Octavia McBride-Ahebee: Where My Birthmark Dances

Words Without Borders/ Click Iogo to learn more.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Where My Birthmark Dances

Here’s a Christmas present from my daughter. My sweet sixteen-year-old made the following video of me reading one my poems- Where My Birthmark Dances. This poem is inspired by the many women who are forced, due to dire economic conditions, to leave their children and home countries and seek work abroad.

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Family Style OPEN MIC hosted by Yellow Rage

Hosted by spoken word duo Yellow Rage, this monthly open mic series invites the sharing of stories, song, dance, poetry among Asian Americans and extended “family” from all communities and cultures.

In Spring 2012, the Asian Arts Initiative will continue to host a pre-show reception with food and drink generously donated by local restaurants. The pre-show reception is FREE for all open mic guests!

Click here to go to Family Style's page and learn more about this season's guest features and event details.

Want to take the stage?Sign up for a 5-minute open mic spot here!

Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107-1111
(215) 557-0455

Please Help Support This Amazing Kickstarter Project!

Please take a look at the short video above and consider donating to this amazing project.

IN THE IMAGE: CAPTURING THE STRUGGLE FOR PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTSIN THE IMAGE is a documentary about Palestinian women who film human rights abuses throughout the occupied West Bank. Each woman in our film belongs to the Camera Project, a unique collaboration of Jews and Arabs who use video to fight for justice, equality, and against intimidation by Israeli settlers and soldiers. Most importantly, the film explores the lives of these young Palestinian women as they enter the 21st century: their struggles between tradition and modernity, between invisibility and international media attention. The film also reveals the heartwarming collaboration between Arabs and Jews - a joint effort to achieve a just peace.

Where My Birthmark Dances is now available on Amazon

What's being said about Where My Birthmark Dances ?

The Ancient Romans used to call a person's creative spirit her "genius," and recognized the labor of setting it free as one of love and sacrifice. Octavia McBride-Ahebee's latest collection is just such a labor. Her poems depict human longing, love and dignity in the context of global inequality with fierce, uncompromising grace. As her characters speak, she creates indelible sensory images of loveliness and affection, profound misery and anger, letting each co-exist on the page. The resulting complexity of tone makes space for nuanced and compelling human voices that might otherwise be categorized as "victims" or "villains" of oppression. It takes the full use of genius to notice and capture these contradictions, and a deep social conscience to care so passionately about writing them down. This collection is one of McBride-Ahebee's "bighearted magnolia trees," its trunk scarred by the fire of sacrifice, its blossoms and branches so beautiful you don't want to leave their shade.

-Lillian Dunn, Editor of Apiary Literary Journal

The Studios of Key West is now accepting applications for residencies.

Residencies for 2012/13 cultural season will occur October 2012-August 2013. Deadline for
applications is May 15, 2012. Applications for residency at The Studios of Key West must now be submitted online. Visit http://www.tskw.org/creative-proposals/residency-proposals/ for more information and to apply.

A $35 application fee applies to online submissions and is collected at the end of the online application process. Mailed applications are no longer accepted.

The Studios of Key West offers up to forty juried residencies per year to working artists and
writers from around the world. Residencies are awarded to visual artists, writers, composers, performers, and interdisciplinary artists. Up to four
residents at any given time can be hosted at TSKW’s residency cottages (known as The Ashe Street Cottages and The Mango Tree House)

Open Call for the International Creator Residency Program 2012-Tokyo

Tokyo Wonder Site is now calling for international creators to perform new creative activities based on
the subjects which are core of their projects: "Art and
Environment","Cultural Diversity and the Activities of New Art Centres", or "Possibilities of Collaboration".

For a three month long residency at TWS
Aoyama: Creator-in-Residence. Residency Period: From 31 August (Fri.) to 27th November (Tue.), 2012

(Tentative)Number of participating
artists: 2Application period: From 18 February (Sat.) to 17 April (Tue.), 2012

*Application Form must arrive at TWS Aoyama by post no later than 17 April (Tue.), 2012.The application must be sent by traceable delivery service. Application Outline and Form:Please download the
Application Package from following URL:http://www.tokyo-ws.org/english/application/2012/02/open-call-for-the-international-creator-residency-program-2012.shtml

Inquiries Email:residence2012@tokyo-ws.org *Please make inquiries only by e-mail
no later than 24th March 2012.

Residency at Prairie Center of the Arts

Deadline is 4/15/2012 for residencies beginning July 2012 through September 2012. Prairie Center is housed in 90,000 square feet of renovated industrial warehouse space and the living quarters are
a comfortable 6 bedroom house on several acres nearby. Ten to twelve artists from all disiplines work/live there year round and are provided studio and accomodations. In addition to the studio spaces there is a gallery and exhibition space, free wifi, access to printmaking presses, darkroom and
installation/performance space.

