Building Bridges Through the Arts
Photo credit Robert Winn.
Act ONE:
Remarks from Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer
Excerpts from the play DREAM ACTS: a play about undocumented immigrant youth.
Performed by EarSay Youth Theatre Workshop: Transforming Trauma Into Art a project directed by Judith Sloan in collaboration with the International High School at LaGuardia Community College with student actors from International High School: Celine Abreu, Nicolle Balaco, Jaira Cantor, Dailyn Despradel,  Daris Despradel, Rene A. Jaquez, Yonie Montes, Dan Pepito, Tinzin Rigzin, Furba Sherpa. With guest actress from LaGuardia Community College Isabel Maradiegue.
Staged by Catherine Hanna with additional acting coaching Claire Lebowitz and the team including NYU Interns: Blanca Vivancos Fernandez-Bugallaland Nanci Tischler. 
HOUSE BAND: Miwi LaLupa on Bass, Lynn Ligammari on Sax, Rich Stein on Percussion, Adam Hill on Viola, Chesney Snow Beatboxer, Luke Santy Live Engineer.

ACT TWO:
Featuring performance excerpts from Crossing the BLVD with guest actors and excerpts from YO MISS! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide with Judith Sloan and musicians.
HOUSE BAND stretches!
Special Guest Performer: IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE
Honoring: Sarah Gil, International High School School Leader and Steven Hitt, Managing Director of LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and the Staff.  Special Recognition to Katherine Tabares from Make the Road.

Dream Acts performed with permission from the writers Mia Chung, Jessica Litwak, Chiori Miyagawa, Saviana Stanescu, and Andrea Thome. Dream Acts is a project of DREAM Act Union, conceived by playwright Chiori Miyagawa for Re/Union, performed with permission.
100% of Profits from this event and sale of merchandise at this event go to Support the Youth Program.
EarSay’s YO MISS! and Immigrant Youth Programs (Transforming Trauma Into Art and EarSay Youth Voices) supported in part by the International High School at LaGuardia Community College, Morgan Jenness of Abrams Artist Agency, Viper Records,Liberty Partnership Program, NYC Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. This program is supported This program is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council of the Arts in partnership with Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Join us for an evening to support two women’s projects: Judith Sloan’s YO MISS! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide, and Jen Kinney’s In Spite of Itself: The Persistence of Whittier, Alaska“

Judith Sloan and Jen Kinney will share excerpts from their works in progress. Special musical guest Miwi LaLupa. Guest poets Cyd Charise Fulton and Safia Elhillo.

Proceeds from a silent auction of signed copies of Crossing the BLVD by Judith Sloan and Warren Lehrer and a limited edition of books by Jen Kinney will also help support these projects. Wine and refreshments will be served.

Only Hearts is the retail outlet of a women’s clothing company specializing in their trademark look of inner outerwear. Lacey Layers for the shameless romantic, manufactured in Manhattan’s historic garment district since 1978. 15% of sales made the night of the event will be donated to EarSay to support these projects.

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Actress, radio producer, Judith Sloan, known for her one woman performances and her collaboration with Warren Lehrer on the multi-media project Crossing the BLVD, spent 15 years teaching in schools and jails where she encountered and reported on immigration stories, cultural clashes, and generation gaps. Fusing the art of theatre and radio, YO MISS! is an eye- and ear-witness account of one artist navigating a maze of miscommunications and memories, while breaking down assumptions that divide residents of a city who live in close proximity but come from conflicting worlds. Sloan transforms into a multitude of characters, in this sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always truth-seeking performance, accompanied by multi-instrumentalist MIWI La Lupa (of Red Baraat) and DJ/Live Sound Engineer Luke Santy.

Read about the work in progress in:

NY TIMES
Huffington Post
Jewish Week

Includes music by:  Dave Guy, Guy Klucevsek, David Krakauer, MiWi La Lupa, Frank London, Taylor Rivelli, Adam MJ Hill and Red Ukachukwu, and Judith Sloan.  Additional music and sounds by: Touré “Southpaw” Harris, Immortal Technique, Luke Santy.

