WASHINGTON, DC
July 6-11, 2009
Presented by:
the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
On July 7th the DC Festival
lands with an intoxicating mix of flavors, sights and sounds for all to
enjoy. We’ve got four venues, 12 events, and over 20 artists coming
through! From family-friendly Zomo the Rabbit to the visionary struggles of the Voices Remix to the bold dance party vision of Amsterdam-based choreographer Nita Liem, this year’s Festival caters to all tastes and palates, and even throws in desert!
The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and Hip-Hop Theater Festival is proud to present all events free of charge.
7 PM :: AM Radio Live Art & Performance
In association with ART UNPLUGGED
Art Unplugged features the visual
artists team AM Radio. The creative collective is made up of Aniekan,
PJ Herring, Wes Clark, Jamaul Smith, Perry Sweeper, Tyler Luck, BUCK!
and DJ Two-Tone Jones. The artists and DJ work in collaboration to
create painted 7'x5' compositions in front of a live audience. Using
the environment and the African aesthetic as inspiration, AM Radio
breaks canvas and concepts down to their root.
The Library Saloon :: 3514 12th Street, NE
9 PM :: HHTF OPENING NIGHT PARTY
In association with Lil Soso Productions
Join us for “The Main Ingredient” and share in a global hip hop
experience that includes music from DC to West London. Featuring
resident DJs, Jahsonic and DJ Stylus of The Soul Controllers, with
special guests from the London?based collective Uprock Recordings.
Marvin’s :: 2007 14th Street, NW
12 PM :: YOUTH PANEL
Parallels between Graffiti Art and Fine Art
What was considered radical art at the
turn of the 20th Century today is now hanging proudly across the worlds
finest contemporary art museums. Where does that leave Graffiti Art,
arguably one of the most influential and popular visual art forms from
the last quarter century and of the new millennium? This panel will
engage youth and pioneers alike on the subject.
Ballou Senior High School :: 3401 4th Street, SE
6 PM :: Voices Remix: A People’s History of the United States
Elizabeth Acevedo, Regie Cabico, Staceyann Chin, Michael Ealy, W. Ellington Felton, Lupe Fiasco, Walter Mosley and other special guests.
Narration by Dave Zirin
Music by DJ Earth 1ne
THE VOICES REMIX
The Voices Remix:
A People’s History of the United States (National Project of Howard
Zinn) is a unique collaboration set to ignite and honor the activists,
dissenters and progressives from America’s vibrant history as read by
today’s hottest talent. Fashioned as a night of theater, it will fuse
multi-generational artists and performers to celebrate the courageous
agents of change who gave birth to the most powerful generation yet.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Terrace Theater :: 2700 F Street, NW
Seating limited. First come, first served.
9 PM :: Voices Post-Show Reception
Eye Bar :: 1716 Eye Street, NW
(5 blocks from the Kennedy Center)
12 PM :: Panel Discussion
A Conversation on the Power of Hip-Hop Arts and Culture
to Create Change
This conversation will address how
Hip-Hop arts and culture can be a primary vehicle used to build
communities and create social change. It will explore the amazing
organizing power of community arts by looking at the existing efforts
and organizations within the cultural and social justice movements that
are building on these ideas. Additionally it will touch on how Hip-Hop
arts and culture might be used by the Obama administration as a tool
for national change.
Flashpoint Mead Theater Lab :: 916 G Street, NW
4:30 PM :: Teacher Training: Shakespeare Metes the Beat
As an educational component to the
2009 DC Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Joy Jones will provide
arts-in-education training for District of Columbia teachers with
techniques and dynamic activities to enliven and supplement language
arts and theatre education through exploration of the exciting
similarities between the poetry of William Shakespeare and Hip-Hop
music.
American Poetry Museum :: 1922 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE
9 PM :: FILM SCREENING
HOMEGROWN: HipLife in Ghana
By Eli Jacob Fantauzzi
HOMEGROWN is a documentary about VIP (Vision in Progress), the
most popular HipLife music group in Ghana. The film chronicles their
journey from the ghettos of ACCRA to their first international tour.
Studio Theater :: 1501 14th Street, NW
10 PM :: 3rd Annual J. Dilla Tribute Concert & Fundraiser
Featuring Wayna, Kev Brown, Kaimbr, Oddissee, Roddy Rod and more. Hosted by Grap Luva. Suggested Donation at the door.
LIV/Bohemian Caverns :: 2001 11th Street, NW
7 PM :: Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth
Written and Directed by Psalmayene 24
Originally Commissioned by Imagination Stage
Premiere performance January 24, 2009
Zomo the Rabbit in search of wisdom
Set in our Nation's Capital, Zomo is a
contemporary, high-energy take on an African tale. Zomo the Rabbit
calls the Sky God (on his cell phone) requesting the ultimate prize of
wisdom. The Sky God gives him three tasks and Zomo succeeds in
trickster fashion, but it's only by sharing the prize that he invents
Hip-Hop, leading all the characters to celebrate their culture
together. Enjoyed by Ages 4+.
