Greetings, folks!
Just a quick note to let you know the website has been updated to show the dates for Philadelphia’s 8th Annual BWAF (2011).
Also, we’re now set up to assist others in producing BWAF’s anywhere in the world, as well as in Philadelphia, next year or after!
For more information about these topics and more, please visit out website http://bwafphilly.org/.
For a printed, postal version, send a blank envelope to:
Black Women’s Arts Festival
PO Box 30204
Philadelphia, PA 19103-8204 USA
In Art & Community,
Cassendre Xavier
Artist, Founder & Director of the Black Women’s Arts Festival
www.BWAFphilly.org
www.cassEndrExavier.com
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
3 Days to the Black Women’s Arts Festival! 7/29-8/1
Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter July 26, 2010
Greetings Friends!
Cassendre Xavier here (founder and director of BWAF) with another update about Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival, which is happening this weekend starting Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010!
I recently read a magazine article about a husband and wife who suddenly found themselves the parents of three children under the age of one! She was told she couldn’t conceive, so they adopted and had a surrogate mother, both of which ended up producing a baby at almost the same time, and then the wife miraculously and very unexpectedly became pregnant! They’re thrice blessed, but very, very busy with those babies!
I say this to say that this is much how I feel running BWAF this year. As you may have noticed, a few things have been delayed, and for any inconvenience, I sincerely apologize. I also have made amends however I could, and offered special deals to folks who may have been shortchanged by the late happenings of certain features of this year’s event.
I have had more than a few serious life issues this year that caused my production with BWAF to be affected. I intend and expect next year will show a significant increase in the number of people working on the Festival than there were this year!
(For those who’d like more details, I will be releasing a ME! ME! ME! Newsletter before the Festival begins this week to share more of my experience and how things happened with BWAF this year. Links to my Yahoo Group and Blog can be found at www.cassEndrExavier.com)
ABOUT US
The Black Women’s Arts Festival is an acclaimed, inclusive, community cultural arts event which was founded in 2003 and began operating as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization in 2007.
This summer’s Festival dates are Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010.
BWAF Philly 2010 will feature many very special, first-time featured artists, workshops, children’s events and more at several venues in Greater Philadelphia including our primary venue, The Rotunda, on the campus of, and in our longtime partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
We will also feature special, spiritual, and family events to honor the elders and ancestors from all our communities.
As always, all respectful persons are welcome, invited, and encouraged to participate as attendees, volunteers, and/or organizers.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday 7/29 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 11:00AM – 8:00 Workshops and Films – no other events, no vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org
Thursday LATE NIGHT from 9:00PM – 2:00AM it’s the Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage (533 Ridge Avenue) $5 Admission 21+ID. www.theartsgarage.com
Friday 7/30 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) 11:30AM – 11:00PM – Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org
Saturday MORNING 7/31 Children’s Storytime at Big Blue Marble Bookstore (551 Carpenter Lane) 11:00AM – 1:00PM FREE. www.bigbluemarblebooks.com
Saturday 7/31 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 1:30PM – 10:00PM Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org
Sunday 8/1 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 11:00AM – 10:00PM Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org
Note: There will be chair massage on Friday and Sunday. There will also be a Clothing & Book Swap every day! All are welcome to bring gently used clothing, books, etc. to give away and feel free to take with you a special souvenir of the Festival as well! (I’ve already compiled a bag of clothes and new, unopened bottled of scented body lotion to give away, because I remember how much I enjoyed receiving clothes and a nice bottle of fragrance-free shampoo at the NoLose Conference years ago!) Men and women are welcome to participate.
For the latest events, please visit http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/07/bwaf-philly-2010-schedule.html or http://tinyurl.com/295zvbm, or our official website’s 2010 Schedule page http://bwafphilly.homestead.com/2010.html or http://tinyurl.com/294vrap.
Please note that changes are being made much faster than they’re able to be updated online. Please just come to the Festival and see what happens!
OUR LAST YEAR AS A NON-PROFIT
BWAF operated from 2003 – 2006, then operated as a non-profit from 2007 – 2010. A few weeks ago, BWAF decided to leave the New Beginnings Non-Profit Incubator of Resources for Human Development, our fiscal sponsor, and submitted our notice of resignation. BWAF will remain a New Beginnings project through December 31, 2010, unless we find other office space sooner. From January 1, 2011, BWAF will again be in the for-profit sector. As I learned, running a non-profit is like having three jobs, and we’re just not cut out for it. It’s not our style, and I look forward to trying the new thing of being a company that runs as a business, yet with the support of a community organization. In these next four months, we’ll be looking for office space and have already been given a few leads that may pan out quite nicely. Keep you posted!
In the meantime, watch a tour of our BWAF office and hear about leaving the non-profit sector on YouTube:
Black Women's Arts Festival Office Tour 2010 - (Part 1 of 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiMQVcBZAXc or http://tinyurl.com/252734r
Black Women's Arts Festival Office Tour 2010 - (Part 2 of 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4loKUveeNI4 or http://tinyurl.com/2brfj8w
CHAPBOOK POETRY CONTEST UPDATE
We will resume this project later this year, after the Festival. The goal is to assemble a committee of folks to do this work, and then the three judges who were selected this year, will do the judging. Keep you posted!
The BWAF Pages - a Community Resource Directory & Coupon Book is a project in the works by the Black Women's Arts Festival www.BWAFpages.com. In the meantime, we’re sending out the occasional online version and offering free advertising to our community of friends. If you have news that would be of interest to BWAs, please send your free 75-word classifieds/listings to: BWAFpages(at)gmail.com. If your event is dated, please put the event date in the subject where we can see it right away, and the more in advance you send us news of dated events, the better. We may include your news in future online supplements of the BWAF Pages. BWAF Pages - Almost as Good as Word of Mouth!
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER (NEW!) AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING LINKS
Please take a moment to click on all our social networking links and befriend us. Also, if you’re a black woman artist, or an ally of BWAs, please network with us and with each other – befriend befriend, befriend!
NEW!! TWITTER http://twitter.com/BWAFphilly
BWAF Facebook Fan Page (Don’t forget to login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dk4wst
Our official email list: http://tinyurl.com/2asxjzj
Our official blog: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/
We’re on MySpace, too: http://tinyurl.com/2c3mk8t
BWAF Facebook Profile (Log in first): http://tinyurl.com/26n9u9h
BWAF Facebook Group (Login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dl2pdk
You can always join our official email list by sending a blank email to: BWAFphilly-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Thanks for everything and see you next time!
In art & community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Director
Black Women's Arts Festival
7th Annual, Philadelphia, July 29th - Aug 1st, 2010
Contact / Donate:
Black Women's Arts Festival
3721 Midvale Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743
(215) 951-0330, x 2108 (Email much preferred.)
Email: BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com
Website: www.BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 Black Women’s Arts Festival, BWAF, BWAF Philly. All rights reserved.
Greetings Friends!
Cassendre Xavier here (founder and director of BWAF) with another update about Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival, which is happening this weekend starting Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010!
I recently read a magazine article about a husband and wife who suddenly found themselves the parents of three children under the age of one! She was told she couldn’t conceive, so they adopted and had a surrogate mother, both of which ended up producing a baby at almost the same time, and then the wife miraculously and very unexpectedly became pregnant! They’re thrice blessed, but very, very busy with those babies!
I say this to say that this is much how I feel running BWAF this year. As you may have noticed, a few things have been delayed, and for any inconvenience, I sincerely apologize. I also have made amends however I could, and offered special deals to folks who may have been shortchanged by the late happenings of certain features of this year’s event.
I have had more than a few serious life issues this year that caused my production with BWAF to be affected. I intend and expect next year will show a significant increase in the number of people working on the Festival than there were this year!
(For those who’d like more details, I will be releasing a ME! ME! ME! Newsletter before the Festival begins this week to share more of my experience and how things happened with BWAF this year. Links to my Yahoo Group and Blog can be found at www.cassEndrExavier.com)
ABOUT US
The Black Women’s Arts Festival is an acclaimed, inclusive, community cultural arts event which was founded in 2003 and began operating as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization in 2007.
This summer’s Festival dates are Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010.
BWAF Philly 2010 will feature many very special, first-time featured artists, workshops, children’s events and more at several venues in Greater Philadelphia including our primary venue, The Rotunda, on the campus of, and in our longtime partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
We will also feature special, spiritual, and family events to honor the elders and ancestors from all our communities.
As always, all respectful persons are welcome, invited, and encouraged to participate as attendees, volunteers, and/or organizers.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday 7/29 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 11:00AM – 8:00 Workshops and Films – no other events, no vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org
Thursday LATE NIGHT from 9:00PM – 2:00AM it’s the Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage (533 Ridge Avenue) $5 Admission 21+ID. www.theartsgarage.com
Friday 7/30 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) 11:30AM – 11:00PM – Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org
Saturday MORNING 7/31 Children’s Storytime at Big Blue Marble Bookstore (551 Carpenter Lane) 11:00AM – 1:00PM FREE. www.bigbluemarblebooks.com
Saturday 7/31 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 1:30PM – 10:00PM Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org
Sunday 8/1 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 11:00AM – 10:00PM Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org
Note: There will be chair massage on Friday and Sunday. There will also be a Clothing & Book Swap every day! All are welcome to bring gently used clothing, books, etc. to give away and feel free to take with you a special souvenir of the Festival as well! (I’ve already compiled a bag of clothes and new, unopened bottled of scented body lotion to give away, because I remember how much I enjoyed receiving clothes and a nice bottle of fragrance-free shampoo at the NoLose Conference years ago!) Men and women are welcome to participate.
For the latest events, please visit http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/07/bwaf-philly-2010-schedule.html or http://tinyurl.com/295zvbm, or our official website’s 2010 Schedule page http://bwafphilly.homestead.com/2010.html or http://tinyurl.com/294vrap.
Please note that changes are being made much faster than they’re able to be updated online. Please just come to the Festival and see what happens!
OUR LAST YEAR AS A NON-PROFIT
BWAF operated from 2003 – 2006, then operated as a non-profit from 2007 – 2010. A few weeks ago, BWAF decided to leave the New Beginnings Non-Profit Incubator of Resources for Human Development, our fiscal sponsor, and submitted our notice of resignation. BWAF will remain a New Beginnings project through December 31, 2010, unless we find other office space sooner. From January 1, 2011, BWAF will again be in the for-profit sector. As I learned, running a non-profit is like having three jobs, and we’re just not cut out for it. It’s not our style, and I look forward to trying the new thing of being a company that runs as a business, yet with the support of a community organization. In these next four months, we’ll be looking for office space and have already been given a few leads that may pan out quite nicely. Keep you posted!
In the meantime, watch a tour of our BWAF office and hear about leaving the non-profit sector on YouTube:
Black Women's Arts Festival Office Tour 2010 - (Part 1 of 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiMQVcBZAXc or http://tinyurl.com/252734r
Black Women's Arts Festival Office Tour 2010 - (Part 2 of 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4loKUveeNI4 or http://tinyurl.com/2brfj8w
CHAPBOOK POETRY CONTEST UPDATE
We will resume this project later this year, after the Festival. The goal is to assemble a committee of folks to do this work, and then the three judges who were selected this year, will do the judging. Keep you posted!
The BWAF Pages - a Community Resource Directory & Coupon Book is a project in the works by the Black Women's Arts Festival www.BWAFpages.com. In the meantime, we’re sending out the occasional online version and offering free advertising to our community of friends. If you have news that would be of interest to BWAs, please send your free 75-word classifieds/listings to: BWAFpages(at)gmail.com. If your event is dated, please put the event date in the subject where we can see it right away, and the more in advance you send us news of dated events, the better. We may include your news in future online supplements of the BWAF Pages. BWAF Pages - Almost as Good as Word of Mouth!
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER (NEW!) AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING LINKS
Please take a moment to click on all our social networking links and befriend us. Also, if you’re a black woman artist, or an ally of BWAs, please network with us and with each other – befriend befriend, befriend!
