Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

An Art Gallery of Ontario department that brings together art from Africa and the African diaspora is celebrating its first year and first full exhibition.

The AGO's Department of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, created last October, has organized the exhibition called "Fragments of Epic Memory,"with works by more than 30 artists ofCaribbean descent. Many of these artists are based inToronto and Canada. The exhibition, which opened Sept. 1, 2021,runs until Feb. 21, 2022.

"Fragments of Epic Memory" includes historical photographs, paintings, paper-mache, sculptures and multimedia experiences. All of the artworks are rooted in the Caribbean after 1838.

The exhibition, organized loosely in chronological order, highlights the arrival of commercial photography to the region in the 1840s and the impact of the post-emancipation period on the present time.

JulieCrooks, curator of the AGO's Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, said the exhibitionincludes more than 200 photographs from The Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs, which the AGO acquired in 2019. Crooks curated the exhibition.

The Montgomery collection itself contains more than 3,500 historical images from 34countries, including Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The images are studio portraits, landscapes and tourist views and the photos documentthe lands, peoples and cultures. The collection covers the period 1840 to 1950 and includes images produced byregional and international photographers and studios.

"We've been thinking about this exhibition since 2019, when we acquired the the Montgomery Caribbean photography collection," Crooks told CBC Toronto on the weekend.

Crooks said it took the AGO about two years to organize the exhibition. She was tasked with sorting and selecting photos fromthe Montgomerycollection.

"What you are seeing in the collection is the kind of lived experience of inhabitants of mostly British Caribbean, but also French Caribbean and a little bit of the Hispanic Caribbean as well."

Crooks said the exhibition is important to Canada becauseCaribbean communities have existed in Canada for a long time.

"Caribbean individuals have been here since the 1910s. This is a Caribbean history, a Caribbean story, but also a Canadian story as well. We don't really mine this history enough, especially through visual culture or photography. This is a kind of rare opportunity to see this moment in history through photography," she said.

Crooks said the exhibition is personal for her because her mother camefrom Barbados and curating the exhibition has given her the opportunity to look at her own history, to gain insight and knowledge, and at thehistory of visual art and practice in the region.

"For me, it was personal, but it had broader implications in terms of telling these kinds of stories."

Two highlights of the exhibitionare artworks commissioned by the AGO. One is Moko Jumbie, a five metre tall sculpture by British-Trinidadian artist Zak Ov.

"Inspired by aspects of African masquerade and Trinidadian Carnival, it features a masked figure adorned in antique glass beads, cowbells and gold Air Jordan sneakers, standing atop towering stilts," the AGO said in a news release.

Moko Jumbie is on display in Walker Court, the AGO's central atrium.

"A guardian who travelled to the region to protect enslaved peoples from evil, the figure of Moko Jumbie blends African diasporic mythologies: in Central Africa, 'Moko' refers to a healer, while 'Jumbie' is a Caribbean term for spirits. Since the early 1900s, it has been a key figure at Carnival celebrations in Trinidad and across the Caribbean," the AGO continues.

The second highlight of the exhibition is Feeding Trafalgar Square by Toronto-based artist Sandra Brewster. It's a portrait of her mother, a large-scale photo transfer on wood.

"The latest in a series of photographic tributes to her Guyanese-born parents, Brewster's blue tinged image bridges past and present, turning a joyful moment into a moving meditation on what it means to be displaced," the AGO said in the release.

As for the Department of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, the AGO said when it was formed last year that it wouldexpanditscollections,exhibitions and programs of historic, modern and contemporary art from Africa and the African diaspora.

The AGO said its creationformalizes work that has been underway at the art gallery for several years.

Stephan Jost, CEO of the AGO, said in a news release in October 2020: "Engaging with the art of Global Africa must be central to any program that presents a global view of visual culture, because its multiple histories and influences intersect, deepen, and complicate in so many ways our understanding of Western and Contemporary Art.

"This new department brings together curators and educators from inside and outside the building, supported by the community, to help us tell these stories."

Jost added that the creation of the department followsthe 2017 creation of a Department of Indigenous andCanadian Art.

"The museum must be flexible and responsive if we are to better reflect where we live."

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AGO department marks 1st year with exhibition that explores Caribbean history - CBC.ca

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

Efia Odo, pictured with some of the male cast behind her

The premiere of the latest Efia Odo series My African Love withEfia Odo will mark a Diaspora success in the fall of 2021 in the United States. This groundbreaking series is produced byKoby Maxwell, the multi-award-winning producer of Epic Nollywood-Hollywood film One Night in Vegas and CEO of KM Productions. It is co-produced by Jojo Andoh of Jo Kanin Productions and Nana Danso a.k.a Chairman of ND Productions.