Listen to an excerpt here:
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Click here to find out about the project

Yo Miss! is a project of EarSay, produced by Judith Sloan, developed in partnership with Viper Records and Morgan Jenness from Abrams Artist Agency. A portion of the proceeds from the Yo Miss! theatre project go to support EarSay’s Youth Education project for immigrant and refugee teenagers. Development of Yo Miss! with support from the Queens Council on the Arts, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Workshop presentations of Yo Miss were developed in 2009 and 2010 at the Danny Simmons Corridor Gallery, Nuyorican Poet’s Café, and LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. Special Thanks to Michael Dinwiddie for support with the work-in-progress.

As immigration policy is hotly debated around the country, “Crossing the BLVD” presents the very human stories of why immigrants and refugees have migrated to the US and their experiences once here. It is based on the critically-acclaimed book by Warren Lehrer, internationally known pioneer in visual literature and design authorship and Judith Sloan, award-winning actor, writer and human rights activist. In this electrifying collage, Judith portrays immigrants and others the couple interviewed on their three-year journey through the richly diverse borough of Queens; two additional actors, including Chesney Snow join her in performing some of the monologues. Illuminated by projections of Warren Lehrer’s stunning photographs and an original soundtrack including Judith’s audio mixes and music by Scott Johnson and Gogol Bordello, the production is a project of EarSay, a non-profit organization dedicated to portraying voices often ignored by the mass media. A conversation follows the performance on national debates and laws that shape attitudes toward diversity, and immigration policy.

“Crossing the BLVD is a whirlwind tour and love poem of what has often been called the most racially and ethnically diverse county in America. In the tradition of the playwright Anna Deavere Smith, Ms. Sloan performs “Crossing the BLVD” adopting the personae (and respectfully mimicking the accents) of the varied immigrants whose stories are in the book… The New York Times, City Room Blog, Sewell Chan

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New Video: Mother of the World

As immigration policy is hotly debated around the country in terms of national and cultural security, Crossing the BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a new America presents the very human stories of why immigrants and refugees have migrated to the U.S. and what their experiences have been since they came here pre- and post-9/11. Lehrer and Sloan will discuss their book, traveling exhibition, animations, audio CD and performance with photographs, sounds and stories and how this cross-platform project uses the tools of contemporary art to create a multimedia experience reflecting the changing face of America.

Winner 2004 Brendan Gill Prize Municipal Art Society of NY

“Immigrant life in Queens, as told in the intimate, rich, comic, ironic and sad stories so often seen but not heard in America’s big cities… Archie Bunker doesn’t live here anymore — not in the Queens of Crossing the Blvd. The first-person narratives are engaging… The stories are so different, and yet many of the immigrants’ lives are so similar… What links them all is the desperation and desire that brought them here. As one immigrant says in Crossing the BLVD, ‘America can do without you, but you can’t do without America’.” The Washington Post Lynne Duke.

“Crossing the BLVD is a powerful social record… Most of the subjects live in Queens, but their stories resonate far beyond the borders of this multicultural New York borough. What often gets lost in the national debate on immigration is the human dimension, an understanding of the lives of those people who give up everything to come here. Crossing the BLVD lets them tell their stories… We see the subjects’ faces in the photographs, hear their voices, and enter into their lives through cherished mementos they have carried from home to home… Extraordinary stories… a living work of art.” The New York Times Benjamin Genocchio

“Crossing the BLVD boldly carries the tradition of oral history into the 21st Century. Electrifying!”Eve Ensler, author The Vagina Monologues

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To find out more about the exhibition click here

View the video click here!

What happens when a performing artist survives a near-death car accident and collides with the oncoming traffic of Hip Hop culture? Actress and radio producer Judith Sloan known for her one woman performances and her collaboration with Warren Lehrer on the multi-media project Crossing the BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a new America spent 15 years teaching in schools and jails where she encountered and reported on immigration stories, cultural clashes, and generation gaps. Now she teams up with director, Joanna Settle presenting the sometimes funny, sometimes sad, truth-seeking play YO Miss! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide. Fusing the art of theatre and radio, Yo Miss is an eye- and ear-witness account of one artist navigating a maze of miscommunications and memories, while breaking down assumptions that divide residents of a city who live in close proximity but come from conflicting worlds. In Yo Miss! Sloan transforms into a multitude of characters, accompanied on stage with a live sound engineer and musicians.