NEW!! TWITTER http://twitter.com/BWAFphilly
BWAF Facebook Fan Page (Don’t forget to login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dk4wst
Our official email list: http://tinyurl.com/2asxjzj
Our official blog: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/
We’re on MySpace, too: http://tinyurl.com/2c3mk8t
BWAF Facebook Profile (Log in first): http://tinyurl.com/26n9u9h
BWAF Facebook Group (Login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dl2pdk
You can always join our official email list by sending a blank email to: BWAFphilly-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Thanks for everything and see you next time!
In art & community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Director
Black Women's Arts Festival
7th Annual, Philadelphia, July 29th - Aug 1st, 2010
Contact / Donate:
Black Women's Arts Festival
3721 Midvale Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743
(215) 951-0330, x 2108 (Email much preferred.)
Email: BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com
Website: www.BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 Black Women’s Arts Festival, BWAF, BWAF Philly. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Schedule Update: Opening Night Party is ON!!
Dear Friends,
The Black Women’s Arts Festival’s Opening Night Party is happening after all!
--------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Arts Garage, 533 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.theartsgarage.com. (Our event may not be on their website yet, but it's on!)
9:00PM - 2:00AM - Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage. 21+, Kitchen Open All Night, Drink Specials, Accessible via public transportation (Broad Street Line or C bus).
Please check our website for regular updates http://BWAFphilly.org
The Black Women’s Arts Festival’s Opening Night Party is happening after all!
--------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Arts Garage, 533 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.theartsgarage.com. (Our event may not be on their website yet, but it's on!)
9:00PM - 2:00AM - Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage. 21+, Kitchen Open All Night, Drink Specials, Accessible via public transportation (Broad Street Line or C bus).
Please check our website for regular updates http://BWAFphilly.org
Monday, July 19, 2010
BWAF Philly 2010 Schedule
Schedule of Events
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.
===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====
WORKSHOPS
11:00AM - 12:15PM - African Modern Dance Workshop with Shandra Staley
12:30PM - 1:30PM --- "Breszny Amplified" Meditative Workshop & Writing Excerise with Dr. Niama L. Williams
2:00PM - 4:00PM - Book & Clothing Swap and TBA
FILMS
Starting at 5:00PM -
Damali Abrams' "Self-Help TV" Compilation of short films including "Rose Petal Lemonade", "Drama", and "Frederick Douglass Boulvard".
"United in We" by Katrina Strickland
"The Postwoman" by Jamie Walker
More Films TBA
CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!
-------------------------------------------------------
Schedule Update: Opening Night Party is ON!!
Dear Friends,
The Black Women’s Arts Festival’s Opening Night Party is happening after all!
--------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Arts Garage, 533 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.theartsgarage.com. (Our event may not be on their website yet, but it's on!)
9:00PM - 2:00AM - Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage. 21+, Kitchen Open All Night, Drink Specials, Accessible via public transportation (Broad Street Line or C bus).
Please check our website for regular updates http://BWAFphilly.org
--------------------------------------------------------
Friday, July 30, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.
===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====
11:30M - 2:30PM - Book & Clothing Swap and TBA
WORKSHOPS
3:00PM - 4:00PM - MOYA Workshop by Pat Augustus Gilbert
4:30PM - 4:45PM - Progressive Poetry Workshop with Ms. Wise
5:00PM - TBA
MUSIC
6:00PM - Rafiya
6:30PM - TBA
7:00PM - M'Balia
SPOKEN WORD
7:30PM - NASSUNNI
7:45PM - TBA
MUSIC
9:00PM- Danie Ocean
9:30PM - TBA
VISUAL ARTIST & VENDOR
4:00PM - 10:00PM - A. Nailah Arts
CHAIR MASSAGE
Super special treat!
11:30AM - 7:00PM - Certified massage therapist Shandra Staley
CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!
Saturday, July 31, 2010 at Big Blue Marble Bookstore, then the Rotunda.
11:00AM - 1:00PM - Children's Storytime at Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119. www.bigbluemarblebooks.com
-After Children's Storytime, all of Saturday's events are again at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.
===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====
1:30PM - 2:30PM - "That's Funny You Didn't Sound Black On the Phone" -a Comedic Monologue by Jacquetta Szathmari of Big Guns Big Tobacco Theatre Company
SPOKEN WORD & MUSIC
2:45PM - 3:00PM Jaz (Spoken Word Artist & Singer)
3:15PM - 3:30PM Mase III (Spoken Word)
4:00PM - 4:15PM Lydia Rene (Music)
4:30PM - 4:45PM - Dr. Niama L. Williams (Spoken Word)
VISUAL ART EXHIBITS & VENDORS
Starting at 6:00PM - Brandi Pettijohn (Photography), Crystal Hawkins (Photography), Addye Durant (Vendor)
6:30PM - 7:30PM - Art Talk with Brandi Pettijohn and others TBA
MUSIC & SPOKEN WORD
7:45PM - 8:00PM - Saida Agostini (Spoken Word)
8:15PM - 8:40PM -- Anonymous7 (Music)
8:45PM - 9:10PM - Open Mic feat. Anonymous7
9:15PM - 11:00PM - TBA
VISUAL ARTISTS & VENDORS
Starting at 6:00PM - A. Nailah Arts (Visual Artist & Vendor)
More TBA
CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!
Sunday, August 1, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.
===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====
WORKSHOPS
11:20AM - 11:50AM - "ABCs of Organic" with Claudia Street
12:00PM - 12:45PM - "Beautiful Ugly: An Exploration of Self-Love & Self-Worth" with Ms. Wise
1:00PM - 2:00PM - "Poetry & Movement: Liberating Language with Our Bodies" with Joyce Angela Jellison
2:00PM - 3:00PM - "Poetry Pulls Pain" with Pat McLean
PERFORMANCES
3:15PM - 3:45PM - TBA
4:00PM - 4:15PM - Pat McLean (Spoken Word)
4:30PM - 4:45PM - Joyce Angela Jellison (Spoken Word)
5:00PM - 5:15PM - Connie Muhammad (Music)
6:00PM - 6:15PM - Kina the Prophtic Poet (Spoken Word)
7:00PM - 7:20PM - Cocosol (Music)
7:30PM - 8:00PM - TBA
CEREMONY TO HONOR OUR ELDERS & ANCESTORS (ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE)
8:30PM - 9:30PM - Ceremony created and led by O aka Loretta Lynn Payne
CHAIR MASSAGE
12:00PM - 8:00pm - Certified Massage Therapist Shandra Staley
VENDORS
Starting at 5:00PM - A. Nailah Arts and more
CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!
(Schedule subject to change with no notice. More to be added to the schedule in mere hours or even minutes! Visit our official website at http://BWAFphilly.org)
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.
===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====
WORKSHOPS
11:00AM - 12:15PM - African Modern Dance Workshop with Shandra Staley
12:30PM - 1:30PM --- "Breszny Amplified" Meditative Workshop & Writing Excerise with Dr. Niama L. Williams
2:00PM - 4:00PM - Book & Clothing Swap and TBA
FILMS
Starting at 5:00PM -
Damali Abrams' "Self-Help TV" Compilation of short films including "Rose Petal Lemonade", "Drama", and "Frederick Douglass Boulvard".
"United in We" by Katrina Strickland
"The Postwoman" by Jamie Walker
More Films TBA
CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!
-------------------------------------------------------
Schedule Update: Opening Night Party is ON!!
Dear Friends,
The Black Women’s Arts Festival’s Opening Night Party is happening after all!
--------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Arts Garage, 533 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.theartsgarage.com. (Our event may not be on their website yet, but it's on!)
9:00PM - 2:00AM - Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage. 21+, Kitchen Open All Night, Drink Specials, Accessible via public transportation (Broad Street Line or C bus).
Please check our website for regular updates http://BWAFphilly.org
--------------------------------------------------------
Friday, July 30, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.
===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====
11:30M - 2:30PM - Book & Clothing Swap and TBA
WORKSHOPS
3:00PM - 4:00PM - MOYA Workshop by Pat Augustus Gilbert
4:30PM - 4:45PM - Progressive Poetry Workshop with Ms. Wise
5:00PM - TBA
MUSIC
6:00PM - Rafiya
6:30PM - TBA
7:00PM - M'Balia
SPOKEN WORD
7:30PM - NASSUNNI
7:45PM - TBA
MUSIC
9:00PM- Danie Ocean
9:30PM - TBA
VISUAL ARTIST & VENDOR
4:00PM - 10:00PM - A. Nailah Arts
CHAIR MASSAGE
Super special treat!
11:30AM - 7:00PM - Certified massage therapist Shandra Staley
CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!
Saturday, July 31, 2010 at Big Blue Marble Bookstore, then the Rotunda.
11:00AM - 1:00PM - Children's Storytime at Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119. www.bigbluemarblebooks.com
-After Children's Storytime, all of Saturday's events are again at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.
===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====
1:30PM - 2:30PM - "That's Funny You Didn't Sound Black On the Phone" -a Comedic Monologue by Jacquetta Szathmari of Big Guns Big Tobacco Theatre Company
SPOKEN WORD & MUSIC
2:45PM - 3:00PM Jaz (Spoken Word Artist & Singer)
3:15PM - 3:30PM Mase III (Spoken Word)
4:00PM - 4:15PM Lydia Rene (Music)
4:30PM - 4:45PM - Dr. Niama L. Williams (Spoken Word)
VISUAL ART EXHIBITS & VENDORS
Starting at 6:00PM - Brandi Pettijohn (Photography), Crystal Hawkins (Photography), Addye Durant (Vendor)
6:30PM - 7:30PM - Art Talk with Brandi Pettijohn and others TBA
MUSIC & SPOKEN WORD
7:45PM - 8:00PM - Saida Agostini (Spoken Word)
8:15PM - 8:40PM -- Anonymous7 (Music)
8:45PM - 9:10PM - Open Mic feat. Anonymous7
9:15PM - 11:00PM - TBA
VISUAL ARTISTS & VENDORS
Starting at 6:00PM - A. Nailah Arts (Visual Artist & Vendor)
More TBA
CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!
Sunday, August 1, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.
===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====
WORKSHOPS
11:20AM - 11:50AM - "ABCs of Organic" with Claudia Street
12:00PM - 12:45PM - "Beautiful Ugly: An Exploration of Self-Love & Self-Worth" with Ms. Wise
1:00PM - 2:00PM - "Poetry & Movement: Liberating Language with Our Bodies" with Joyce Angela Jellison
2:00PM - 3:00PM - "Poetry Pulls Pain" with Pat McLean
PERFORMANCES
3:15PM - 3:45PM - TBA
4:00PM - 4:15PM - Pat McLean (Spoken Word)
4:30PM - 4:45PM - Joyce Angela Jellison (Spoken Word)
5:00PM - 5:15PM - Connie Muhammad (Music)
6:00PM - 6:15PM - Kina the Prophtic Poet (Spoken Word)
7:00PM - 7:20PM - Cocosol (Music)
7:30PM - 8:00PM - TBA
CEREMONY TO HONOR OUR ELDERS & ANCESTORS (ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE)
8:30PM - 9:30PM - Ceremony created and led by O aka Loretta Lynn Payne
CHAIR MASSAGE
12:00PM - 8:00pm - Certified Massage Therapist Shandra Staley
VENDORS
Starting at 5:00PM - A. Nailah Arts and more
CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!
(Schedule subject to change with no notice. More to be added to the schedule in mere hours or even minutes! Visit our official website at http://BWAFphilly.org)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Press Release - Black Women's Arts Festival July 29 - Aug 1, 2010
Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival is scheduled for Thursday, July 29th through Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at two locations: The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, 19104 (Thursday - Films & Workshops from 11:00AM-8:00PM, Friday/Saturday/Sunday– Shows, Films, Workshops & Vendors), and Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, 19119 (Children’s Storytime 11:00AM – 1:00PM).
(Please note the Opening Night Party has been cancelled.)
This acclaimed, inclusive community event features interdisciplinary performances, exhibits, films, workshops, and vendors from Philadelphia and other states as far as California and Arizona.
Some highlights of this year’s events include films like Jamie Walker’s “The Postwoman”, Jacquetta Szathmari’s comedic monologue “That’s Funny You Didn’t Sound Black On the Phone” (her theatre/production company is called Big Guns Big Tobacco), Damali Abrams’ “Self-Help TV”, the music & spoken word of Anonymous7, workshops and spoken word by Dr. Niama Leslie Williams, Pat McLean, the music of Lydia Rene, Danie Ocean, Cocosol, and many more. There will be at least one Open Mic and Sunday evening will close the event with an Honoring Our Elders & Ancestors Ceremony. As always, the BWAF is open to all respectful persons – all community members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
(Schedule subject to change.)
