Haitian Mayor Requests More Langgar (hot meals) for Victims. UNITED SIKHS AID increase hot meals distribution in Haiti.
Port-au-Prince: UNITED SIKHS’ volunteers today increased their langgar (community hot-meal) distribution to 5000 meals a day following a request from the Mayor of Carrefour, Yvonne Gerome. UNITED SIKHS AID volunteers served in three different locations at Carrefour, one of the worst earthquake hit cities in Haiti . In these difficult times the situation is getting desperate.
1500 hot-meals alone were served in Cite Soleil, the poorest section of Port Au Prince. City police force helped UNITED SIKHS AID volunteers during distribution. Volunteers chose the location based on information from Dominican Republic ’s Medical Post Representative, Mr Alphonso, that more than 1000 children at that location were in dire need of food and water. ‘It was heartbreaking to see so many hungry children in line for the food’, said Harcharan Singh, UNITED SIKHS volunteer from Toronto .”I express my gratitude for your most needed efforts to provide hot-meals to the Haitian people affected by the Earthquake” said Administrador General of Comodores Economicos Estados Dominican Republic, Mr Nicholas Calderon, who visited the UNITED SIKHS base camp.
A team of 4 Langgar sevadars ( hot meals volunteers) are flying from Guru Nanak Gurudwara, Surrey , Canada to join the UNITED SIKHS AID team in Haiti on Thursday.More doctors for the UNITED SIKHS Medical teams are flying from Chicago, Charlotte, Dayton, and Seattle in the following weeks, to help survivors. The team would have rehab doctor, primary care doctors and occupational therapist
Hundreds of thousands earthquake affected people are living in makeshift camps made out of bed sheets and are without water and electricity. UNITED SIKHS is sending food and supplies from Miami using all possible means of air and sea routes. “We believe in serving the needy and feeding the hungry. Haiti is in desperate need of food, water and supplies. The generous support from worldwide community would help us sustain our commitment to serve the survivors ” said Kuldip Singh, President, UNITED SIKHS, USA .Your donation of any amount could help save lives by providing food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support to people in need.
Issued by:
Harpreet Kaur
Director
UNITED SIKHS
email: sikhaid@unitedsikhs.org
Ph: 1-905-672-2245 ( Canada )
Ph: 1-888-243-1690 ( USA )
Ph: 1-646-688-3525 ( USA )
Ph: +44 8701993328 (UK)
You can help those affected by countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the UNITED SIKHS, which will provide immediate relief and support to those in need.
Call 1-905-672-2245 or 1-888-243-1690 for more information. Contribute to UNITED SIKHS through local chapter in your country http://unitedsikhs.org/contact.php . Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting http://unitedsikhs.org/donate.php. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation.
The Guardian – “A powerful and moving glimpse of a challenging, unwieldy masterpiece”
The Telegraph – “We think the cinematic experience of the summer has to be Mother India 21st Century Remix…one not to be missed”
Time Out – “Audacious”
London, UK – Following a hugely successful sell out UK tour in 2009, Mother India 21st Century Remix (MI21) is moving onto the international stage with a tour in Australia, launching at the famous Arts Centre in Melbourne from March 4-6 2010 and then on to the Sydney Opera House on Sunday 7th March 2010.
Attracting a culturally and socially diverse audience, critics, fans of the original film and everyone in between have all raved about MI21 and praised its boldness to successfully rework one of India’s most beloved films.
With the music receiving as much acclaim as the concept, the specially composed soundtrack, produced by DJ Tigerstyle has been adapted and the album is now ready to purchase via the Kala Phool website.
A stunning adaptation of the 1957 Oscar-nominated classic Mother India, MI21 remixes, re-edits and rescores the original 3-hour epic into a 45-minute silent film, over which top turntablist, Tigerstyle has composed a contemporary electronic and strings based score to convey the myriad of actions and emotions expressed on-screen. Tigerstyle is accompanied by Matt Constantine on the keyboards and electric cello and David Shaw on the drums, with Josh Ford as MI21’s visual editor.
Producer’s Kala Phool, continue to showcase and pioneer contemporary culture.
Indy Hunjan, Founder and Director of Kala Phool said: “Touring to Australia, working with the incredibly innovative Arts Centre in Melbourne and the famous Sydney Opera House is just amazing. We are over the moon to have MI21 supported at this magnitude by the venues and the British Council and can’t wait to get going. Working with two of the worlds most prestigious venues that showcases the best in cultural arts and entertainment and for MI21 to be given this platform speaks volumes for the critical acclaim that the show has earned for itself.”
