y o d-schoo Even ua y she s ke “Am go ng o be embarrassed?” cou dn rea y e her how she wou d ee was us ke “Mom ha s on you you ee embarrassed can e you whe her or no you w be Bu rea y s abou your r umphs you cou d see hrough every h ng e se ha m say ng n he end s abou your r umphs and ce ebra ng you ” o d her “ you don wanna be here you don have o be here ” don h nk she s com ng My mom s a comp ca ed be ng And so he s ory e s why ha s and how ha comp ca ed be ng a ec ed me—and s a ec s me How ong has your dad been gone? When d d you ose h m? Three years on January 10 can be eve s been hree years How has be ng a parent changed you? How have you ra sed your sons and how have they ra sed you? F rs o a was a spo ed bra so comp e e y ook me ou o ha Even hough s ee no ons o ge ng my way every h ng ha do s or hem We do every h ng oge her and now ha m a s ng e mom we rea y do We gh oge her we ce ebra e oge her we s rugg e oge her m hav ng nanc a roub es ke or no we ve go a work oge her we go a ge hrough h s Th s s he e o an ar s have o dr n o hem Th s s my e h s was my cho ce and hope nsp res hem o approach he r e know ng ha money sn he mos mpor an h ng you have o do some h ng ha s mean ng u m on he r asses m no ke “Hey e s s down and do your homework oge her ” Tha s no me Bu am ha mom ha when some h ng happens m g v ng a speech am on he pedes a am n your ear am on your ass— s gonna be ke h s you know? My 16-year-o d s probab y mos s ck o me cause m mos s ck o h m us say “ surv ve you can surv ve any h ng ” s unny—you don rea y rea ze or unders and ha your k ds are ra s ng you wh e you re ra s ng hem Nobody e s you ha par o and some mes you don rea y wan ha n he way hey k nd o orce on you Has ha been your exper ence a a w h paren hood? Yes a he me ve earned so much—and d dn know was go ng o have our They re a d eren he dynam c s crazy You rea y have o dea and earn he r d eren persona es and adap h nk ha s he b gges h ng Adap ng Tha s some h ng a o o peop e don earn We us go a ong our way and do our way can do my way bu a so have o do he r way some mes don wan o adm bu s no a ways my way or he h ghway a hough ha s wha e hem m no a super d sc p nar an— he r dad was And now ha we re no oge her ha s a d cu h ng Even when you re s agnan you can a ways re y on your k ds o do some h ng even s some h ng ke break ng a w ndow s he mos cha eng ng ob ve ever had n the m dst of ast year s turmo w th the deaths of M chae Brown and Er c Garner what k nds of conversat ons d d you have w th your sons and what were the r react ons to t a ? So many conversa ons Lo s o wa ch ng he news oge her and be ng d sappo n ed oge her was a momen o sadness as we as pr de because know ha he r reac ons have every h ng o do w h how ra sed hem and wha each hem so here was he dua h ng— ke “Hey h s s ucked up bu m g ad ha you care ” My 16-year-o d wa ks around so una ec ed bu even he s ke “Wow h s s rea you cou d be do ng wha ever and n one second s over–and s n ron o he who e wor d s eyes and here s no ega re r bu on aga ns he murderer ” us b ows your m nd and no one can e me any h ng d eren know m a consp racy heor s bu h s has no h ng o do w h ha Th s s so c ear and cer a n and our coun ry s he on y one who s nu s Everyone e se s ook ng n ke Wha s wrong w h you a ? The as mean ng u conversa on had was w h a r end who s Sw ss me and h m were a k ng and wha he sa d was ke a bomb drop He was ke “ m ook ng a h s and we don unders and h s We don unders and why everyone wa ks around w h guns The on y peop e who have guns here are hun ers We re ook ng a ha ke Wha he he s wrong w h Amer ca? And we don wan o come here s no human ” ve been grapp ng w h he ac ha dur ng h s me had so many h ngs go ng on n my persona e—my mom s ness o s o emergenc es—and cou dn be on he ron ne or any o hose pro es s and e so bad F rs o a a ways a k abou and pu ou here and second y m go ng o record some h ng re a ng o o a k abou hese h ngs make pro es ar and make o as saw peop e on Facebook a few weeks ago ta k ng about the fact that Do You Want More ?!!!??! turned 20—so guess that means The Un ock ng turned 20 too Yeah was pregnan w h Sudan Do you ever th nk about your ntroduct on to the pub c and what t was ke before then … and s nce? Yes— n momen s o n ense gra ude or be ng a poe wh ch a ways b ows my m nd No ha poe s can r se o a cer a n eve bu he sh ha do w h my poe ry? wou d have never hunk wou d have never be eved wha poe ry has a owed me o do— he peop e p aces exper ences he re a onsh ps and he p eces o ar ha have been crea ed was us h nk ng yes erday n he m dd e o he n gh abou h s me ha was n Ams erdam was us s ar ng o record and was here o mee he A&R guy rom he abe was go ng o be on and every h ng was a b ur was h s who e b g show a he Parad so wh ch s h s huge venue was me J Sco –who was us s ar ng R ch Med na K ng was sp nn ng Common was per orm ng and we were a on he same b R ch was us a he beg nn ng o rans on ng rom be ng a poe o be ng who he s now produc ng and a ha was a mag c momen And was us h nk ng abou ha and how much o a de n ng momen was m ook ng ust at the numbers on ne that say you ve made 25 re eases 177 appearances have 272 cred ts as a poet … G r have never seen ha n my e m abou o a on he oor way ow-ba ed ha We uck y someone e se s keep ng track for you Tha s amaz ng m e ng you … h s s he bug-ou The h ng ha pos ed as n gh was one o hose h ngs ha hough rea y hard abou pos ng and was a ew days ago bu when h s person sa d o me checked hem po e y because hey were o der han me and had o respec hem They d dn rea y mean any harm bu hey sa d “Ursu a doesn work nowhere”—bas ca y say ng she s s rugg ng s nce she s an ar s and doesn have a regu ar paycheck knew wha she was say ng bu as soon as she sa d was ke “Uh excuse me— do work somewhere A o o p aces A o work hard ” And she was ns an y ke “Oh no d dn mean ” us wan ed o c ar y When m no work ng when you h nk m no work ng am work ng Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www ph ade ph aweek y com ar s-and-cu ure ea ures Ursu a_s_U ma e-290708041 h m )

Martha and the Lost Produced by M chae O Re y for WHYY January 12 2015

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FRIDAY ARTS

Martha and the Lost Premiere Date: January 12, 2015 Play Video Again You ve just watched Martha and the Lost See More from FRIDAY ARTS Problems with CC? Return to Video The gure s ng ng and mov ng s ow y among he ombs ones s dressed en re y n u mourn ng rega a rom he 1800 s a b ack dress comp e e w h hoop sk r and ve She ooks ou o p ace or os somehow Th s s he ar s Mar ha McDona d (h p mar ha mcdona d b ogspo com ) and hrough her per ormance here she s mourn ng he h s ory o he Wood ands and a he v ng h ngs ha have been os w h he garden McDona d has been per orm ng and mak ng ob ec s and cos umes or years bu s on y re a ve y recen y ha she has been comb n ng a o h s She s mak ng ns a a ons and do ng per ormances w h n he space and w h he ob ec s (she ca s h s “ac va ng” he space and ob ec s) One o her mos success u “ac va ons” was THE WEEP NG DRESS (h p www cra org au See exh b ons pas _exh b ons mar ha-mcdona d- he-weep ng-dress ) Wh e n Aus ra a she spen scores o hours ash on ng a rep ca o a 19 h cen ury mourn ng dress en re y rom b ack crepe paper She s ood under e abora e p umb ng des gned o m m c he vo ume o ears shed by he gr e s r cken and per ormed wh e b ack dye poo ed under her pe coa s The dress now a mos gh b ue a er os ng mos o s co or s s n a corner o her s ud o n Ph ade ph a A er ha produc ve me spen abroad FR DAY ARTS v s s Mar ha wh e she ash ons THE LOST GARDEN (h p wood andsph a org he os garden ) – “a s e-spec c ns a a on and per ormance a The Wood ands (h p wood andsph a org ) exp or ng mpermanence and he rag e na ure o memory ” Draw ng on he anguage o V c or an handcra s ke ewe ry made rom human ha r and wax owers under domes we see how Mar ha br ngs a oge her ga her ng per ormance ns a a on h s ory and handcra s n o her a es work wor hy o s own g ass dome o keep and con a n hese d spara e e emen s oge her Read he or g na ar c e here (h p h p whyy org cms r dayar s mar ha-and- he- os )