For more about this year’s events, to get an early start on BWAF Philly 2011, or learn how you can produce a Black Women’s Arts Festival in your town or city, please visit the official Black Women’s Arts Festival website at http://BWAFphilly.org, email info(at)BWAFphilly.org or call 215-951-0330 ext 2108. We’re also on Facebook as a Profile, Group, and Fan Page!
(Please note the Opening Night Party has been cancelled.)
This acclaimed, inclusive community event features interdisciplinary performances, exhibits, films, workshops, and vendors from Philadelphia and other states as far as California and Arizona.
Some highlights of this year’s events include films like Jamie Walker’s “The Postwoman”, Jacquetta Szathmari’s comedic monologue “That’s Funny You Didn’t Sound Black On the Phone” (her theatre/production company is called Big Guns Big Tobacco), Damali Abrams’ “Self-Help TV”, the music & spoken word of Anonymous7, workshops and spoken word by Dr. Niama Leslie Williams, Pat McLean, the music of Lydia Rene, Danie Ocean, Cocosol, and many more. There will be at least one Open Mic and Sunday evening will close the event with an Honoring Our Elders & Ancestors Ceremony. As always, the BWAF is open to all respectful persons – all community members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
(Schedule subject to change.)
For more about this year’s events, to get an early start on BWAF Philly 2011, or learn how you can produce a Black Women’s Arts Festival in your town or city, please visit the official Black Women’s Arts Festival website at http://BWAFphilly.org, email info(at)BWAFphilly.org or call 215-951-0330 ext 2108. We’re also on Facebook as a Profile, Group, and Fan Page!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter July 3, 2010
Greetings, folks!
Super tired and sleepy, so I’ll be quick…
I kept my deadline of notifying the selected featured artists, workshop presenters, and vendors in the month of June – mostly! I called 90% of the featured folks on June 30, 2010, and have since been following through on these calls and creating the schedule.
There are still a few folks left to call, so if you haven’t heard from me yet, it may mean I haven’t gotten to your name yet.
Vendors, please know that making the schedule is my first priority, and I will notify vendors after the event schedule is officially set.
Please note that we will be at three (3) venues this year: The Rotunda, our primary venue, The Arts Garage, and Big Blue Marble bookstore. We are very excited!
We have just updated our website, and plan to include the schedule of events next week.
Enjoy your day, everyone, and thank you for your interest and participation in Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival (Thursday, July 29th thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010) http://BWAFphilly.org
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director, Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003)
© Copyright 2010 by Black Women’s Arts Festival, or BWAF Philly. All rights reserved. http://BWAFphilly.org.
Super tired and sleepy, so I’ll be quick…
I kept my deadline of notifying the selected featured artists, workshop presenters, and vendors in the month of June – mostly! I called 90% of the featured folks on June 30, 2010, and have since been following through on these calls and creating the schedule.
There are still a few folks left to call, so if you haven’t heard from me yet, it may mean I haven’t gotten to your name yet.
Vendors, please know that making the schedule is my first priority, and I will notify vendors after the event schedule is officially set.
Please note that we will be at three (3) venues this year: The Rotunda, our primary venue, The Arts Garage, and Big Blue Marble bookstore. We are very excited!
We have just updated our website, and plan to include the schedule of events next week.
Enjoy your day, everyone, and thank you for your interest and participation in Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival (Thursday, July 29th thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010) http://BWAFphilly.org
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director, Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003)
© Copyright 2010 by Black Women’s Arts Festival, or BWAF Philly. All rights reserved. http://BWAFphilly.org.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Submission Deadline Extended to May 23
Greetings, Friends!
Welcome to another brief update about Philadelphia’s 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival!
Due to the high volume of late submissions, and folks spreading the word to their friends (Thank you!), we have extended our Late Submissions (to apply to be a featured artist, vendor, and/or workshop presenter) to Sunday, May 23, 2010. Please note and share this update!
About us:
The Black Women’s Arts Festival is an acclaimed, inclusive, community cultural arts event which was founded in 2003 and began operating as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization in 2007.
(This summer’s Festival dates are Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010.)
BWAF Philly 2010 will feature many very special, first-time featured artists, workshops, children’s events and more at several venues in Greater Philadelphia including our primary venue, The Rotunda, on the campus of, and in our longtime partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
We will also feature erotic, spiritual, and family events to honor the elders and ancestors from all our communities.
As always, all respectful persons are welcome, invited, and encouraged to participate as attendees, volunteers, and/or organizers.
To view our Late Submissions application, or to apply, please visit our website at http://BWAFphilly.org. Click “Submissions”, or visit the Submissions page directly at http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67.
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director
Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003, Philadelphia)
http://BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 by Black Women’s Arts Festival and BWAF Philly. All rights reserved.
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/05/submission-deadline-extended-to-may-23.html or http://tinyurl.com/2b5lmte.
Welcome to another brief update about Philadelphia’s 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival!
Due to the high volume of late submissions, and folks spreading the word to their friends (Thank you!), we have extended our Late Submissions (to apply to be a featured artist, vendor, and/or workshop presenter) to Sunday, May 23, 2010. Please note and share this update!
About us:
The Black Women’s Arts Festival is an acclaimed, inclusive, community cultural arts event which was founded in 2003 and began operating as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization in 2007.
(This summer’s Festival dates are Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010.)
BWAF Philly 2010 will feature many very special, first-time featured artists, workshops, children’s events and more at several venues in Greater Philadelphia including our primary venue, The Rotunda, on the campus of, and in our longtime partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
We will also feature erotic, spiritual, and family events to honor the elders and ancestors from all our communities.
As always, all respectful persons are welcome, invited, and encouraged to participate as attendees, volunteers, and/or organizers.
To view our Late Submissions application, or to apply, please visit our website at http://BWAFphilly.org. Click “Submissions”, or visit the Submissions page directly at http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67.
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director
Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003, Philadelphia)
http://BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 by Black Women’s Arts Festival and BWAF Philly. All rights reserved.
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/05/submission-deadline-extended-to-may-23.html or http://tinyurl.com/2b5lmte.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter 5/10/2010
5 Days to Apply!
Greetings, Friends!!
Just a reminder that the Late Submissions to apply to be a featured artist, vendor, and/or workshop presenter at Philadelphia’s 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival ends May 15, 2010.
The Black Women’s Arts Festival is an acclaimed, inclusive, community cultural arts event which was founded in 2003 and began operating as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization in 2007.
This year’s event is scheduled for Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010.
BWAF Philly 2010 will feature many very special, first-time featured artists, workshops, children’s events and more at several venues in Greater Philadelphia including our primary venue, The Rotunda, on the campus of, and in our longtime partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
We will also feature erotic, spiritual, and family events to honor the elders and ancestors from all our communities.
As always, all respectful persons are welcome, invited, and encouraged to participate as attendees, volunteers, and/or organizers.
To view our Late Submissions application, or to apply, please visit our website at http://BWAFphilly.org. click “Submissions”, or visit the Submissions page directly at http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67.
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director
Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003, Philadelphia)
http://BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 by Black Women’s Arts Festival and BWAF Philly. All rights reserved.
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/05/5-days-to-apply-to-black-womens-arts.html or http://tinyurl.com/2dmk5c6.
Greetings, Friends!!
Just a reminder that the Late Submissions to apply to be a featured artist, vendor, and/or workshop presenter at Philadelphia’s 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival ends May 15, 2010.
The Black Women’s Arts Festival is an acclaimed, inclusive, community cultural arts event which was founded in 2003 and began operating as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization in 2007.
This year’s event is scheduled for Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010.
BWAF Philly 2010 will feature many very special, first-time featured artists, workshops, children’s events and more at several venues in Greater Philadelphia including our primary venue, The Rotunda, on the campus of, and in our longtime partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
We will also feature erotic, spiritual, and family events to honor the elders and ancestors from all our communities.
As always, all respectful persons are welcome, invited, and encouraged to participate as attendees, volunteers, and/or organizers.
To view our Late Submissions application, or to apply, please visit our website at http://BWAFphilly.org. click “Submissions”, or visit the Submissions page directly at http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67.
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director
Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003, Philadelphia)
http://BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 by Black Women’s Arts Festival and BWAF Philly. All rights reserved.
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/05/5-days-to-apply-to-black-womens-arts.html or http://tinyurl.com/2dmk5c6.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter 4/28/10
The Black Women’s Arts Festival – an inclusive community event!
Newsletter April 28, 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) GREETINGS
2) CHAPBOOK POETRY CONTEST & OTHER UPDATES
3) CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – THERE’S STILL TIME!
4) GOODSEARCH US!
5) DON’T CALL US – WE’LL CALL YOU (BUT WE LOVE YOU!)
6) DATES, PLACES & TIMES
7) VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP
8) MATCHING GIFTS ROCK!
9) FREE ADVERTISING IN THE BWAF PAGES ONLINE SUPPLEMENT!
10) FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING LINKS
CONTENTS OF TABLE
1) GREETINGS
Greetings, Friends!
Glad to be communicating with you once again. Welcome to another exciting edition of the newsletter of Philadelphia’s 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival. This event is, and always has been, welcoming of all respectful persons to attend and volunteer/organize.
Hope you’re feeling great these days – enjoying the warmer weather, and being as creative as you want to be! My name is Cassendre Xavier, and I’ll be your host for this edition :-)
2) CHAPBOOK POETRY CONTEST & OTHER UPDATES
Because of my workload organizing BWAF alone for the first time since 2003, I’m experiencing a little of the “Hmm-Maybe I Bit Off More Than I Can Chew” blues. That said, I’m putting all my efforts into the forthcoming festival alone, and have significantly slowed down certain other side projects. The Chapbook Poetry Contest still has three wonderful judges awaiting the next step. I imagine we will get this off the ground sometime soon after the festival, or after, if any of you wonderful literary types think you might enjoy organizing this project! We need folks who know about poetry contests and want to compile the submission guidelines, manage, and assist the judges. As soon as volunteer organizers of this project appear, it’s on! Same goes for the Themed Journal and Sideline Items projects. If any of you wish to spearhead either one, and collect a few folks to work on it with you, that’s great! If not, it’ll probably be about a year before I’ve assembled qualified interns to have at it. Again, my priority these days is organizing the next Festival, and working with a group of volunteers to make it a great experience for all of you! If you’d like to be considered to work on any of these, send your name, interest, email and phone number to: BWAFphilly@yahoo.com. You’ll be glad you did, ‘cause we’re good people and our projects are fun! And we’ll be glad to have you, ‘cause we’re pretty sure you’re cool, too! (P.S. All respectful persons are invited and encouraged to volunteer.)
3) CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – THERE’S STILL TIME!
Did you want to apply to vend, do a workshop, or feature your performance/art at this year’s event? Well, there’s still time, M’Lady! Late submission applications are still available at our website (the specific link is http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com/ or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67). But act now – Offer ends soon! (Sorry. Couldn’t resist!)
[Offline version: To receive a paper submission form, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Black Women’s Arts Festival, Request for Submission Forms, 3721 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743]
4) GOODSEARCH US!
Want to give us money just by using a search engine? We thought you would! That’s why we’ve registered ourselves at Goodsearch, which raises millions of dollars for deserving little upstarts like little ol’ us. Simply go to http://goodsearch.com, type “Black Women’s Arts Festival” as the charity you wish to donate to, and search away. Goodsearch will give us a wee bit o’ cash with each search, and after a year, those pennies do be addin’ up, yo! Thanks! (And very special thanks to Alyson Scott of Access Sports for the recommendation, and BWAF friend Eric Hammell for letting us know you can get the “Goodsearch” toolbar.)
5) DON’T CALL US – WE’LL CALL YOU (BUT WE LOVE YOU!)