Visit http://prairiecenterofthearts.blogspot.com/
to learn more

Boston Center for the Arts Residency Program

The Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) is accepting
applications for the Artist Residency Program. The program aims to provide an environment where artists can experiment with their craft, develop their focus or test new ideas and simultaneously engage in public dialogue in a way that is considerate to the artist’s time and process.

This fifteen-week, process-oriented residency is
awarded to two individual artists per year (no groups or collaborative pairs). Through a series of community programs jointly developed by the artist and the BCA, it allows artists to connect to the public and explore themes that inform their residency project.

International artists are invited to apply;
however, all artists are responsible for their own visa, travel, living and housing expenses. With the BCA’s commitment to local artists, at least one
resident will be an individual based in Massachusetts.

This year jurors include: Jenelle Porter, senior curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Andrew Witkin; Barbara Krakow Gallery; and Catherine D'Ignazio, director, the Institute for Infinitely Small Things.

Support Artists receive a $2,250 honorarium, 239 square foot studio work place,
Intern assistance (artist must provide their own
housing)

Deadline: April 20,
2012http://www.bcaonline.org/ Program Manager: Cynthia Woo, cwoo@bcaonline.org, 617.426.1119

The Laundromat Project

Create Change Public Artist Residency Application Guidelines

Eligibility
Artists of color…
•with a demonstrated creative practice and who are interested in (or already) making socially-engaged art. Proposed projects can use any medium or artistic genre as long as it can be adapted to a site-specific project in a working coin-op.
•who live in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area (including Jersey City and Newark) and Philadelphia.
•who are available to fully participate in all residency activities from May – October 2012.
•who are not enrolled as a full-time student at any point during the residency.

Benefits to Artists
The Laundromat Project is able to provide all Create Change participants with:
•Honorarium ($3000) and production budget ($1000)
•Access to a rich network of local and national peers, activists, arts professionals, curators, funders, and change agents
•Opportunity to form a peer network with other area artists on a bi-weekly basis
•A peer learning process for workshopping your creative vision, sharing strategies, and exchanging ideas
•Additional opportunities for support as program alumni

Additionally, Create Change Public Artists in Residence are resourced with:
•Support in promoting the public art project and generating participation
•Support in documenting the work
•A culminating event that features their Create Change project at the end of the residency cycle

Selection Criteria
Strong Create Change Candidates have:
•Familiarity or interest in local issues impacting their neighborhoods
•Willingness to take risks and step out of comfort zones
•Interest/Ability to actively engage non-artists in all aspects of your creative process
•Problem-solving skills, resourcefulness, and flexibility
•Capacity for critical analysis
•Deep respect for their neighbors, and the ability to collaborate with a broad public
•Demonstrated ability to carry out a project of this scale

Criteria Used to Evaluate Applications:
Artistic Merit
•Has the applicant demonstrated a command of the medium(s) presented in their work samples?
•Does the applicant’s work samples illustrate technical strength? Is the applicant’s work conceptually strong?
Project Clarity & Feasibility
•Is the project description and purpose clear?
•Can this project be completed within 6 months? If not, has the applicant indicated that the project will continue after the residency is over?
•Has the applicant identified the resources and support needed to realize their project? If they have listed resource and support needs that exceed $1000, do they offer an alternate strategy for acquiring these resources?
•Based on the work samples and the applicant’s past experience, will they be able to realize the project that they have proposed for the residency?
Relevance to Artists
•Does the applicant make a compelling case for why this residency is appropriate for their practice as an artist?
•Would participation in this residency significantly advance the artist’s career and scope of work?
•Do you think the applicant would go forward with realizing this project if funds were not granted?
Relevance to Neighborhood
•Does this project respond to the specific needs of the applicant’s neighborhood?
•Does the project incorporate the culture of the applicant’s neighborhood?
•Has the applicant demonstrated a familiarity or interest in local issues impacting their neighborhood?
•Is the project relevant and of benefit to the applicant’s neighborhood?
•Does the applicant demonstrate a deep respect for their neighbors and the ability to collaborate with a broad public?
•Is the project unique to the laundromat setting?
•Does the project interact with the laundromat as a public space?
•Will the applicant compellingly engage non-artists in all aspects of their creative process?
Sustainability
•Has the applicant identified additional resources (e.g. partnerships with schools, faith-based organizations, neighborhood leaders, local business owners, councilmen, etc) that will allow them to complete this project with excellence?
•Will the project continue after the residency term is complete?
•Will the applicant work with any of the aforementioned community partners and their neighbors to insure that the project continues past their residency term?

http://laundromatproject.org/

Octavia McBride-Ahebee

Words Without Borders/ Click Iogo to learn more.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Where My Birthmark Dances

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