Mary DeWitt: Portraits of Women Serving Life Wr tten by M sha McG own for Of Note Magaz ne The mpr soned ssue - W nter 2014 2015

An 18-year-o d Av s Lee was asked o be a ookou or her o der bro her and h s r ends wh e hey comm ed an armed robbery “Wha do have o do?” she asked She was o d ha her ob was o wh s e

she saw anyone com ng

The robbery ook an unexpec ed urn There was a uss e and he v c m was sho Her bro her and he o hers ed Av s s ayed beh nd hours a er he v c m d ed

agged down a bus and ca ed or he p or he wounded man Ten

Av s was a w ng par c pan n a cr me or wh ch she was ass gned o pay her deb n pr son Bu 35 years a er—desp e her exemp ary record her ded ca on o serv ce rom beh nd bars and he ac ha she d d no comm he murder—she s s serv ng a e sen ence w hou paro e a he S a e Correc ona ns u on n Cambr dge Spr ngs Pennys van a Her recen reques or a hear ng be ore he paro e board was den ed Lee w no be gran ed even a g mmer o an oppor un y o demons ra e he evo ved woman she has become Th s common and recurr ng scenar o wou d grow o compe Mary DeW s work

A mosa c ea ur ng a se ec on o v sua and aud o por ra s Mary DeW

has crea ed over he years o women serv ng

e sen ences

mage cour esy o he ar s v a marydew

ne

Through aud o and v sua represen a ons Mary DeW (h p www marydew ne ) has been pro ng wen y s m ar y mpr soned women s nce 1994 when she rece ved a New Forms Reg ona Na ona Endowmen or he Ar s Gran ha o ered her he op on o work w h ch dren or w h peop e n pr son DeW dec ded ha her a en s wou d be bes u zed n he pr son sys em and qu ck y d scovered ha ers— hose serv ng e sen ences—were mos recep ve o he crea ve process DeW s work s no as much abou nnocence as den es n he process

s abou human y The nd gn y su ered by hese women es n he sever y and permanence o he r pun shmen s and he near comp e e erasure o he r

n he s a e o Pennsy van a a e sen ences are w hou paro e and on y he governor can gran a pardon W h governors ncreas ng y unw ng o pu hemse ves po ca y a -r sk pardons have become ewer and ar her be ween Th s sys em bodes par cu ar y poor y or women whose max mum secur y ac es are ucked away n excep ona y remo e oca ons These women are e ec ve y h dden and s enced “Because o he r o a ack o v s b y no resources and ex reme y ow se -es eem hey us are warehoused n pr son or decades ” says he ar s DeW degenera ng sys em n wh ch hese women wou d o herw se be nv s b e

s por ra s g ve ace and vo ce o a awed and

Th s work s ar ed w h v s s o Pennsy van a pen en ar es where DeW wou d speak w h women serv ng e sen ences Her sub ec s were recommended by pr son s a ers or a number o reasons nc ud ng d screpanc es w h n he r cases ou s and ng behav or and serv ce Each o he women wou d have been h gh y e g b e or paro e a mos anywhere e se n he coun ry Many o hem were v c ms as we —some ba ered and even orced o w ness or ass s n a a cr mes Bu DeW s work s no as much abou nnocence as s abou human y The nd gn y su ered by hese women es n he sever y and permanence o he r pun shmen s and he near comp e e erasure o he r den es n he process

Av s Lee descr bes her and Now ” 2014)

e n 1979 and her

e n presen day a er serv ng 34 years n pr son A v sua por ra o Lee un o ds as she shares her s ory n h s aud o and v sua work by DeW

(“Av s Lee Then

n he beg nn ng DeW was ab e o s w h her sub ec s and render hem rom e wh e record ng hours o es mony (h p www marydew ne MaryDeW Aud o_and_V deo h m ) Harsher ru es—a med a pro ec ng v c ms am es and ur her d sappear ng peop e n pr son rom he pub c eye—have more recen y preven ed her rom hav ng c ose con ac w h he women The ar s has had o be more crea ve and d scree abou garner ng oo age and keep ng he pro ec a ve Some o he women speak abou he r ves n pr son Some share s or es abou he r am es ves be ore pr son and even dreams Some a k abou he rans orma ve work hey have been do ng wh e ncarcera ed and some d scuss he r cr mes These conversa ons have been on-go ng and recorded or decades w h DeW repa n ng he women s por ra s a var ous s ages o mpr sonmen hrough a ser es she ca s Then and Now The r mages and words have appeared on canvas es g ass and npub c mura s The r vo ces can now be heard a exh b ons and have u ma e y ound a permanen p a orm on YouTube (h ps www you ube com channe UCbMR8hK6KqJUyqTPBw hKCQ v deos) Many o he women are hear ng hemse ves or he rs me and have hrough h s work begun o recogn ze he r own se -wor h

(h p www o no emagaz ne org wp-con en up oads 2015 01 Mary-DeW

Mary DeW

n ron o he pub c mura o Cyd Berger who s curren y serv ng a

Mura _ pg)

e sen ence w hou paro e The mura s oca ed a Kap an s Bakery n Ph ade ph a Pho o by Andrea Brown 2012

DeW s overarch ng goa s make her sub ec s “v s b e rea known and va ued ” She adds “ wan hem o be very v v d n he r own words he paro e board one day and s op m s c ha he ncom ng Governor Tom Wo w urn a k nder ear o ssues aced by ers

us ng he r own aces ” She hopes o br ng h s pro ec be ore

Mov ng orward DeW has uven e ers c ear y n her ocus (Pennsy van a has more uven es serv ng e sen ences han any o her s a e ) She a so hopes o work w h ve erans conv c ed o ser ous cr mes She curren y has severa works on exh b a he Ph ade ph a Ep scopa Ca hedra and w be ea ured n a group exh b on The B gger P c ure (h p ar scounc o pr nce on org exh b he-b ggerp c ure ) presen ed by he Ar s Counc o Pr nce on NJ rom January 17 o March 14 2015 Read he or g na ar c e here (h p www o no emagaz ne org 2015 01 21 ar s -mary-dew -br ngs-human y- o-women- ers )



The Bigger Picture

Wr tten by Mary DeW tt for the Arts Counc of Pr nceton B og January 20 2015

SC Muncy 1992 e

Sharon W gg ns Cyd Berger m dd e ron Be y Heron on he r gh and Mary DeW

on he adder

s ar ed he work ha ed o he our por ra s have exh b ed n “The B gger P c ure” by each ng pa n ng n he s a e pr sons n 1988 The mos n eres ed and he p u s uden s were women serv ng e sen ences d dn know un hen ha hey were caugh n an un us sys em w h no v s b y We began c asses ocus ng on por ra ure – he r se -por ra s and my por ra s o hem A ha me cou d pa n hem rom e and record he r hough s They cou d make por ra s us ng equ pmen ha wou d be nconce vab e o have n pr sons oday or examp e sharp ns rumen s o crea e nocu s The s a and adm n s ra on back hen se ec ed h s group be ev ng ha hey were cand da es or pardon A core group o e gh women have been work ng oge her ever s nce a hough Sharon W gg ns (h p www c org b og memory-sharon-w gg ns-ch d-45-years-ago-sen enced-d e-pr son) d ed n 2013 (P ease o ow he nk o earn more abou Sharon )

Eas ern S a e Pen en ary 1997 por ra o Cyd Berger 5 x5 on g ass reversed We d d a k nds o pro ec s rom crea ve wr ng ( remember one book we read an an ho ogy o poems and essays ca ed Th s Br dge Ca ed My Back Wr ngs by Rad ca Women o Co or as we as ar c es by nsp r ng au hors ke be hooks) o pa n ng he ac v es basemen oor The group has a so exh b ed a s es ke Ph ade ph a C y Ha Cour yard Buckne Un vers y Moore Co ege o Ar Sm hson an ns u on and Eas ern S a e Pen en ary

he

Mos o he women were very young when hey came o pr son A n he group were rs - me o enders Two were on y 17 years o d qua y ng or he r cases o be rev ewed M er v A abama (h p en w k ped a org w k M er_v _A abama) (p ease c ck he nk o earn more abou h s mpor an 2012 Supreme Cour dec s on) s deemed re roac ve n Pennsy van a Three were n he r a e eens wo n he r ear y wen es On y one o he women n our group came o pr son when she was n her h r es