Howdy folks. You know we love you, right? We do, we really, really do. And we totally need you! How silly would we look if there were only three of us at each Festival? Pretty darn silly. But all the love in the world can’t make us equipped to answer each of you who has submitted an application to feature. This is why we’ve put on the submission page under each genre’s application, that we are unable to confirm receipt of your submission, nor are we able to let you know before June whether you’ve been selected. Please trust we have received your application, mainly because our new electronic system (Thank you, Eventbrite!) keeps tabs of everything. We got it. And we’ll process it, and we’ll let you know if you’ve been selected. In June. Thank you so much, and if you’d like to change this system, then please recruit 15 or 20 reliable volunteers to run it for us :-)
6) DATES, PLACES & TIMES
This year’s Festival is scheduled for Thursday July 29th thru Sunday August 1st, 2010. Our primary venue will be The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, as it has been every year since 2003. Stay tuned to find out what the other venues, and performance/workshop/vending schedule will be.
If you’d like to know more as things develop, and you don’t have regular access to email,
please send a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) to: Black Women’s Arts Festival, Schedule Request, 3721 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia PA 19129-1743.
7) VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP
If you’re a person who is breathing and who likes the Black Women’s Arts Festival, and you are willing to donate some of your time to help organize or otherwise volunteer for this summer’s gala event, please send your name, email address, interest, and phone number to BWAFphilly@yahoo.com. We’ll be looking for anything from folks to set up before, clean up after, work the door as a bouncer (seriously!), offer rides to organizers/performers, or do online promotions, among other tasks.
8) MATCHING GIFTS ROCK!
We recently received a donation from one of our biggest supporters. She doubled her donation by using her employer’s matching gift program. If your employer, house of worship, or other community organization has such a program, please run and don’t walk to allow us to participate! As you can imagine, we could use every single dollar we receive and we can supply documentation to prove our 501(c)3 nonprofit status. You can send your check/money order payable to: Black Women’s Arts Festival, 3721 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743 USA. If you’d like to use Paypal, or for more information, please email BWAFphilly@yahoo.com for further instructions.
9) FREE ADVERTISING IN THE BWAF PAGES ONLINE SUPPLEMENT!
The BWAF Pages - a Community Resource Directory & Coupon Book is a project in the works by the Black Women's Arts Festival www.BWAFpages.com. In the meantime, we’re sending out the occasional online version and offering free advertising to our community of friends. If you have news that would be of interest to BWAs, please send your free 75-word classifieds/listings to: BWAFpages@gmail.com. If your event is dated, please put the event date in the subject where we can see it right away, and the more in advance you send us news of dated events, the better. We may include your news in future online supplements of the BWAF Pages. BWAF Pages - Almost as Good as Word of Mouth!
10) FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING LINKS
Please take a moment to click on all our social networking links and befriend us. Also, if you’re a black woman artist, or an ally of BWAs, please network with us and with each other – befriend befriend, befriend!
NEW!! BWAF Facebook Fan Page (Don’t forget to login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dk4wst
Our official email list: http://tinyurl.com/2asxjzj
Our official blog: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/
We’re on MySpace, too: http://tinyurl.com/2c3mk8t
BWAF Facebook Profile (Log in first): http://tinyurl.com/26n9u9h
BWAF Facebook Group (Login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dl2pdk
You can always join our official email list by sending a blank email to: BWAFphilly-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Thanks for everything and see you next time!
In art & community,
Cassendre Xavier
renaissance negresse (musician/author/visual artist/actress)
Founder & Executive Director
Black Women's Arts Festival (Est. 2003)
Now seeking artists & volunteers for the 7th Annual - July 29th - Aug 1st, 2010!
Contact / Donate:
Black Women's Arts Festival
3721 Midvale Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743
(215) 951-0330, x 2108 (Email much preferred.)
Email: BWAFphilly@yahoo.com
Website: www.BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 Black Women’s Arts FestivalÔ, BWAF, BWAF PhillyÔ. All rights reserved.
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/04/black-womens-arts-festival-newsletter.html or http://tinyurl.com/24akx3p.
Newsletter April 28, 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) GREETINGS
2) CHAPBOOK POETRY CONTEST & OTHER UPDATES
3) CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – THERE’S STILL TIME!
4) GOODSEARCH US!
5) DON’T CALL US – WE’LL CALL YOU (BUT WE LOVE YOU!)
6) DATES, PLACES & TIMES
7) VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP
8) MATCHING GIFTS ROCK!
9) FREE ADVERTISING IN THE BWAF PAGES ONLINE SUPPLEMENT!
10) FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING LINKS
CONTENTS OF TABLE
1) GREETINGS
Greetings, Friends!
Glad to be communicating with you once again. Welcome to another exciting edition of the newsletter of Philadelphia’s 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival. This event is, and always has been, welcoming of all respectful persons to attend and volunteer/organize.
Hope you’re feeling great these days – enjoying the warmer weather, and being as creative as you want to be! My name is Cassendre Xavier, and I’ll be your host for this edition :-)
2) CHAPBOOK POETRY CONTEST & OTHER UPDATES
Because of my workload organizing BWAF alone for the first time since 2003, I’m experiencing a little of the “Hmm-Maybe I Bit Off More Than I Can Chew” blues. That said, I’m putting all my efforts into the forthcoming festival alone, and have significantly slowed down certain other side projects. The Chapbook Poetry Contest still has three wonderful judges awaiting the next step. I imagine we will get this off the ground sometime soon after the festival, or after, if any of you wonderful literary types think you might enjoy organizing this project! We need folks who know about poetry contests and want to compile the submission guidelines, manage, and assist the judges. As soon as volunteer organizers of this project appear, it’s on! Same goes for the Themed Journal and Sideline Items projects. If any of you wish to spearhead either one, and collect a few folks to work on it with you, that’s great! If not, it’ll probably be about a year before I’ve assembled qualified interns to have at it. Again, my priority these days is organizing the next Festival, and working with a group of volunteers to make it a great experience for all of you! If you’d like to be considered to work on any of these, send your name, interest, email and phone number to: BWAFphilly@yahoo.com. You’ll be glad you did, ‘cause we’re good people and our projects are fun! And we’ll be glad to have you, ‘cause we’re pretty sure you’re cool, too! (P.S. All respectful persons are invited and encouraged to volunteer.)
3) CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – THERE’S STILL TIME!
Did you want to apply to vend, do a workshop, or feature your performance/art at this year’s event? Well, there’s still time, M’Lady! Late submission applications are still available at our website (the specific link is http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com/ or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67). But act now – Offer ends soon! (Sorry. Couldn’t resist!)
[Offline version: To receive a paper submission form, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Black Women’s Arts Festival, Request for Submission Forms, 3721 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743]
4) GOODSEARCH US!
Want to give us money just by using a search engine? We thought you would! That’s why we’ve registered ourselves at Goodsearch, which raises millions of dollars for deserving little upstarts like little ol’ us. Simply go to http://goodsearch.com, type “Black Women’s Arts Festival” as the charity you wish to donate to, and search away. Goodsearch will give us a wee bit o’ cash with each search, and after a year, those pennies do be addin’ up, yo! Thanks! (And very special thanks to Alyson Scott of Access Sports for the recommendation, and BWAF friend Eric Hammell for letting us know you can get the “Goodsearch” toolbar.)
5) DON’T CALL US – WE’LL CALL YOU (BUT WE LOVE YOU!)
Howdy folks. You know we love you, right? We do, we really, really do. And we totally need you! How silly would we look if there were only three of us at each Festival? Pretty darn silly. But all the love in the world can’t make us equipped to answer each of you who has submitted an application to feature. This is why we’ve put on the submission page under each genre’s application, that we are unable to confirm receipt of your submission, nor are we able to let you know before June whether you’ve been selected. Please trust we have received your application, mainly because our new electronic system (Thank you, Eventbrite!) keeps tabs of everything. We got it. And we’ll process it, and we’ll let you know if you’ve been selected. In June. Thank you so much, and if you’d like to change this system, then please recruit 15 or 20 reliable volunteers to run it for us :-)
6) DATES, PLACES & TIMES
This year’s Festival is scheduled for Thursday July 29th thru Sunday August 1st, 2010. Our primary venue will be The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, as it has been every year since 2003. Stay tuned to find out what the other venues, and performance/workshop/vending schedule will be.
If you’d like to know more as things develop, and you don’t have regular access to email,
please send a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) to: Black Women’s Arts Festival, Schedule Request, 3721 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia PA 19129-1743.
7) VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP
If you’re a person who is breathing and who likes the Black Women’s Arts Festival, and you are willing to donate some of your time to help organize or otherwise volunteer for this summer’s gala event, please send your name, email address, interest, and phone number to BWAFphilly@yahoo.com. We’ll be looking for anything from folks to set up before, clean up after, work the door as a bouncer (seriously!), offer rides to organizers/performers, or do online promotions, among other tasks.
8) MATCHING GIFTS ROCK!
We recently received a donation from one of our biggest supporters. She doubled her donation by using her employer’s matching gift program. If your employer, house of worship, or other community organization has such a program, please run and don’t walk to allow us to participate! As you can imagine, we could use every single dollar we receive and we can supply documentation to prove our 501(c)3 nonprofit status. You can send your check/money order payable to: Black Women’s Arts Festival, 3721 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743 USA. If you’d like to use Paypal, or for more information, please email BWAFphilly@yahoo.com for further instructions.
9) FREE ADVERTISING IN THE BWAF PAGES ONLINE SUPPLEMENT!
The BWAF Pages - a Community Resource Directory & Coupon Book is a project in the works by the Black Women's Arts Festival www.BWAFpages.com. In the meantime, we’re sending out the occasional online version and offering free advertising to our community of friends. If you have news that would be of interest to BWAs, please send your free 75-word classifieds/listings to: BWAFpages@gmail.com. If your event is dated, please put the event date in the subject where we can see it right away, and the more in advance you send us news of dated events, the better. We may include your news in future online supplements of the BWAF Pages. BWAF Pages - Almost as Good as Word of Mouth!
10) FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING LINKS
Please take a moment to click on all our social networking links and befriend us. Also, if you’re a black woman artist, or an ally of BWAs, please network with us and with each other – befriend befriend, befriend!
NEW!! BWAF Facebook Fan Page (Don’t forget to login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dk4wst
Our official email list: http://tinyurl.com/2asxjzj
Our official blog: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/
We’re on MySpace, too: http://tinyurl.com/2c3mk8t
BWAF Facebook Profile (Log in first): http://tinyurl.com/26n9u9h
BWAF Facebook Group (Login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dl2pdk
You can always join our official email list by sending a blank email to: BWAFphilly-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Thanks for everything and see you next time!
In art & community,
Cassendre Xavier
renaissance negresse (musician/author/visual artist/actress)
Founder & Executive Director
Black Women's Arts Festival (Est. 2003)
Now seeking artists & volunteers for the 7th Annual - July 29th - Aug 1st, 2010!
Contact / Donate:
Black Women's Arts Festival
3721 Midvale Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743
(215) 951-0330, x 2108 (Email much preferred.)
Email: BWAFphilly@yahoo.com
Website: www.BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 Black Women’s Arts FestivalÔ, BWAF, BWAF PhillyÔ. All rights reserved.
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/04/black-womens-arts-festival-newsletter.html or http://tinyurl.com/24akx3p.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Late Submissions start 3/16/10!
Dear Friends,
We just wrapped up the Mid Submissions (ending 3/15/2010) for applications to participate in Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival as a performer, exhibitor, workshop presenter, or vendor.
First we had our Early Submissions, then our Mid (which ended yesterday) and today the Late Submissions started. (The difference is in the submission fee, which was $10-Early, then $15-Mid, now $20-Late).
So, if you missed the Early and Mid submissions, there’s still time now with the Late Submissions, but act now, don’t wait to get your application in.
We cannot directly answer any Facebook messages, posts or most emails regarding the submissions schedule or process. Please refer to ALL the content of the Submissions page of our website to answer your questions. When we receive many of the same question, we include the answer in our newsletter or posts, so feel free to email your questions, knowing we are not able to answer general questions about the Submissions process.
The main method to apply is online (at http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com
or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67) but you can also receive a paper application by sending a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) to: Black Women’s Arts Festival, Submissions Application Request, 3721 Midvale Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743 USA.
