Favianna.com :: Art & Activism

More pics from P-Town

Tommorrow is my last day here in Provincetown. I am here for an art residency. You can read more about what I'm doing here by clicking here.

I wanted to take some time to talk about the best places from my point of view. Keep in mind I am a woman of color, and there are very few women of color here. I really have enjoyed my time here. What I have learned about PTown is that it has a very tiny population of children, this year's graduating senior class was 12. Sounds like San Francisco. I hardly see children around, except for the kids of tourist. PTown is a gay haven, and on some days, I see mostly gay men. I see less lesbian couples. That may have something to do with how expensive PTown has become. For the most part, I didn't see hardly any Latinos. The first thing I do when I hit a new spot is find the raza. I found a handful of Mexicanos from Puebla. They work at Arnold's Bike Shop and at Governor Bradford.

So here are my spots. Most of these you can find on Provincetown.com and  IAmProvincetown.com

• For bike rentals: Arnold's Bike Shop, the folks speak Spanish here too
• For organic food, veggies, meats: Lembas Health Foods
I really would not recommend Grand Union for any organic stuff, there is no variety and no organic meats or poultry. Lembas carries non-hormone, organic frozen fish, beef,chicken, etc. The prices are a little expensive but so is bad health.
• For organic, vegan food: Tofu A Go Go, I hate that I always went when it was closed, so their hours are not that great.
• For a nice dinner with great food and nice folks: Martini House, Lorraine's, Lobster Pot and Level. I like these spots because they serve good, hearty vegetables. I really need to have some greens in my life, and I found that some of the other spots used too much salt and their veggies were limited and were not really fresh.
• Some other good eats were Pepe's & Post Office Cafe. However, most options on the menu have a lot of milk, cheesy stuff, meaty stuff. So I was not that crazy about it. I hated the food at Gov Bradford & Mayflower.
• Best Ferry Service during off season was definitely Bay State Cruises. But I noticed that the trip is more like 1 hr 45 minutes. I also always got my tix online.
• I really liked hangin out at Governor Bradford's for the Drag Karaoke show, which is every night at 9:30 pm. I even sang some Cindy Lauper. Ahh yeah!!!! Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Here are some of my final pics of this town. There's not a place quite like this town I must say.

The NAFTA Effect: Public Projections on the streets of Los Angeles

My friends from THINK AGAIN (David Attyah and Shelley A. Bachman) are doing some projections in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES, October, 7, 13 and 14, 2006 - THINK AGAIN is pleased to announce The NAFTA Effect, a public projection project that challenges anti-immigrant rhetoric and treatment of migrant labor. The NAFTA Effect is a project of Fair Trade, organized by Outpost for Contemporary Art.

THINK AGAIN's mobile projectors will roam the streets of Los Angeles after dark on October 7, 13 and 14. Talking back to the advertising-dominated landscape of Los Angeles, this project acknowledges the contribution and participation of immigrant laborers in the life of Los Angeles.  On the level of policy, The NAFTA Effect highlights how international treaties like NAFTA, in concert with national anti-immigration efforts, reshape the ways that families live and work on both sides of the border.  The project addresses current debates surrounding H.R.4437, challenges the proposed 700-mile border fence, and criticizes the criminalization of undocumented workers.

Projections: The projection truck will circulate through greater Los Angeles on October 7, 13 and 14 after dark.  For information on specific locations, contact THINK AGAIN.

More information is available:
http://www.outpost-art.org/programs.php
http://www.saltinthewound.org/

THINK AGAIN is an artist collaborative founded by D. Attyah and S.A. Bachman. THINK AGAIN recruits artmaking in the service of public address and uses images to spark debate. Since 1997, they have produced major public artworks in Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco. Their work has been internationally exhibited and published. THINK AGAIN’s "CIA TV" and "Protestgraphics" campaigns have received widespread media attention.  Their work has appeared in Newsweek, Artforum, Ms. and The Progressive. http://www.agitart.org

I am in Provincetown, Massachusetts

I am currently in Provincetown completing an artist residency program, which I was awarded through the Gaea Foundation's Sea Change Residencies. For the entire month of September, I am provided with time, space, and funds to support my artistic work in a nurturing environment. SEE MY PICS

I have really enjoyed my time here and I am sad that it is coming to an end. For one, I am not used to working alone in a serene setting, I have never understood what a calm environment can do for one's practice until now. I am the type of artist/person that is constantly looking for ways to distract myself, some call it attention deficit disorder. But it's true, back home in Cali, I am constantly delving into new projects, working 50 hour weeks and THEN coming home and spending time on my art. This has not allowed me to concentrate or producing, and I am thankful that I finally have the time to do so. I've been creating many pieces that I plan to silkscreen when I return home to Oakland. The time alone has allowed me to be creative and experimental in ways that I had not considered. The time alone has also taught me to love, love myself that is. I know it sounds odd, but I am constantly thinking about other things, I don't have time to sit and be with my feelings. Here I do. I get to be an explorer, and learn about parts of myself. I get to sleep when I want, usually 4 am, wake up and get online, draw, eat, go biking. I never ride a bike back home, I'm always in my truck. I actually had a little biking accident and almost fell into the pier, but that's normal for newbies like me.