Cyd Berger Each o my pa n ngs n “The B gger P c ure” s accompan ed by a v deo o he por ra deve op ng rom he beg nn ng w h he sub ec s n erv ew n vo ce-over You can scan he QR codes when you are a he exh b or you can go o www marydew ne (h p www marydew ne ) o see he v deos Each v deo con r bu es o he b gger p c ure o our pr son sys em n he Un ed S a es over me rom he ear y 1970 s un now

Av s Lee As o oday Cyd Berger and Av s Lee ( op wo por ra s) have co ec ve y served over 70 years o e-sen ences n Pennsy van a a s a e where a e-sen ences are ssued w hou paro e n a 1993 record ng accompany ng he deve opmen o h s 2014 por ra Cyd Berger ( op e ) descr bes m ss ng her ch dren her accomp shmen s n pr son and her n en ons or a u ure ou s de o pr son She revea s he hope or pardon ha hundreds o pr soners shared n Pennsy van a n he 1990 s Av s Lee ( op r gh ) n a 2013 record ng descr bes her cr me n 1979 and her work n pr son now Her de erm na on o g ve back o soc e y s cons s en w h he women know who are serv ng e-sen ences w h no paro e They have been warehoused or decades oo ong n a broken sys em Kenne a Andrews and Laura “LJ” K e were a coup e devo ed o each o her and he women hey served a he S a e Correc ona ns u on a Muncy ( n Muncy PA ou s de o W amspor as he ndus r a Schoo or Women) un Kenne a s dea h n 2012

ormer y known

Kenne a n a 1995 record ng made a er she re red descr bes he pr son n he 1970 s Muncy had no ence and beau u or en a carpe s and was ke “a p an a on ” The guards were ca ed “ma rons” and were “e der y ” w h he excep on o Kenne a She was n her ear y wen es and h red “on he spo ” n an e or by Governor Schapp o have “more b acks” n he sys em

LJ K

e and Kenne a Andrews

LJ K e who re red n 2014 re a es he ex reme change dur ng her enure rom 1985 un anguage ) Her poems are nc uded n he v deos o her and Kenne a Andrews

2014 w h he deve opmen o he Pr son ndus r a Comp ex (h p cr ca res s ance org abou no -so-common-

More awareness o he Pr son ndus r a Comp ex and he ru ng on M er v A abama g ves me some hope We n he Un ed S a es are ac ng a human ar an cr s s n our pr sons one ha requ res mmed a e and rad ca change ee or una e o br ng he p gh s o hese women o he pub c s a en on hrough h s exh b on and a so hrough h s ar c e (h p www o no emagaz ne org 2015 01 21 ar s -mary-dew -br ngs-human y- owomen- ers ) ha appears n h s mon h s Of Note magaz ne Read or g na ar c e here (h p ar scounc o pr nce on org 2015 01 he-b gger-p c ure )

N ne women and rans* ar s s represen ng hree coun es n he Grea er Ph ade ph a area have been named 2014 Leeway Trans orma on Awardees he ounda on announced oday The Awards are gran ed annua y o ar s s who have demons ra ed a prac ce o ar and soc a change or ve years or more The 2014 awards were presen ed o a d verse group o ar s s and cu ura producers work ng n a range o d sc p nes nc ud ng erary med a and per ormance ar s “ n our n n h cyc e o he Trans orma on Award he br an women and rans* award rec p en s we have suppor ed are do ng cruc a work a a cr ca me ” says Program D rec or Sham-e-A Nayeem “ n he m ds o b eak mes hey are crea ng ar and mpac ng commun es n nnova ve and purpose u ways They each gu de us owards he wor d we wan o see ” Leeway s Trans orma on Award recogn zes women and rans* ar s s and cu ura producers whose work has mpac ed a arger group aud ence or commun y The $15 000 award s mer -based pro ec proposa s are no requ red and he unds are unres r c ed Ou o over 70 app can s he o ow ng n ne ar s s were se ec ed o rece ve he 2014 Leeway Trans orma on Award ( n a phabe ca order)

Ann e Mok o Wes Ph ade ph a L erary Ar s and V sua Ar s (h p www eeway org gran ees ann e_mok_ a_14) Debora Kod sh o Wes Ph ade ph a Fo k Ar (h p www eeway org gran ees debora_kod sh_ a_14) Ezra Berk ey Nepon o Wes Ph ade ph a Per ormance and L erary Ar s (h p www eeway org gran ees ezra_berk ey_nepon) Kar amu We sh o Wyndmoor Per ormance and L erary Ar s (h p www eeway org gran ees kar amu_we sh_ a_14) M che e Myers o Camden R ver ron Per ormance (h p www eeway org gran ees m che e_myers_ a_14) O o Nor h Ph ade ph a Per ormance (h p www eeway org gran ees o_ a_14) Sara Z a Ebrah m o Wyndmoor Med a Ar s (h p www eeway org gran ees sara_z a_ebrah m _ a_14) Sosena So omon o Fa rmoun Med a Ar s and V sua Ar s (h p www eeway org gran ees sosena_so omon_ a_14) Tokay Tomah o Upper Darby Mus c and Fo k Ar (h p www eeway org gran ees okay_ omah_ a_14)

A na ona pane convened o rev ew app ca ons and work samp es n wo s ages The 2014 pane cons s ed o wr er and producer fayem shakur poe and pro essor Lorna Dee Cervantes per ormance ar s and ar s educa or S T Sh m med a ar s and documen ar an Sey Adeban o and med a ar s and prev ous Trans orma on Award rec p en Yowe Shaw (LTA 13 ACG 13 12 11 10 09) (h p www eeway org ar s s yowe _shaw) Sage Crump cu ura s ra eg s ac a ed he second s age The se ec on process began n he spr ng o 2014 w h an open app ca on A pane o na ona ar s s ac v s s and cu ura producers represen ng a var e y o ar s c and cu ura prac ces me n he summer and made se ec ons or a group o na s s o move on o he second s age n he w n er he pane rev ewed he second s age app ca ons a ong w h work samp es and made na dec s ons or he awards o be g ven o a group who as emerg ng m d-career and es ab shed ar s s u y embody Leeway s m ss on App ca ons are made ava ab e on he Leeway webs e and may a so be ob a ned by ca ng 215 545 4078 or ema ng n o@ eeway org (ma o n o@ eeway org) The nex Leeway Trans orma on Award dead ne s May 15 2015 Po en a app can s are encouraged o a end one o he many workshops and suppor sess ons he d hroughou he year or schedu e an appo n men w h a ounda on s a member or one-on-one suppor Press nqu r es shou d be d rec ed o Den se Beek a (215) 545-4078 ex 14 or dbeek@ eeway org (ma o dbeek@ eeway org) *We use he erm “ rans” n s mos nc us ve sense as an umbre a erm encompass ng ranssexua

ransgender genderqueer Two-Sp r peop e and more genera y anyone whose gender den y or

gender express on s noncon orm ng and or d eren rom he r gender ass gned a b r h Down oad a PDF of the 2014 LTA Press Re ease w th Art st Prof es and Pane st B os (h p www eeway org mages news 2014_LTA_Press_Re ease pd )

Ceremonies of Dark Men Wr tten by A a Beech for the Huff ngton Post December 11 2014

A M Weaver has devo ed much o her work ng e o soc a awareness and ac v sm hrough he ar s W h her a es pro ec Ceremon es o Dark Men she s ak ng par c pan s on a ourney hrough he Amer can andscape hrough a ens no o en enough exp ored

Pho o by Dona d Camp ex by Fred Jo ner was n he m d 1990s when Weaver me Dona d Camp a newspaper pho ographer work ng on a s de pro ec she ound n eres ng "He used ar orms ha represen ed b ack ma es educa ed b ack ma es " Weaver o d me over he phone on a co d Monday morn ng a er mak ng herse some co ee "Pho ography o b ack men o coun er wha he saw n he med a " Th s work o coun er ng med a por raya s o b ack men ca ed "Dus Shaped Hear " s now an ongo ng pro ec The e o he work was nsp red by he Rober Hayden poem Hear -shape n he dus