80-90% of this year's festival features will be selected from those who went to our website (http://BWAFphilly.org), clicked “Submissions” (or used our official Eventbrite link) and followed instructions to the letter. Artists, workshop presenters and vendors on all levels of "accomplishment" are welcome to apply!
We are looking forward to reviewing all of your submissions of exciting work and will soon be planning our schedule of shows, workshops, and vendors!
Best of luck to all of you, and thank you for supporting this wonderful event!
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Director of Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival
http://BWAFphilly.org
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/03/late-submissions-start-31610.html or http://tinyurl.com/y8vyrzl
We just wrapped up the Mid Submissions (ending 3/15/2010) for applications to participate in Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival as a performer, exhibitor, workshop presenter, or vendor.
First we had our Early Submissions, then our Mid (which ended yesterday) and today the Late Submissions started. (The difference is in the submission fee, which was $10-Early, then $15-Mid, now $20-Late).
So, if you missed the Early and Mid submissions, there’s still time now with the Late Submissions, but act now, don’t wait to get your application in.
We cannot directly answer any Facebook messages, posts or most emails regarding the submissions schedule or process. Please refer to ALL the content of the Submissions page of our website to answer your questions. When we receive many of the same question, we include the answer in our newsletter or posts, so feel free to email your questions, knowing we are not able to answer general questions about the Submissions process.
The main method to apply is online (at http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com
or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67) but you can also receive a paper application by sending a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) to: Black Women’s Arts Festival, Submissions Application Request, 3721 Midvale Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743 USA.
80-90% of this year's festival features will be selected from those who went to our website (http://BWAFphilly.org), clicked “Submissions” (or used our official Eventbrite link) and followed instructions to the letter. Artists, workshop presenters and vendors on all levels of "accomplishment" are welcome to apply!
We are looking forward to reviewing all of your submissions of exciting work and will soon be planning our schedule of shows, workshops, and vendors!
Best of luck to all of you, and thank you for supporting this wonderful event!
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Director of Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival
http://BWAFphilly.org
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/03/late-submissions-start-31610.html or http://tinyurl.com/y8vyrzl
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Call for Submissions ends March 15th!
Philadelphia's 7th Annual Black Women's Arts Festival's 2nd round of artist submissions ends March 15, 2010.
We are accepting submissions from performers, exhibitors, filmmakers, videographers, vendors, and workshop promoters.
While featuring at BWAF doesn't provide monetary compensation, it is an acclaimed, well-attended event to market your creations, products, or services.
To apply, please visit http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com or http://tinyurl.com/ybg2np5
Our official website address is http://BWAFphilly.org
(Volunteer and intern inquiries are accepted year-round.)
We are accepting submissions from performers, exhibitors, filmmakers, videographers, vendors, and workshop promoters.
While featuring at BWAF doesn't provide monetary compensation, it is an acclaimed, well-attended event to market your creations, products, or services.
To apply, please visit http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com or http://tinyurl.com/ybg2np5
Our official website address is http://BWAFphilly.org
(Volunteer and intern inquiries are accepted year-round.)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter 1/21/10
Dear Friends,
The 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival (July 29th thru Aug 1st,2010) will be as special and thrilling as each year before it.
Some things that are being planned are in the works, and some have been completed. Some we’re making publicly known, and others are top secret.
Here are a few new updates:
1) The Rotunda will be our primary venue again. A wonderful community arts venue, the Rotunda was our sole venue in our early years and has remained a staple of BWAF events. I am thrilled to renew my connection with the Rotunda as the sole director of BWAF for only the 2nd time since 2003.
2) A very high percentage of the featured artists, workshop presenters, and vendors will be selected from the pool of those who processed their application online (via our official website http://BWAFphilly.org, click “Submissions”). Only a small amount will, or may be hand-picked without going through the submissions process.
3) Coming Soon: Chapbook Poetry Contest Guidelines! We haven’t heard from any non-black/non-female poetry judges to add to the diversity of our panel, and we don’t have the time nor the staff to recruit them, so we’re going to just continue working on the guidelines and reward information and will have them for you soon.
FAQs:
Here are some answers to questions which may or may not be clearly answered on our website and/or submissions page:
Q: Does BWAF pay or otherwise compensate its featured artists or workshop presenters?
A: No, the BWAF does not [have the funds to] pay featured artists or workshop presenters. At this time, the only informal compensation BWAF provides is online visibility of your name and hyperlink (For example: Monica McIntyre http://myspace.com/monicamcintyre) in our many online promotions (on Yahoo Groups, Blogger/Blogspot, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, among others). As time progresses, there may be more opportunities, such as free advertising via our print and online publications/websites, but that cannot be promised. Participating in BWAF as feature is an excellent opportunity to promote yourself to a new audience, and we are happy to assist you in that end, by printing your name and link as often as we can when appropriate. Being a BWAF feature also is a great way to network with other like-minded folks, and you are welcome to photograph or videotape yourself performing at BWAF and distribute or sell the footage as you wish. Someday, BWAF may be in a position to pay artists, but until such a time, it’s a wonderful, unforgettable, very special, non-paying gig.
Q: What type of artists is BWAF looking for/Or: How does BWAF select its artists?
A: A black female-identified individual (or a collective led by a black female-identified individual) artist (dancer, singer, filmmaker, etc.) who created the work(s). The featured act/workshop/vendor can be on any level of “accomplishment”. What is very important is a web presence. If you’re out in the world making art, you should at least have a MySpace page or free blog to link with and help us promote you to our networks. Another reason we want to work with people who have regular access to the internet is because 90% of our communications will (ideally) be via email. This is not only because that’s what works best for us right now, but also because email is a great way to maintain a mutually archived record of agreements between the artist and BWAF. Because we cannot compensate travel, gasoline, nor provide lodging for out of town artists, we are more likely to appeal to those who are local. However, if you are not Philadelphia-based, and you are in agreement with what we can offer, we’re happy to consider you. We are open to hearing from child-friendly acts as well as adult content, and will schedule you accordingly (we have some very exciting features and themes coming this summer)!
Overall, artists are selected by the quality of their content, their professionalism in communications, ability to either have and bring their following (even if their following is their students, neighbors, house-of-worship members and/or co-workers) and ABOVE ALL: THE ABILITY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS and READ THE FINE PRINT. Many of the questions we receive are already answered, but people aren’t taking the time to read them. This not only makes our job harder, but it opens the door wide open to applicants who do read the content and follow the instructions therein. Applicants who go to the website, click “Submissions”, read the instructions, follow them, then pay the nominal submission fee either online or via postal mail, submit their materials either electronically or by postal mail, and wait to hear from us are on the top of the list for serious consideration. Also, it makes us much more confident about, and willing to be, working with them in the case they are selected as a feature.
So, please, if you’d like to be a part of the Festival, go to www.BWAFphilly.org and click “Submissions”. Read everything, follow the instructions, and we’ll be very happy to hear from you!
Q: What if I want to apply but I don’t have regular access to the internet?
A: Send a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) to:
Black Women’s Arts Festival
Request for Submissions Application
3721 Midvale Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743
You must have a telephone number, and public contact information to promote your work/business online. We will send you an application and instructions.
Q: What if I can’t pay the submission fee?
A: We regret that we have no staff to operate a scholarship or discount system at this time. Neither are we equipped with staff to organize and operate a barter/trade system. Therefore, the low submission fee is a mandatory part of the application process. If you can’t afford it this year, put BWAF 2011 on your wish list for next year and wo/manifest it into being. We support and hold a vision of your increased financial abundance until you are able!
Q: I applied online and paid the fee two months ago. When will I hear whether I was selected?
A: As it clearly states on the Submissions Application page, we will let you know in June 2010 if you are selected. If you are NOT selected, we will NOT notify you. Only those who are selected will be notified. Please, and this is very important, please do NOT call or email, and especially, do not Facebook message us to ask the status of your application. We will contact you in June if you are selected. (This “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” request is also stated on the Submissions page.) If we had 20 people on staff to contact all applicants, honestly, it still wouldn’t be a good use of time. We are extremely short staffed. There was a time when we did send emails to everyone who applied. We may be able to do that in June, but we don’t want to promise that. If you’d like to send your submission via USPS (United States Postal Service www.usps.com), we recommend using Delivery Confirmation (costs less than a dollar) which will provide a tracking number to ensure your package reached its destination. If you pay by mail, we also recommend the USPS money order, which also costs only $1.05 and is trackable/replaceable. Those are some ways to track your order. Of course if you submit online, there’s a record of everything. Again, we will do our best to notify everyone we can, but we can only promise at this time to notify the selected features before the end of June 2010.
I will soon be updating the Black Women's Arts Festival official website's FAQs page to reflect the information in his newsletter.
If you have any questions that haven’t been addressed here, please email them to: BWAFphilly@yahoo.com. Do not reply to this message directly, as it may be coming from Facebook or a non-BWAF-official email address. Use our official email address only, please. I look forward to your questions, because they will be added to, and help improve our FAQs page for future inquiries.
I think that covers everything.
Once again, please:
Do not message us on Facebook, MySpace, or any other site other than our official website www.BWAFphilly.org or email address BWAFphilly@yahoo.com.
Do not call or email us about the status of your submission.
We will notify only those who have been selected in June 2010.
We cannot pay selected featured artists or workshop presenters.
You must have a website, MySpace page, or blog to be given serious, priority consideration as a featured artist or workshop presenter. Applicants who do not have any web presence at all will still be considered, including those without an email address, but this severely limits the likelihood that BWAF will be in regular contact, as we primarily use email and keep phone use to the barest minimum only when absolutely necessary. Also, being that what we most can offer is web presence, it limits our ability to serve those who do not have any web presence at all.
So, if you’ve been making arts, crafts, dancing, making films, or creating in any way, or you’ve been like a young Lisa Price (Carol’s Daughter) making natural skin and hair products and selling them at church bake sales and flea markets, we do want to hear from you, but it’s best to go to www.myspace.com or www.blogspot.com and create yourself a free and easy website. You can take it one step further and buy a domain name for less than ten bucks a year (at www.godaddy.com), something like “BettysDownHomeBakery.com” and just link that domain name to a MySpace page or blog. Lots of people do that, and their “websites” created this way are not only very attractive and effective, easy to maintain, but they’re also FREE! (Check out www.wordpress.com for more free website building ideas).
Of course we also have in the past featured and will feature in the future, artists with a more polished press kit, if you will, and all who are interested and agree with what we are able to provide are welcome to apply and contact us.
On a personal note, please know that as an artist, I use many methods of self-promotion online, and I often include news of BWAF in my notices, as it is my life’s work and related to my work as a multi-media artist. This means I may be sending notices from lots of sources that are NOT the official BWAFphilly@yahoo.com email address. If you'd like to contact me about anything other than the BWAF, feel free to message me personally at cxmusic@gmail.com.
That’s all for now, folks. We look forward to updating you again in the near future.
Thanks again for your interest, and for staying in touch with us.
Make yourself a beautiful day!
In art and community,
Cassende Xavier
Founder & Executive Director of Philadelphia's 7th Annual Black Women's Arts Festival
http://BWAFphilly.org
Please refer to the Black Women's Arts Festival website www.BWAFphilly.org for any further inquiries.
Please reply only via email to BWAFphilly@yahoo.com. No phone calls or other communications, please.
© Copyright 2010 by Cassendre Xavier/Black Women’s Arts Festival. All rights reserved.
The 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival (July 29th thru Aug 1st,2010) will be as special and thrilling as each year before it.
Some things that are being planned are in the works, and some have been completed. Some we’re making publicly known, and others are top secret.
Here are a few new updates:
1) The Rotunda will be our primary venue again. A wonderful community arts venue, the Rotunda was our sole venue in our early years and has remained a staple of BWAF events. I am thrilled to renew my connection with the Rotunda as the sole director of BWAF for only the 2nd time since 2003.
2) A very high percentage of the featured artists, workshop presenters, and vendors will be selected from the pool of those who processed their application online (via our official website http://BWAFphilly.org, click “Submissions”). Only a small amount will, or may be hand-picked without going through the submissions process.
3) Coming Soon: Chapbook Poetry Contest Guidelines! We haven’t heard from any non-black/non-female poetry judges to add to the diversity of our panel, and we don’t have the time nor the staff to recruit them, so we’re going to just continue working on the guidelines and reward information and will have them for you soon.