MI21 is also performing at the Southbank Centre’s Alchemy Festival on Saturday 10th April and again at Birmingham Town Hall on Sunday 11th April 2010. Both UK dates are exclusive events and continue reaching different audiences.
For further information on all events, dates, ticket information and how to buy the MI21 album, go to www.kalaphool.com
Here’s a 10-minute preview of MI21.
For more information, hi-res images and interview requests, please contact:
Directed by Mehboob Khan, India’s screen icon, Nargis plays Radha, an inspiring villager who raises her two small sons on her own after her husband (Raj Kumar) is maimed in an accident, and becomes the catalyst for the townspeople to fight for their land.
Years pass and while one of her sons (Rajendra Kumar) has become a hard working farmer, the other (Sunil Dutt) has become bitter with rage and committed to vengeance. Radha, caught between her rebel son and the survival of a community she has been instrumental in building, is faced with a decision that forces her to make an impossible choice between honour and blood.
Indy Hunjan is founder and director of Kala Phool, an arts events and development agency with a focus to celebrate, support and develop high quality diverse arts and artists through regional, national and international projects, initiatives and events.
Behind all of the work Kala Phool develops and delivers is a passion to make art as accessible as possible. The focus through all the projects is quality of experience, innovation and excellence. When commissioning or creating new work, Kala Phool seeks to ‘challenge, excite and engage audiences/participants in an accessible, flexible and sustained way.
You can also join the MI21 Facebook Group by clicking here.
Oscar-nominee Sophie Okonedo brings the life of one of the most extraordinary and controversial figures in recent history to the screen.
Mrs Mandela is a triumph, a tragedy and an unravelling love story, charting Winnie Mandela’s progression from innocent country girl to politicised fighter against apartheid; from adoring wife to revolutionary firebrand.
Shot on location in and around Soweto, the film focuses on the development of the relationship between Winnie and her husband, Nelson Mandela, from their brief courtship in the Fifties to the aftermath of Nelson’s release from prison in 1990. It is a subtle exploration of a remarkable relationship set against the backdrop of one of the greatest political struggles of the 20th century.
A dramatisation of the tensions that exist between first and second generation West Indian immigrants in the Notting Hill area of London.
Thursday 28 January, 7.30pm
Admission: £3 (£2 concessions)
35mm, colour, 110 mins
Director - Horace Ové
Producer - Robert Buckler
Screenplay - Horace Ové + Samuel Selvon
Photography – Mike Davis
Cast - Herbert Norville (Anthony ‘Tony’ Watson); Oscar James (Colin); Frank Singuineau (Lucas); Lucita Lijertwood (Bopsie); Sheila Scott-Wilkinson (Sister Louise)
Set in Ladbroke Grove, West London, an area with a large Caribbean population since the 1950’s, Pressure explores the assimilation (or otherwise) of Caribbean people into British society.
The film focuses on one black teenager, and his attempt to find his way in a white-dominated society. As Anthony’s initially high hopes are repeatedly dashed – he cannot find work anywhere; potential employers treat him with suspicion because of his colour – his sense of alienation grows. While his family come from Trinidad, Anthony was born in Britain and is British. When a Black awareness meeting is violently raided by the police, and Anthony sees these ‘organised forces of repression’ at work, his political awakening begins.
Pressure is a product of its time, but the issues and themes it explores remain relevant to the black experience in Britain today, including the cycle of educational deprivation, poverty, unemployment and antisocial behaviour. The depiction of police harassment and the controversial ’sus’ (suspicion) laws is echoed by the similar, and equally controversial, ‘Stop and Search’ policy of today. The film also explores media under-reporting and misrepresenting of black issues and protests.
The film is shot in a gritty realist style, with an often documentary feel. It convincingly captures the spirit of the 1970’s, a pivotal period for race relations in Britain and the politicisation of a generation. The performances – from a cast including many non-professional actors – are also excellent.
What is surprising is how forthright and critical the film is of the British system, in what were very sensitive times. The police are presented as corrupt and overtly racist, indeed a casual racism seems to permeate all aspects of society. It is also critical of the black response, and isn’t afraid to show friction within the Black community between those who are disillusioned, with little hope and content to exist on the dole and those who are politically active and fight for change, and between the older generation, content to know its place, not wanting to ’stir up trouble’, and a younger generation willing to fight for its rights. Pressure remains a key Black British film, which helps to demonstrate how modern multi-cultural Britain was shaped.
On Sunday 13th of June 2010 at 2.30pm, a memorial service will be held at the Chattri in Patcham (Brighton), for the Indian soldiers who died while in hospitals in Brighton and Hove during (1914- 1918). It is believed to be the only service of its kind in England.