Pho o by M chae P a

ex by Ma or Jackson

A er see ng Camp s work and "Box ng n he Shadows " an unpub shed manuscr p by poe A aa M chae Weaver cura or A M Weaver saw he po en a or pho ography and poe ry by b ack men abou b ack men o crea e a rue and au hen c v ew n o he ves o b ack men ha s so despera e y needed on a arge pub c sca e

Pho o by S an Squ rewe

ex by A aa M Weaver

Fr day December 12 Ceremon es o Dark Men or CoDM Mu med a beg ns a he L nco n Thea re usher ng n "a momen n me po sed as an oppor un y o ce ebra e reve and re ec on he ves o b ack men n new con ex s " Par o he Wash ng on DC Comm ss on on he Ar s and Human es 5 x 5 Pro ec CoDM cons s s o ve cura ors Weaver be ng one o hem who hen choose ve d eren ar s s o work w h and Weaver has mu p ed hese connec ons o ve o an exponen a degree crea ng an exper ence ha encompasses he par c pan and he Wash ng on DC area The open ng even or CoDM w ea ure some o he ar s s whose work appear n he b boards such as poe Ma or Jackson as we as ve mus ca per ormances by The Corne Wes Theory " s a ways been my m ss on o con nue a pos ve narra ve or he b ack ma e w h n he rac s cons ruc s o he wor d " sa d mus c an and n erna ona DJ K ng Br who w be per orm ng a he CoDM n co abora on w h m makers Larry Cook Rash d Johnson A ex s Pesk ne and Je erson P nder " a ways ove o con r bu e o my comrades ourneys as we " Br con nued "Th s s one o hose ourneys ee my ro e n h s show s r gh w h n my v s on change hrough sound " Br has been do ng qu e a o o chang ng hrough sound n Ph ade ph a as he has par nered w h The V age o Ar s and Human es o br ng access o mus c-mak ng echno ogy very era y o he s ree s w h programs ke The S oop where every Monday rom Augus hrough Oc ober he he d s en ng par es or you h P ayback Mus c s he resu o ha work as he con nues o be an ac v s or b ack you h Br recen y ncorpora ed po ce scanner record ngs rom he n gh o M ke Brown s dea h n o an emo ona score or a mu med a ve show a S John s Church n S Lou s M ssour wh e par c pa ng n marches n Ferguson The b boards and banners o pho ographs and poems or CoDM w be n and around Wash ng on DC They w ea ure work rom pho ographers Dona d Camp Larry Cook saac D ggs M chae P a and S an Squ rewe are pa red w h poems rom Kenne h Carro Ma or Jackson Fred Jo ner E E he ber M er and A aa M chae Weaver w be d sp ayed on ve b boards hroughou he c y Through a Layar App aud ences w be ab e o ob a n more n orma on abou each pho ograph and poem read and hear rec a ons o he re a ed poem and par c pa e n ac ons hrough on ne med ums Th s ou door n erac ve exper ence hrough he ar orms o poe ry and pho ography are mean o d rec y coun er dehuman z ng aggress ve med a por raya s o b ack men by show ng b ack men as hey are comp ex peop e and no rac a zed car ca ure Peop e who go o work every day peop e who ove he r am es peop e who crea e he wor d around us CoDM n Mu med a L nco n Thea re Wash ng on DC December 12 2014 7 30pm - 10 00 pm Free Read or g na ar c e here (h ps www goog e com ur ?sa= &rc = &q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=r a&uac =8&ved=0CB4QF AA&ur =h p%3A%2F%2Fwww hu ng onpos com%2Fa abeech%2Fceremon es-o -dark-men_b_6309662 h m &e =5xaLVJn2ONOayATR0 LQCw&usg=AFQ CNGobF1y 3GR-sGabFp VQFY3_Z g&s g2=mZKTooo _JxD4b8- Q4Pgw&bvm=bv 81828268 d aWw)





The Signs and Boxes Tell Us So: On Sex Classification Policies Wr tten by Heath Fogg Dav s for The Fem n st W re November 13 2014

Sex-c ass ca on po c es ha bureaucra ca y and phys ca y sor us n o he b nary ca egor es o ma e or ema e may seem necessary and ben gn Bu cha enge h s deep y roo ed soc a and ega cus om n my research (h p hea h oggdav s es wordpress com 2014 05 sex-c ass pd ) by show ng ha eg ma e po cy goa s such as raud preven on sa e y secur y pr vacy and even a r a h e c compe on can o en be me by a erna ve means ha do no sub ec nd v dua s o he harm o adm n s ra ve gender udgmen and exc us on Mos c es and mun c pa es have n erpre ed he r gender den y non-d scr m na on aws o requ re he ass m a on o ransgender and gender var an peop e n o ex s ng b nary sex-c ass ca on po c es Ph ade ph a (h p www advoca e com po cs 2013 10 28 ph ade ph a-passes-sweep ng- gb - nc us ve-re orm) or examp e now requ res a new c y-owned bu d ngs o prov de gender-neu ra res rooms n add on o rad ona sex-segrega ed res rooms Bu why no use gender den y nond scr m na on aws o ques on he need or rad ona sex-segrega ed ba hrooms ocker rooms and re a s ore ng rooms? Some res auran s n Manha an and Ph ade ph a have bu a ser es o gender-neu ra oor- o-ce ng par oned ba hroom s a s around a common area o s nks and m rrors The oor- o-ce ng par ons es ab sh pr vacy No on y s h s a more e c en use o space a so ev scera es he mpu se ha some peop e ee o po ce pub c res rooms or nd v dua s who appear oo mascu ne or oo em n ne or oo androgynous o be shar ng a res room w h hem Moreover care akers o oppos e gender ch dren and adu s wou d be a owed o mon or and a end o hose n he r care w hou hav ng o en er or br ng someone e se n o he “wrong” ba hroom We assume ha gender markers are necessary or he prov s on o med ca care Bu “ma e” and “ ema e” are no a ways accura e prox es or a person s phys o ogy and endocr no ogy The goa n a med ca se ng s o adm n s er he bes hea h care o a par cu ar pa en or examp e a phys c an or den s wan s o know a person s pregnan or may be pregnan due o he damag ng e ec s o x-rays on a deve op ng e us hen ha ques on shou d be asked d rec y ns ead o us ng sex markers as a proxy or ha poss b y Some ransgender men who have u eruses and ovar es can become pregnan and some c sgender women canno Some ransgender women have pros a e g ands and some do no Some mes a person s ransgender exper ence s re evan o med ca care and some mes s no n spor s sex markers serve he wo o d goa o a emp ng o eve compe ve advan age and ac a ng same-gender soc a bond ng The n erna ona O ymp c Comm ee and he NCAA curren y requ re ha any ema e w h a es os erone eve n he norma ma e range may no compe e as ema e bu may compe e as ma e under he reasonab e con en on ha h gher es os erone eve s ncrease phys ca s reng h and endurance n non-e e a h e cs such a co ege c ub spor s and recrea ona a h e cs sex-segrega ed so ba eams can be us ed by he des re or same-sex soc a bond ng Bu when he compe ve s akes are ow de erence shou d be g ven o gender se -de n on A ma or par o he us ca on or women s on y co eges such as Moun Ho yoke M s Sm h We es ey and Barnard s o remedy h s or ca and ongo ng ns u ona sex sm by prov d ng a space or ema e eadersh p soc a bond ng and pro ess ona ne work ng w h n a arger ma e-dom na ed soc e y These pr va e schoo s are exemp rom T e X he 1972 edera aw barr ng sex d scr m na on n pub c educa on Bu ha does no orec ose he ques on o whe her Moun Ho yoke s recen dec s on o open s adm ss ons process o everyone excep or ma e-born and ma e- den ed peop e s he on y or bes way o ach eve he eg ma e and mpor an goa o underm n ng ns u ona sex sm A wor d w h ewer sex c ass ca on po c es wou d no be a wor d w hou gender d s nc ons Wha some mes ge s over ooked n he curren med a rea men o ransgender c v r gh s s he ac ha many ransgender peop e ee a s rong a ach men o he ma e- ema e b nary Even hose who are grouped under he ransgender umbre a and de ne he r gender as ne her ma e nor ema e gender u d or gender var an are us ng he gender b nary as some h ng o push aga ns Gender heor s s such as Jud h Bu er and Jack Ha bers am are o en m sread as wan ng o ob era e gender when n ac hey bo h argue ha b nary gender a hough ne her nna e nor nked o par cu ar bod es anchors a o our soc a n erac on s prec se y because gender den y s so mpor an o us ha we shou d ake care no o ns u ona ze s ua ons ha depr ve nd v dua s o he au hor y o embody and enac he gender den y ha ee s mos r gh o hem O course sex-c ass ca on po c es do no requ re or exp c y sanc on ransgender d scr m na on Jus because he person manag ng a S arbuck s w h separa e ma e and ema e s ng e-s a res rooms or charged w h process ng sex-marked ob or co ege app ca on orms has he adm n s ra ve power o nspec and eva ua e gender n d scr m na ory ways does no mean ha she or he w do so cons s en y or ever The prob em s ha sex-c ass ca on po c es promp and perm h s k nd o gender po c ng wh ch s a ways comp ca ed by n ersec ona race and c ass udgmen s ha are a so o en rre evan o he po cy goa a hand s he arb rar ness o h s po c ng and en orcemen ha s he ha mark o gender den y d scr m na on One never knows when one w be sub ec ed o de ureor de ac o gender po c ng Bu one knows ha such po c ng s adm n s ra ve y poss b e The s gns and boxes e us so Read or g na ar c e here (h ps www goog e com ur ?sa= &rc = &q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=r a&uac =8&ved=0CCMQF AB&ur =h p%3A%2F%2F he em n s w re com%2F2014%2F11%2F hes gns-and-boxes- e -us-so%2F&e = RaLVKrUD4yKyAS YKYBQ&usg=AFQ CNFqkdPbr zTGgg0m B7kE Y-7h Q&s g2=WpqOVAWxFvFcRvUBAyp Cg&bvm=bv 81828268 d aWw)

