K'Naan 2008

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Kamau 2008

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Reflection Eternal 2009

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MANIFESTO 4th Annual Art Exhibit
MADE YOU LOOK
Inside the newly renovated Airship37- 37 Parliament street (Distillery District)

Opening night Thursday, September, 23 2010.
8pm

The exhibit is running until October 1st with regular gallery hours from 12pm - 7pm.

Closing NUIT BLANCHE night is October 2.
8pm.

Full lineup after the jump!

Featuring:

Headlining artists DUBELYOO, from Atlanta, Georgia, Ernie Paniccioli & Toronto's own CUBEWORKS.

www.www.dubelyoo.net
www.cubeworks.ca

Also showcasing works from our amazing Canadian talents:

Paul Leli
Jordan England
Paul Aloisi
OMEN
Che Kothari
Karen Miranda Augustine
Mark "Kurupt" Stoddart
EGR
Elicser
Joey Dammit!
Adrian Hayles
Eric Quebal
Alexis Finch
Camille Gordon
Derian McCrea
Hans Poppe
Logan Miller
Francesca Sun
Leon Robinson
Ato Seitu
Janet Manning
Shannon Lewis
Shirley Mpagi
Gabrielle Lasporte
Melissa Doldron
Kal Kidan Assefa
Lindsay Bess
Javid
Ryan Mackeen
Esmond Lee

Also including the ART OF MUSIC VIDEO featuring Directors such as:
RT!
Marc André Debruyne
Charles Officer
Dave F. Mewa
Cazhhmere
Mike Portogheser

This is going to be LIVE! I wouldn't miss it.

Are you ready for some of this? :)

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Free Show @ Dundas Square alongside one of the sickest lineups this city has seen!

Spread the word.

More festival announcements this week.

KCRW DJ Anthony Valadez recently interviewed Bilal about his relationship with his label, his vision and what it was like to work with various legendary producers.

Read more of the interview and listen to “All Matter” here: Bilal: Artist You Should Know.

Bilal performs a 2 hour set with his 5-piece band during the Manifesto Festival - Tuesday, September 21st at Revival! GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!

via KCRW Music Blog

ANNOUNCED TODAY...

For Immediate Release
September 2, 2010

MANIFESTO goes global

TORONTO, CANADA – Manifesto Community Projects has been engaging the city’s youth with Arts and Culture ever since 2007, not long after Toronto came to grips with widespread violence that became known as the infamous ‘Summer of the Gun’ two years prior. From inspiring town hall meetings to exciting performances at its annual Manifesto Festival of Community and Culture, the non-governmental organization has been making its presence unmistakably felt in the Greater Toronto Area. Not only that, but its steady growth has inspired the birth of a sibling organization outside of Canada.

“MANIFESTO was born out of pure and honest love.  That love is universal and it was felt by our brothers and sisters working on similar missions in Kingston, Jamaica. It is with great joy that we announce the official birth of the Manifesto movement in Jamaica,” said Founding Executive Director of Manifesto Canada, Che Kothari. “I’ve been going back and forth to Kingston for a while now building with the team and the level at which this team is operating and the depth of their experience is truly powerful.  The things they have already done in a short period are major successes for an organization still in its infancy and speaks to their capacity and connections on a grassroots and institutional level.   Their methodology, approach and activities are truly genius.  Without a doubt this team is about to set things ablaze in Kingston and its coming at a time when love must be the message.”

Manifesto|Jamaica Festival Director, Lesley-Ann Welsh explained, “We feel extremely blessed by the connection made with Manifesto Community Projects. Che’s energy is infectious and, before we knew it, we were integrally involved with his movement. The Manifesto approach truly has the potential to be a healing force in Jamaica, especially among the youth.”

Although this cross-cultural partnership comes as a pleasant surprise for arts and culture practitioners in Jamaica, it has actually been in the making since 2008. In February of that year, Kothari attended the Africa Unite Youth Symposium in Kingston, where he met Welsh and her colleague, Gavin Hutchinson; both were organizers of the symposium on behalf of the Bob & Rita Marley Foundations. He also met Reginald Bell who, along with Hutchinson, co-produced and co-hosted a youth talk show called Reasoning on Jamaican national radio. The three would soon collaborate with Che on Project Nine Mile, a computer literacy project in the rural Nine Mile community where Reggae icon Bob Marley was born and raised. Incidentally, Che also became acquainted with Marley’s granddaughter, Donisha Prendergast, at the symposium; she is currently working on her globetrotting documentary, Rasta, and is an integral part of the Manifesto|Jamaica team.

By the summer, Hutchinson was selected to be on the planning committee for the inaugural Ignite The Americas youth arts forum in Toronto. Today, he considers his experience there to be the single greatest contributor to his current passion for the arts.