A play with music
Written and conceived by Judith Sloan
Directed by Joanna Settle
Performed by Judith Sloan  
accompanied by DJ/Sound Engineer Luke Santy
and musician/actors Joell Jackson and Emi Augustin

Music and Sound Directed by Judith Sloan
in collaboration with the company and musicians Frank London, MiWi LaLupa, Luke Santy, and the participating musicians and engineers. Editor at Large Warren Lehrer. Script consultation Morgan Jenness, Touré “Southpaw” Harris, Luke Santy.

Special thanks Michael Dinwiddie for direction of work-in-progress.

Wednesday October 10 @7pm 2012
KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street, NYC 10003
(212) 505-3360

Already the winner of The Literary Achievement Award from Artist Embassy International, Special Ed: Voices from a Hidden Classroom takes place in the special ed classroom, where the kids who don’t fit in anywhere else spend their day. For these kids—real kids Dennis J. Bernstein taught in the New York City public schools before he became an internationally known investigative journalist—pistols, switchblades, police cars and hunger are more instructive than textbooks. Special Ed is about daily life under the siege of poverty, racism, and class warfare. We come to know these kids intimately: Gloria, whose mother was disappeared in Guatemala and whose friendship with Marilyn rescues her from trauma-induced silence; Paulie, who “finds tears in the mirror’s eyes” but thinks of himself as tough and defies the gang-guys who threaten to drop him from the roof of the projects; Regina, who sells nickel bags before class and gets high alone in the gym before giving a heart-wrenching performance of a poem by Langston Hughes. Dennis Bernstein loves these kids fiercely, and we come to love them too as the collection unfolds.

“Dennis Bernstein is a hero to me because of his dedicated, unflinching reporting of real news on Flashpoints, at KPFA in Berkeley, California. But his fearless pursuit of the truth about what is happening in our rapidly transforming world did not prepare me for the beauty, depth, not-one-word-mislaid perception of this amazing book. Each word, each line, each thought has a weight, a texture, a surprise all its own. With its moving preface, in which Dennis shares his own struggles as a young child with special needs, Special Ed: Voices from a Hidden Classroom is that unusual gift literature can be: We are connected to humanity in ways we might never have even considered or imagined before. Above all it is art turned to us through the eyes of love.”
Alice Walker Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, author of The Color Purple

Stories of migration, culture, and soul from EarSay’s Transforming Trauma Into Art projects in Queens, NY — the most polyglot place in the United States. Performing artists include Judith Sloan, MiWi LaLupa, Bridget Kelso, EarSay Youth Voices from the International High School, and Queens College Choir performing an excerpt from 1001 Voices! Symphony created by Frank London, Judith Sloan, and Warren Lehrer. Honoring Viper Records for their support.

Proceeds benefit development of YO MISS and EarSay’s Immigrant Youth Program in partnership with the International High School at LaGuardia Community College.

If you can’t attend the event but would like to donate, please click on this link for ways to help and more information about the program: EarSay Youth Voices

EarSay’s Immigrant Youth program for the 2011/2012 year was  supported in part by a partnership with the International High School at LaGuardia Community College, LaGuardia Liberty Partnership Program, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Viper Records, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer.

Team includes: Artistic Director Judith Sloan,  teaching artists Bridget Kelso and Catherine Hanna, filmmaker/photographer Robert Winn, sound engineer/music producer Touré Southpaw Harris, partnering teacher Sarah Gil, principal John Starkey.

Music composed by Frank London
Libretto by Judith Sloan
Visuals by Warren Lehrer with Brandon Campbell

Premiered by the Queens Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulos, Queens Symphony Orchestra music director
Performed by full orchestra and a 190-voice chorus comprised of the Queens College Choral Society and Queens College Choir, James John, Music Director
Featured Tabla Soloist Deep Singh
Spoken word performed by Judith Sloan in English with additional translations in Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic by Dailyn Despradel, Krussia, Haojie Huang, and Catherine Hanna.

Watch Video Excerpt on Vimeo CLICK ON IMAGE or CLICK HERE

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LISTEN TO INTERVIEW ON WNYC: TUESDAY APRIL 24 CLICK HERE

What happens when a performing artist survives a near-fatal car accident and collides with the oncoming traffic of Hip Hop culture? Part documentary, part music, part poetic autobiography, Yo Miss! looks back on Judith’s twenty years of teaching in prisons, immigration high schools, and universities. In this sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always truth-seeking performance, Sloan breaks down assumptions that divide teacher and student, student and student, one sub-culture from another, and residents of a polyglot city who live in close proximity but come from conflicting worlds. Through poetry, vivid character portrayals and music, she brings their tales to life along with her own stories revealing the ripple effects of the Holocaust on her family. In addition to her work as an educator, Judith Sloan is an award-winning character actress, oral historian, and radio producer. Fusing the art of theatre and radio, Yo Miss is an eye- and ear-witness account of one artist navigating a maze of miscommunications, memory, and cross-generational dialogues as she finds resilience in the face of tragedy.