Permission

Wr tten by T na Morton for The Fem n st W re November 23 2014 was a warm day n May 1994 he h rd annua Ph ade ph a Fes va o Wor d C nema was abou o beg n and he c y was buzz ng Here comes one o he

was a e arr v ng o a modera ed

m d scuss on

mmakers now

These are he words heard Ton Cade Bambara say as en ered a crowded co ee house n Ph y qu ck y urned around anx ous o see he mmaker com ng n beh nd me No one was here Oh was ha me she was re err ng o? hough w h my one eyebrow ra sed sm ed a her she w nked a me See ha s he h ng w h Ton she cou d recogn ze who you were ong be ore you rea zed was orma y an x-ray echn c an a a arge cen er c y rauma cen er had he dea ha wan ed o make a e m so someone o d me abou Lou s Mass ah s Scr be V deo Cen er Tha s where me Ton Cade Bambara She was conduc ng a scr p wr ng c ass was such a sa e space o exp ore and earn n ha c ass A shah Shah dah S mmonswas work ng on wha u ma e y became he groundbreak ng m NO The Rape Documen ary remember g v ng Ton wo shor sen ences o an dea had or a m She gave me hree pages o eedback and deas o mp emen ha vague v s on The resu was he m Severed Sou sabou Corr ne Sykes he rs A r can-Amer can woman ega y execu ed n Pennsy van a Ton never saw he m bu she was so v a o s comp e on

“Severed Sou s” ©2001 When Ton became he mage Weavers (A B ack & Brown Women s F m Co ec ve) go oge her w h raw che ex raord na re Zak yyah A o prepare her mea s Nad ne Pa erson Zak yyah and wou d br ng Ton her d nner We wou d spend hours s en ng and augh ng a Ton s s or es and adven ures occurred o me one day ha wh e we are scar ng a h s de c ous ood Ton was no ea ng h nk she rea y us en oyed he augh er and he ove So as - orward 20 years a er qu my ob as an x-ray ech wen o gradua e schoo or m and am now an Assoc a e Pro essor n heSchoo o Commun ca ons a Howard Un vers y Th s happened because Ton Cade Bambara gave me perm ss on o be wha cou d no even mag ne myse o be…a mmaker ove you Ton

hank you and m ss you

“ You Ca Them” ©2002 Read he or g na ar c e here (h p Pho o cred

he em n s w re com 2014 11 womens- m-co ec ve )

Car on Jones

Leeway Foundation Sets its Sights on Women and Trans Artists Part of The New Face of Nonprof ts n Ph ade ph a Wr tten by Arturo Vare a A D a February 2 2014 Eng sh trans at on Den se Brown (h p www eeway org who_we_are den se_m_brown) s he execu ve d rec or o Leeway Founda on a gran ng organ za on ha suppor s ar s s who promo e soc a change and commun y rans orma on n he r prac ce and whose work s no a ways recogn zed n he ma ns ream The ounda on was es ab shed n 1993 by Ph ade ph a ar s L nda Lee A er (h p www eeway org abou h s ory ) w h he a m o suppor ng women ar s s n he reg on Over me add ona y suppor a ransgender ar s s "As an organ za on ha suppor s ar s s who are marg na zed because o he r gender

has evo ved o

made sense o nc ude rans peop e " Brown sa d

W h an annua budge o $900 000 a year he ounda on awards $225 000 n gran s o ar s s These nc ude he Ar and Change Gran (h p www eeway org gran s ar _and_change_gran s ) (ACG) wh ch prov des up o $2 500 or ar and soc a change pro ec s The nex app ca on dead ne or h s award s March 1 2015 The Leeway Trans orma on Award (h p www eeway org gran s eeway_ rans orma on_award ) (LTA) prov des $15 000 n unres r c ed unds or ar s s who have demons ra ed a comm men o ar or soc a change or ve years or more n he De aware Va ey reg on Amongs he pro ec s ha Brown reca s w h spec a a ec on s MamaC TA Co ec ve s (ACG 11) pro ec "One Year " an ns a a on o 331 w re scu p ures o represen he number o murders n Ph ade ph a n 2012 h gh gh ng pub c apa hy surround ng urban v o ence "Our approach s o crea e an env ronmen n wh ch h s work s suppor ed bu we do no have an agenda re a ed o any par cu ar ssue " Brown sa d La no ar s s who have rece ved a gran rom Leeway nc ude mura s M che e Ange a Or z (ACG 13 12 LTA 08 ACG 05) who n 2012 crea ed he mura "Here and There" wh ch exp ores he mpac o he Sou h Ph ade ph a Mex can mm gran commun y "When you app y or a gran o an organ za on he qua y o your work s usua y on y seen accord ng o ga ery s andards ” sa d Or z "Bu Leeway Founda on sees he mpac your pro ec has on he commun y n wh ch you work and recogn zes ha s as va uab e as he qua y o he work se " For Den ce Frohman (LTA 12) a spoken word ar s and s am poe ry champ on rece v ng he Leeway Trans orma on Award enab ed her o ocus on he produc on o he a bum "Fee s L ke Home" wh ch ocuses on he n ersec ons o race gender and sexua or en a on Accord ng o Brown d vers y s no an end n and o se or he ounda on bu ra her a resu o he r e or s o ace a var e y o sys em c prob ems peop e and make an e or o cha enge soc a norms and a udes abou sexua y and gender den y

gh aga ns race and c ass oppress ons ha a ec a

For ha reason every me Leeway awards a gran o an ar s she ee s proud o he ach evemen " ee pr v eged and honored o do h s work o mo va e he work o ar s s n he Ph ade ph a reg on " Brown sa d Read or g na ar c e n Span sh here (h p a d anews com ar c es oca ph ade ph a as-nuevas-caras-de -non-pro -en- ade a 33182) mage cred

E sha L m (h p e sha m com )



Finding Beauty In Another Reality Wr ten by Den se Brown for An mat ng Democracy November 18 2014

A decade ago when he Leeway Founda on dec ded o suppor ar s s and cu ura producers n eres ed n commun y rans orma on and work ng a he n ersec on o ar cu ure and soc a change here were a o o ques ons ra sed abou he aes he cs o such work The genera presump on o he ma or y o our cr cs was ha our n eres and apprec a on or he aes he c va ue (aka ar s c exce ence) o he work wou d be os and as a resu he na ure o he work we suppor ed wou d ake on a more d dac c orm Th s was a n ce way o say ng wou d be bad ar because here seemed o be a be e ha bo h h ngs – beau y and soc a change n en – cou d no ex s n a work o ar or cu ura ac ha wou d sa s y an aes he c dea There are so many de n ons sw r ng around – re a ona soc a cu ura bu mos o en we speak o aes he cs as here s a s ng e con ex ha shou d n orm our re a onsh p o beau y ha presumes a common ramework and se o exper ences Perhaps n a way here s or ra her we re augh o recogn ze h gh ar and ne ar rad ons as he s andard by wh ch every o her orm o ar s c and cu ura express on s va ue s udged Ar s s who use d eren modes o crea ng who have a d eren vocabu ary who make a am ar se o aes he c cho ces ( o hem he r am es he r commun es) um na e he beau y hey nd where hey are akes shape as cu ura y spec c commun y-based and engaged work work ha ar cu a es and re ec s s rugg e work n ormed by den y po cs or soc oeconom c c rcums ance work ha n ends o g ve shape and vo ce o h dden rea es on he marg ns and ur her ou s de he c rc e n h s con ex how can we as ou s ders ass gn va ue aes he c or o herw se o he power and beau y o h s work o he peop e

represen s?