FAQs:
Here are some answers to questions which may or may not be clearly answered on our website and/or submissions page:
Q: Does BWAF pay or otherwise compensate its featured artists or workshop presenters?
A: No, the BWAF does not [have the funds to] pay featured artists or workshop presenters. At this time, the only informal compensation BWAF provides is online visibility of your name and hyperlink (For example: Monica McIntyre http://myspace.com/monicamcintyre) in our many online promotions (on Yahoo Groups, Blogger/Blogspot, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, among others). As time progresses, there may be more opportunities, such as free advertising via our print and online publications/websites, but that cannot be promised. Participating in BWAF as feature is an excellent opportunity to promote yourself to a new audience, and we are happy to assist you in that end, by printing your name and link as often as we can when appropriate. Being a BWAF feature also is a great way to network with other like-minded folks, and you are welcome to photograph or videotape yourself performing at BWAF and distribute or sell the footage as you wish. Someday, BWAF may be in a position to pay artists, but until such a time, it’s a wonderful, unforgettable, very special, non-paying gig.
Q: What type of artists is BWAF looking for/Or: How does BWAF select its artists?
A: A black female-identified individual (or a collective led by a black female-identified individual) artist (dancer, singer, filmmaker, etc.) who created the work(s). The featured act/workshop/vendor can be on any level of “accomplishment”. What is very important is a web presence. If you’re out in the world making art, you should at least have a MySpace page or free blog to link with and help us promote you to our networks. Another reason we want to work with people who have regular access to the internet is because 90% of our communications will (ideally) be via email. This is not only because that’s what works best for us right now, but also because email is a great way to maintain a mutually archived record of agreements between the artist and BWAF. Because we cannot compensate travel, gasoline, nor provide lodging for out of town artists, we are more likely to appeal to those who are local. However, if you are not Philadelphia-based, and you are in agreement with what we can offer, we’re happy to consider you. We are open to hearing from child-friendly acts as well as adult content, and will schedule you accordingly (we have some very exciting features and themes coming this summer)!
Overall, artists are selected by the quality of their content, their professionalism in communications, ability to either have and bring their following (even if their following is their students, neighbors, house-of-worship members and/or co-workers) and ABOVE ALL: THE ABILITY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS and READ THE FINE PRINT. Many of the questions we receive are already answered, but people aren’t taking the time to read them. This not only makes our job harder, but it opens the door wide open to applicants who do read the content and follow the instructions therein. Applicants who go to the website, click “Submissions”, read the instructions, follow them, then pay the nominal submission fee either online or via postal mail, submit their materials either electronically or by postal mail, and wait to hear from us are on the top of the list for serious consideration. Also, it makes us much more confident about, and willing to be, working with them in the case they are selected as a feature.
So, please, if you’d like to be a part of the Festival, go to www.BWAFphilly.org and click “Submissions”. Read everything, follow the instructions, and we’ll be very happy to hear from you!
Q: What if I want to apply but I don’t have regular access to the internet?
A: Send a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) to:
Black Women’s Arts Festival
Request for Submissions Application
3721 Midvale Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743
You must have a telephone number, and public contact information to promote your work/business online. We will send you an application and instructions.
Q: What if I can’t pay the submission fee?
A: We regret that we have no staff to operate a scholarship or discount system at this time. Neither are we equipped with staff to organize and operate a barter/trade system. Therefore, the low submission fee is a mandatory part of the application process. If you can’t afford it this year, put BWAF 2011 on your wish list for next year and wo/manifest it into being. We support and hold a vision of your increased financial abundance until you are able!
Q: I applied online and paid the fee two months ago. When will I hear whether I was selected?
A: As it clearly states on the Submissions Application page, we will let you know in June 2010 if you are selected. If you are NOT selected, we will NOT notify you. Only those who are selected will be notified. Please, and this is very important, please do NOT call or email, and especially, do not Facebook message us to ask the status of your application. We will contact you in June if you are selected. (This “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” request is also stated on the Submissions page.) If we had 20 people on staff to contact all applicants, honestly, it still wouldn’t be a good use of time. We are extremely short staffed. There was a time when we did send emails to everyone who applied. We may be able to do that in June, but we don’t want to promise that. If you’d like to send your submission via USPS (United States Postal Service www.usps.com), we recommend using Delivery Confirmation (costs less than a dollar) which will provide a tracking number to ensure your package reached its destination. If you pay by mail, we also recommend the USPS money order, which also costs only $1.05 and is trackable/replaceable. Those are some ways to track your order. Of course if you submit online, there’s a record of everything. Again, we will do our best to notify everyone we can, but we can only promise at this time to notify the selected features before the end of June 2010.
I will soon be updating the Black Women's Arts Festival official website's FAQs page to reflect the information in his newsletter.
If you have any questions that haven’t been addressed here, please email them to: BWAFphilly@yahoo.com. Do not reply to this message directly, as it may be coming from Facebook or a non-BWAF-official email address. Use our official email address only, please. I look forward to your questions, because they will be added to, and help improve our FAQs page for future inquiries.
I think that covers everything.
Once again, please:
Do not message us on Facebook, MySpace, or any other site other than our official website www.BWAFphilly.org or email address BWAFphilly@yahoo.com.
Do not call or email us about the status of your submission.
We will notify only those who have been selected in June 2010.
We cannot pay selected featured artists or workshop presenters.
You must have a website, MySpace page, or blog to be given serious, priority consideration as a featured artist or workshop presenter. Applicants who do not have any web presence at all will still be considered, including those without an email address, but this severely limits the likelihood that BWAF will be in regular contact, as we primarily use email and keep phone use to the barest minimum only when absolutely necessary. Also, being that what we most can offer is web presence, it limits our ability to serve those who do not have any web presence at all.
So, if you’ve been making arts, crafts, dancing, making films, or creating in any way, or you’ve been like a young Lisa Price (Carol’s Daughter) making natural skin and hair products and selling them at church bake sales and flea markets, we do want to hear from you, but it’s best to go to www.myspace.com or www.blogspot.com and create yourself a free and easy website. You can take it one step further and buy a domain name for less than ten bucks a year (at www.godaddy.com), something like “BettysDownHomeBakery.com” and just link that domain name to a MySpace page or blog. Lots of people do that, and their “websites” created this way are not only very attractive and effective, easy to maintain, but they’re also FREE! (Check out www.wordpress.com for more free website building ideas).
Of course we also have in the past featured and will feature in the future, artists with a more polished press kit, if you will, and all who are interested and agree with what we are able to provide are welcome to apply and contact us.
On a personal note, please know that as an artist, I use many methods of self-promotion online, and I often include news of BWAF in my notices, as it is my life’s work and related to my work as a multi-media artist. This means I may be sending notices from lots of sources that are NOT the official BWAFphilly@yahoo.com email address. If you'd like to contact me about anything other than the BWAF, feel free to message me personally at cxmusic@gmail.com.
That’s all for now, folks. We look forward to updating you again in the near future.
Thanks again for your interest, and for staying in touch with us.
Make yourself a beautiful day!
In art and community,
Cassende Xavier
Founder & Executive Director of Philadelphia's 7th Annual Black Women's Arts Festival
http://BWAFphilly.org
Please refer to the Black Women's Arts Festival website www.BWAFphilly.org for any further inquiries.
Please reply only via email to BWAFphilly@yahoo.com. No phone calls or other communications, please.
© Copyright 2010 by Cassendre Xavier/Black Women’s Arts Festival. All rights reserved.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Early Submissions over/Mid Submissions thru 3/15
Greetings, Friends!
Please note the Early Bird Submissions for the 7th Annual Black Women's Arts Festival (7/29 - 8/1/2010) ended today, Jan 15th. The application processing fee was only $10.
The Mid Submissions Cycle has just started today, and ends March 15, 2010. The fee for this cycle is $15.
Please visit http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com/ for details, and our official website http://BWAFphilly.org for any other inquiries, including volunteer opportunities.
Thank you to all who submitted to participate as an artists, workshop presenter, vendor or any combination of the above!
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director of the Black Women's Arts Festival
http://BWAFphilly.org
Visit us on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogspot!
Please note the Early Bird Submissions for the 7th Annual Black Women's Arts Festival (7/29 - 8/1/2010) ended today, Jan 15th. The application processing fee was only $10.
The Mid Submissions Cycle has just started today, and ends March 15, 2010. The fee for this cycle is $15.
Please visit http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com/ for details, and our official website http://BWAFphilly.org for any other inquiries, including volunteer opportunities.
Thank you to all who submitted to participate as an artists, workshop presenter, vendor or any combination of the above!
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director of the Black Women's Arts Festival
http://BWAFphilly.org
Visit us on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogspot!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter 1/2/10
Saturday, January 2nd. 2010
Please forgive typos as this was typed at a printer-less computer. I do my best proofreading on paper, not computer screen, unfortunately!]
IN THIS ISSUE:
THE ROTUNDA CONFIRMED AS PRIMARY VENUE OF 2010!
3 POETRY JUDGES ANNOUNCED!
2 MORE POETRY JUDGES WANTED!
2010 EARLY SUBMISSIONS ENDS JANUARY 15th!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
PHONE BAD…EMAIL GOOD!
Hello and Happy New Year!
May 2010 bring you all the wonderful things you’ve dreamed about and worked towards, and may looking back at 2009 be minimal, except for any thoughts that make you feel good or give you an opportunity to change things for the better – to act, not to regret. I am very excited about 2010 for many reasons, and also because it’s when our next Festival will be!
In case you didn’t already know:
The Black Women’s Arts Festival, founded in 2003, is an acclaimed annual community arts showcase based in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Although it features self-identified black female artists, BWAF welcomes all respectful persons to attend and/or participate in various capacities. Our 7th annual Festival will be Thursday July 29th thru Aug 1st, 2010.
THE ROTUNDA CONFIRMED AS PRIMARY VENUE OF 2010!
We have recently confirmed The Rotunda as our primary venue this year. As you may know, the Rotunda is a highly acclaimed community arts venue and has been our “home” of sorts, since the beginning. We will be multi-venue again, but will be scaled down considerably from our 9+ venues of last year. Stay tuned for details about that!
3 POETRY JUDGES ANNOUNCED!
We now have 3 out of an ideal 5 confirmed judges for our first Poetry Chapbook Contest. (By the way, submission guidelines are coming soon!) We announced a call months ago and received many qualified responses. To qualify, the applicant had to follow the instructions given, which included emailing us at BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com, which provides the system we use to organize and process the applicants. We have many web-based networks, including Facebook, MySpace, Craigslist, Twitter, Yahoo Groups, Blogger, Live Journal, and others. Being severely understaffed, we MUST use a system that works for us, and that is emailing only. Please note this in the future, should you wish to net/work with us, because there were some of you who did not follow the expressed instructions, and we just had to go ahead and process those applicants who followed the instructions AND met all the other qualifications as well.
Of these talented folks, three (3) were selected by myself (Cassendre Xavier, BWAF Founder & Executive Director) and BWAF staff member Ebony Malaika Collier, a long-time Philly-based poet and frequent previous BWAF feature.
I am thrilled to announce the first 3 judges of the Poetry Chapbook Contest are:
Tara Betts
Tamara Oakman
Stephanie Durann
Yay!! I am very excited about this! Let me tell you more about all three and include their bios as well:
Tara Betts was the first person to respond, and this was an absolute hoot to me, because she was the first person I’d thought of when I announced the contest. I wished, “Gosh, I hope we can get Tara for this. That would be a coup!” I met Tara when she featured at BWAF some time ago. I thought her work was really excellent, had the pleasure of meeting and dining with her and a whole BWAF group. Days later, we became MySpace friends and I got to read her bio and learn more about her work as a scholar and a poet. Here’s Tara’s bio:
Tara Betts is the author of Arc and Hue. Tara is a Cave Canem fellow, a graduate of the New England College MFA Program. Her work appears in numerous anthologies and journals such as Ninth Letter, Callaloo, Hanging Loose, Gathering Ground, Bum Rush the Page, and both Spoken Word Revolution anthologies. She represented Chicago twice at the National Poetry Slam, coached youth who went on to Brave New Voices, and appeared on HBO's "Def Poetry Jam". She currently teaches at Rutgers University and leads community-based workshops. For more information, visit http://www.tarabetts.net.
