Caribbean Cultural Center to break ground for new home in El Barrio

The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute invites you to celebrate the groundbreaking for its new home in East Harlem, planned to open in 2016 at 120 East 125th Street, a four-story, landmark Romanesque Revival-style firehouse completed in 1889. CCCADI, founded by Marta Moreno Vega in 1976, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring and documenting the cultures of Africa in the New World and to connecting Diaspora communities to their root cultures.

Special events will be held on Tuesday, September 16:

10am-11:45am (BY INVITATION ONLY)
Groundbreaking Ceremony
                                         
11:46am-2pm (open to the public, free with RSVP*)
Launch and demonstration of new CCCADI mobile app
Live musical presentation

For more information, click here.

Directions to 120 East 125th Street (MAP):

Subways: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to 125th Street. Walk to Lexington Avenue.
Buses: M15, 101,100 to 125th Street
Metro North to 125th Street

*RSVP to: www.rsvpcccadigroundbreaking.eventbrite.com

For information: Contact event coordinator, Lisa Banks at (516) 353-8048/email at banks244@hotmail.com

Learn more about the CCCADI's cultural, educational and advocacy activities here.

Panel: In praise of praise dance

Praisedance

a panel exploring the role of Black dance in Black spirituality

Thursday, May 24 (6:30-8:30pm)

Rashida Bumbray, Nafissa Shariff, Brian Polite and Michael Manswell wax kinetic as they explore the role of black dance forms, including ring shouts, traditional Old Mali folk dance, House Music dance, and Afro-Caribbean dance in Black worship and everyday transcendence. This salon is part of “Roots and Stars”, the Caribbean Cultural Center’s (CCCADI) newest program series exploring African Traditional Religions while illuminating Black spiritual practices.

Presented by Caribbean Cultural Center in association with International Communications Association

Admission: $10 at the door

Location:

Dwyer Cultural Arts Center
258 St. Nicholas Avenue, Manhattan
(Enter on 123rd Street between St. Nicholas Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard)
(directions)

Hollering space in the African diaspora

The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute

presents

Hollering Space: Ring Shout and Leadbelly Tribute

featuring two special performances:


RUN MARY RUN
Rashida Bumbray and the Dance Diaspora Collective
with Special Guest Adenike Sharpley
music by Matthew Hill and Christian Almiron

Leadbelly’s Last Dream
featuring Terence Etc. and The Et Cetera

Tuesday, November 29
Doors open at 7pm.

@Dwyer Cultural Center
258 St. Nicholas Avenue (on the corner of West 123rd Street), Manhattan
(map/directions)

Admission: $10 (free for kids)

RUN MARY RUN
Rashida Bumbray and the Dance Diaspora Collective
With Special Guest Adenike Sharpley
music by Matthew Hill and Christian Almiron

For the premiere of her new dance work, RUN MARY RUN curator and choreographer considers the complex intersections between inspiration, re-interpretation, and creative process, using the harmonic ideas and tonal vocabulary of the McIntosh County Shouters—master ring shout artists—as a point of departure. Developed in collaboration with and performed by the Dance Diaspora Collective with special guest master dancer, Adenike Sharpley, and the Dance Diaspora Collective take us on a ride through the cosmologies of the Low Country, Geechie Sea Islands, Tennessee Blues, P Funk, and Hip Hop relating the shout to the history of Black music as well as to her personal development as a choreographer.

Leadbelly’s Last Dream
Terence Etc. and the Et Cetera

Leadbelly’s Last Dream is a musical experience during which Terence Etc. and The Et Cetera relive the last dream of legendary southern folk musician Leadbelly. Through Blues inspired re-imaginings of Terence's compositions.

For more information, call 212-307-7420 ext. 3008 or email.

Equity now!

A Coalition Wants a New Kind of Equity in Arts Financing
by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, July 24, 2008

Sustaining artists and cultural organizations of color

Sustaining Our Artists, Arts Organizations and Cultural Institutions of Color During the "Recession"

Friday, May 9 (6pm-8pm)

Hunter College
Hall 714 West Building (7th Floor)
68th Street/Lexington Avenue

Please RSVP to elsa@latinoarts.org or call 212-876-1242.

Moderator:

Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, Founder of the Caribbean Cultural Center

Panelists:

Ms. Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of NYSCA

Arana J. Hankin, Assistant Secretary for Cultural & Economic Development Office of Governor David A. Paterson

Kathleen Hughes, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Assistant Commissioner

NYS Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns, 54th District, Chair, Black Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus

Laurie Cumbo, Founder of MoCADA

Organized by the Steering Committee of the Cultural Equity Group:

* Amerinda Inc., American Indian Artists
* Asian American Arts Centre
* Association of Hispanic Arts
* The Bronx Council on the Arts
* Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute
* Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College
* The Children's Art Carnival
* The Harlem Arts Alliance.
* International Museum of African American Cinema
* The Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Center Memorial and Educational Center
* Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA)
* Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance
* Nuyorican School Original Poetry Jazz Ensemble, Inc.

Dear Artists, Cultural Activists and People concerned about the community:

We have certainly brought in 2008 with a burst of energy and excitement filled with opportunity and hope for the future! We applaud everyone for their dedication and hard work to preserve and landmark our institutions and culture, which will have an instrumental impact on the quality of life for our communities as well as for future generations. In order to make an impact we must continue to educate ourselves about the funding process.

We need your voice to be heard and we would appreciate your support in sending this email far and wide to your perspective communities in order to demonstrate to our legislators that our culture is important to the cultural landscape of New York City. Please do not continue to allow the challenges of our community to fall on the shoulders of a few because we need everyone in order to create an impact.

The Cultural Equity Group (CEG) cordially invites you to attend a very important Town Hall Meeting on Friday, May 9, 6pm at Hunter College (68th Street and Lexington Avenue) 7th Floor, Hall 714, West Building, to discuss three very important issues that will impact our community:

1. Sustaining our artists, arts organizations and cultural institutions of color during the current "recession" and new stricter budget reforms;

2. Defining a new per capita funding model based on the ethnic and racial demographics of New York City-a more realistic support process, which would impact communities that are underserved;

3. Exploring recommendations, strategies and policies for cultural equity.

Your participation is important! It will help define New York City's Cultural policy of the future. Sample copies of letters to be sent to your elected officials will be distributed at the meeting. There will also be a petition for you to sign.

Please make every effort to attend. You can RSVP at elsa@latinoarts.org or call 212-876-1242. Thanking you in advance for remaining unified in our commitment to Cultural Equity for our artists and the communities we serve.

Very truly yours,
Steering Committee
Cultural Equity Group