A play with music
Conceived and written by Judith Sloan
Directed by Michael Dinwiddie
Music direction Frank London
Performed by Judith Sloan
with Adam Hill and MiWi LaLupa
Live Sound Engineer Luke Santy
Sound direction and design Judith Sloan
Editor at large Warren Lehrer

Already the winner of The Literary Achievement Award from Artist Embassy International, Special Ed: Voices from a Hidden Classroom takes place in the special ed classroom, where the kids who don’t fit in anywhere else spend their day. For these kids—real kids Dennis J. Bernstein taught in the New York City public schools before he became an internationally known investigative journalist—pistols, switchblades, police cars and hunger are more instructive than textbooks. Special Ed is about daily life under the siege of poverty, racism, and class warfare. We come to know these kids intimately: Gloria, whose mother was disappeared in Guatemala and whose friendship with Marilyn rescues her from trauma-induced silence; Paulie, who “finds tears in the mirror’s eyes” but thinks of himself as tough and defi es the gang-guys who threaten to drop him from the roof of the projects; Regina, who sells nickel bags before class and gets high alone in the gym before giving a heart-wrenching performance of a poem by Langston Hughes. Dennis Bernstein loves these kids fiercely, and we come to love them too as the collection unfolds.

“Dennis Bernstein is a hero to me because of his dedicated, unflinching reporting of real news on Flashpoints, at KPFA in Berkeley, California. But his fearless pursuit of the truth about what is happening in our rapidly transforming world did not prepare me for the beauty, depth, not-one- word-mislaid perception of this amazing book. Each word, each line, each thought has a weight, a texture, a surprise all its own. With its moving preface, in which Dennis shares his own struggles as a young child with special needs, Special Ed: Voices from a Hidden Classroom is that unusual gift literature can be: We are connected to humanity in ways we might never have even considered or imagined before. Above all it is art turned to us through the eyes of love.
Alice Walker Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, author of The Color Purple

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Click here or on image to view video of exhibition.

Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan’s Crossing the BLVD traveling exhibition of photographs, sounds, and stories create a multimedia experience documenting the lives of new immigrants and refugees in the most polyglot locality in the United States—the borough of Queens, New York. Ninety photographic portraits by Warren Lehrer portray the pride, beauty, struggle and colorful humanity of individuals who have crossed through war zones, borders, oceans, and cultural divides.  Audio sound stations produced by Judith Sloan enable visitors to hear the voices, sounds and music of those portrayed in the exhibition. An ambient soundscape of people praying, voices on the streets, found and composed music, bring visitors into this crossroad of the world upon entering the exhibition. The Crossing the BLVD exhibition premiered at the Queens Museum of Art in 2004 and has since traveled to 15 locations in the United States including MICA in Baltimore Maryland, Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase New York, The Hudson Museum in Orono Maine, Art Museum of the University of Memphis Tennessee, Weber State University in Utah, Urban Arts Space/University of Ohio, Columbus, Tyler Art Gallery/SUNY Oswego.

“Crossing the BLVD is a powerful social record… Most of the subjects live in Queens, but their stories resonate far beyond the borders of this multicultural New York borough. What often gets lost in the national debate on immigration is the human dimension, an understanding of the lives of those people who give up everything to come here... Extraordinary people, extraordinary lives… A living work of art.” The New York Times Benjamin Genocchio

“Crossing the BLVD—a multi-media installation of photography, text, and sounds  is more akin to watching a movie, because the narratives take time to unfold, and there is an inherent drama in the real life personal accounts… Crossing the BLVD offers an object lesson in the new aesthetic—how it looks, how it generates its meanings—as well as a window on the lives of people who, mostly unnoticed by the rest of us, are steadily enlarging the concept of what it means to be an American.” The Baltimore Sun Glenn McNatt

Performances for Human Rights and Youth Leadership
Hosted by Judith Sloan
At the Spanish Repertory Theatre
138 East 27th Street, NYC, between Lexington and Third Avenues.
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Saturday June 11 performances by:
Judith Sloan presents an excerpt from Yo Miss!, and La Bruja, with opening acts by Youth from EarSay’s Theatre workshop and Bridget Kelso. Post show talk back with the artists hosted by Martha Diaz from Hip Hop Education Center, with guests Abran Maldonado and Hasan Salaam.