My African Love with Efia Odo stars popular Ghanaian actress and entertainer, Efia Odo. Also featured is Andromeda Peters(the Miss United States 2018/2019) in her film-making debut with this series and the award-winning media personality, Charlie Dior. A household name, Chris Attoh, is our amazing presenter along with a host of others given an ecstatic feature on the show. The show is highly entertaining and a must-watch!

Ama K Abebrese

British-Ghanaian actress, television presenter, and producer of QUOTEThis is the beginning of a fantastic start for the African community, there is no limit!

Joseph Van Vicker

Ghanaian Actor, Movie Director, and Humanitarian The series is unlike any popular Hollywood love story. It dabbles in a rather unconventional twist in a ladys quest to find love amidst betrayals and heartbreaks. She ignores the red flags and warnings from her friends and family of the absurdity of finding love on a reality show.

Though they are vehemently against this, she goes ahead to personally host an auditioning for a selection of 15 men to contest in what she terms an in-house competition in the hope of finding her, one true love.

The eviction process involves a true test of the competitors personalities in the most engaging ways possible. She is provided in-house support by her trusted friends, and the twists and turns bring an all-around overwhelming reality TV series experience.

The reality TV series will be officially premiered as a red-carpet event on 19th December 2021 in Accra, Ghana at the SNAP Cinemas (Accra City Hall). It will show for 7 days from the 19th of December, 2021 to the 25th of December 2021.

The show will be released in 2022 across the world on major platforms and TV networks. Tickets are available for sale in all major shopping malls in Accra and at theatre box offices on November 1st. Momo payment and ticket delivery are available at these locations. Tickets are also available online.

For a list of theatres and platforms, the series will be available on, and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.eventbrite.com or www. my African love. tv. Watch the trailer of the show via our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Moviegoers who purchase a ticket to see My African Love with Efia Odo at any listed participating theatre will receive a free T-shirt and poster signed by Efia Odo. This limited offer is only available till November 30th.

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A Reality TV series 'My African Love with Efia Odo' the first of its kind in the African Diaspora - GhanaWeb

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

Professors bring expertise in diaspora literature, Buddhism, moral motivation and more. [3 min read]

Scholars with expertise in a range of humanities disciplines joined the ranks of USC Dornsifes faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. (Composite: Dennis Lan.)

In the midst of a pandemic and a subsequent campus shutdown in 2020, a new group of faculty joined the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and jumped directly into teaching and research.

These recently arrived humanities professors bring knowledge of topics like African and Latin American diaspora literature, investigate the connection between voice and power and tackle questions around morality.

Corrine Collins| Assistant Professor of English

Academic focus:My research focuses on representations of multi-raciality in 20th- and 21st-century African diaspora literature.

What do you like to do in your spare time?I like cooking, watching TV and reading.

If you could invite one person to dinner, living or dead, who would you select? What would be on the menu?Phyllis Hyman for fried shrimp.

Favorite book youve read lately? Gingerbreadby Helen Oyeyemi.

Joan Flores-Villalobos| Assistant Professor of History

Academic focus:My work focuses on histories of gender, race and diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean. My current book project,The Silver Women: Gender, Labor, and Migration at the Panama Canal,is a history oftheWest Indianwomenwho traveled to Panama duringthecrucial decade oftheCanal construction, from 1904 to 1914.

Zoe Johnson King| Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Academic focus:I work on moral motivation, moral uncertainty, moral ignorance, praise and blame. What should we do when we face complex, fraught situations in which its unclear how to strike the right balance between everything important at stake? How should we think about what it is to be a good person in a way that can apply to messy, complicated, real-life folk who are often uncertain or mistaken about what matters and who also face surrounding circumstances that are deeply unjust?

If you could invite one person to dinner, living or dead, who would you select? What would be on the menu?Aristotle. Ive got a mug with his face on it, so Id serve him tea in that mug and tell him that were still reading his stuff 3,000 years later. I bet hed like that.

Where is your favorite place to travel?I once stayed in a treehouse on an avocado farm in Guatemala. That was pretty great. Oh, or in a hammock on an island that formed when two volcanoes erupted in the middle of a giant lake in Nicaragua. I never go anywhere twice, so its hard to pick favorites, but those two stand out.

Favorite book youve read lately?Oof, wouldnt it be nice to read for pleasure?

