Wanda's Picks

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

 

1. Billy X Jennings, It's About Time Black Panther Party, joins us to talk about Black Panther Party History Month, October 2019 http://itsabouttimebpp.com/

2. Alan Clark Illustrator, Author, Coach, Supervillain, PhantomElectrik.com, DailyEarthPost.com joins us to talk about Rise of the Black Panther, Oct. 11, 7-9 pm at Alley Cat Book, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco 

3. Dr. Ayodele Nzinga joins us to talk about the run of Iya Iya's House of Burning Souls: "I will have what's mine. . ."  Visit lowerbottomplayaz.com

 http://tobtr.com/11530593

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

Today we rebroadcast Wed., Sept. 25, 2019, show.

1. We speak to Michelle Lanier, Executive Producer, Mossville: When Great Trees Fall, officiel selection, San Francisco Green Film Festival 2019, 9/-24-9/29. Sat., 9/28, 1-3 join Ms. Lanier at the free Impact Film Forum at Manny's 1 p.m. (90 mins).

“Welcome to beautiful downtown Mossville,” Stacey Ryan says wryly. “Population: one.” At one time, Mossville, Louisiana, was a thriving, self-sufficient, historically black community, teeming with gardens, grand fruit trees, and families. But since petrochemical industries started snatching up affordable real estate nearby, the community has begun to wither. Ryan’s neighbors begin to leave—at first one by one, then in droves—but he boldly refuses to budge. Soon he finds himself all alone. Surrounded by a smoldering, hellish industrial wasteland that has gobbled up Mossville’s once bucolic neighborhoods, he is cut off from power, supplies, and community. But Ryan stands his ground, even while living rough in his own home. This story of one man’s valiant resistance is at once intimately personal and vast in scope, exposing the links between race and environmental injustice, not just in the U.S. but across the globe.  TAW

2. Rebroadcast Sept. 25, 2019 show: Andrew Saito, El Rio at Brava; Lesley Currier and Dameion Brown re: Marin Shakes's presents A Midsummer Nights Dream; Stella Heath's Billie Holiday Project at Feinstein's at Hotel Nikko, Oct. 10.

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1.Andrew Saito is an internationalist playwright who focuses on indigenous and cross-racial stories, hybridity, and struggles against colonialism and its long-lingering footprints.  He has worked with Peru's legendary theater collective Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani, Cuba's Conjunto Cultural Korimakao, and the Asociación Xajooj Tun in Rabinal, Guatemala, culture bearers of the Rabinal Achi, named intangible cultural patrimony of humanity by UNESCO.  He holds an MFA from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Papua New Guinea.  Andrew's passionate about learning languages, cultural exchange, cooking, Kung Fu, and underwater encounters with octopuses and manta rays.  He is becoming a climate activist and encourages others to do the same. 

2. Marin Shakespeare Company closes with A Midsummer Night's Dream Thursday-Sunday, 9/26-9/29, with Lesley Schisgall Currier, director & Damieon Brown, Oberon. marinshakespeare.org

3. The Billie Holiday Project, led by Stella Heath, celebrates the music of Lady Day! Thursday, October 10th, 8pm  at Nikko Hotel, 222 Mason St., SF. Dinner and Full bar offered www.stellaheathmusic.com

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1. David Roach joins us to talk about the Oakland International Film Festival Sept. 19-29, 2019 https://www.oiff.org/schedule/

Bio https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-roach-b5a94a7/

2. Emma Van Lare (Hamida) House of Joy by Madhuri Shekar, directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian, at Cal Shakes extended Sat., Sept. 7, 8 p.m. and Sun., Sept. 8, 4 p.m.All seats are $40. 20 or younger, tickets are $20.

Emma grew up in the Houston area and moved here just over two years ago to pursue her MFA in acting from the American Conservatory Theater. She just started her third and final year there and House of Joy is her first professional show!  

3. Jewels from the Archives: Sister Act at Theatre Rhinoceros (May 2019)

1. Dr. Megan Ebor joins us to speak about Upspoken created RoyalTea, a sexual health and wellness guide by Black women for Black women RoyalTea, Hot Tips to Sip for Sexual emPowerment -- Sip 1 – Our Secret

(Not For Long). https://upspokenwomen.com/

2. Rebroadcast Sept. 6, 2019 show with Raissa Simpson, Push Dance Company founder and Artistic Director, joins us to talk about the 14th Home Season and Sixth Anniversary PUSHfest Dance Festival, Friday-Sunday, Sept. 20-22 at ODC Theater, 3173 – 17th Street, San Francisco. Visit https://www.pushdance.org/festival

The exhibit opens Thursday, Sept. 19, 6-9 p.m., with a performance at 7:30 p.m.

3. Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh and Sawyer Rose join us to talk about Sawyer's new exhibition collaboration: Counting the Hours, Art, Data, and the Untold Stories of Women’s Work at Code & Canvas, 151 Potrero Ave., San Francisco, Sept. 19-Nov. 2, Tues. & Thurs. from 1-6 p.m., Sat. from 12-3 p.m. and by appointment. Free admission http://www.carrying-stones.com/counting-the-hours.  The exhibit opens 9/18, 6-9 p.m. with a special dance performance at 7:30 p.m.

4. Titus and Androdicus at Theatre Lunatico, August 30-Sept. 29, 2019 at La Val's Subterranean Theatre https://theatrelunatico.wordpress.com/

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1. Rebecca Caplan, Director, SF Green Film Fest, Sept. 24-29, 

https://www.greenfilmfest.org/about

2.Alfonzo Washington and Michael Harris join us to talk about the 9th Annual African Global Trade and Investment Conference in Sacramento

 https://www.panafricanglobaltradeconference.com/

3. Chanon Judson, Artistic Director, and Samantha Speis, Artistic Director, Urban Bush Women to talk about the company's  show, Hair and Other Stories, 8-10 p.m., Sept. 14, at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza, 1700 Alum Rock Ave.,in San Jose. urbanbushwomen.org

Music: Zion Trinity's Opening Prayer for Elegba; Desert Rose's Ubuntu

1. Raissa Simpson, Push Dance Company founder and Artistic Director, joins us to talk about the 14th Home Season and Sixth Anniversary PUSHfest Dance Festival which features Mothership III by Raissa Simpson and a World Premiere by Gerald Casel within four different programs of local and visiting artists over three evenings Friday-Sunday, Sept. 20-22 at ODC Theater, 3173 – 17 Street, San Francisco. Visit https://www.pushdance.org/festival

2. Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh is an Oakland based exhibiting and teaching Artist.

Sawyer Rose is a sculpture, installation, and social practice artist. She is a graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts and currently lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area, both women join us to talk about Sawyer's new exhibition collaboration: Counting the Hours, Art, Data, and the Untold Stories of Women’s Work, New art exhibition by Sawyer Rose and The Carrying Stones Project at Code & Canvas, 151 Potrero Ave., San Francisco, Sept. 19-Nov. 2, Tues. & Thurs. from 1-6 p.m., Sat. from 12-3 p.m. and by appointment. Free admission.

3. Titus and Androdicus at Theatre Lunatico, August 30-Sept. 29, 2019 at La Val'sSubterranean Theatre directed by Tina Taylor, Shane Fahy (Titus); Bryce Smith (Aaron) https://theatrelunatico.wordpress.com/ 

4. "Shakti Butler on Healing Justice" from The Wanda's Picks Archives

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1. David Roach joins us to talk about the Oakland International Film Festival Sept. 19-29, 2019 https://www.oiff.org/schedule/

Bio https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-roach-b5a94a7/

2. Emma Van Lare (Hamida) House of Joy by Madhuri Shekar, directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian, at Cal Shakes extended Sat., Sept. 7, 8 p.m. and Sun., Sept. 8, 4 p.m.

All seats are $40. 20 or younger, tickets are $20.

Emma grew up in the Houston area and moved here just over two years ago to pursue her MFA in acting from the American Conservatory Theater. She just started her third and final year there and House of Joy is her first professional show!  

3. Jewels from the Archives: Sister Act at Theatre Rhinoceros (May 2019)

Shortlink: http://tobtr.com/11491173

1.Kathy Cotton, director, "A Place at the Table: African American Pioneers of Silicon Vallery," screening at SFBFF XXI, 12 noon, June 15, at the African American Art and CultureComplex, 762 Fulton Street, SF  http://www.kathycottondigitalstoryteller.com/news

2. Nana Daffuor, SPRINT, June 20-21, 7:30 pm, $15-25 @East Bay Community Space, 507 55th Street, Oakland, CA https://www.sprintmovement.com/performance

Presented by Nana Duffuor and directed by Dazié Rustin Grego-Sykes, Sprint is a powerful stage performance blending film, theater, poetry, music, and dance to tell the coming of age story of Nana—a queer black child of Ghanaian immigrants, discovering herself (and her dignity) in White America.

In the era of #BlackGirlMagic, Sprint begs the critical question: "What happens when magical black girls break?"

Charles Curtis Blackwell 

3. Jeff M. Giordano, dir."THE GOD GIVEN TALENT: THE CREATIVE LIFE OF CHARLES CURTIS BLACKWELL," screening tomorrow, June 15, 12 noon as a part of SFBFF XXI 2019, has been directing independent films since 2004’s "Among Garbage & Flowers". He has interviewed over 80 people for documentary productions. Giordano has completed 4 full-length documentaries. Most recently, "The God Given Talent: The Creative Life of Charles Curtis Blackwell" (2019): the 70 minute-documentary has its World Premiere at the San Francisco Black Film Festival XXI on June 15, 2019.