The more nvo ve myse n conversa ons abou he na ure and subs ance o aes he cs as re a es o soc a y engaged ar and cu ura prac ce he more nd myse h nk ng o a quo e read recen y “Tha beau y app ed o some h ngs and no o o hers ha was a pr nc p e o d scr m na on was once s s reng h and s appea Beau y be onged o he am y o no ons ha es ab sh rank and accorded we w h a soc a order unapo oge c abou s a on c ass h erarchy and he r gh o exc ude ” (Quo e rom Susan Son ag s An Argumen Aga ns Beau y) So g ven wha Son ag s sugges ng how do we engage w h he aes he cs o h s way o work ng w hou b as? A Leeway s mpor an o us ha we crea e a ramework or dec s on-mak ng ha acknow edges ha b as – how power and pr v ege p ay ou n who ge s o c a m space as an ar s e pane s s ha our process asks or he r cur os y and w ngness o be eve ha ano her rea y s no on y poss b e bu a so va d and encourage hem o ake r sks as hey mag ne wha cou d change n he wor d hese ar s s accomp sh wha hey ve se ou o do ask hem o honor he hones y and bravery o he app can s o ho d he r s or es and e hem ead us n o he r commun es and he r hear s n my exper ence we do ha hey w a ways show us where beau y es Den se Brown (h p www eeway org who_we_are den se_m_brown) Execu ve D rec or Read or g na ar c e here (h p b og ar susa org 2014 11 18 nd ng-beau y- n-ano her-rea y #more-25550) mage cred

Rache He denry (h p www hear b og org 2013 09 co abora on- s- he-bas s- or-an -v o ence-pro ec -one-year-a - he-ro unda )

My TCB Experience 1991-1995 The Fem n s W re November 25 2014

rs me Ton Cade Bambara when was a researcher or he documen ary m W E B Du Bo s A B ography n Four Vo ces (h p newsree org v deo w-e-b-du-bo s) d rec ed by Lou s Mass ah (h p he em n s w re com 2014 11 au hen ca ng-aud ence ) and or wh ch Ton was he coord na ng wr er was an undergradua e s uden hen and wou d even ua y drop ou o schoo or a per od o work u - me on he pro ec Dur ng he mak ng o ha m rom 1991-1995 came o v ew Ton as my men or and an mpor an ro e mode who pro ound y shaped how see myse as an ar s cu ura worker and B ack woman You may have no ced ha Ton s n a s T C B a so s and or Tak n Care o Bus ness and be eve s no co nc dence Ton was no nonsense sharp as a ack and ex reme y qu ck a ways ahead o he curve She was a vorac ous s uden o he cu ure and a cu ura cr c cons an y rack ng d ges ng n erpre ng wha she saw heard and e happen ng around her She seemed o have seen every new n erna ona m re ease s open ng weekend and she racked rends n h p-hop and every new s ang or express on ha wou d en er n o he vernacu ar When me her a age 20 she was more up on h phop and pop cu ure han was remember her ask ng me wha hough o he re-emergence o he word “n gger” among young B ack peop e—was a commerc a g mm ck or was some eg ma e express on o how young peop e were ee ng abou hemse ves? wasn sure o d her maybe a e o bo h? was a ways surpr sed ha e a b beh nd he mes around her because pr ded myse on hav ng my nger on he cu ura pu se Bu Ton was a ways wo s eps ahead She was horough She a so was g amorous— n he way ha a con den and comp ex woman us s She embod ed a ha cou d hope o become as a woman worked c ose y w h Ton dur ng he Du Bo s process respond ng o her research reques s as we a r ed o ge r gh he o en h dden h s ory o Du Bo s e and mes She wou d pres de over he crea ve mee ngs w h Lou s e ow wr ers Thu an Dav s (h p www hu an dav s com ) Am r Baraka (h p www am r baraka com ) and Wes ey Brown (h p eng sh ru gers edu acu y emer uspro es 962 h m ) and d rec or o pho ography Ar hur “AJ” Ja a (h p ac m edu peop e gues s ar hur- a a ) wou d s here a he ready ke a gra e u sponge absorb ng he w sdom sp nn ng abou ak ng no es on add ona research ass gnmen s he mee ng wou d produce These mee ngs cou d go on or hours and were k ne c a a rs cover ng a manner o op cs deep mus ngs and po ca ex rapo a ons y ng Du Bo s s ory and our h s ory o con emporary ana ys s o Amer ca and our B ack exper ence o hese mee ngs were a seven-course mea he car r des home w h Ton Lou s and AJ were he d ges por on o he even ng conversa ons where cou d process a ha had been pr vy o n he m ds o our work on Du Bo s Ton nv ed me o ake her documen ary scr p wr ng c ass a Scr be V deo Cen er he commun y med a haven ounded by Mass ah ha s s hr v ng A he rs c ass Ton presen ed a 12-page horough y pu oge her sy abus or h s 4-sess on course ha wen we -beyond scr p wr ng and nc uded every h ng one wou d ever need o produce he r rs shor documen ary A he bo om o page one o he sy abus was he head ng

WORKSHOP MEMBERS PHONE NUMBERS

w h a o o b ank space undernea h Ton began c ass by hav ng everyone n roduce hemse ves den y wha sk s and know edge we had and ge ng agreemen ha we shou d a share our phone numbers because we cou d ac as crew and prov de resources or each o her She se us up o be a commun y whe her we had p anned ha or no Ton o d me a er on n our re a onsh p ha she was a ways abou bu d ng commun y and ge ng peop e organ zed o be use u o each o her regard ess o se ng To her h s was a prac ca ma er she was s and ng n he grocery s ore and he ne was mov ng oo s ow y she wou d s ar a k ng o he o hers n ne as we as he cash er o bu d a p an or wha hey ough o do abou he s ua on Page hree o her sy abus began

DENT TY CHECKL ST CLAR FY NG YOUR STANCE AS BOTH A SPECTATOR AND A CREATOR

wen on

To be respons b e crea ors we need o recogn ze ha we have been ra ned o nv s b ze peop e n severa ways ha are ke y o underm ne our pro ec s No e he o ow ng une h ca hab 1) Tra ck ng n m ss ng-qua er usage say ng em n s

or examp e when we ac ua y mean European Amer can em n s s o he USA

2) Engag ng n de us ona h nk ng c a m ng ob ec v y as hough s a emen s can be or shou d be ree o se - n eres b as or a par cu ar perspec ve c a m ng un versa y as hough d erence d vers y cu ura spec c y do no ex s or ha anyone s n pos on o know wha s un versa everyone does no have an equa power o be heard 3) Reduc ng he wor d o B ack and Wh e as hough h s b nar sm dua sm re ec s rea y or s an nnocen hab o speech AS SPECTATOR Who s a k ng o you? Who does he

mmaker assume you are? Who are you?

AS CREATOR Who are you? Wha s your re a onsh p o he sub ec s (peop e charac ers) o your pro ec ? Who s your n ended aud ence?”

