The Foundation for New American Art, an art education nonprofit dedicated to nurturing the visionary artists of tomorrow, is hosting a two-day festival of multi-cultural arts, music, dance and creative experiences for all ages.
The family friendly free festival of fun will be held July 16 & 17 at The Clemente Cultural and Educational Center, in the heart of the Lower East Side at 107 Suffolk St, New York, NY 10002 and will feature performances and workshops by master artists and musicians from Africa, Latin America and China.
Foundation for New American Art (FNAA), a 501c3 nonprofit founded by multi-disciplinary artist Phoebe Legere, received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to assist in producing the multi-cultural family festival. The Foundation for New American Art’s mission is to educate, strengthen and nurture the artistic and musical spirit of the children of low-income communities.
According to Founder and Executive Director of FNAA, Phoebe Legere, “We have no words to express our gratitude to the people who helped us and fortified our resolve on our beautiful journey: fourteen years of service as a grassroots nonprofit charity organization! Now, the National Endowment for the Arts joins us as partner. Gracias a todos nuestros amigos y vecinos.” FNAA grew from a curating and presenting arts organization called the New York Underground Museum to an arts education and cultural resource for children and families. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from Foundation for New American Art that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers.
“Foundation for New American Art in NYC is among the organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”
According to Legere, “The children we serve attend public schools where the budgets for art & music have been cut or drastically eliminated.
Schedule of FREE Events:
Saturday, July 16: A multimedia Global Musical Journey in the Flamboyan Theater at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, located at 107 Suffolk St.
7-10 -Tamir Hargana, a Mongolian Throat Singer who plays many instruments including the “Horse Guitar.” Tamir is known for combining Heavy Metal and traditional Mongolian vocals. -Maria Raquel, a charismatic singer from Medellin, Columbia with a powerful voice. Maria is an ambassador for Latin American music.
-Salieu Suso, an “edu-tainer” from Africa. Salieu is a culture bearer from the thousand year old Griot tradition who plays the Kora.
- Master of Ceremonies will be Phoebe Legere, (Abenaki/Cajun) President of the Foundation for New American Art. Phoebe will present and interview the artists in Spanish and English. Sunday, July 17: 11- 5 outdoors, FREE, on La Plaza of The Clemente 107 Suffolk St. 11 am
-Let Every Child Sing –co-led by Tamir Hargana and Phoebe Legere combining traditional vocal techniques from around the world including
- Mongolian throat singing, -Cumbia Villera (slum cumbia)
- Open Heart Vocal Technique for children and youth developed by Foundation for New American Art. All ages welcome. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. 12 noon
- Paintbrushes Not Guns: Art Workshop for teens & children, 1 pm - Communicating to the Community: Drum Workshop led by Joakim Lartey from Ghana (Bring your percussion) 2 pm
-Carolina Jaurena, teaching beginner level Salsa for the whole family, 3 pm -Nico Wells, a singer from Argentina, and the world-famous “Zen Tango”- dancers, All Day: Games, Puppets, Storytellers 4 pm The Climax of the Festival de la Posibilidad will be The Rumberos – a pan Latin Dance Orchestra playing live for our Community Dance on La Plaza of the Clemente at 4:00 pm.
Let’s DANCE together to integrate the amazing energies of diverse cultural traditions from all over the globe! Let’s SING together to celebrate a culture of belonging, tolerance and inclusion in New York! Let’s CELEBRATE and GIVE THANKS for the distinguished immigrant traditions so integral to the powerful and world-changing culture of our great city! Communal art practices are the very best way to eradicate the systemic racism, sexism, ageism, and intolerance that plague us. Dance, song and art have harmonized and brought mental stability to communities for 100,000 years. It is time to return to organic solutions to modern problems.
The names of our programs tell the story of our mission: “Paintbrushes not Guns!” “Let Every Child Sing!” “Music Teachers Without Borders!” The two-day Festival de la Posibilidad will be filmed by Haoyan of America for broadcast on our free educational online show: “The Color Wheel”
Phoebe Legere is available for interviews, comments on the Festival and her work in nonprofit arts education. To learn more, visit our website at foundationfornewartamerican.org