Coming in January: free Writers Circle for POC arts writers

Sign up for my free dance and performance WRITERS CIRCLE sponsored by FABnyc, starting in January!

Are you dissatisfied with the state of critical writing about dance and performance? Writers Circle supports artists of color, across the spectrum of movement-based performing arts, as they practice and share clear, effective writing in response to performance. Previous writing on the arts is not required, but you should have basic facility with written expression.

East Village locations. For complete schedule and location details and to sign up, click here.

This workshop is part of FAB’s year-long series, The Sustainable Artist Toolkit.

Free email subscription

to InfiniteBody

Click here!

Junot Diaz: Lift all the voices of our nation

MFA VS. POC
by Junot Diaz, The New Yorker, April 30 , 2014

New Bronx digs for BAAD!

Dance artist Arthur Aviles, artistic director of BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance) sent this update on the the organization's move from its longtime Hunts Point location to a new home at Westchester Square.

Charles Rice-Gonzalez and Arthur Aviles
in front of their new arts building
on the grounds of St. Peter's Episcopal Church
(photo courtesy of Arthur Aviles)

BAAD! has been through a beautiful storm this summer.

First, I want to share that we have officially moved from our beloved Hunts Point. Through all the challenges this has posed for our organization, one of the shining silver linings has been the people and organizations who have stepped up, and in, to help us.

Since, Taconic/Denham, Wolf our current landlord, let us know about a year ago that they wouldn't be giving us a long term lease, and would only consider a one year extension at twice the rate of our current lease, we began our quest to find a new home. We have been humbled and uplifted by the support that has come our way.

After Taconic/Denham, Wolf created the conditions that forced us to leave, the Banknote. Denham, Wolf showed us a space and led us to believe that we'd be let out of our lease, we entered into a lease negotiation with St. Peter's Episcopal Church. As I sought help to raise money for a move that was not in my budget, St. Peter's offered a month of free rent and I asked Taconic for help with a free month or two. Instead, Taconic co-CEO, Charles Bendit, stated that since two years were on the lease, we needed to pay them to let us out. After being clear on our financial position he then brought that down to one year. (There is also precedence of Taconic/Denham Wolf paying a tenant to leave and finding them a space with Bronxworks led by Carolyn McLaughlin at that time, but for reasons I'm sure they have, they didn't extend that to Charles and me.)

Although being a small ($300,000) arts organization we would have preferred to be let out of our lease and paying double rent will be crippling to us (and they have a full understanding of that), they have the law on their side, and since we want to abide by the law, they have agreed to give us a lease termination with the conditions of paying them a maximum of 6 months rent, on a month by month basis, unless they find a tenant for our space before the six months are up.

There are many aspects to our story, including the classic David and Goliath one, with BAAD! being a small budget arts organization and essentially grappling with the multi-billion dollar Taconic Titans, as the media has called them, and although moving from Hunts Point and leaving the space we've built over 14 years has been difficult, to say the least, we decided to be as strategic as possible to keep providing a space to serve our artists and audiences.

We will be located at 2474 Westchester Avenue in Westchester Square in a gothic revivalist building on the grounds of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. It's a fully equipped theater.

As you know in the Bronx, several other groups have lost their spaces including the Rebel Diaz Art Collective and Casa Atabex, it's one of the ways progress in the borough is manifesting itself.

Charles and I know we can call on the Bronx Dance coalition community for help.  So we count you among our champions here in the Bronx. We have also gotten great support from other community members and audience who have said where you go, we will follow.

So, off we go to Westchester Square, to build a new temple for dance and the arts, and to expand our audience and make new inroads, and help make Westchester Square a cultural district (along with BCA and it's new building).  Although, we didn't wake up one day and decide to move, finding a wonderful new place to land has been exciting.

Charles and I hope you can visit our new home soon.  We are having an open house on Sunday, October 27 from 1pm to 6pm and will kick off our BlakTina Performance series on Saturday, November 2 at 8pm with a dance tribute to Whitney Houston called Love Will Save the Day.

We will have a few more events to invite folks into the new space and will keep you posted.