Judith Sloan’s Anecdotal Evidence: Notes from An Evolutionary Activist.

Performance of character monologues, music, poetry turning life on its side, anger into song, pain into hilarity. Part concert, part stories, looking at the world through the eyes of someone who has reported on stories of immigrants, refugees, and human rights for the past 20 years. Judith Sloan, Frank London and band.

Judith Sloan’s Anecdotal Evidence was made possible with a theatre commission individual artist grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) through a sponsored grant through City Lore.

Created for public radio broadcast and live performance. Dayenu is a poetic narrative that intimately looks at the Jewish holiday of Passover. In questioning the meaning of Dayenu, producer, writer Judith Sloan asks when we will have had enough torture, war, fear, hatred and what it means to look at the ideas of slavery in our contemporary lives, and to question the futility of ongoing war and enemy states. Written, edited, produced, arranged and performed by Judith Sloan. Music by Frank London and Judith Sloan. Recording Engineer and additional arrangement Taylor Rivelli. Mixed by Ryan West.

Dayenu won First Place in the Missouri Review National Audio Competition, May 2009.

Listen:

The School of Education is excited to host an Immigration and Education Conference on Saturday, March 19, 2011. There is no better place to look carefully at immigration, in its broadest sense, than here in the city referred to as “The Crossroads of the World”, and especially at City College, an institution that has been educating immigrant students for over 100 years. The conference will bring together students, faculty, educators, community members and politicians from NYC and beyond to address this timely and important topic.

An evening of monologues, dance, hip hop, music and poetry.
Performances by:
Universes, Carl Hancock Rux, Judith Sloan, Warren Lehrer, Elise Knudson. Musical guests: Jie-Song Zhang and Krussia of the Stone Forest Ensemble and MiWi LaLupa.

Also actors reading excerpts from Crossing the BLVD including: Bridget Kelso, Chris Kamau, Justin Hudson, Catherine Hanna, Bridgit Antoinette Evans, Vaimoana Niumeitolu, Prerana Reddy, and Jonathan Stuart (from Viper Records), and a special performance by high school students from EarSay’s Transforming Trauma Into Art theatre project.

Read about Judith Sloan’s work with immigrant teenagers in the New York Times.

View video trailer of EarSay Arts and Activism Workshops for Youth.

EarSay Arts and Activism Workshops for Youth Founded by Judith Sloan from EarSay Inc on Vimeo.

Crossing the Cultural Divide
curated and hosted by Judith Sloan
featuring Parul Shah, NYCSubwayGirl, and Abran “Aronic” Maldonado

For BAX’s 20th Birthday Season, alumni, faculty, current and former resident artists provide a striking curatorial dynamism. They have pulled from their experiences and interests at and beyond BAX. As a group they represent BAX’s past, present and future. Crossing the Cultural Divide brings together artists from disparate ethnic and cultural backgrounds and performance genres.

Tickets:
In advance $12 General 
$7 Low-Income
Half-hour before show (at the box office) $15 General
$8 Low-Income

Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan’s Crossing the BLVD traveling exhibition of photographs, sounds, and stories create a multimedia experience documenting the lives of new immigrants and refugees in the most polyglot locality in the United States—the borough of Queens, New York. Ninety photographic portraits by Warren Lehrer portray the pride, beauty, struggle and colorful humanity of individuals who have crossed through war zones, borders, oceans, and cultural divides.  Audio sound stations produced by Judith Sloan enable visitors to hear the voices, sounds and music of those portrayed in the exhibition. An ambient soundscape of people praying, voices on the streets, found and composed music, bring visitors into this crossroad of the world upon entering the exhibition.  The Crossing the BLVD exhibition premiered at the Queens Museum of Art in 2004 and has since traveled to over 11 locations in the United States including MICA in Baltimore Maryland, Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase New York, The Hudson Museum in Orono Maine, Art Museum of the University of Memphis Tennessee, Weber State University in Utah. Details on performances and lectures to follow.

