I have alot to express but no pen!

Art Festival in East Harlem (August 13th-14th)

2011-07-29T15:23:00.001-07:00

ART FOR CHANGE presents
HACIA AFUERA
East Harlem Arts & Music Festival
August 13-14 (Sat-Sun), 1-6pm
Sat 6-10pm, film screeningsFree (rain or shine)

Live performances by Pistolera, Edwin Vasquez, Sellassie, Selectress Iriela and Jesse Ricke, plus film screenings, interactive art, storytelling by Bobby Gonzalez, sidewalk parade, percussion workshop, arts & crafts for kids, outdoor yoga, artist & food vendors, in East Harlem’s gardens & playgrounds!

ART FOR CHANGE is pleased to present its 4th annual Hacia Afuera Public Arts Festival, August 13-14, 1-6pm in East Harlem’s outdoor spaces! Hacia Afuera, “to go outside”, showcases outdoor art exhibitions throughout the playgrounds and gardens of East Harlem (El Barrio), infused with musical rhythms, spoken words, storytelling, film screenings, and live theater performances by local artists. This year’s theme, Fruits of Our Labor, addresses the topics of labor and sustainability, while celebrating and highlighting the creative resources we possess collectively in our communities.

INTERACTIVE ART EXHIBITION featuring Ellen Hackl Fagan, Jocelyn M. Goode, Marissa A. Gutiérrez-Vicario, Asa Jackson, Nathaniel Lieb, Carlos A. Martinez, Dato Mio, Jevyn Nelms, Tara Parsons, Danielle Poletto, Sasha Sumner, and Eileen Weitzman! Explode paint balloons on canvas, wheat-paste your life-size silhouette to the Hand in Hand community mural, play the ColorSoundGrammar game, create sandals from recycled t-shirts, add your photo to the Community Family Tree, or build steel sculptures in garden & playgrounds!

WORKERS UNION ART EXHIBITION
Art Exhibition by members of SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Local 32BJ—the largest property services workers union in the country. With poetry readings & music performances.

OUTDOOR FILM SCREENING of original short films by local youth on themes of environment, community, and identity, with complimentary popcorn, music performances, & filmmaker dialogue! On August 13, Saturday, 6-10pm at Children’s Aid Society, 130 E 101 St at Lexington Ave.

And check out the new solidarity mural SOLDADERAS by artist Yasmin Hernandez at Hope Community’s Modesto “Tin” Flores Garden!

Locations and times:
August 13-14 (Sat-Sun) / 1-6pm
Modesto “Tin” Flores Garden and PS 72 Playground
Lexington Ave between 104-105th Sts
(Sunday only: White Playground, E. 105-106th Sts between Lexington Ave & 3rd Ave)
August 13 (Sat night), 6-10PM
Hacia Afuera 2011 Film Screenings

For more information, please visit: artforchange.org

Art for Change (AfC) is a non-profit organization that creates innovative art and media programs that inspire people to take an active role in social justice. Hacia Afuera is made possible in part with public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund and Fund for Creative Communities, administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council supported by NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and NY State Cultural Affairs. Hacia Afuera is also made possible with support from Children’s Aid Society, PS 72, Hope Community, Inc., Second World Group, AfC Board of Directors, and AfC volunteers.

Bou Van 'N Nasie

2010-10-16T04:33:00.000-07:00

20
x 7
_____

140 nooses hang on a cieling. quiet. still.

and maybe if you allow yourself to get lost in the eerie solitude of silenced,

you, too will hear the black screams.

of Men. of Women. even Kids.

140 nooses circle above my head.

they cry from the depths of their souls.

they beg.

they question.

and always scream.

i hear them.

an elephant NEVER forgets.

Patrick J.

Toyi-toyi

2010-10-16T04:15:00.000-07:00

they call us animals.

so we shake Earth like an angry herd

when we chant and walk and dance

to the rhythm of our own anger.

Patrick J.

Courage Is Contagious

2010-10-16T03:51:00.000-07:00

Within me lives a

S U P E R H E R O

who is swift and comes to

the rescue of those who need me.

I prefer, however, not to wear a cape.

My name is ________________.

http://www.youtube.com/v/6tziaCqv1hA?version=3

The "Why?"

2010-05-26T23:42:00.000-07:00

At the end of the day, we are who we are. The 'why' doesn't really mean a thing, does it?

Even in Death They Sing Their Spirituals

2010-01-15T01:25:00.000-08:00

cold, hurt, and sorrow.
streets of despair.
these streets stretch from one end to the other
and connect like a maze from which very few can fully escape.
despair sits on this country in most places like a charm,
but there is a special gray death that loiters in the streets
of an urban Negro slum...

and the distortion is as old as its sources:
the fear, frustration, and hatred
that Negroes have always been heir to.
it is just that in the cities,
which were once the black man's twentieth century "Jordan,"
promise is a dying bitch with rotting eyes.
and the stink of her dying is a deadly killing fume...

it is the tone,
the quality of suffering each man knows as his own
that finally must be important,
but this is the most difficult to get to.

LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka)

YELE FOUNDATION

http://www.yele.org/

Somebody Ring The Alarm!

2010-01-09T16:07:00.000-08:00

He seems to be a mere eyewitness to the world.
Documenting. Recording. Journaling.
He refuses to see simply in black & white.
He speaks in colours.
He weaves history- current & past
Into his own masterpeice of intricate detail.
And as he sings his brothers spirituals [Ziiinc Blue!],
He moves to the rhythm of his own beat.
He is as charismatic as he is articulate and gifted.
Somebody ring the alarm... Oveous is in the building!

Patrick J.

A Concise History of Black- White Relations in the U.S.A

2010-01-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

This cartoon is years old, but it’s one of the best political cartoons I've seen.

It is effectively powerful, without being distasteful.

The creator seems to be anonymous, but goes by the pseudonym "Ampersand".

You can also find it at the link below.

http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2007/06/13/a-concise-history-of-black-white-relations-in-the-usa-2/

What Century Are We In Anyway?

2009-12-31T17:11:00.000-08:00

A bit late, yes; but at least I haven't forgotten.

Happy Holidays from Saint George's Island!

And so another year has gone.

In four short hours, at 12:00 midnight, the world will usher in 2010.

In any event, I thought I'd breifly blog on the idea of change, but in reality, I do not feel like it.

My birthday is four short hours away, and though I promised to be a recluse for a month,

I figured that would be a terrible way to usher in the new year and to celebrate my birthday.

And also because I seem to have writers block today.

So the hell with it.

I decided rather to touch on the wisdom of great men from the past.

I finally thought of a quote which I think captures the spirit of change entirely

[it was also the quote I used when I ran for VP in SGA].

It never gets old.

"We Must Be The Change We Wish To See."

-Mahatma Gandhi.

Happy 2010!

Another Reason To Live In Europe

2009-12-26T23:53:00.000-08:00

The Female Version (Victoria's Secret)

The Male Version

The Parody

P.S. I love how no one seems phased.

Me, Myself, and I

2009-12-24T00:50:00.000-08:00

In a drastic, and quite desperate need of change, and partly to usher in the new year with a spirit of revitalization and transformation, I have taken the initiative of squashing unsettled and petty beef with my peers; apologizing to my professors for late papers and unnumerable class absences; seeking forgiveness for past transgressions...and shaving my head!

Yezzir, I am now sporting the shiny bald head, along with the trimmed-up beared [starts off skinny at my earlobes and expands much thicker] with a 5:00 o'clock shadow; it's quite Common-esque,actually and I'm diggin it.

But perhaps more news worthy, or blog worthy, is my random decision to go into hibernation shortly after Christmas. The idea came up when I was talking to a friend, that I wanted to just get on a plane and fly in whatever direction the fates pointed me towards. Well, I am now truley entertaining the idea. Come December 28th [ can't miss the Giants game on Sunday night footaball] I am flying towards the unknown for a month of what I hope to be self-reflection, meditation, and discovery. No technology. No designer fashion. No posse. No family. No contact.

Just me, myself, and I.

I am a ball of anxiety at the thought of going through with this adventure,
but I am definitley looking forward to it.
Wish me a safe travel.

Arrivederci!

En Attendant Meux...

2009-11-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

When I think of what we could of had,
I curl myself into a ball, under cold sheets.
And with eyelids shut behind salty tears,
I drown myself to sleep.

Patrick J.

Waking Up in Italy

2009-09-18T00:07:00.000-07:00

When I finally open my eyes she is still here,
staring back at me.
Her morning hair is sprawled out on one of my pillows.
Wild.
Untamed.
Yet, so perfectly placed. Every strand.
She is studying my face.
She squints and smiles,
as if my life story were scripted on my face.
"Buon giorno bello."
She whispers so softly that I almost miss the words.
We make love again that morning.

We cook breakfast next. Together.
She is in my large t-shirt.
I am in nothing at all.
Covered only in her sweet kisses.

The scent of cornettos glazed heavy in honey and chocolate,
eggs cooked golden brown with soft buttery bread.
Fresh milk and biscottis...the aroma invades every crevice of the house.
I have coffee.
She has tea.
We stare at each other across the table in silence.
Simply smiling.
Holding hands.
Her feet reaching for mine under the table.
We wash the dishes in more silence with John Legend singing in the background.

Then barefeet we walk along the beach that same chilly morning.
The euphoric waves crash upon the shore as if mocking the blood pumping through my viens.
And still barefeet,
hand in hand we walk the Italian countryside.
Both.
Still silent.

Patrick J.