Ton cou d couch he mos subvers ve or con rovers a no on n o a mos ma er-o - ac sen ence L ke when she o d me ha “Tragedy” was an overra ed wes ern cons ruc and ha as B ack peop e she d dn ee we had me or Tha s why her s or es ocus on s rugg e res ence ge ng organ zed o do wha needs o be done or a eas how o gure ou on he way o know ng he answer Toward he end o he Du Bo s pro ec Ton rece ved her cancer d agnos s She o ered o pay me $10 hr o he p organ ze her papers and asked me hough ha was a a r wage o d her yes (as s we above he m n mum wage n many p aces now a mos 20 years a er) and commenced o ak ng he suburban ra n ou o her co-op apar men n he German own sec on o Ph ade ph a once a week Ac ua y was wo apar men s comb ned n o one and wou d s egs spread n o a V hunched over p es o wha seemed ke random scraps o paper and sor ng hem n o e o ders abe ed by s ory e There were nes o d a ogue on a bar napk n se ngs ske ched ou on backs o enve opes a charac er name penc ed on he ns de o a ma ch book B s o nsp ra on she had recorded or a er And she had reached a er On days when her energy was good re rea dur ng a d cu per od n her

wou d s here en hra ed os ng b ood c rcu a on n my bu sor ng her papers as she wou d e me s or es abou her e— ke he me she wen o Braz e and was so no herse ha she became comp e e y preoccup ed w h an a rac ve young b nd man who she even ua y rea zed was no b nd a a

or a sp r ua

Or when she go he no on ha m gh be eas er o make money be ng a con es an on Jeopardy han by wr ng—she a ways go every answer on Jeopardy correc she o d me—and so she wen o A an c C y when hey were ho d ng he eas coas ry-ou s n he rs scene—Ton s s ory e ng was a ways n scenes—she s n a huge cas no ba room w h masses o wh e peop e a here o ry ou or he show Mos are men and hey are cramm ng r v a read ng books ook ng a ash cards and no one s a k ng o each o her She s he on y woman o co or n he p ace and her eyes scour he room or someone o a k o bu no one w ca ch her eye She spo s a Ch nese-Amer can man across he way and approaches h m o nd ou wha he knows abou he process The wo o hem s ar a k ng and shar ng deas and every h ng hey know Pre y soon a crowd has ga hered around hem o s en n A unch me one o he crowd— m dd e aged wh e man— nv es he group back o h s ho e su e wh ch s ed w h encyc oped as and a manacs He orders room serv ce and hey ea and share s ra eg es ge o know each o her H s w e e s Ton he s been ry ng o ge on he show or years and never makes pas he rs round Th s s ory has many more scenes bu o cu o he chase n he na scene Ton s n he as round be ore you ge o be a con es an hand e he pressure Under he ho gh s o he ake se a ques on orms se n her m nd

he one where hey have you n a s ud o scenar o o see how you

Wha he ____ am do ng here? ?

dawns on her ha n a End scene

he me she has spen go ng back and or h o A an c C y or weeks hrough round a er round o Jeopardy ry-ou s she cou d have wr en her nex book She wa ks o

he se

A o he s or es Ton shared w h me were a way o convey ng her own e exper ences as en er a n ng ns gh s or my bene Bu he mos endur ng ns gh Ton o ered me gave me a pro ound sense o reedom ha has shaped my sense o agency n he wor d o h s day was en er ng my un or year o co ege a me when was expec ed o have gured ou my pro ess ona pa h and p anned he a er par o my s ud es accord ng y had deve oped a hab o a end ng a hese ec ures n h gh cu ura heory and he n e ec ua s mu a on o ha s u made me wan o s ay n academ a maybe each n h gher ed A he same me be ng par o he amaz ng Du Bo s F m pro ec had me wan ng o be a mmaker a so saw myse as a wr er and maybe here was some h ng e se ou here ough o be do ng (1s wor d prob ems? Maybe ) asked Ton ou r gh or adv ce on wh ch d rec on shou d choose As usua her answer was very ma er-o - ac

Wha s s opp ng you rom do ng a hose h ngs? Don ee you have o be ocked- n o one h ng or he res o your e ve been a eacher a wa ress worked on a obs er boa one summer ve a ways been a wr er and now m a so a mmaker ve ound ha you need o re nven yourse every so o en Take wha you earn rom one pursu and rans a e n o he nex There s no reason you can do ha

have s nce passed h s same ns gh on o many con used young (and o der) peop e who ve come a er me

ca

he TCB Ar o Re nven on a k

Thank you Ton Amadee L Brax on (h p www eeway org who_we_are amadee_ _brax on) Ph ade ph a 2014 Read he or g na ar c e here (h p mage cred

he em n s w re com 2014 11 bu d ng-commun y )

Harvey F nk e



For Toni and the Sisterhood, with Love... The Fem n s W re November 25 2014

knew Ton Cade s vo ce be ore me her

rs heard ound her vo ce n he pre ace o he ground break ng 1970 an ho ogy The B ack Woman (h p www powe s com b b o 61-9780743476973-0)…

We are n a s rugg e or bera on bera on rom he exp os ve and dehuman z ng sys em o rac sm rom he man pu a ve con ro o a corpora e soc e y bera on rom he cons r c ve norms o ma ns ream cu ure rom he syn he c my hs ha encourage us o ash on ourse ves rash y rom w hou (reac on) ra her han rom w h n (crea on) Wha charac er zes he curren movemen o he 60s s a urn ng away rom he arger soc e y and a urn ng oward each o her Our ar pro es d a ogue no onger spr ng rom he mpu se o en er a n or o ndu ge or en gh en he consc ence o he enemy wh e peop e wh eness or rac sm men ma eness or chauv n sm Amer ca or mper a sm… depend ng on your v ewpo n and your error Our energ es now seem o be nves ed n and are n urn der ved rom a de erm na on o ouch and o un y Wha yp es he curren sp r s an embrace o he commun y and a hardhear ed a emp o ge bas c w h each o her…

s a n here her ear or anguage her cadence and use o comp ex rhy hms her wry humor and empa hy her pass on and ove or b ack peop e her hones y and cur os y her ores gh expressed as a egory and ke a work w h he power o rans orm he cu ure her words seems ou s de o me and presc en hese a mos 45 years a er The rs me we ac ua y spoke was a er a screen ng a n erna ona House (aka House) n Ph ade ph a was 20 years a er he pub ca on o ha sem na work and ong enough ago ha was okay or us o smoke ns de wh e d ssec ng he n gh s screen ng By hen had read more nc ud ng Gor a My Love (h p www powe s com b b o 72-9780679738985-0) The Seab rds are S A ve (h p www powe s com b b o 2-9780394711768-5) and The Sa Ea ers (h p www powe s com b b o 9780679740766) n wh ch she asked THE ques on ha have been urn ng around n my head or he as 30+ years ke a Zen Buddh s koan

Are you sure swee hear

ha you wan o be we ?… Jus so s you re sure swee hear and ready o be hea ed cause who eness s no r ng ma er A o o we gh when you re we

A House ha n gh d scovered Ton was an embod ed s ory e er She was comp e e y an ma ed so a ve and presen so o a y w h n he narra ve and ocused on he ob ec o her a en on her powers o seduc on so s rong she made be evers o us a know she made a be ever o me o d her he s ory o Phuoc Phan my Kung Fu S u a mas er o Seven Moun a ns Sp r F s K ng Fu and h s ourney rom pr v ege o re-educa on o he grea pos V e nam War m gra on o he U S and us ke ha she nv ed me o o n a scr p wr ng c ass she was each ng a Scr be V deo Cen er h nk she asked some h ng ke "D d you ever h nk abou mak ng a

m abou h m? Why don you come o my c ass a Scr be?"

O course hadn hough abou bu sudden y seemed no on y poss b e bu a so mpor an so wen o he c ass wh ch was ac ua y or commun y organ za ons ha were par o Scr be s Commun y V s ons program was he beg nn ng o my connec on o Ton and Scr be and he n erna ona commun y o ar s s cu ura workers and organ zers comm ed o he use o ar and cu ure as a oo or soc a us ce o wh ch ve become par a comm men ha con nues o de ne my work oday Ton once o d me ha as b ack women we re par o a s s erhood and have a respons b y o ho d each o her up n he wor d we can cer a n y nd ha s he case hroughou her work—cer a n y The B ack Woman s a orm o es mony o ha rea y and n en or as she says “…a beg nn ng—a co ec on o poems s or es essays orma n orma rem n scen ha seem bes o re ec h s preoccupa on o he con emporary b ack woman n h s coun ry… Many o he con r bu ors are pro ess ona wr ers Some have never be ore pu pen o paper w h pub ca on n m nd Some are mo hers O hers are s uden s Some are bo h A are a ve are b ack are women And ha shou d h nk s creden a enough o address hemse ves o ssues ha seems o be re evan o he s s erhood ” s n ha sp r ha have sough gu dance rom he s s erhood and rom a b ack woman s r n y ha o en nc udes—my Mo her who gave me he capac y o ove and rus n he poss b y o me a ha am and can be Audre Lorde who augh me no o be a ra d o ear and gave me a message abou connec ng o he source o my power who s words have prov ded nsp ra on and so ace n mes o persona s rugg e and Ton who gave me a message abou oy and empa hy and ac on and he ped me see how we can os er deep connec on hrough ar cu ure and commun y o rans orm our commun es and he wor d Her e s a s unn ng examp e o her be e ha “a wr er ke any o her cu ura worker ke any o her member o he commun y ough o ry o pu he r sk s n he serv ce o he commun y ” She augh me abou he na ure o eadersh p and commun y n he way she ved and ke a ru y grea eaders n he neage she has e beh nd each o us connec ed o he o her hrough our ove and respec or Ton —her human y her work as wr er cu ura worker and organ zer her ove o a he peop e and her oy n he e or As A ce Love ace sa d abou her Thanks o her capac y o share o herse and her know edge she has many sprou s and branches…She augh us abou he soc a respons b y o he ar s be eve Ton s s or es and egacy have a o o each abou our need o adap and evo ve abou keep ng pace and be ng re evan and abou s ay ng connec ed and be ng respons b e or and accoun ab e o he members o our commun y am so gra e u o have known her m ss her she made every h ng rres s b e

…The book s ded ca ed o he up own mammas who nudged me o “ us se same o e ground

down n pr n ” so

ge s o be a hab

o wr e e ers o each o her so maybe ha way we don keep readm ng he

Ashe Den se M Brown (h p www eeway org who_we_are den se_m_brown) Ph ade ph a 2014 Read he or g na ar c e here (h p

he em n s w re com 2014 11 s rugg e- or- bera on-2 )

Ancient Art Revives Connection to a Culture Left Behind November 21 2014 Wr en by Vanessa Hua or NBC com

The rs

me Co e e Fu v s ed Ch na peop e recogn zed her a once

n he 1994 when she was rave ng on a our ha s opped a a co ege n Kunm ng n sou hwes Ch na he dean rushed ou o gree her shak ng bo h o her hands “ d dn unders and why he was so honored o mee me ” Fu sa d “ ound ou my grea -grand a her had been governor o he prov nce and a genera and he d he ped ound he schoo ” The dean nv ed Fu a recen co ege gradua e o each Eng sh – aunch ng her wo-decade exp ora on and documen a on o Ch na s e hn c m nor es cu m na ng n handmade pop-up books ea ur ng dazz ng pho os ha spr ng up on ngen ous mechan sms

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Grow ng up n New Jersey and a er n V rg n a where she was he on y Ch nese person n her schoo she d dn am y

ee ke she

n – no un

ha a e u r p o Ch na where a every urn s rangers became

She s ayed or hree years n Yunnan prov nce where near y ha o he coun ry s 55 o c a recogn zed m nor y r bes res de The rs year she hung ou w h expa r a es The nex she began ak ng p c ures o her r ends and by he h rd year she d ga ned he con dence o rave by herse ak ng p c ures o s rangers n 1996 she searched or he orch es va n S chuan prov nce sa d o be an annua rad on o her mo her s r be he b ack Y Bu she cou dn nd She asked or he p rom a rave agen who ound a re a ve o Fu s – a dance eacher who nv ed her o s ay w h her n urn ha aun e n roduced Fu o a po ceman a d s an cous n who ook her on a 10-day ourney by rac or bus and horse o her mo her s ances ra v age o J nyang When Fu s rugg ed he cous n o d her “ you don ge up carry you on my back ”

Co e e Fu has spen decades research ng and documen ng he ves o Ch na s e hn c m nor es pub sh ng n he orm o beau u

n r ca e hand-cu paper pop-up books Fu works n her s ud o n

Ph ade ph a Pa The o ow ng year when Fu re urned w h her mo her her cous n ook her back o he v age bu h s me hey drove “D d hey us bu d he road?” Fu asked perp exed “ s a ways been here ” her cous n rep ed He d us wan ed o ake her on he rek Back n he S a es she earned a Mas er o F ne Ar s n pho ography a he Roches er ns u e o Techno ogy and earned how how o make pop-up books by decons ruc ng hem She re urned o Ch na n 2008 on a Fu br gh gran on a pro ec en ed “We are T ger Dragon Peop e ” ocus ng on he m nor y r bes n Yunnan “My goa s o n roduce hese groups some aspec o he r cu ure ha s un que ” sa d Fu 45 who ves n Ph ade ph a s Ch na own

Fu grew up n New Jersey and a er n V rg n a one o he on y Ch nese s uden s n her schoo Today she makes her home n Ph ade ph a Ch na own Zvezdana S o m rov c a pro essor o graph c des gn a he Mary and ns u e Co ege o Ar pra sed Fu s work n Wha Week y “F urr es o br gh accen s—magen as cyans and reds— are d spersed around neu ra backgrounds crea ng a seduc ve cacophony o co or nd myse aken s gh y aback by de a s ha cha enge my assump ons o beau y creased sk n m ss ng ee h and heads wrapped n sacks ” The gh ng or he pho os n each pop-up have o ma ch pre erab y w hou s rong shadows and w h s m ar gh ng Fu wa s awh e a er shoo ng he pho os o a ga n a resh v ew n order o crea e a s ory F rs she makes a d g a co age on her compu er

gur ng ou p acemen and co or and hen works on he pop-up mechan sms ha cause her compos on o exp ode rom he page

She moun s he pho os and cu s by hand p o ng and cu ng by aser s oo mprec se Over me she s deve oped endon s Some mes when she bears down on he X-ac o kn e she hears a c ck n her e bow and once her e bow popped ou “Now can do pushups " she amen s

As a u - me ar s Co e e Fu s a rar y among As an Amer cans “ hough

akes ugg ng a o o d eren asks o surv ve as a work ng ar s ” Fu sa d “An o d boss n he pub sh ng ndus ry once o d me he

was 35 percen mak ng ar and 65 percen marke ng ”

As an As an Amer can Fu s a rar y n he wor d o work ng ar s s A recen survey ound ha us 7 percen o ar schoo gradua es are o As an descen and 3 9 percen are work ng ar s s The vas ma or y are wh e Her paren s mm gra ed o he Un ed S a es o a end co ege and her a her s pr or es were o suppor he am y To make ar Fu spends hours each week ook ng or gran s and res denc es ha g ve her he reedom work on wha she wan s “

akes ugg ng a o o d eren asks o surv ve as a work ng ar s ” Fu sa d “An o d boss n he pub sh ng ndus ry once o d me he hough

was 35 percen mak ng ar and 65 percen marke ng ”

She a so eaches works on pub c ar pro ec s vo un eers n he commun y – nc ud ng runn ng workshops n a home ess she er – and ree ances or c en s nc ud ng Vogue Ch na Canon As a Moë Hennessy and Lou s Vu on on pro ec s ha nc ude he arges pop-up book n Ch na d sp ayed a a uxury ma Fu re urned o Ch na ear er h s year w h awards rom he Leeway Founda on and he Swa ch Ar Peach Ho e ar s res dency n Shangha Guangx and Hunan

o expand her pro ec v s ng nner Mongo a X n ang Gu zhou

“ d dn h nk when s ar ed he pro ec was ak ng p c ures o h ngs ha were evo v ng so qu ck y ” Fu sa d Bu a a es va she no ced everyone was wear ng mach ne-made vers ons o ex es some pa red w h modern-day p a orm shoes m n -sk r s and make-up “ pan cked h nk ng had o change my pro ec Then rea zed us had o rave deeper You can s go o he v age where peop e s ook ke hey d d wen y years ago ” Read or g na ar c e here (h p www nbcnews com news as an-amer ca anc en -ar -rev ves-connec on-cu ure- e -beh nd-n235446)

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