Sarah Kessler| Assistant Professor of English

Academic focus:Broadly, Im interested in the connections between voices and power. Why do we associate having a voice with having power? Where does this cultural assumption fall short in imagining what voices are and can do? How do ideas of race, gender and sexuality condition us to hear voices differently? And how do we develop new listening practices that challenge this?

Favorite book youve read lately? Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon orSeveranceby Ling Ma.

What inspires you?My cats Lily and Corky. They are littermates and their relationship is so caring and beautiful.

What food or condiments will we always find in your kitchen?Sriracha, mayonnaise and Sriracha mayonnaise.

Jessica (Xiaomin) Zu| Assistant Professor of Religion

Academic focus:Im an intellectual historian and a scholar of Buddhist studies.I investigatethe socio-religious change in modern Asia from the overlooked perspectives of religious innovators. My research uncovers unknown episodes and understudied historical actors that paved the way to the modern afterlives of ancient Buddhist spiritual inclusiveness as a collective quest for social equality.

Learn about other faculty who joined USC Dornsife during the 202021 academic year >>

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New humanities faculty members joined USC Dornsife during the COVID-19 pandemic > News > USC Dornsife - USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts...

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

Amid aggressive proselytisation campaigns run by the Christian missionaries, and videos circulating on social media showing mass conversions in Punjab, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had been under criticism from within the Sikh community for not doing enough to protect the faith.

However, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, the head priest of the Sikh communitys highest temporal seat, said on Tuesday (12 October):

Christian missionaries have been running a campaign in the border belt for forced conversions over the past few years. Innocent people are being cheated or lured to convert. We have received many such reports.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has started a campaign Ghar Ghar Andar Dharamshal (sacred shrine within every home) to counter forced conversions, which is a dangerous attack on the Sikh religion, he added.

Under this campaign, Sikh preachers will be visiting villages to distribute literature.

Religion is a matter of spirituality. Forced conversion or luring someone can never be justified. All Sikhs should support the SGPC in strengthening the campaign against forced conversions, which is a very serious challenge for us. We have to combat it. (The) SGPC campaign should be run all over India. Right now, we have been focusing on the areas that are more affected, Singh said.

The Dalit Sikh community in Punjab constitutes 30 per cent of the population and has been the major target of Christian proselytisation activities. According to scholars, prevalent discrimination along with the lack of education and health infrastructure makes them more susceptible to spiritual abuse that is a part of forced conversions.

A major lure offered to them by the missionaries is the opportunity to settle abroad. The role of foreign funds for conversion has been a constant theme in the history of Christian conversion in India.

Also read: Outrage over IPS officer seeking ban on NGOs foreign funding: CPMs Prakash Karat had proposed the same in 1984

Giani Harpreet Singh also said that the religious conversion drive is being run in Punjab with funds from foreign countries. Converting Sikhs to another religion is worrisome. When we dont force anyone to join our religion by greed, then no one has the right to ask the followers of our religion to convert by greed or pressure, he said.

Singh himself hails from the Dalit Sikh community and his remarks came on the day when Dalit organisations in Amritsar observed the 101st anniversary of the restoration of Dalit Sikhs right to uninterrupted entry and offering of Karah Prasad at Golden Temple and Akal Takht.

The direct confrontation between the SGPC and Christian missionaries will also complicate the brotherhood between the Khalistani-Christian Imperial Camp. The conspicuous silence of the diaspora Sikh community which is otherwise quite vocal reflects this dilemma.

The diaspora Sikh community, especially that settled in Western Europe and North America, is the backbone of the Khalistani separatist movement. Their silence on ongoing conversions to Christianity in Punjab could well be the cost they pay to continue to engage in Khalistan-related activities in those countries.

Ideological literature produced the Khalistan camp in support of the movement pushes the agenda to portray Sikhism as closer to the Abrahamic faiths, and divorced of its history in the subcontinent. The instances of the confrontation between ruling Mughal emperors and Sikh leaders, where latter chose martyrdom over conversion to Islam, are portrayed as sinister designs of a minor Hindu character. There is also a deliberate attempt to carve out and emphasise the difference between Sikhism and other Indic faiths.

However, this ideological manipulation doesn't work in the face of the reality of mass conversions of Sikhs in Punjab.

Political Sikhs, in this case, find themselves trapped in an incentive structure where they are pushed to choose between authenticity and political gains based on alliance with powerful Hinduphobic camps. Ultimately, any group, like Khalistanis, that aligns with the structures of Christian-Islamic imperialism for short-term strategic gains, will have to confront the reality of itself being consumed by the expansionist spirit of its partner.