“Toronto is where I first appreciated the true effect of arts and culture on youth in society,” confessed Hutchinson, Advocacy Director for Manifesto|Jamaica. “All I kept thinking about was how we could apply the Manifesto formula back home. Jamaica has the most culture per square mile and I feel like that potent and characteristic energy that we are known for just needs some positive realignment.”

With the recent outbreak of violence between law enforcement and inner city residents at the end of May, it seemed like Jamaica’s ‘Summer of the Gun’ arrived in 2010. Manifesto|Jamaica’s emergence could not be timelier. On the afternoon of May 23, as the team was in the middle of its first official community impact activity, a sports day uniting several communities in the Three Miles Development Area, the first gunshots sounded just one block away. The experience had the effect of setting the tone for the organization, putting into perspective the importance of empowering the youth with opportunities for self-expression at a time when violence constantly surrounds them. This view continues to shape Manifesto|Jamaica’s development as it grows from infancy to become a leader in Jamaica’s arts and culture revolution.

About Manifesto|Jamaica:

Manifesto|JA is a non-profit organization dedicated to youth empowerment and nation building through the Arts and Culture. The executive board combines the energies of young Jamaicans – all below 30-years-old – making it a truly FOR YOUTH, BY YOUTH initiative.

Manifesto|JA works to empower the nation’s youth by providing a platform for exposing Jamaica’s talented artists and culture agents; facilitating knowledge transfer and creative support for these artists and agents; energizing and uniting the practitioners and proponents of the creative industries; and developing nation-building strategies through the creative industries.

With a grant from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, we are able to carry out our community impact programs – called Minifestos – in the August Town, Belvedere, Central Kingston, Drewsland, Three Miles and Trench Town communities.

The highlight of the Manifesto|JA movement is the annual Festival of ART’ical Empowerment, which will be held for the first time during the National Heroes’ Strong-end, October 14-17, 2010. The venue will be the beautiful campus of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. Scores of artists representing the different art forms will converge in this massive 4-day festival. Exhibitions, dance competitions, film screenings, cooking showcases, live musical performances, workshops and soul-healing exercises are some of the activities that patrons will experience at various venues across Kingston and Saint Andrew. Some of the most talented individuals exposed through the Minifestos will be invited to participate in the festival’s workshops and staged showcases.

A major focus of Manifesto|JA is arts advocacy, driven by the notion that ART IS HONOURABLE. We help to empower the creative young people with confidence, so that they will translate their artistic callings to worthy and viable professions. As such, we are currently undergoing research, developing surveys and planning focus group gatherings in order to assess the arts and culture climate, propose and discuss ways to further develop the creative industries. Our weekly radio program, ART’ical Empowerment, airs every Monday evening from 4:30-6:00pm (Jamaica time) on popular community station, ROOTS 96.1 FM – “the voice of the inner city.”

This is Manifesto|Jamaica. We educate, expose and empower. BE A PART OF IT!

We are grateful for the support of our inaugural partners of whom our work would not be possible:

Check out the 14 page Manifesto spread in the online mag, Aesthetics Now!

Also featured in this month's issue is homegrown talent Zaki Ibrahim.

http://aestheticsnow.com/flipbook/flipbook/view.php?id=4

MANIFESTO pre-flyers hit the street ...

J.Period & Spike Lee pay tribute to Michael Jackson with this Limited Edition mixtape, available exclusively at the 2nd Annual “Brooklyn Loves MJ” event TODAY, August 29, 2010, in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Mixing Michael’s classic hits with rare demo versions, remixes, and behind-the-scenes interview clips, J.Period weaves together an 80-minute musical documentary that pays tribute to The King of Pop’s staggering catalog of songs, and reminds us why—no matter what you think of the man—Michael’s true legacy will always be his music.

Download here.

jperiod.com

Also, If you haven't yet downloaded MANIFESTO's Michael Jackson Tribute Live @ Dundas Square Mixtape, cop that here.

I usually have a bunch of great people over at my house on a given Sunday, so today Ritchie from Soundsmith is blessing us with this mix of youtube treats.

Watch out for next Sunday's Youtube Sessions. Post some of your fav's...

Electric Relaxation by A Tribe Called Quest

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Don't Sweat the Technique by Eric B. & Rakim

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Step Into A World - Rapture's Delight - by KRS ONE

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Enjoy!

This documentary style EPK peers into the life of performing producer Slakah the Beatchild as he talks about collaborations with artists like Tingsek, Ebrahim, Drake, Justin Nozuka, Divine Brown and more. Follow The beatchild as he goes on a mini tour and writes in the studio. This documentary was produced by Maya Bankovic and Nadia Tan for Six Nine Three.

Part 1:

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Part 2:

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