Bronzeville Art District Trolley Tour 2015

"Art is Business"

“The Mothership Depot”- Black Futurist Movement

"Art is Business" by Admin Oakland Art Enthusiast   2013



DeadEyes has begun creating free-standing installations

Dead Eyes, “The Mothership Depot” at

Redux Studios & Gallery

Oakland artist DeadEyes culminates his 2013 Artist in Residence at Redux Studios & Gallery, a creative community program within the Alameda Saint Vincent de Paul Society, with “The Mothership Depot” a solo exhibition celebrating “the key forefathers of the Black Futurist movement: Sun-Ra, a traditional jazz musician who transitioned into free jazz; George Clinton, who went from doo-wop to a self-made free-form style called P-Funk; and Lee Scratch Perry, the seminal reggae producer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production.”

DeadEyes, "The Mothership Depot

DeadEyes, "The Mothership Depot"

 

DeadEyes, "The Mothership Depot"

Led by a fictional guide “Galacticus,” audiences of the installation and visual art made made from vintage and recycled items recognize The Mothership Depot is a space both narrative as well as illustrative of the concepts not only of reflection amid a long journey as well as recognizing inspiring legends, but as a place from which to propel, receive inspiration and “send those who are ready to leave this world behind for worlds of elevated consciousness that match their level of Funkiness.”

Screening of Work-In-Progress Doc 'Chronicles of Summer' (3 Young Black Girls Shaping Their Identity)

"Art is Business" article By Sergio.            

Last year I wrote about Chicago-based filmmaker and urban anthropologist Ife Olatunji and her new documentary, "Chronicles of Summer: Childhood in South Shore," which centers around 3 close friends, Indigo, Ameera, and Akili, all 8 years old and growing up on the South Side of Chicago.

Her goal in her film was to capture “the thought processes of the three small girls as they negotiated their way through the volatile and changing education system… (and was) interested in conveying how schools’ arts programs impact children’s construction of their own identity”.

Both girls were given the opportunity to participate in visual and performance arts after school. But when school ended for the summer, it was up to the parents to find a safe and affordable education for their daughters.

"Despite financial and family troubles, parents enroll their kids in summer programs with the hope of preparing them for more than just the fall semester… (as the film details the experiences of the girls as they learn while dealing)… with the personal and artistic challenges that shape their identity during a critical age. Confronting notions of a “poor education,” this community redefines what is worth learning."

The filmmaker was a 2014 Katemquin films/Community Film Workshop Diverse Voices in Documentaries Fellow and calls herself a documentary filmmaker specializing in observational cinema methods and ethnographic fieldwork.

With a BA in Anthropology from Syracuse University, and a graduate MA in Visual Anthropology from the University of Manchester, UK, she says that her "anthropological fieldwork has led me to teach media and art to students of all ages, and worldwide," and she has formed her own documentary production company Freedom Lover Films.

There are few films, whether narrative or documentary,  that focuses on the lives and experiences of young black girls and for Ms. Olatunji, "Chronicle of Summer" will be important because it "seeks to capture the voices and experiences of elementary students as they explore the value of education and arts in shaping their identity."

This Friday, there will be a special advance screening of her film as a “work-in-progress” at the Black Cinema House in Chicago located at 7200 S. Kimbark starting at 7PM.