THEARC Theater :: 1901 Mississippi Avenue, SE
NOTE: For Thursday, July 9 performance, HHTF Shuttle Van running from Southern Avenue, Green Line Stop from 6 PM – 7 PM.
3 PM :: SPECIAL YOUTH MATINEE
Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth
Written and Directed by Psalmayene 24
Originally Commissioned by Imagination Stage
Premiere performance January 24, 2009
6 PM :: Freshest of All Time
Presented by Words Beats & Life
Last year's Freshest Of All Time attracted over six
hundred spectators and more than twenty-five break dancing crews from
across the globe. Building on the momentum created by last years’
event, Freshest of All Time 2009 will bring together the
b-boy/b-girl community, youth, families, and anyone interested in
seeing one of the best battles of the year together under one roof.
Registration for the battle will begin at 3 PM and closes at 6 PM. A film screening of Beat Street will begin at 6 PM. Battle will begin at 8 PM sharp. For more information email Cory Stowers or call 202-667-1192. St. Stephens Episcopal Church :: 1525 Newton Street, NW
9 PM :: Nita Liem’s Dance Party
Featuring Don’t Hit Mama: Nita Liem - Artistic Director, Bart Deuss Co-Artistic Director/Dramaturg, with Clearence Koorndijk and Honey Eavis, Holly Bass,
Brandon Barnette, Meghan Bowden, Olivia Crosby (Culture Shock),
Simone Jacobson, Shae Lim and many more!
Curated by Holly Bass. Music by DJ RBI.
Support for Nita Liem was made possible by
Consulate General of The Netherlands in New York &
The Royal Netherlands Embassy
Nita Liem's Dance Party
What happens when you mash-up a great dance theater venue like Dance
Place and eliminate the barriers between performer and audience? You
get Nita Liem’s Dance Party.
Featuring some of DC’s hottest local dance talent, Dance Place will be
transformed for two nights into the ultimate jack your body experience.
Don’t miss this unique, unprecedented site-specific performance.
Dance Place :: 3225 8th Street, NE
Online Reservations
12 PM :: Step Into a World
Open House :: ALL AGES WELCOME
Each year this event welcomes
families, community leaders, local artists, and young people out east
of the river to enjoy some of the art and music created by the students
of the DC Urban Arts Academy. This year, Words Beats & Life
is inviting several local organizations, community groups, and programs
to come showcase their programs. Throughout the day there will be
interactive workshops in arts & crafts, Hip-Hop history, chess, a
b-boy/b-girl exhibition, an interactive student art exhibition and
performances, all for ages 6 and up. For more information email Ayana Patrick or call 202-667-1192.
Benning Park Recreation Center :: 5100 53rd Street, SE (@ Fitch Street)
9 PM :: CLOSING NIGHT PERFORMANCE
Featuring Don’t Hit Mama: Nita Liem - Artistic Director, Bart Deuss Co-Artistic Director/Dramaturg, with Clearence Koorndijk and Honey Eavis, Holly Bass,
Brandon Barnette, Meghan Bowden, Olivia Crosby (Culture Shock),
Simone Jacobson, Shae Lim and many more!
Curated by Holly Bass. Music by DJ RBI.
Support for Nita Liem was made possible by
Consulate General of The Netherlands in New York &
The Royal Netherlands Embassy
10 PM – 3 AM :: CLOSING NIGHT PARTY
Shake what your Mama gave you with DJ Rich Medina & special surprise guests!
Warehouse :: 411 New York Avenue, NE (near 4th/Penn Street)
All events and performances throughout the festival are
free and open to the public.
Funded in
part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities,
an agency supported in
part by the
National Endowment for the Arts.
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HHTF awarded
2009 ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR
Last weekend, Words, Beats & Life presented The Remixing the Art of Social Change.
This Hip-Hop approach teach-in was a convening designed to outline the
tools and resources necessary to develop curriculum, programs, and work
(artistic and scholarly) based in Hip-Hop culture. The teach-in also
addressed how to retain and attract high caliber Hip-Hop artists,
scholars and educators by building sustainable organizations.
At the event, Hip-Hop Theater Festival was named 2009 Organization of the Year for our leadership in the field of Hip-Hop non profits.
HHTF is honored to receive the award alongside pioneer Afrika
Bambaataa; Foundation of the Year, Zero Divide; and Government Agency
of the Year, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
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THANK YOU
Hip-Hop
Theater Festival is made possible through generous support from
Rockefeller Bros. Foundation, Hull Family Foundation, Community
Resource Exchange, The Union Square Arts Awards, The Ford Foundation,
The Nathan Cummings Foundation, Time Warner, the National Endowment for
the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of
Cultural Affairs, Curtis W. McGraw Foundation, The New World Foundation
and individual supporters like you. HHTF is a participant in the New Generations Program,
funded by Doris Duke Charitable Trust/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
and administered by Theatre Communications Group, the national
organization for American Theatre. HHTF is also supported in part by Artography: Arts in a Changing America, a grant program of Leveraging Investments in Creativity, funded by the Ford Foundation.
We Moved!
We can still be reached at the phone number below...
Our mailing address is:
The Hip Hop Theater Festival
442-D Lorimer Street, #195
Brooklyn, NY 11206
