Studies N Black
A multidisciplinary, month-long festival of performances, city-wide communal exchanges, workshops, and dialogue
co-presented by D UNDERBELLLY.

Curated by Baraka de Soleil, Links Hall Artistic Associate
About the Artistic Associates Program

October Performances:
Studies N Blackness
     October 3-5: Rhythmic Hoodoo
     October 10-12: Bodies On 'View-Doo'
     October 17-19: Afro-Retro Juju
     October 24-26: Bewitching Black Mojo

October 13: Links Hall presents a special book reading and performance by author Alistair McCartney, with an opening performance by Tim Miller

October Community Events and Workshops:
October 4: Fertile Black Roots
October 11: Deconstructing The Body: Womyn’s Performance Workshop
October 18: ALL UP IN THE KOOOL-AID Workshop
October 25: Interdisciplinary Practices & Performative Expression inside the Cultural landscape
Continuing: Studies N Blackness: Black Male/Female With ____

Studies N Black CURATOR’S STATEMENT

Black is you!  black is me! black is us!  black is we! - The Last Poets

This series is a study of how people perceive “blackness” when represented in real and performative settings, investigating art as it interacts with everyday moments and cultural pluralisms. The title references “blackness” as a notion that all people, regardless of their race, have become intrigued by or developed a deep connection to. What constitutes being black? Can it still be defined as a cultural legacy historically and ancestrally linked to one group of people? It seems that, in pop culture, blackness moves beyond skin color and into a way of being; that you don’t necessarily have to be black to speak, act, dance, sing black. How then do black artists redefine, refute, or embrace this notion?

A range of American artists from the African Diaspora express their blackness through a contemporary aesthetic, creating multidimensional works both distilled from their own relationships to historical legacies and the underlying meanings that arise from addressing issues of race, sexuality, and stereotyping. To honor the mystique of blackness, each week is thematically shrouded with a suggestive title referencing the sometimes indefinable, spiritual, and esoteric essence of how and why these artists do what they do. Communal exchanges will engage us in how these notions have permeated society and brought forth legacies reflected in neighborhoods on the north and south side of Chicago. – Baraka de Soleil, Curator

ABOUT THE CURATOR
For more than ten years, Chicago-bred/Brooklyn-based award winning performance artist Baraka de Soleil has been developing, presenting, and curating conceptual and performative work centered on creating consciousness around issues affecting urban people of the African Diaspora in America. For his choreographic work, he received a prestigious AUDELCO for excellence in NY Black Theatre. At Links Hall, in 2001, he curated the program Black & Beyond, featuring the work of three contemporary black dance artists pushing the boundaries of both their artistic discipline and cultural norms. Since then, Baraka has continued to curate works that deal with notions of "blackness" or "otherness," as well as creating original performance, dancing, and teaching cultural-based classes throughout the country and internationally.

Studies N Black is a project of D UNDERBELLY, which has received support from the Jerome Foundation, Tomkin Coleman, and individual 'angels'. Artists involved in this series: Patrick's Cabaret (MN): Douglas Ewart, Bernard Brown, Leann Johnson; Stefania Strowder; Tru Ruts Endeavors. Brooklyn Arts Exchange (NY): Akil Davis; Aixa Kendricks & Leonardo Bezant; Christa Bell. Currently at the core of D UNDERBELLY: Geoff Albores, Francine Sheffield, Sunder Ashni, Andre Austvoll, Daniel Givens, and Baraka de Soleil.