It remains to be seen whether the diaspora Sikh leaders will recognise the deep schism between expansionist imperial ideologies and the teachings of the Sikh panth, or continue to remain silent, resign to tact, for short-term gains.

Also read: Remembering Guru Nanak Dev: How Indic Perspective Tackles Questions Of Identity Like Are Sikhs Hindus?

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SGPC Launches Drive To Counter Conversions To Christianity; What Explains The Silence Of Diaspora Sikhs On The Issue? - Swarajya

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

In 2020 1-54, the contemporary African art fair, was the only physical fair to take place in Londoneven then, it was reduced to a hybrid event with only 20 physical exhibitors, about half of its usual footprint. Against a backdrop of a rising international profile for art and artists working across the continent, the fairs ninth U.K. edition opened today at Somerset House to a changed landscape on many fronts.

At the preview for press and VIPs, visitors came hungry for information on artists they did not yet know and eager to buy work by those that they did. As the day progressed, fairgoers stayed on, sunning themselves on and around the courtyard commission by the London-based artist Lakwena Maciver. Little did they know that half of the sculpturesfrom the series Ill Bring You Flowers, 2021had already been sold, for 20,000 ($27,400) each by Vigo Gallery.

As the afternoon progressed and the aisles became packed, Dutch gallery Nuwelanda first-time participantsold out of sculpture by recent art-school graduate Ben Orkin, with one collector running in, shouting, Are there any left? before snapping up the last one available.

Installation view of Lakwena Macivers courtyard commission at Somerset House. Courtesy of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

Its a very different landscape this time. Last year we were looking into the unknown, the fairs founder and director, Touria El Glaoui, told Artnet News. This years event welcomes 34 returning galleries and 14 new exhibitors representing 150 African and diaspora artists from 23 countries, including Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, as well as Brazil, the Netherlands, Italy, the United States, Switzerland, Belgium, and the U.K.

In a noticeable shift, the past years focus on figuration is giving way to more abstract works and those employing yarn and fabricas well as ceramics, in keeping with a trend across the London fairs. The talked-about standouts include Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga at October Gallery, Nabil El Makhloufis dark and beautiful paintings at Nil Gallery, and paintings by Zanele Muholimostly known for her photography and filmwho had her first survey at Tate Modern in 2020, shown by Galerie Carole Kvasnevski of Paris.

Installation view of the 1-54 Art Fair 2021. Courtesy of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

Sales came hot and fast across the fair. Ed Cross Fine Art, of London, sold out its booth dedicated to the work of local artist Sahara Longe, who combines technical skill with a touch of satire in paintings that remix classical portraiture with contemporary Black figuration. Three works went to a U.K. collection, at prices ranging from 8,000 to 20,000 ($11,000$27,400), and After Party, 2021, sold to a museum in Asia for 16,500 ($22,600). Mayfairs Richard Saltoun, joining the fair for the first time, sold a work by South Africas Berni Searle for 24,000 ($32,900) and seven paintings by the artist, writer, and curator Everlyn Nicodemus, all in the 15,000-to-30,000 ($20,600$41,000) range.

Collectors also flocked to two Parisian comers: Galerie Eric Dupont, which sold four of Romo Mivekannins striking portraits on fabric in two hours, for prices between 5,000 and 20,000 ($6,800$27,300), and Galerie Dominique Fiat, which sold three photographs by Malala Andrialavidrazana to private foundations for between 13,000 and 16,000 ($17,800$21,900).

Accras kingmakerGallery 1957, which represents Ghanian breakout star Amoako Boaforeported sales of many works between 3,500 and 20,000 ($4,800$27,400) at its booth, which features works by Serge Attukwei Clottey, Godfried Donkor, and Arthur Timothy. From the Ethiopian capital, Addis Fine Art placed all of its works on paper by recent Saatchi Yates star Tesfaye Urgessa for 10,000 ($13,687) apiece, while DADA Gallery, of Lagos, sold three fabric works by Bunmi Agusto priced at 8,000 ($10,949) each. Even smaller outlets with less well-known names who had yet to close a sale were optimistic and upbeat heading into the weekend.

Nabil El Makhloufi, Night Veil (2021). Courtesy of the artist and Nil Gallery, Paris.

Notably, these deals were made within the first few hours of the preview, perhaps reflecting an altered schedule (a day later, rather than coinciding with, Friezes vernissage) or the global socio-political shift of the past 18 months. Certainly, interest in contemporary African art has soared; in the past year, Amoako Boafo has collaborated with Kim Jones of Dior, and other artists have been picked up by blue-chip galleries; for example, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe joining Almine Rech.