Exhibition and Refreshments afterwards from 3.30pm, venue to be confirmed. If it is wet on the day please wear sensible gear, approx. 1 mile walk from A27/A23, motor vehicles are allowed to travel to the Chattri on the day.
Everyone is most welcome. Please circulate to your contacts.
In Remembrance to the Brave Indian Soldiers who died so far from home, preparing to defend and die for our freedom and liberty, fighting side by side with British soldiers.
In total India provided 1.27 million men to the fighting in Europe during the Great War, over 12,000 wounded Indian soldiers returned to “Doctor Brighton” to be cared for. Many buildings in the City were converted and specially adapted for the wounded Indian soldiers, including the Royal Pavilion, The Dome, Corn Exchange, Brighton General Hospital, and York Place School.
While the Indian soldiers were in Brighton and Hove, every religious rites were respected as would be in India. 53 Hindus and Sikhs bodies were cremated at the Chattri. 21 Muslim bodies were taken from Brighton to a mosque in Woking for burial.
The Chattri unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1921. This year marked its 89th anniversary.
The Chattri bears the following inscription, in Urdu, Hindi and English. The inscription, reads:
“To the memory of all Indian soldiers who gave their lives for their King-Emperor in the Great War, this monument, erected on the site of the funeral pyre where the Hindus and Sikhs who died in hospital at Brighton passed through the fire, is in grateful admiration and brotherly affection dedicated”.
The Chattri means umbrella in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
To view the Chattri memorial service in June 2004:
For more information contact the Chattri corodinator Davinder Dhillon 01273 852275
Notorious street artist Banksy, whose work has decorated his home town of Bristol and Israel’s West Bank barrier, has turned his hand to film-making.
Exit Through The Gift Shop will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, his agent told the BBC.
It will be the first time the elusive artist, who has never revealed his identity, has spoken on camera.
Billed as “the world’s first street art disaster movie”, its inclusion in the festival has been shrouded in secrecy.
Sundance organisers are due to announce its inclusion at a press conference on Thursday.
Unexpected stunts
Exit Through The Gift Shop was left off the official programme, but speculation about the festival’s Spotlight Surprise turned to Banksy after four stencils, believed to be by the artist, appeared on walls in Park City, where the festival is held.
Banksy is known for teasing his audience, toying with authority, and continually pulling the wool over people’s eyes to stage unexpected stunts.
Last year, he installed 100 of his artworks in Bristol’s council-owned museum under the noses of top officials, and once smuggled a blow-up figure of a Guantanamo Bay detainee into Disneyland.
Exit Through The Gift Shop will have its world premiere at the festival on Sunday.
It is described as the story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on him.
Infamous artist
Banksy said: “It’s the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed”.
The film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, and many of the world’s most infamous graffiti artists at work.
But until the film is shown, it is not known whether Banksy’s identity will be revealed.
In the past, the artist has both mythologised and subverted his own image, so the film could raise as many questions as it answers.
John Cooper, director of the Sundance Festival, said the story was so bizarre that he questioned whether it could be real.
“Exit Through The Gift Shop is one of those films that comes along once in a great while, a warped hybrid of reality and self-induced fiction while at the same time a totally entertaining experience,” he added.
Exit Through The Gift Shop is due to open in UK cinemas on 5 March.
Claireece Precious Jones endures unimaginable hardships in her young life. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, she grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved and generally unnoticed. So what better way to learn about her than through her own, halting dialect.
PRECIOUS is coming to a cinema near you – don’t miss it.
Ragroof Theatre are a Brighton-based theatre company, specialising in site-specific and outdoor work, engaging and collaborating with the community in which the productions are realised.
We are looking for an artist with the following skills:
Beatboxer / Rapper
Sample/scratch/mix DJ – technically proficient with decks and sound equipment
Sound artist/designer
Ability to perform and improvise live to large audiences
From May-August 2009 we engaged in a research and development project within the boxing community of Brighton and East London. The result was a site specific showcase performed in boxing clubs in those areas respectively. In the research process we worked with young boxers in the area who went on to be involved in the performance themselves. From March-May 2010 we will redevelop the show for an outdoor audience which will tour thereafter.
Gloves On is touring in 2010 as a night time, outdoor show. Set in and around a full size, floodlit boxing ring, the audience are invited to take the side of either the champion or challenger. Stories drawn frominterviews with boxers and their families are retold onstage, conveying the emotional and physical challenges a boxer experiences. Ideas about masculinity, courage and honour, ritual and spectatorship are explored in the performance. Gloves On investigates boxing and its place in the British psyche; from the early days of the travelling fairground boxing booths through to its place today in modern society.