My work schedule is not the regular one so I am able to do more things. I also get to do things like chew my food and not gulp it down. (funny yes, but I think it helps my digestion and energy) On one of the first nights I was here, I met a lesbian couple at a restaurant called Lorraine's. They broke down some town history for me and told me that P-Town is one of the oldest artist colonies in the US.

Contemporary Provincetown brings together the cultural resources of many communities.  In the 1970’s, the Queer community adopted Provincetown as many gay summer visitors bought homes, started businesses, and put down roots.  Today Provincetown is well known as the premier Queer summer resort on the East Coast.

Provincetown is a fitting place for anyone with challenging and innovative ideas.  The water, landscape and light of the town have attracted Viking explorers, Portuguese fishermen, artists, and whalewatchers. The Town of Provincetown was incorporated in 1727 and through most of the 18th century it remained a sleepy place. By the mid-19th century, the growth of the whaling industry turned it into one of the busiest sea ports in the country.

Provincetown developed a welcoming and free-thinking spirit that intellectuals, artists, and other folk at the fringes found hospitable.   In 1968, a group of Provincetown artists and art patrons founded the Fine Arts Work Center to support emerging artists at the outset of their careers.  The FAWC is recognized as a national leader among artist communities in the United States. I went to go visit FAWC and will be applying to their 9 month residency program.

What is really dope about this Sea Change Residency, is that other artists/cultural workers of color have also been here. Folks like Danny Hoch, acclaimed actor, writer and and founder of the New York City Hip-Hop Theatre Festival; Paula Gunn Allen, Native American poet, critic, & novelist; Jerry Mander, President of the International Forum on Globalization (IFG) & best known for his book Four Arguments for  the Elimination of Television (1977); Michelle Parkerson, writer, filmmaker, university lecturer and performance artist; Will Power, actor, rapper, playwright, and spoken word artist; Tchaiko Omawale; Rita Thapa; Prema Murthy; Dread Scott, who's 1989 installation, What Is the Proper Way to Display an American Flag? drew the condemnation of President George Bush, Sr. and prompted Congress to pass a law banning this type of expression; Bryant Terry, author, chef, food activist and Founding Director of b-healthy!; and my dear friend Marinieves Alba, an activist, educator, writer, and media professional whose work spans print, radio, and documentary filmmaking.

 

Nuestra Familia Gang Documentary on PBS this Sat

My friend Pepe Urquijo is involved in the narration of this film. I received his email and was pulled in my all the content in the film's site. This documentary will be airing nationally starting this Sunday,  check your local PBS listings, or go to nuestrafamiliaourfamily.org

There is also some good articles on American Radio Works about the Nuestra Familia prison gang and supermax prison.

* * *

A film investigating California’s prison gangs, their devastating effect on Latino families, and the controversial war to stop their spread
 
"Nuestra Familia,Our Family" is a presentation by the Center for Investigative Reporting and Latino Public Broadcasting . The film is produced by Oriana Zill de Granados and reported by Julia Reynolds and George B. Sanchez.

More than three years of research and filming has resulted in a ground-breaking documentary that goes inside one of California’s most violent and organized gangs.       

"Nuestra Familia" features interviews in prison and on the streets with family members and gang members opening up about their lives, painting a haunting picture rarely seen by the public.

The film tells the story of a father in a small California farm town who raised his son to be a gang member. It follows the father's painful struggle as he turns his own life around but then sees his son become deeply involved with the Nuestra Familia prison gang - and unknowingly falling into the grip of an FBI informant.       

"Nuestra Familia" also tells the hidden history of the Norteño street gang and its links to the prison-based Nuestra Familia, which, ironically, was born out of the radical movements of the 1960s in the fields of California.

Former NF members detail the rigidly organized structure of this prison gang and how its leaders are able to operate with impunity from the lockdown section of Pelican Bay, California's highest security prison.

From there, NF leaders control the activities of thousands of Norteño gang members on the streets, and manage the systems for teaching recruits and collecting taxes from gang activity. This military-style organization keeps an eye on everything from who gets killed to how guns are distributed  among street soldiers.

As young Latinos cycle in and out of juvenile hall and prison, they are literally nurtured into a life of commitment to the NF - a commitment that is enforced by blood.

The film contains never-before-seen scenes of the Nuestra Famillia in action, footage of an FBI gang informant as he appears to approve a murder, and exclusive interviews with the young triggerman in that crime.