Tamara Oakman’s is a name I’ve seen many times on the internet waves in regards to Philadelphia poetry. She’s hosted, co-hosted, or created various venues in this town and our paths were going to cross! If you’re a burgeoning or performing poet in or near Philly, I highly recommend networking with Tamara and/or following her schedule! Here’s Tamara’s bio:
A graduate of Temple University, Tamara Oakman has won awards in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and drama. She has been published by Many Mountains Moving, Philadelphia Stories, Mad Poets Review, and other journals; reads poetry and fiction everywhere in Philadelphia and the tri-state area; judged a fiction and drama contest for Hidden River Arts, and has completed her Master's thesis in English at Arcadia University. She has hosted at venues such as; Book Corner, Robin's Bookstore and Voices and Visions Bookstore. She created, coordinated and hosted The Light of Unity Festival, is currently leading The Business of Words poetry workshop at Upenn Bookstore for Mad Poets Society, created a chapbook called "The Business of Words," and hosted a Fringe Festival performance at The Rotunda called Arsenic Pizza. She wrote freelance articles for Uwishunu.com, hosts and manages The Light of Unity Artist's and Writer's Series 2009 at The Parkway Central Library where she showcases the talents of new writers and musicians at library branches all over the city. Her efforts have been documented in The Metro, Arcadia University Bulletin, and The City Paper. She has read poetry at Robin's Bookstore, Voices and Visions Bookstore, Caramel, South Cafe, Kelly Writer's House, Lori Cosgrove Design, Arcadia University, Del Co. Institute, Mocha, Music and More (Newark) and many other places. She is the executive director of The Light of Unity Association and currently resides in Philadelphia. She says, "Whenever I read a work I don't get caught up on technique. Anybody can learn technique. Hanabi-Ko (Koko) the gorilla wrote Haiku's about bananas. What I like to read is something that cuts me up on the inside, makes me laugh, makes me see something in a different way, moves me. A poem could be about a stick on the ground and still be stirring. 'A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.'"
Stephanie Durann has been a fixture in the Philadelphia poetry scene since at least 2002 when I met her at my Women’s Writing & Spoken Word Series at Robin’s Bookstore. Like her contemporary Ebony Malaika Collier, her poetry influences and tastes are vastly diverse. And another thing I like about Stephanie is her writing – it’s very highly developed, and “thinkie” as I like to say. Hers is the kind of writing I best like to read off the page, as it’s just so beautiful. Stephanie also has valuable information about chapbook contests to combine with others’ that will help BWAF’s be not only special, but also as professional as our resources allow. Here’s Stephanie’s bio:
Stephanie Durann is a writer from Philadelphia, PA who has performed
under various reading series, festivals and cabarets in the city. The
graduate of Kutztown University has also won Honorable Mention for her
poetry in Byline Magazine and is one of four winners of the
Power99fm/Def Poetry Jam Contest in June 2002. She's was also
published in Hinge Online and The Worcester Review. She was also a
freelance writer for the University City Review and PAWPrint
(Philadelphia Area Writers) Magazine. She has read in various reading
series including Poets and Prophets, LadyFest Philly, Off Season! At
the Sedgwick Theater, Eternal Now, and Women’s Writing & Spoken Word
Series. She produced her first chapbook, The Rites of Individual
Passage in 2003. She was also a participant in the National Book
Foundation Summer Writing Camp in 2004.
2 MORE POETRY JUDGES WANTED!
We’d put out a call for 3-5 judges, and then when we had our [first] 3, I decided that since all the judges are female and for the most part, African-American or black-identified, that I’d like the last 2 (if we do have 2 more, and we don’t need to, but it would be nice) to be non-female and/or non-black. I think it would add a unique dimension to the contest if we had a more diverse panel of judges. Tara, Tamara, and Stephanie’s poetry, identities, backgrounds, and experience in the Philly poetry scene are all diverse enough, certainly. But I’d like to see what happens when we put out another call for more judges to add to our contest. So here goes:
NON-BLACK AND/OR NON-FEMALE JUDGES WANTED FOR 1st BLACK WOMEN’S ARTS FESTIVAL POETRY CHAPBOOK CONTEST
Philadelphia’s acclaimed 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival recently announced their first Poetry Chapbook Contest. The contest is to select and feature one winning self-identified black female poet (from anywhere in the world) and publish a chapbook of her work. 3-5 judges were sought, and so far 3 have been selected. All 3 are black women and the BWAF has requested that 1 or 2 more preferably non-black and/or non-female judges be added to the roster, to make the panel of judges more diverse, and also to broaden BWAF’s exposure to new and different audiences and communities. Calls for submissions of the chapbook contest will soon be released, along with further deadlines about the project, which will conclude within the year 2010. Please visit our website http://BWAFphilly.org to learn more about the Black Women’s Arts Festival. If you are interested in our work and would like to participate as a poetry judge, here are the qualifications:
a) You must have regular access to the internet, as email is our main mode of contact.
b) You must have regular access to a telephone, for possible conference call meetings with other judges.
c) Though you can be based anywhere in the world, preference will be given to those who are able to meet on occasion with other judges in or near Philadelphia, PA, USA.
d) You must have had your poetry published by someone other than yourself and be able to submit said information/proof in your bio.
e) You must email your interest and 100-word maximum bio to: BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com (remove the “at” and replace it with @ before emailing.) We cannot accommodate those responding to us via Facebook, MySpace, voicemail, etc.
The deadline to respond to this call for 2 more judges is January 31, 2010. We look forward to hearing from all qualified applicants! (Remember, the best poetry judge who doesn’t email us is not a qualified applicant!)
2010 EARLY SUBMISSIONS ENDS JANUARY 15th!
If you’d like to be a feature at this year’s Festival (as a performer, exhibitor, or workshop presenter), please go to http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com/ or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67 for instructions. The submission fee is a discounted rate of only $10. We realize the 15th is just a few days away, and it may seem as if we’re only recently been making this reminder announcement, but please note the submission applications were posted in June, one month before last year’s actual festival even began. And we’ve had this info listed on our website and in this newsletter since then. It’s been 7 months and we’ve received no responses until our recent announcements. After January 15th, the rate will be increased to the next level, and again until the final deadline. The submission fee is much needed income for us, as a non-profit organization, and helps to defray the cost of many hours of processing the usual high level of applications we receive every year. We look forward to hearing from you!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
It was only a matter of time before we joined the Twitter bandwagon. After all, if P. Diddy recommends it and Ellen De Generes uses it to keep in touch with her multitudinous fan base, then it must be good! For all you Tweeters out there, we’re at http://twitter.com/BWAFphilly. Visit us, won’t you?
PHONE BAD…EMAIL GOOD!
So, here’s the thing. As much as I like to use the word “we”, and as much as that term sometimes actually does include someone else, such as Ebony Malaika Collier, BWAF staff person who is helping with the Poetry Chapbook Contest, among other BWAF projects, BWAF pretty much is one chyk: Moi.
This means that even though the website has a list of people who are our board members (ask me the last time we had a meeting: NEVER!), and the occasional volunteer, BWAF is really one chyk running this party, occasionally with help. This is a major problem, yes, and it is being “fixed”. However, until it is, and until there is actually a real group of real people really and truly, and I mean actually “working”, that means that BWAF is one chyk. This means I have no time to answer every voicemail message I get, at least not in a timely fashion, anyway. (Luckily, we get very few voicemail messages anyway.)
This means that I must tweak things to work a bit. Yes, we have a voicemail number, and yes, messages are occasionally checked. But rather than allow the assumption that I’m sitting at a desk every day listening to and responding to these messages, I think I’ll just “come out” if you will, as having a much smaller staff of helpers than I do, and just be up front and say “Email, don’t call.” That’s to you, our close and personal friends! Our website and all other official thingies still lists the phone number as another mode of contact (which will soon change to requesting email primarily), but if you call, the new voicemail message I just recorded the other day says, “Hey, did you mean to call the Black Women’s Arts Festival? Sorry about the mistake. Please hang up immediately, and email us instead. Good-bye!” Just kidding, that’s not what I said, but a similar, albeit more professional greeting.
Basically, please leave the phone for folks who have no access to the internet. And, again, if you’re on our Facebook profile or Facebook Group or anything else, please feel free to post there, but if you’re responding to a call for submissions or anything else “official”, email is the official mode of contact.
Here are two little stories I like to recall that validate my need to make specific, albeit mildly inconvenient requests for the type contact needed:
1) Burt’s Bees: Many years ago, I fell in love with Burt’s Bees products – well, maybe “in love” is a strong term, but I liked their all-natural approach to cosmetics, so I visited their website http://burtsbees.com. When I clicked on “Contact Us” I found that they didn’t have a phone number. They listed only email contact and even went so far as to explain their reason for doing so. This was very impressive to me as I related to it and felt relief and validation. I knew if I were ever to have my own company, I would do the same thing. (I wish I’d known then that I didn’t need any examples to do that myself – I just could do it!)
2) Go Daddy: I was introduced to this company years ago when I bought my first domain name (they sell them really cheaply). I went to their website and saw that their phone number wasn’t a toll-free one. My friend Ross Landy, who had done my website and referred me to Go Daddy, explained that one reason Go Daddy’s prices were so low was that they cut costs other ways, including not having a toll-free number. Their website http://godaddy.com confirms this, as it also explains that they prefer not to pay for things like a toll-free number, because it’s not necessary to provide excellent customer service. (I also surmised that it was a good idea because it would cut down the number of unessential calls they received.)
So, you see? Not everyone needs an all-the-time staffed real live telephone number to do business.
We, at BWAF, are special. We’re different. And, oh, yeah, we are one. As in, one chyk. Yep. That’s all of us! So email “us” at BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com, and add our email address to your Contacts list so that our messages back to you don’t end up in your Spam folder. Good enough, then? Excellent!
Have an excellent day and jump into 2010 with fervor and aplomb! “We” know “WE” will!
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
(aka Amethyste Rah, aka Amrita Waterfalls)
renaissance negresse (musician,author,visual artist,actress)
http://cassEndrExavier.com
Founder & Executive Director of the Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003, Philadelphia)
http://BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 by Cassendre Xavier/Black Women’s Arts Festival. All rights reserved.
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/01/black-womens-arts-festival-newsletter.html
Please forgive typos as this was typed at a printer-less computer. I do my best proofreading on paper, not computer screen, unfortunately!]
IN THIS ISSUE:
THE ROTUNDA CONFIRMED AS PRIMARY VENUE OF 2010!
3 POETRY JUDGES ANNOUNCED!
2 MORE POETRY JUDGES WANTED!
2010 EARLY SUBMISSIONS ENDS JANUARY 15th!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
PHONE BAD…EMAIL GOOD!
Hello and Happy New Year!
May 2010 bring you all the wonderful things you’ve dreamed about and worked towards, and may looking back at 2009 be minimal, except for any thoughts that make you feel good or give you an opportunity to change things for the better – to act, not to regret. I am very excited about 2010 for many reasons, and also because it’s when our next Festival will be!
In case you didn’t already know:
The Black Women’s Arts Festival, founded in 2003, is an acclaimed annual community arts showcase based in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Although it features self-identified black female artists, BWAF welcomes all respectful persons to attend and/or participate in various capacities. Our 7th annual Festival will be Thursday July 29th thru Aug 1st, 2010.
THE ROTUNDA CONFIRMED AS PRIMARY VENUE OF 2010!
We have recently confirmed The Rotunda as our primary venue this year. As you may know, the Rotunda is a highly acclaimed community arts venue and has been our “home” of sorts, since the beginning. We will be multi-venue again, but will be scaled down considerably from our 9+ venues of last year. Stay tuned for details about that!
3 POETRY JUDGES ANNOUNCED!
We now have 3 out of an ideal 5 confirmed judges for our first Poetry Chapbook Contest. (By the way, submission guidelines are coming soon!) We announced a call months ago and received many qualified responses. To qualify, the applicant had to follow the instructions given, which included emailing us at BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com, which provides the system we use to organize and process the applicants. We have many web-based networks, including Facebook, MySpace, Craigslist, Twitter, Yahoo Groups, Blogger, Live Journal, and others. Being severely understaffed, we MUST use a system that works for us, and that is emailing only. Please note this in the future, should you wish to net/work with us, because there were some of you who did not follow the expressed instructions, and we just had to go ahead and process those applicants who followed the instructions AND met all the other qualifications as well.