Gloves On utilises this sense of rhythm and energy to make the connection between boxing and urban dance music, rap and beatboxing. The aesthetic and style of the show is also influenced by contemporary urban culture.
We will be looking at creating the sound track of the show from various sources:
Recorded sounds from boxing bouts, training sessions etc
Recorded interviews from the boxing community
Live beatbox and rap
Live scratch/beatmixing
Other relevantly sourced sounds
Watch the demo video of the showcase event in 2009.
From 20-21 February 2010 the UK Centre for Carnival Arts will be hosting a Hip Hop Film Festival with some of the best Hip Hop films and documentaries as well as a performance from one to watch for 2010 Lady Lykez and workshops with old skool legend Kenny Baraka.
Saturday 20 February will see film ‘The Endz’ being showcased; a documentary that front lines the streets of London with the aim of exposing the good and bad sides of North, South, East and West London. Then the Hip-opera ‘Making of Inferno Documentary + Inferno’ends the film showcase getting you in the Hip Hop mood and setting the tone for Lady Lykez in concert.
Lady Lykez may only be 19 but she has already recorded with Malachi of The Dungeon Family in Atlanta, played at Glastonbury, T in the Park, Underage and Hip Hop Kemp and has now completed her debut album collaborating with such artists as Chipmunk. An exciting young Hip Hop/Grime UK female artist with a rising reputation, Lady Lykez combines ‘rough edged grime and hip-hop with often wise and witty wordplay’ – DJ magazine.
She recently completed an album in Mali, Africa with Akala, Bashy, Kele Le Roc, Silverstone for ‘Routes to Rootz’ funded by Bigga Fish and she’s now back in the UK and ready to showcase her unique sound, “echoing the distinctive UK take of an artist like Dizzee Rascal mixed with the vocal dexterity and off kilter song structures of Missy Elliot.” As one of the country’s most versatile breakthrough artists, Lykez and her band can rock out heavy, smash a live hip hop set and fill the dance floor with pumping electro pop beats while Kele Le Roc and Zarif provide explosive guest vocals. According to Dazed and Confused she is, “set to follow Dizzee Rascal and Wiley into the big leagues in 2010″
Sunday kicks off with film features including the documentary ‘Rize’, revealing a groundbreaking dance phenomenon that’s exploding on the streets of South Central, Los Angeles. Taking advantage of unprecedented access, this documentary film brings to first light a revolutionary form of artistic expression borne from oppression.
Then something that Hip Hop lovers and patrons of old skool lyricists will not want to miss! ‘The History of Hip Hop Music’ is an interactive workshop with hip hop guru Kenny Baraka who has performed across the world with the likes of Estelle, Mos Def, Omar, Tippa Irie, Supernatural, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Rodney P and Burning Spear.
Baraka is a journeymen griot; born in Eritrea, raised in New York and now residing in London, he has been sharpening and sharing his craft with diverse communities and musicians the world over. A teacher, lyricist, song writer and author Kenny B has brought his brand of street-smart intellectualism to classrooms, venues and periodicals for over 10 years. The Lyricist Lounge, a legendary hip-hop institution, hailed him of the Years Best early in his career and he has since gone on to become an institution himself in the realms of Urban Poetry in the Hip Hop world.
Afterwards stick around for the final film of the night ‘Wu: The story of the Wu Tang’ to finish off a truly Hip Hop weekend!
Films are £4 each or two films on the same day at £7. Patrons who attend both films on Saturday gain free entry to see Lady Lykez in concert and those who pay to see both on Sunday can attend the Kenny Baraka workshop for free.
KALA PHOOL is delighted to bring this unique artist to your attention and hope to see as many of you at the show.
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SRI MCKINNON | ‘BETWEEN WORLDS’ | PRINT HOUSE GALLERY
Running from: Thursday 4th February 6.30pm
Running until: Sunday 28th February 4.00pm
LAUNCH | 4TH FEBRUARY FROM 6:30 – 9:30 | FREE DRINK + MUSIC
SRI is an artist and illustrator of Eurasian heritage. Having grown up in both South East Asia and the UK, she draws upon the experience of this mixed background to provide a significant influence in her work. SRI’s inspiration is the synthesis of her exposure to, and interest in diverse cultures, with ideas being generated from an abundant spectrum of visual, mythological and multicultural sources.
