Wanda's Picks Radio Show, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016

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. Poetic Response to the Elections with poets: Rafael Jesús González, Eugene Redmond, Marcus Lorenzo Penn, Sandra "Makeda" Hooper-Mayfield, Karla Brundage, Alan Laird, Ann Marie Davis, Raymond Nat Turner, Charles Curtis Blackwell, Karla Brundage, Zigi Lowenberg

2. Karen Oyekanmi, 30th Annual Black Doll Artists Show and Sale, Nov. 12, 10-5 at the African American Museum and Library, Oakland

3. BACCHANAL DE AFRIQUE Nkeiruka Oruche, Artistic Director/Producer Nkeiruka Oruche is a Nigerian of Igbo descent who lives and plays with her family in Oakland. She is a dancer, musician, performer and educator specializing in street dance and music styles from Africa and her Diaspora.

With over 15 years of experience and a passion for social justice and community-building, her goal is to work with people to use art as a way to lead healthy lives and create positive change in the world. Nkeiruka has worked with Amara Tabor-Smith, Loco Bloco, Dance Mission Theater, the Oakland Museum of California, Our Family Coalition, Youth Speaks and a host of change-making entities.

Currently, Nkeiruka is leading Afro Urban Society, a group that works to foster and preserve the resiliency, interconnection and existence of people of African descent in global urban settings through art performance and social engagement. She is also a Co-Founder of BoomShake, a social justice oriented musical community.

November 18: Til’ Dance Do Us Part, Afro-Urban Musical, 8PM @ Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco

November 19: Community Lab for the African Diaspora, 6PM @ EastSide Arts Alliance, Oakland

November 19: Afrobeats vs. Azonto Master Dance Class, 2PM @ Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco

November 20: Afrobeats & Soul Line & Turf & More Dance Workshops, 11AM - 7PM @ EastSide Arts Alliance, Oakland 

Wanda's Picks Radio, Wed., Nov. 9, 2016

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. Cleavon Smith graduated from the US Naval Academy and Mills College. He is the writer of Vs., produced by TheatreFirst in their 2016-17 season. His short plays have been featured in the 2012 PlayGround and the 2015 Ohlone College Playwrights Festivals. He lives in Oakland and teaches in the English department at Berkeley City College."

2. Standing Rock Protest. Tiyesha Meroe, People's Community Medics. To help visit https://medichealercouncil.com/donate/

3. Mark Harris, artist joins us to speak about his recent work and an exhibit opening Friday, Nov. 11, 6-9 at CIIS in San Francisco. His artist talk is Nov. 16, 6 p.m. at CIIS, 1453 Mission Street: 

1. "Freedom isn't Free"
2. "American Exceptionalism - Same as it Ever Was"
3. "Silence = Violence No. 3"
4. "Home Sweet Home"

4. Keith Josef Adkins, playwright, Safe House, at Aurora Theater in Berkeley

Set in Kentucky in 1843, Safe House examines the lives of one free family of color and the tensions that arise between two brothers with conflicting aspirations. While one brother dreams of opening his own business, the other risks everything in an effort to help fugitive slaves escape on the Underground Railroad. Based on true events in the lives of his ancestors, Adkins tells a gripping story of love, freedom and survival against impossible odds.