"Nuestra Familia" brings home the sorrow of an entire community that has been devasted by the almost constant violence wrought by the NF on its once-quiet streets.

Ultimately, the film is a powerful chronicle of families determined to bring an end to the terror of gangs before the next generation repeats the mistakes of their fathers.

This content is pulled from: www.nuestrafamiliaourfamily.org

 

Favi @ DeYoung Museum (SF)

This past August 2006, my friend/co-worker Jesus Barraza and I have were invited to collaborate with Juan Fuentes in an artist resdency at the new De Young Museum in San Francisco. We transformed the Kimball Education Gallery into a taller (workshop) last month.  Check out these pics. (photo above: me with Chicana master artist, Yolanda Lopez, a constant inspiration to me)

During our residency, we shared our screen-printing and linocut print processes with the public. From 6:00 pm-8:30 pm on August 25th, De Young held an artist reception for us with live diverse music—from jazz to salsa, flamenco to blues.  Thanks to the uplifting music by Orquesta de la Moderna Tradicion! 

Juan Fentes is the director of Mission Grafica, the printmaking workshop at the
Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts.  He also co-organized “Chicano Encounters” exhibit with Daniell Cornell (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco).  Compiled from Chicana artist at San Francisco’s Mission Cultural Center, “Chicano Encounters” is one of three distinct but related current exhibitions at De Young that present Chicana life, culture, and panting as it has emerged in the wake of the Chicano movement for political and social change during the 1960s and 1970s.

Another exhibition currently at the De Young is “Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge as Collected by Cheech Marin” which is largely based on the comedian and actor’s private collection.  The other is “Chicano Now: American Expressions” which is a multi-faceted series of interactive installations that seeks to connect Mexican-American identity to the larger fabric of American life and art.

Rene Yanez will be coordinating the Artist Residency for September 2006. Rene Yañez, Curator of Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge at the De Young Museum, presents five art events at the Kimball Gallery brought to you by a diverse mix of California arts organizations. The Royal Chicano Air Force (La Raza Galeria Posada), The Great Tortilla Conspiracy (SomArts and Alliance Graphics), Remixing My Concerns (Galeria de la Raza), and Illusion 5 (Mission Cultural Center). The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts will also present a family day featuring art workshops for children and adults.

http://www.thinker.org/fam/education/subpage.asp?subpagekey=23

Brett Cook's "Reflections" in San Francisco

As soon as I come back to the Bay Area from my artist residency in Provincetown, I will check out this exhibit in San Francisco.  Brett is one of the foremost socially-conscious artists that has greatly influenced many in my generation, especially in NorCal.  When you get a chance to see the exhibit at White Walls Gallery, please enlighten me about your visit!  Thanks!

Brett Cook’s “Reflections” at White Walls Gallery
Sep9 - Oct 7, 2006

 

White Walls Gallery is pleased to host a major exhibition of works by artist, social activist, and progressive educator, Brett Cook. A creative person who defies classification by a single title, Brett Cook’s work is a reflection of numerous social, psychological, and spiritual realities. His altar-like installations expose personal experiences of his subjects, while simultaneously connecting the viewer with the piece, both intellectually and physically. “My aspiration is to not be limited by any single discipline, history, culture, or paradigm—and I think that’s part of what it means to be a authentically creative person,” says Brett Cook.

 

During the early-80’s global Hip – Hop explosion, Brett Cook was a teenage graffiti writer in San Diego, California, developing a unique style that emphasized figuration instead of the classic letter imagery. While studying zoology, education, and fine art at UC Berkeley in the 1980’s and early 1990’s Cook was further influenced by the dynamic Bay Area graffiti art, community art, and non-for-profit art space cultures that were vibrant during that time. Under the tag "Dizney", he painted important, topical murals that commented on homelessness, apartheid, and racism. His street art and public persona became so wrapped together that his tag became part of his name: Brett Cook-Dizney. From 1994 to 2005 Brett developed an active art, teaching, and activist career based on the east coast and abroad. Brett returns to White Walls for the first solo exhibition of his work in the Bay Area in over a decade. 

Brett’s Models of Accountability series, which resulted from an ongoing study of avatars for social change, is also represented in the exhibition, including portraits of César Chavez, Arundhati Roy, and Mohandas Gandhi on mirrors. An assortment of their written words and published text are accessible on mirrored shelves at the base of each piece

A new collaborative work at White Walls includes a public component reflecting on street art in the Bay Area. A selection of historic bay area graffiti writers are the focus of this dynamic multi disciplinary project installed at multiple bay area locations. Attendees of the opening reception will have an opportunity to contribute to this new work that reflects public art in technique and concept.

White Walls Gallery 835 Larkin St San Francisco CA 94109 415.931.1500 www.whitewallssf.com

http://web.mac.com/brettcookdizney/iWeb/Site