[Peace] full schedule of panAsian spoken word guests-in-residence

[Laura Haber]

please forward widely:

Anida Rouquiyah Yoeu Esguerra and Dennis Sangmin Kim, two members of the
panAsian spoken word group "I Was Born With Two Tongues", will be
guests-in-residence at Unit One/Allen Hall 4/6-4/10. All programs are open to
the public.

Their opening program is Sunday, April 6 at 8pm in the Main Lounge of Allen
Hall, 1005 W. Gregory, Urbana.  See below for the full schedule and bios.

Sunday, April 6, at 8:00pm 
Opening Program -  I Wonder As I Wander - Writings, Stories, and Twenty
Questions

Monday, April 7 at 7:00pm
In Time of War: A Culture of Resistance
What is the role of art in society and particularly the responsibility of the
conscious artist? In a time of war, Art has become a crucial tool for
dissenting positions on government policies of war and repression. This is a
discussion and sharing circle about what it means to create work that
contributes to a culture that examines and challenges the hypocrisies,
prejudices, assumptions and power relationships of the status quo. We will
further discuss commonalities of struggles between Asian Americans and other
historically marginalized communities. People are invited to bring in works by
other artists, musicians, writers, and visual artists to share with the larger
group. 

Monday, April 7 at 9:00pm
2 Tongues: Language + Silence (writing workshop)
We are all born with two tongues, that of language and that of silence. How has
language and silence shaped our personal histories? How do we go about telling
our own story?
We will discuss our own process in developing work, who we identify as our
audience and how we seek to connect with them. This is meant to be a writing
intensive workshop. We will provide a series of writing prompts. Please bring
your journals, your pens and an open mind. No experience necessary!

Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00pm
The Words That I Manifest... (performance workshop)
Spoken word blends the literary and performative.  This session concentrates on
exploring different performance approaches to our own words and works in a
casual workshop setting.  Bring a poem to flip and an ego to shrink.

Wednesday, April 9 at 7:00pm
Love in a Time of War
In a panic-filled historical moment, love and new life continue to bloom.  In a
time of war, injustice and aggression, where does the miracle of love fit?  Two
young poets try to make sense of new possibility in their lives in the midst of
chaos.

Wednesday, April 9 at 9:00pm
Mental Graffiti (jam session)
Students are invited to bring in their own works to share with the larger
group. We will share individually as well as have a jam session where we will
attempt to collaborate with the different energies and creative spirit in the
room. Bring your instruments, music, songs, poetry, random rants, raps and
visual work to this session.

I Was Born With Two Tongues uses the medium of spoken word combined with music
and song to explore the intersections between art and activism, the personal
and political, to unearth the rich histories of Asian people in America, and
participate in the construction of the Asian American identity. The Tongues
have performed across the country, including appearances at the University of
Chicago, Northwestern University, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Museum
of Contemporary Art's Summer Solstice. They have presented workshops for
Amnesty International's annual youth conference, and have written and produced
a chapbook, Word, and a CD, Broken Speak. 

Dennis Sangmin Kim was born in 1978 in Fairfax, VA to immigrant Korean parents.
He plans to die on May Day, 2078, having outlived capitalizm, boy bands, and
the curious habit of calling both our best friends and domesticated animals
"dog." He is currently learning and loving all he can, grieving for the world,
and perpetually touring with panAsian spoken word phenomenon I Was Born With
Two Tongues and the feared and respected hip hop unit Typical Cats. Dennis
believes that tweaking attitudes are no substitute for structural change, but
that material progress without spiritual awakening is a hollow victory. He also
believes that kalbi isn't meat, it's culture. When at a loss for words he says,
"peace."  When high he says, "it's all one, baby!" No one knows what he says
when he's lonely. 

Anida Yoeu Esguerra seeks an artistic, spiritual and political exploration of
her identity as a non hyphenated Cambodian Muslim American woman.  A believer
in the power of collective creations, she has founded organizations including
Mango Tribe, an Asian American women’s interdisciplinary performance ensemble;
Asian American Artists Collective-Chicago; and the MONSOON literary arts
journal based at the University of Illinois (champaign-urbana). Other recent
roles include co-editor of the new Asian American anthology Screaming Monkeys
(Coffeehouse Press 2003) and executive producer of Mango Tribe’s “Sisters in
the Smoke,” a multimedia theatrical production addressing personal and global
violence. Current endeavors include a fellowship project exploring the issues
of citizenship with The Public Square Initiative in Chicago and participation
as a documenter in a 3-week artist residency in Thailand for Dance Theater
Workshop’s Mekong Project. The Mekong Project is an international commission to
develop new work in an Asian Contemporary Theater Collaboration  Project
between artists in the U.S and Southeast Asia.

See our website: www.housing.uiuc.edu/living/unit1 or call 333-8351 for more
information. Their visit is culminating in a performance at Krannert Center as
part of the What's the Word festival of spoken word performances.

Laura Haber
Assistant Program Director of Unit One
University of Illinois
68 Allen Hall (MC 050)
1005 W. Gregory
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 244-2317
l-haber at uiuc.edu



__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more
http://tax.yahoo.com