I think theres definitely been a moment after the Black Lives Matter movement, and were still seeing the benefit of peoples attention and awareness of artists coming from Africa, the African diaspora, Galoui said. We have also seen this week this engagement with artists from Africa or the diaspora, with a lot of the main London galleries showcasing some unbelievable work.

Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga, Untitled (2021). Courtesy ofthe artist and October Gallery, London.

However, even after eight years and the launch of companion fairs in New York and Marrakesh, El Glaoui was reluctant to take full credit for bringing the worlds attention to the continents rich and varied creative output. Im hoping that its a constant evolution, she says. Im hoping that we are going to see this engagement and integration continue in the long term. But we know that the art world is very trendythey love new things, and they love being in the right moment at the right timeso I hope that at least 1-54 will be able to be that place in the platform. We are having an amazing moment.

1-54 runs through Sunday, October 17, at Somerset House,Strand, London WC2R.

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Are There Any Left?: A Sales Frenzy at Londons 1-54 Fair Reflects the Heated Demand for African Contemporary Art - artnet News

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

Camille A. Brown had a lot of catching up to do. She wasnt part of the original creative team behind Terence Blanchards opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones when it was presented in 2019 in St. Louis. But at the Metropolitan Opera, where the production runs through Saturday the first time a work by a Black composer has been presented there in its 138-year history her touch is palpable.

Clearly, she caught up. And shes making history, too: Brown, who shares directorial duties with James Robinson, is the first Black artist to direct a Met production. She is also the operas choreographer, and as such has brought social dance step, the percussive form popular at historically Black colleges and universities (H.B.C.U.) to the Met stage.

Opening Act III is a step number that stops the show in its tracks. On opening night, the dancers held their final pose, one foot crossed over the other as sweat poured down their faces. Frozen in a line facing the audience, they tried to control their breathing as the audience clapped and roared. And clapped and roared some more. It lasted for more than a minute, and it was spectacular.

When was the last time a dance stopped an opera in its tracks? Brown, a Tony-nominated dance-maker who choreographed Porgy and Bess under Robinsons direction at the Met, has never experienced anything like it.

I was just thrilled, she said. I was thrilled for the moment. I was thrilled for social dance. I was thrilled for the dancers onstage that had been working for six weeks to put this show together.

She added: I feel like the audience to me was clapping for several reasons. It was about the dance, but it was about what it meant to see that on the stage. And legacy.

Step and its use of the body as a percussive instrument speaks to the Black experience: When their drums were taken away, enslaved people created rhythm with their bodies. In the opera, step enters the picture when the protagonist, Charles (Will Liverman), is a college student and pledges at the fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi. He also continues to grapple with the experience of having been molested by his older cousin when he was a young boy, seen in flashbacks. (The opera is based on the 2014 memoir by The New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow.)

While Act I contains no actual dance, the characters roam the stage with vibrant texture their everyday, pedestrian movement, both rich and real, is recognizably Brown. Along with the step number, Brown choreographed another major dance, which opens Act II and shows Charles surrounded by dancers slipping in and out of erotic moments. Full of tension and longing, it reveals the characters state of mind: confused and anguished, yet also intrigued.

Brown is adept at baring emotion through the body. The dancers, their arms reaching imploringly, move vividly and broadly as if washing the stage with brushstrokes. Later, they transform into trees as Charles sings: We draw our strength from underneath. We bend, we dont break. We sway!

As he sings, Charles rounds his body forward in a powerful contraction and opens his arms as he stands straight and ultimately rises above his suffering.

In Fire, which will be broadcast theatrically on Oct. 23 as part of the Met Live in HD series, Brown displays her choreographic range. There was the more contemporary dance side, and then theres the more rhythmical side, she said. You dont get to feel those extremes in one place very often.

And her directorial prowess is only growing. Up next? She directs the Broadway revival of Ntozake Shanges For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Recently Brown spoke about her work on Fire and honoring her ancestors. What follows are edited excerpts from that conversation.

How did you, as a choreographer and director, envision the opera?

When Im working on a show, and as a director of my company, I always try to find, what is my entry point to the story? I thought about some of my dear friends that had very similar stories, so I entered it in that way.

When I first heard about the opera and I found out that there was a fraternity section, I was so excited. Theres an opportunity to do a step dance inside of an opera?

Why is it so important to put social dance on the Met stage?

We talk about Terence being the first Black composer on the Met stage. And so along with that comes the Black lens and along with that comes Black culture spoken through or danced through the Black lens. And knowing that, at one point in the Mets history, Black people werent allowed to perform on that stage.

