Many Fabrics, One Quilt-National Queer Arts Festival

We continue our Juneteenth celebration with a tapestry of music, performance art, spoken word, dance, and poetry. Our quilt encompasses the many textiles of diversity reflecting our experiences as Same Gender Loving African Americans knitting our multiple identities into our Fabric of Brotherhood.



Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond. Today Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations. It is a time for reflection and rejoicing. It is a time for assessment, self-improvement and for planning the future.


See performances by Nathan James, Anthony Williams, Jerry.Brown:Rhythm.Art.Poetry. (aka JBRAP), Shurlavision, and host by Jair-The Literary Masturbator™

Poet, Writer, Arts Organizer Anthony Williams is a writer and performance artist based in San Francisco. He is the Co-Founder and Director of GuyWriters, a network of gay male writers in the Bay Area, and he is currently pursuing an MFA in performance art from JFK University in Berkeley.

Upon exiting the whoom-Jan. 10th, 1978, after 32 hours of labor, a Blue hairy, Jerry.Brown:Rhythm.Art.Poetry. (aka JBRAP) took a good hard long look around the room and the people in it, his grandmother says, "he started crying and didn't stop until he could move himself!" Did this Multi-Media-Renaissance-Vocalist-EmCee--4D--Perfomance Artist, somehow know then ( directly after-birth) what his hometown of East Palo Alto and the World had in store? we come from oracles! Many Hard Lessons, scarrs, & tentions, from An UnFair Unforginving Life with Many Given Blessings!!____________ Today he is humble, active and ornery in the same way, making his home in West Oakland and using his Mixed Media Social Change Arts (dual degrees) to create and encourage positively artistic, engaging, academic environments and safer spaces for the young people of our community. www.myspace.com/jbrap

Vocalist, Guitarist Shurlavision has made it a lifelong practice of always doing things her way. Leaving the Motor City in 1993, she drove alone cross-country to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of writing and producing deosoul (Detroit-soul) music. Heavily influenced by the music of George, Phyllis, Earl, Aretha and Anita, Shurlavision has emerged as a sensually-seasoned, soulful artist. Her music can be heard at www.myspace.com/shurlavision4u

New York City writer and activist Nathan James is the author of several bestselling novels in the LGBT genre. His works include Check Ride, The Devil's Details, and the novella ThicknessFlesh To Flesh anthology. Nathan writes for several online and print journals, and speaks out on causes and issues which move his spirit. www.nathanjamesonline.com

Jair-The Literary Masturbator™, is a poet, writer, spoken word artist, and activist new to the Yay Area from Southern California where he was a regular at PoetsJazzHouse in Leimert Park. He has curated and performed at events such as The African Marketplace, Los Angeles Black Book Expo, West Hollywood Book Fair, FUSION LGBT People of Color Film Festival 2005, and others. His work has been featured in Sequioa, In The Meantime "Statements of Pride", and he is author of "Sacred Sensual Secrets" a chapbook collection of his erotic poetry. Take him to your favorite restaurant or club and treat him to dinner or a drink. He likes to keep to himself yet likes to be noticed (what the??!!??). He's a Laker fan and a Libra blah blah blah www.myspace.com/theliterarymasturbator

Mama Calizo's Voice Factory
1519 Mission Street
San Francisco, Ca

Saturday June 20, 2009
9:00pm

$10-15 Sliding Scale (No One Turned Away For Lack of Funds)

This event is part of the National Queer Arts Festival 2009
www.queerculturalcenter.org

For more info contact Jair-The Literary Masturbator™
theliterarymasturbator@gmail.com
myspace.com/theliterarymasturbator