SRI weaves these dynamic influences together to produce a fresh, organic and distinctive style. Her flair for expounding her South East Asian roots are apparent in her choice of subject matter and the tropical and enchanting environments depicted in her work. SRI’s intriguing head-scapes, curious creatures and ethereal characters are evoked by her partiality for myth, legend and folklore. The recurrent theme of nature and the elements; portrayal of land, sea, sky, trees, mountains, clouds and flowers underpin this notion. Her work is predominantly characterised by an unusual fusion of fantastical worlds, gentle surrealism and delicate femininity. This is however, anchored with a deeper, more meaningful heartbeat that runs throughout.
SRI’s recent successes include being invited to perform at live drawing events at both The Institute of Contemporary Arts and at The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre. ‘Between Worlds’ is SRI’s debut Solo exhibition. Having nurtured a keen interest in the UK and global contemporary graffiti and street art scenes, this exhibition is an opportunity for the artist to showcase her work to a discerning audience for the very first time. Building a bridge between worlds, her images incite the viewer to indulge their imagination and create an interpretation of his or her own construction.
The Print House Gallery is proud to support SRI in the next most prominent stage of her career. Please come and join us at the launch event on Thursday 4th February 2010 from 6.30pm.
Music is increasingly making the most of modern technology to create new sounds and beats. Beatboxing is gaining a following in China and artist Liang Bo performs in front of hundreds.
Silver Bullet – 22nd January – 27th February 2010.
Laurent Delaye presents Waseem Ahmed’s first solo exhibition in the UK. This is the second of a series of exhibitions that show a wide spectrum of contemporary artists from Pakistan. A graduate of the National College of Arts in Lahore, Ahmed (born 1976) is well known for his witty miniature paintings.
Pakistan is a country that is often in the headlines, mostly for the wrong reasons. The media has a tendency to neglect the deep culture of this South Asian country and focus on its current bloody struggle. One certainly cannot deny the extreme socio-political turmoil that is shaping and threatening Pakistan’s future. However as a consequence of this there has been an emergence of a new generation of artists and writers that seek to unravel the complexities of the status quo.
The Taliban and other fundamentalist groups are not often the central subject of works of art. Waseem Ahmed’s extraordinary series of miniatures turn this traditional taboo upside-down.
Ahmed’s work is uncompromising, yet his treatment of this subject is particularly nuanced. Mullah figures are delicately painted like saints or princes, their features refined, their expressions filled with inner peace. Figures of covered women are everywhere. It is a world of desire and fulfilment within the transient reality of life on earth.
The latter, however, is made of mud and blood. Waseem Ahmed succeeds beautifully in presenting the collision of these two contradicting worlds. He presents the current compost of atrocities as a parallel psychological landscape to the Paradise that is so violently desired.
His language deliberately uses the precision of the Mughal classical art on paper to suspend his subjects in this paradoxical present. Waseem Ahmed’s work combines a traditional medium with controversial subjects and reclaims the original function of miniatures: as chronicles of contemporary social issues.
Full colour illustrated catalogue available on request.
Laurent Delaye
First Floor
11 Savile Row
London
W1S 3PG
United Kingdom
www.laurentdelaye.com
Gallery: +44 (0)20 7287 1546
Mobile: +44 (0)7798 606 780
Black British Style and the underlying political and social environment from Friday 15th January 2010.
New Art Exchange presents an exhibition exploring how ‘Black’ lifestyle, music and fashion have influenced and changed mainstream culture in the UK, exploring a period from the 1970’s with its rebel Rasta style to contemporary urban Hip Hop styles. Artists featured in the exhibition include: Vanley Burke, Clement Cooper, Michael Forbes, Gerard Hanson and Barbara Walker, most of whom will be present at the Launch.
Young African Caribbean men have often been portrayed as low achievers and perpetrators of crime in British society. But now, with Barack Obama winning the presidency of the biggest superpower in the world, will we see these same young men portrayed in a different light; a source of huge potential for the future? Will the achievement of black youth in Britain over the last 40 years be recognised and honoured?
‘The Meaning of Style’ will bring together artists that have created portraits of young people using different mediums and create a dialogue and polemic which cross reference the work in the exhibition.
Geoff Smith has realised his 10year dream of the Fluid Piano which is an instrument that can work both Eastern and Western notes at the same time. A truly remarkable invention by Geoff.
We were lucky enough to be invited to the world premier of the Fluid Piano and hear 3 incredible musicians perform on it. It was a proud moment for us to see Geoff so deservedly appreciated for his accomplishment – well done Geoff, we salute you
See the Fluid Piano in action courtesy of the incredible Pam Chowhan at the helm.
This may be of helpful to musicians out there….you simply upload your music onto the BBC 1Xtra site and you never know who may get to hear it. Best of luck.