Of these talented folks, three (3) were selected by myself (Cassendre Xavier, BWAF Founder & Executive Director) and BWAF staff member Ebony Malaika Collier, a long-time Philly-based poet and frequent previous BWAF feature.
I am thrilled to announce the first 3 judges of the Poetry Chapbook Contest are:
Tara Betts
Tamara Oakman
Stephanie Durann
Yay!! I am very excited about this! Let me tell you more about all three and include their bios as well:
Tara Betts was the first person to respond, and this was an absolute hoot to me, because she was the first person I’d thought of when I announced the contest. I wished, “Gosh, I hope we can get Tara for this. That would be a coup!” I met Tara when she featured at BWAF some time ago. I thought her work was really excellent, had the pleasure of meeting and dining with her and a whole BWAF group. Days later, we became MySpace friends and I got to read her bio and learn more about her work as a scholar and a poet. Here’s Tara’s bio:
Tara Betts is the author of Arc and Hue. Tara is a Cave Canem fellow, a graduate of the New England College MFA Program. Her work appears in numerous anthologies and journals such as Ninth Letter, Callaloo, Hanging Loose, Gathering Ground, Bum Rush the Page, and both Spoken Word Revolution anthologies. She represented Chicago twice at the National Poetry Slam, coached youth who went on to Brave New Voices, and appeared on HBO's "Def Poetry Jam". She currently teaches at Rutgers University and leads community-based workshops. For more information, visit http://www.tarabetts.net.
Tamara Oakman’s is a name I’ve seen many times on the internet waves in regards to Philadelphia poetry. She’s hosted, co-hosted, or created various venues in this town and our paths were going to cross! If you’re a burgeoning or performing poet in or near Philly, I highly recommend networking with Tamara and/or following her schedule! Here’s Tamara’s bio:
A graduate of Temple University, Tamara Oakman has won awards in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and drama. She has been published by Many Mountains Moving, Philadelphia Stories, Mad Poets Review, and other journals; reads poetry and fiction everywhere in Philadelphia and the tri-state area; judged a fiction and drama contest for Hidden River Arts, and has completed her Master's thesis in English at Arcadia University. She has hosted at venues such as; Book Corner, Robin's Bookstore and Voices and Visions Bookstore. She created, coordinated and hosted The Light of Unity Festival, is currently leading The Business of Words poetry workshop at Upenn Bookstore for Mad Poets Society, created a chapbook called "The Business of Words," and hosted a Fringe Festival performance at The Rotunda called Arsenic Pizza. She wrote freelance articles for Uwishunu.com, hosts and manages The Light of Unity Artist's and Writer's Series 2009 at The Parkway Central Library where she showcases the talents of new writers and musicians at library branches all over the city. Her efforts have been documented in The Metro, Arcadia University Bulletin, and The City Paper. She has read poetry at Robin's Bookstore, Voices and Visions Bookstore, Caramel, South Cafe, Kelly Writer's House, Lori Cosgrove Design, Arcadia University, Del Co. Institute, Mocha, Music and More (Newark) and many other places. She is the executive director of The Light of Unity Association and currently resides in Philadelphia. She says, "Whenever I read a work I don't get caught up on technique. Anybody can learn technique. Hanabi-Ko (Koko) the gorilla wrote Haiku's about bananas. What I like to read is something that cuts me up on the inside, makes me laugh, makes me see something in a different way, moves me. A poem could be about a stick on the ground and still be stirring. 'A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.'"
Stephanie Durann has been a fixture in the Philadelphia poetry scene since at least 2002 when I met her at my Women’s Writing & Spoken Word Series at Robin’s Bookstore. Like her contemporary Ebony Malaika Collier, her poetry influences and tastes are vastly diverse. And another thing I like about Stephanie is her writing – it’s very highly developed, and “thinkie” as I like to say. Hers is the kind of writing I best like to read off the page, as it’s just so beautiful. Stephanie also has valuable information about chapbook contests to combine with others’ that will help BWAF’s be not only special, but also as professional as our resources allow. Here’s Stephanie’s bio:
Stephanie Durann is a writer from Philadelphia, PA who has performed
under various reading series, festivals and cabarets in the city. The
graduate of Kutztown University has also won Honorable Mention for her
poetry in Byline Magazine and is one of four winners of the
Power99fm/Def Poetry Jam Contest in June 2002. She's was also
published in Hinge Online and The Worcester Review. She was also a
freelance writer for the University City Review and PAWPrint
(Philadelphia Area Writers) Magazine. She has read in various reading
series including Poets and Prophets, LadyFest Philly, Off Season! At
the Sedgwick Theater, Eternal Now, and Women’s Writing & Spoken Word
Series. She produced her first chapbook, The Rites of Individual
Passage in 2003. She was also a participant in the National Book
Foundation Summer Writing Camp in 2004.
2 MORE POETRY JUDGES WANTED!
We’d put out a call for 3-5 judges, and then when we had our [first] 3, I decided that since all the judges are female and for the most part, African-American or black-identified, that I’d like the last 2 (if we do have 2 more, and we don’t need to, but it would be nice) to be non-female and/or non-black. I think it would add a unique dimension to the contest if we had a more diverse panel of judges. Tara, Tamara, and Stephanie’s poetry, identities, backgrounds, and experience in the Philly poetry scene are all diverse enough, certainly. But I’d like to see what happens when we put out another call for more judges to add to our contest. So here goes:
NON-BLACK AND/OR NON-FEMALE JUDGES WANTED FOR 1st BLACK WOMEN’S ARTS FESTIVAL POETRY CHAPBOOK CONTEST
Philadelphia’s acclaimed 7th annual Black Women’s Arts Festival recently announced their first Poetry Chapbook Contest. The contest is to select and feature one winning self-identified black female poet (from anywhere in the world) and publish a chapbook of her work. 3-5 judges were sought, and so far 3 have been selected. All 3 are black women and the BWAF has requested that 1 or 2 more preferably non-black and/or non-female judges be added to the roster, to make the panel of judges more diverse, and also to broaden BWAF’s exposure to new and different audiences and communities. Calls for submissions of the chapbook contest will soon be released, along with further deadlines about the project, which will conclude within the year 2010. Please visit our website http://BWAFphilly.org to learn more about the Black Women’s Arts Festival. If you are interested in our work and would like to participate as a poetry judge, here are the qualifications:
a) You must have regular access to the internet, as email is our main mode of contact.
b) You must have regular access to a telephone, for possible conference call meetings with other judges.
c) Though you can be based anywhere in the world, preference will be given to those who are able to meet on occasion with other judges in or near Philadelphia, PA, USA.
d) You must have had your poetry published by someone other than yourself and be able to submit said information/proof in your bio.
e) You must email your interest and 100-word maximum bio to: BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com (remove the “at” and replace it with @ before emailing.) We cannot accommodate those responding to us via Facebook, MySpace, voicemail, etc.
The deadline to respond to this call for 2 more judges is January 31, 2010. We look forward to hearing from all qualified applicants! (Remember, the best poetry judge who doesn’t email us is not a qualified applicant!)
2010 EARLY SUBMISSIONS ENDS JANUARY 15th!
If you’d like to be a feature at this year’s Festival (as a performer, exhibitor, or workshop presenter), please go to http://bwaf2010submissions.eventbrite.com/ or http://tinyurl.com/ya8bv67 for instructions. The submission fee is a discounted rate of only $10. We realize the 15th is just a few days away, and it may seem as if we’re only recently been making this reminder announcement, but please note the submission applications were posted in June, one month before last year’s actual festival even began. And we’ve had this info listed on our website and in this newsletter since then. It’s been 7 months and we’ve received no responses until our recent announcements. After January 15th, the rate will be increased to the next level, and again until the final deadline. The submission fee is much needed income for us, as a non-profit organization, and helps to defray the cost of many hours of processing the usual high level of applications we receive every year. We look forward to hearing from you!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
It was only a matter of time before we joined the Twitter bandwagon. After all, if P. Diddy recommends it and Ellen De Generes uses it to keep in touch with her multitudinous fan base, then it must be good! For all you Tweeters out there, we’re at http://twitter.com/BWAFphilly. Visit us, won’t you?
PHONE BAD…EMAIL GOOD!
So, here’s the thing. As much as I like to use the word “we”, and as much as that term sometimes actually does include someone else, such as Ebony Malaika Collier, BWAF staff person who is helping with the Poetry Chapbook Contest, among other BWAF projects, BWAF pretty much is one chyk: Moi.
This means that even though the website has a list of people who are our board members (ask me the last time we had a meeting: NEVER!), and the occasional volunteer, BWAF is really one chyk running this party, occasionally with help. This is a major problem, yes, and it is being “fixed”. However, until it is, and until there is actually a real group of real people really and truly, and I mean actually “working”, that means that BWAF is one chyk. This means I have no time to answer every voicemail message I get, at least not in a timely fashion, anyway. (Luckily, we get very few voicemail messages anyway.)
This means that I must tweak things to work a bit. Yes, we have a voicemail number, and yes, messages are occasionally checked. But rather than allow the assumption that I’m sitting at a desk every day listening to and responding to these messages, I think I’ll just “come out” if you will, as having a much smaller staff of helpers than I do, and just be up front and say “Email, don’t call.” That’s to you, our close and personal friends! Our website and all other official thingies still lists the phone number as another mode of contact (which will soon change to requesting email primarily), but if you call, the new voicemail message I just recorded the other day says, “Hey, did you mean to call the Black Women’s Arts Festival? Sorry about the mistake. Please hang up immediately, and email us instead. Good-bye!” Just kidding, that’s not what I said, but a similar, albeit more professional greeting.
Basically, please leave the phone for folks who have no access to the internet. And, again, if you’re on our Facebook profile or Facebook Group or anything else, please feel free to post there, but if you’re responding to a call for submissions or anything else “official”, email is the official mode of contact.
Here are two little stories I like to recall that validate my need to make specific, albeit mildly inconvenient requests for the type contact needed:
1) Burt’s Bees: Many years ago, I fell in love with Burt’s Bees products – well, maybe “in love” is a strong term, but I liked their all-natural approach to cosmetics, so I visited their website http://burtsbees.com. When I clicked on “Contact Us” I found that they didn’t have a phone number. They listed only email contact and even went so far as to explain their reason for doing so. This was very impressive to me as I related to it and felt relief and validation. I knew if I were ever to have my own company, I would do the same thing. (I wish I’d known then that I didn’t need any examples to do that myself – I just could do it!)
2) Go Daddy: I was introduced to this company years ago when I bought my first domain name (they sell them really cheaply). I went to their website and saw that their phone number wasn’t a toll-free one. My friend Ross Landy, who had done my website and referred me to Go Daddy, explained that one reason Go Daddy’s prices were so low was that they cut costs other ways, including not having a toll-free number. Their website http://godaddy.com confirms this, as it also explains that they prefer not to pay for things like a toll-free number, because it’s not necessary to provide excellent customer service. (I also surmised that it was a good idea because it would cut down the number of unessential calls they received.)
So, you see? Not everyone needs an all-the-time staffed real live telephone number to do business.
We, at BWAF, are special. We’re different. And, oh, yeah, we are one. As in, one chyk. Yep. That’s all of us! So email “us” at BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com, and add our email address to your Contacts list so that our messages back to you don’t end up in your Spam folder. Good enough, then? Excellent!
Have an excellent day and jump into 2010 with fervor and aplomb! “We” know “WE” will!
In art and community,
Cassendre Xavier
(aka Amethyste Rah, aka Amrita Waterfalls)
renaissance negresse (musician,author,visual artist,actress)
http://cassEndrExavier.com
Founder & Executive Director of the Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003, Philadelphia)
http://BWAFphilly.org
© 2010 by Cassendre Xavier/Black Women’s Arts Festival. All rights reserved.
Source: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/01/black-womens-arts-festival-newsletter.html
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