So you go from that to now: We are doing something that is so rooted in African tradition on the Met stage. That is so powerful. You see the fraternity-sorority, you see the H.B.C.U., but you also see the Juba dance [the African-American percussive form that uses the feet and the hands]. And you see the African diaspora onstage.

How did you put the number together?

I was inspired by two movies: Drumline and School Daze. Ive always loved School Daze, and when this opportunity came about to create the fraternity scene, I thought this needs to be a moment. Yes, Charles is pledging, and hes going through that experience, but its also important, especially being on the Met stage, to show as much as we can of what that whole entire experience is.

I want to talk about the dream ballet. Is it OK if I call it that?

[Laughs] Yeah, yeah, thats totally fine.

What were you thinking?

In any show that Ive done, theres always one piece that is really, really hard for me. And that was what you call the dream ballet. The first two weeks of working on it, I was freaking out a little bit because I wasnt liking what I was doing.

What happened?

I was talking to my co-director, James Robinson, about the movie Moonlight and about how Charles was wrestling with what we are calling phantoms in his dreams and how they haunted him, but they also enticed him. And so I gave myself a break and eased back on criticizing myself and said, You know what? Just play. Give yourself the space to figure it out.

How did Moonlight influence you?

Just by the beautiful imagery. Just wanting to talk about relationships and the sensitivity, and how does it feel to touch someone for the first time? Feeling like its wrong, but wanting to trust that its OK.

How involved were you in the first act?

It may be easy for someone to come in and go, Oh, well, she just did the choreography. But that really wasnt the case. James and I were both thinking about the molestation scene and how the chorus interacts.

Most of the chorus members were also in Porgy, so Id already worked with them. We were talking about how they move because even though theyre technically not dancing, they still are moving. And its the 1970s. We looked at some videos and talked: What were the small ways that people walked to indicate the time period?

Was Katherine Dunham in your mind throughout this experience?

Oh! Why do you ask?

Because of your use of social dance and the fact that she choreographed at the Met. And because so much of this opera, at its root, is about the body as a force. Its urgent. It made me think of your lineage.

I always carry her and Pearl Primus and Dianne McIntyre and Marlies Yearby in the space with me. This is a historical moment, but this is also about people who have paved the way for you. It is coming from a deep place it is coming from the social dance. How can I contribute to that legacy of Black choreographers delving into the African diasporic space? Its about contributing to the space. When we do what we know, and we show how honest we are with our decisions, that is honoring our ancestors.

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How Fire Shut Up in My Bones Brought Step to the Met - The New York Times

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

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Palestine - International Criminal Court

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

Decade after decade, there has been an endless longing to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The dreadful feeling of "no exit" that Palestinians have felt since the start of the conflict is today more than ever raising the question of whether the current situation of the Palestinians will continue as it is for another decade or even forever. Will the creation of a Palestinian state remain the legacy of another era?

According to a new report by the London-based relief and development agency Christian Aid, there are deep inequalities that divide Palestinians and Israelis across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory and threaten a further escalation of violence and loss of life if left unaddressed.

The report's author, William Bell, Christian Aid's head of Middle East policy and advocacy, said: "Palestinians face an even more grim future than many currently experience if governments and those with influence do not act now and embrace justice and accountability as an essential precursor to lasting peace. Without justice and equality there will be no Palestine and without Palestine neither Palestinians nor Israelis can enjoy the security, dignity and prosperity that all need to thrive and survive."

The report called "Where is Palestine? A story of loss, inequality and failure" shows how there has been no peace since the first Oslo Accord, while the daily life of Palestinians has continued to worsen.

Israel continues to impose institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians living under its rule in occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. It continues to restrict the freedom of movement of Palestinians through checkpoints and roadblocks, arbitrarily detain thousands of Palestinians, and hold hundreds in administrative detention without charge or trial. Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, including children, have been committed with impunity. The Israeli forces continue to use excessive force during law enforcement activities in Jerusalem and the occupied territories.

According to reports, between January 2008 and July 2021, some 5,951 Palestinians, including 1,340 children, were killed. Israel displaced hundreds of Palestinians as a result of home demolitions and imposition of other coercive measures. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, more Palestinian property in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was demolished in the first 10 months of 2020. In this period alone, some 798 Palestinian families lost their homes, while some 301 Palestinian nonresidential structures were destroyed, including critical facilities such as water cisterns and electricity.

Israel maintained its illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip, subjecting its residents to collective punishment and deepening the humanitarian crisis there.

Currently, 80% of the Gaza population is aid-dependent and almost half the population is unemployed. It can be said that, since 2007, they've been living in the largest prison in the world due to Israeli blockade, lacking key hospital equipment and facing travel bans. The lives of residents there are simply intolerable. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the pandemic worsened the situation as there is a lack of public health care infrastructure.

Besides, the Israeli government expands, assists and protects the illegal settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. It uses them as a tool to further fanaticism. Peace Now, an Israeli nongovernmental organization (NGO) with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said that Israel approved some 4,948 settlement units in a couple of dozen plans in October 2020. That makes 2020 the highest year on record with12,159 units approved in settlement plans since Peace Now began keeping records in 2012.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) latest report, the environmental impact of settlements is serious as the occupying power transfers large quantities of hazardous materials and e-waste every year for processing in the West Bank, where its own regulations and monitoring are less stringent than those applied within its borders. The pollution from the informal e-waste sector and unregulated industries are already affecting health, particularly that of children. The Israeli occupation further undermined the environment by destroying millions of olive and other trees to make room for settlement growth.

On the other hand, the crippled Palestinian economy is having a devastating impact on unemployment, manufacturing, agriculture, large-scale revenue, humanitarian conditions and socioeconomic indicators all these issues and more are linked explicitly and repeatedly to the political situation.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump's "peace plan" revealed in 2019 was rejected by Palestinians as it envisions permanent Israeli domination over large swaths of the West Bank, formal annexation of settlements, the Jordan Valley and other parts of Area C, full Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and Israeli control over vital resources and border security. Besides, the plan also means rejecting the Palestinians' right to return to their homelands. In a nutshell, the plan is just a mere continuation of the status quo with Palestinians being forced to accept being overpowered.

In response to the U.S. plan, the 27 European Union member states, including Germany and France, called for ensuring equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis.

Throughout the time, the two-state solution proposals have constantly become a virtual dogma or an empty promise as it always failed to materialize due to Tel Aviv's desire for territorial maximization and Jewish demographic supremacy, opposing the existence of a Palestinian state.

Gaza remains under siege amid increasingly devastating conditions. East Jerusalem and the West Bank continue to be occupied and colonized, while Palestinians continue to be dispossessed and subjected to apartheid. The Israeli government would like to paint an overly simplified picture for the world. Reports confirm that the situation has steadily deteriorated over the past years and the initiatives that once might have been capable of stabilizing the situation have become increasingly detached from the realities on the ground.

The latest round of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians last May is a tragic reminder of how deep the gap remains between each side in finding a path to some stable form of peace.

Last month, in a virtual address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), frustrated Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has long been committed to a two-state solution, gave Israel an ultimatum of one year to end its occupation of territories. He called on U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to "convene an international peace conference" for the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ignored the Palestinian issue at the U.N. gathering and made no mention of Israels decadeslong conflict with the Palestinians.

The U.S. and the international community must promptly engage in a thorough, serious and firm approach to this conflict for a sustained political and just initiative that gives Palestinians their human rights according to international laws, ends the occupation and stops further escalation. The world must take action now.

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Is the Israeli occupation in Palestine forever? | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

I was born in UAE in 1995 and the 12 summers I spent there passed darn fast. As a child, I was eager to visit Palestine, where my mother is from. I wanted to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque, eat grapes in Al-Khalil, enjoy knafeh (a sugary bright orange dessert) in Nablus, and visit my grandparents birthplace in Al-Jura, a neighborhood of the destroyed Palestinian city of Majdal Asqalan, now Ashkelon.

Before sleeping, my mom used to tell us bedtime stories about school trips she went on when she was a high schooler back home in Palestine in the early 1980s. She talked about her repeated visits to the most important destinations. We have a few old family photo albums filled with visuals to match these pleasant memories. Flipping through, my siblings and I would pause for each photo and ask mom to tell us who, where, and when. She told us about how her heart skipped a beat every time the tour guide in the bus said weve reached Jerusalem.

The Old City and its high gates, Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the ancient houses, the local cuisine, the generous people, the crowded streets, the antique markets, and the smell of the hot kaak are all still vivid in the visuals I created from my imagination based on my mothers stories.

The breathtaking beauty of Jerusalem my mom was describing with keen eyes filled me with longing. Homeland, in my imagination as a child and my parents stories, was free, safe, and beautiful.

In grade five, in the UAE, Batool, my friend originally from Jenin informed me with pride that her grandpas and grandmas would visit. Batools dad and mom were busy preparing and decorating their home. With hugs and tears of happiness, they welcomed them; it was such an emotional reunion.

To expose me to Palestine further, my mom took me to visit them. Batools grandma, a decent old woman, wearing a shawl and handmade Palestinian thobe made of white silk and embroidered with red roses, welcomed us.

Jenin, Batools grandmother explained, is the plural which means gardens. It was named so because of its vast fields and pretty landscaped gardens, and what makes it more beautiful is the fertile plain of Ibn Amer Valley. She added that Jenin stood among the ruins of successive civilizations, including the ancient Roman buildings and the Fatima Khatun Mosque, which is a witness of the Ottoman era in the city.

As I was all ears for every single word she mentioned, I wanted to go to my homeland more than ever before. She tenderly held my hand and expressed her pleasure if we, one day, visit them in Jenin and share a makloubeh dish or even have tea with mint on her balcony.

After I turned twelve, a new episode of my life started. We moved to Gaza. Dreams, woefully, were crushed from the very first moment I realized the dystopia of the Palestinian people under the Israeli occupation. Gaza looked nothing like the Palestine of my bedtime stories. I dont hear joyful crowds eagerly buzzing in a palatial Old City. I hear helicopters hovering in the sky with their horrible sound, which almost has my head exploding. Im still not used to the wrenching booms of airstrikes from time to time. The magnitude of their blasts was not something that we heard very often in the UAE, unless during occasions such as a New Years Eve celebration.

Over time, I started to realize the story through following breaking news on TV. A new lexicon entered my mental dictionary: occupation, invasion, bombardments, assassinations, siege, closure, detention, and settlement. My homeland is no longer free, safe, and beautiful, I thought.

Besides that, Im living in an open-air prison and deprived of seeing Jerusalem, Al-Khalil (Hebron), Jenin, Bethlehem, Jericho, Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilya, Yaffa, Acre, and many cities, towns, and villages, even though we are just a few miles away. This has brought profound sadness to my heart.

Today I am 26 years old and more grown than my mother was for most of those scenes from Palestine that I once pictured in my head. I think of all of this as I sit outside after living in Gaza for more than a decade. My focus breaks as the sun embraces the sea. Night falls over the water that hems Gaza in from the west. To the north, the furthest I can see is a set of smokestacks from an Israeli factory in the distance. Otherwise, there are no signs of the outside world. Around me, the sound of the little kids playing fades. I take the last sip of my coffee, pay the bill, and go home.

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Palestine in my imagination Mondoweiss - Mondoweiss

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Posted By admin on October 18, 2021

"A historic day forSt Kitts and Nevisas we sign [a] reciprocal visa waiver agreement with HE Riad Maliki Foreign Minister [of] the State ofPalestineallowing visa-free travel between our two peoples.St Kitts and Neviscontinues to expand its diplomatic footprint globally," wrote Minister Brantley on Instagram.

Visa-free waivers allow restriction-free travel to citizens of the nations that sign the agreement. This means that an entry visa is not needed for nationals of either country before entering the country the deal is signed.This privilege also extends to individuals who have received citizenship through economic means, like St Kitts and Nevis' Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme. Since 1984, the Programme has invited foreign nationals worldwide to become St Kitts and Nevis citizens after passing due diligence checks and investing in the country's economy.

The State of Palestine, the newest addition to St Kitts and Nevis' growing list of visa-free travel offerings, allows its citizens to enter close to 35 destinations. However, with millions of Palestinians living aboard due to political instability, many face difficulty travelling internationally or even back to their homeland. Through this "historic" agreement, Palestinian diaspora and entrepreneurs who chose to partake in St Kitts and Nevis' CBI Programme can generally travel visa-free not only to Palestine but to nearly 160 countries and territories, including central education and business hubs.

St Kitts and Nevis' CBI Programme is one of the most popular options for second citizenship in the Middle East due to its expansive allowance of dependants which promotes family reunification. It also holds reputation as the "Platinum Standard" programme in the investment immigration realm. Successful applicants of St Kitts and Nevis' CBI Programme usually gain the opportunity to grow their commercial network and secure their future, knowing that their new citizenship can enable a legacy by being passed down to generations.

Investors can now take advantage of a limited-time offer extended toDecember 31st 2021. Under the offer, families of up to four can obtain citizenship by contributingUS$150,000to the Programme's Sustainable Growth Fund instead of theUS$195,000contribution that previously applied to a typical family of four.

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St Kitts and Nevis Expands Visa-Free Travel to Palestine, Recording Fourth Diplomatic Agreement in Less Than Four Weeks - PRNewswire

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