With respect, admiration and deep appreciation,
Arthur

Program for emerging documentary filmmakers of color

Diverse Voices in Docs is a professional development and mentorship program for emerging documentary filmmakers of color, organized by Kartemquin Films and the Community Film Workshop of Chicago. At the core of the program are six engaging three-hour workshops at the Community Film Workshop, with creative advice provided by Kartemquin Films’ world-class staff and associates. Each session will provide practical skill-enrichment designed to help incubate your next documentary project, as well as time to network and share experience with your cohort of participants. Applicants should be filmmakers who have played a principal role in a completed production (producer, writer, director, editor, etc.) and have experience or work history that demonstrated their commitment to social issue documentary. We will facilitate continued engagement throughout the six-month workshop program, and connect you to an expert community, new collaborators, and a wider network of funders and distributors. The program will culminate in exposure through a final public exhibition in late 2013.

Applications are now open.

Complete information available here

Apply by email: DVID@kartemquin.com

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM or APPLY ONLINE

Application deadline: Monday, December 17th
Acceptance notification: Friday, January 6th, 2013

Charles Rice-Gonzalez here, there, everywhere

And speaking of BAAD...

I wanted to link you to author/playwright Charles Rice-Gonzalez's calendar of readings (in support of his debut novel, Chulito: "about a tough, sexy hip hop-loving, young Latino man, coming out and coming of age in the South Bronx") and events, but I see that his site is not updated. Ahem...

Okay. So I'll just do a little copy-n-paste from his email announcement.

There's a lot here. So take your pick.

Wednesday, June 27 at 6:30pm
Reception, Reading, and Signing for Love, Christopher Street: Reflections of New York City edited by Thomas Keith
Hosted by Out Professionals and OP-LYNX
Essays about LGBT life in New York City, with Mark Ameen, Christopher Bram, Martin Hyatt, Fay Jacobs, Michele Karlsberg, Rev. Irene Monroe, Charles Rice-González, Bob Smith & Judy Gold, and Charlie Vázquez.
The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., room 410
($10 general admission; $5 for Out Professional Members)

Thursday, June 28 at 6:30pm
MNN – Manhattan Neighborhood Network
Queers of Color: Visions, Transformations, and Journeys
This unique community dialogue features artists and activists in conversation about making change, current work and future goals.  Featured are Charan P. Morris, Poet and Spoken Word Artist;  Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Author of CHULITO and Co-Founder and Director of BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance; and Claudia Sofia Garriga Lopez, Activist and Artist, among others.  Free Event.

Friday, June 29 at 6:30pm
CHULITO reading and book signing
HAF - Hispanic AIDS Forum’s Latino Youth in Action
Charles Rice-Gonzalez is the guest speaker and will read from CHULITO.
HAF - 213 West 35th Street, 12th Floor - New York, NY 10001

Monday, July 9 at 6-8pm
Macondo Fellows at La Casa Azul Bookstore
Join NYC residents Charles Rice-Gonzalez, poet Ron Drummond, and Toni Margarita Plummer, with a special guest appearance by Levi Romero, Centennial Poet for New Mexico. This is a rare opportunity to hear all these Macondistas* together as they read poetry and prose and sign books. (*Fellows from the Macondo Writers’ Workshop founded by Sandra Cisneros.) La Casa Azul Bookstore is a new spot for literature and community events in El Barrio.  La Casa Azul Bookstore, 143 E. 103rd Street, New York, NY 10029 (Free event.)

Thursday, July 12 at 6:30pm
CHULITO reading and book signing
San Antonio Public Library – Mission Branch
Charles Rice-Gonzalez will read from CHULITO and sign books.
Mission Branch - 3134 Roosevelt Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78214 (Free event.)

July 15 - 21
Therapy of the Soutl for Men Who Love Men
Arnie Vargas (LCSW) leads this weekend of exploration and celebration in your tribe as a man-who-loves-men. The group will approach discussions from personal stories, drawing from political, sociological, psychological, and spiritual theories to discover who we are, where we are, and where we want to go. Instructors include Charles Rice-Gonzalez.  Retreat is in Provincetown, MA.  Visit http://ajvargas.blogspot.com/ or call Arnie Vargas at 1-800-314-7618.

August 31- September 3
Easton Mountain's Annual Labor Day Retreat
Charles Rice-Gonzalez will lead a writing workshop in this annual retreat that offers men space to take the risk of sharing their deepest inspirations and aspirations in large and small group activities that draw from personal inner beauty to create in a supportive community. Other workshops will include breath and movement, poetry, different expressions of art and playfulness. To register or for more info visit http://www.eastonmountain.com/programs/120831LaborDay.html

Save the date!
Sunday, September 23 (time TBA)
Brooklyn Book Festival
Borough Hall