“Crossing the BLVD is a powerful social record… Most of the subjects live in Queens, but their stories resonate far beyond the borders of this multicultural New York borough. What often gets lost in the national debate on immigration is the human dimension, an understanding of the lives of those people who give up everything to come here... Extraordinary people, extraordinary lives… A living work of art.” The New York Times Benjamin Genocchio

“Crossing the BLVD—a multi-media installation of photography, text, and sounds  is more akin to watching a movie, because the narratives take time to unfold, and there is an inherent drama in the real life personal accounts… Crossing the BLVD offers an object lesson in the new aesthetic—how it looks, how it generates its meanings—as well as a window on the lives of people who, mostly unnoticed by the rest of us, are steadily enlarging the concept of what it means to be an American.” The Baltimore Sun Glenn McNatt

This panel seeks common ground among voices that weave together art and social change strategies in their engagement with immigrant communities. At this intersection, we bring together dynamic figures from the fields of art and culture, social justice, human rights, and grantmaking to discuss how they connect, support, and collaborate. By encouraging each panelist to share challenges, lessons learned and best practices, we hope to build on diverse strengths for collaboration in the future. The panel will be followed by a lively reception.

Moderated by: Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, Director of the Culture, Creativity and Communities Program, Urban Institute

Performance by: Judith Sloan, Co-creator with Warren Lehrer of Crossing the BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a new America and Co-founder of EarSay

Presenting: Heidi Boisvert, Multi-Media Manager, Breakthrough / Christine Gaspar, Executive Director, Center for Urban Pedagogy with collaborator Sean Basinski, Director, Street Vendor Project./ Carlos A. Martinez, Colombian-born Artist and Activist / Iris Morales, Executive Director, Union Square Awards

Performance to support Arts and Activism workshops for immigrant teenagers. Hosted by actress/radio producer/co-creator of Crossing the BLVD Judith Sloan, whose multi-character performances combine humor, pathos and a love of the absurd. Featured performers: Lemon Andersen, Tony-award winning Brooklyn-based renaissance and hip-hop artist, creator of the critically acclaimed one man show County of Kings* in which Lemon recounts his troubled childhood and eventual arrival on Broadway as part of Def Poetry Jam; Mahina Movement, a trio of three voices and one guitar mixing folk, rock and rhymes in English, Spanish, and Tongan simmered with indigenous roots and culture; Elise Knudson, cross-disciplinary dance-maker; AKIR, hip-hop educator/producer performing social commentary to an uplifting score and Hasan Salaam, hip hop artist, humanitarian/speaker whose music paints vivid pictures of the commonalities that bind us. A special appearance by a Michael Legaspi, a student from EarSay’s Arts workshops and Justin Hudson, recent Hunter College High School graduate.

Proceeds go to EarSay’s Youth Arts Programs and directly to the performing artists.

$14 Early Bird Special through Sept. 22/$16 after the 22nd /$20 at the door.
Sponsor tickets $30 and help teenagers attend the show!

This event is supported in part by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The International High School at LaGuardia Community College, and Viper Records.

* Lemon Andersen’s County of Kings was first presented at the Public Theater in association with Under the Radar and the Culture Project

Earsay’s Youth Arts programs is a partnership with the International High School at LaGuardia Community College supported in part by the office of New York City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Earsay’s Youth Arts programs is a partnership with the International High School at LaGuardia Community College supported in part by LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, the office of New York City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, with public  funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and Viper Records.

January 18, 6:30 PM Yo Miss! at Cornelia Street Cafe, NYC

2012

Monday November 5, 6 PM Crossing the BLVD performance at Fairfield University focus on the cities.

Saturday October 20, 8 PM Judith Sloan’s Yo Miss! at the JCC Manhattan as part of the REPAIR festival of new performance.

Monday July 16 @ 7:00 pm, 2012 Crossing the BLVD performance at New York Institute of Technology

June 13 Judith Sloan and Friends with EarSay Voices! at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre

June 7, Judith Sloan presented Crossing the BLVD at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, International Conference on Justice, Security and Human Rights.

April 29, 1001 Voices: a Symphony for Queens – Premiered by Queens Symphony Orchestra, Queens College Choral Society and Queens College Choir. Music composed by Frank London. Libretto by Judith Sloan. Animated visuals by Warren Lehrer with Brandon Campbell.

February 16, