OK, all who live in the Los Angeles area come check out this event on Saturday, August 5th from 12-7pm @ 4759 W. ADAMS BLVD. You won’t be disappointed I guarantee. The space, the place, the people, the vendors, the drinks, the food and the hosts are wonderful.
Kim Porche and Antonio Adams bring love, cool vibes, presence and a place to share in the creative energy that is so needed in this crazy world.
Here are a few pics from the last EXHIBIT 632:
Bring your friends, your kids and or share the information. There is so much to be thankful for in this world and Love632 is one of them.
Yes, I know this guy and proud of it. We have shared stages and shared non-conversational moments of the poetic kind. I have respect and admiration for the continuous presentation of his gifts. He speaks in ways that hold us accountable as human beings. He is in your face with that confident wordsmith kinda power. He doesn’t have to speak loudly or often to actually be heard and remembered, I think that is what has always drawn me to his work and to keep up with what he has going on.
From across the landscape, I have sometimes wished I was hangin’ back in Brooklyn with some of the folks, Tai being one in particular. That’s ok though, I can read and listen to his new works!
“The award-winning poet/soul singer’s new project uses poetry and songs to create a narrative around innocence lost to abuse and weaponized love.”
#NoJewels is a book that tries to narrate a young man’s life that was loved well, loved wrong and, once, not loved at all. Sadly, this story is not an aberration or oddity. There are numerous No Jewels tales in every city. This book of lines, devices, stanza, and spaces hopes to serve them all.
The 20-poem chapbook reinterprets classic literary forms, such as triolets and haiku, to create a narrative of a young man’s loss of innocence. The book follows a psychological path of being subjected to an abuser’s potent mix of love and abuse and the subsequent emergence.
“There’s a lot of trauma in the world, in this story,” explained Allen. “But, even in the midst of that, the collection is about finding yourself. You can emerge on the other side.”
No Jewels
nothing to offer
but remembers (without “whys”)
of a fall i raked,
bagged and placed on the
curb — cliche-close to the cans
waiting for trash day
Please be sure to check out the sound that accompanies the book!!! Get ready to Groove to truths and beats!! Right up my ally!! THE “TRAVEL SONG” HAS ME SWAYIN’ AS I WRITE THIS PIECE…YES, I PUT IT ON REPEAT!
Tai Allen is a respected creative who excels in multiple disciplines. The Brooklyn-based creative director is a poet who sings over music he has produced. His poetry has been published in noted tomes ( Bomb, Killens Reviews, OPEN and African Voices) and his music has been heralded by such publications as SoulTracks, CentricTV, Soulhead, Okayplayer and Uptown Magazine. He has headlined such venues as BAMcafé Live in Brooklyn, Nighttown in Rotterdam and the American Jazz Museum’s Blue Room in Kansas City, as well as co-hosted the main stage for Art of Cool Festival in Durham.
Be sure to check out this artist and his work. Please feel free to share any and all information you find here!
Thank-you Tai Allen for using your story and your art to open hearts and minds. To bring things to light! To create spaces and places for us to shine! 1Luv always!
Hanifa Queen rose to fame in the 80s as the only female member of Wolverhampton’s famed B-boy group. Known as Bubbles, she was the leading female break dancer in the world and internationally known in her field.
Since then Hanifa has trained as a nurse and has become a mother, but her strong passion for break dancing remained. After a lengthy break from the field, she has returned to B-boying, but with an artistic twist!
Hanifa is making a name for herself yet again – by incorporating painting into her impressive dances.
The talented mother of two spends her days spinning around her home covered in paint and creating amazing works of art.
“I call it ‘b-boying on canvas’ – b-boying being the original name for breakdancing,” says Hanifa McQueen Hudson, from Newhampton Road West, Wolverhampton.
“Hanifa is one of my favorite artists to date. She is a teacher of her craft and has taken her art to a place of extreme originality. She combines her dance moves, her sneakers, her paint, and her canvas transforming her moments into something beyond words. She herself is a work of art, blending her presence with her tools. There is definitely nobody else like her. Her artistic image and perseverance as an artist is something to be celebrated and presented as an overwhelmingly positive image for both our children and our community. ” #NEVAHBLACKDOWN
The above images are a few of our favorite pieces! To find out more and to stay connected to Hanifa Queen aka Bubbles visit her website: CLICK HERE
These two young ladies “ALIXA + NAIMA are at the forefront of using art to speak, to inspire and to share thoughts on the state of affairs in the world at large. They have inspired me for a few years now. As a poet and mother of a young lady, I am thrilled to share the story of these immense artists with my daughter and those I come into contact with. They epitomize exactly what we do here with NevahBlackDown, we use art to uplift and promote positive change. They bring truth gloriously mixed with a passion that creates a template to be honored. (photos by Pablo Aguilar)
“Creativity is the antidote for violence and destruction. Art is our most human expression, our voice to communicate our stories, to challenge injustice and the misrepresentations of mainstream media, to expose harsh realities and engender even more powerful hope, a force to bring diverse peoples together, a tool to rebuild our communities, and a weapon to win this struggle for universal liberation.”
– Alixa + Naima
“Over the last 13 years, Climbing PoeTree has infused our movements for justice with healing and imagination, inspiring thousands through their award-winning multimedia theater, dual-voice spoken word, visual art, sustainable touring, and community organizing. Co-creators Alixa Garcia and Naima Penniman are cultural architects committed to reframing the story through multi-voice spoken word, hip hop, world music, and multimedia theater that translate deep research around the most pressing issues of our time into stunning artistry that catalyzes their audiences to activate the transformation they wish to cultivate within themselves and their communities.” Read and find out more about CLIMBING POETREE
Climbing Poetry has just released their latest album “INTRINSIC” A must purchase for your music collection!
On 3/31/2017 Climbing PoeTree released a new collection of rebel-rousing anthems, bilingual ballads, and unconventional love songs. Backed by 33 world-class musicians, vocalists, and producers, Alixa and Naima’s impassioned lyricism propel 17 soulful compositions bridging electronic music and live instrumentation, combining hip-hop, spoken word, rock, blues, folk, and Afro-Latin beats.
There is so much more to check out with these powerful young ladies. I suggest a visit to their website CLIMBING POETREE
NevahBlackDown is proud of the profoundly positive and strong images these young ladies present to the world. I hope they continue to speak up and share their gifts with the world!
I found this story in the LA Times to be fantastic. Dancers using dance to protest. Read more here: LA Times
The seeds for street dance activism were planted with the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin. After Bell learned Martin’s shooter George Zimmerman was able to walk free, she immediately headed to L.A.’s hot spot for arts and activism: Leimert Park
Using art to speak within the times is exactly what we are about here for NevahBlackDown. Non violence, non traditional protesting, art, love, joy are all amazing ingredients for change.
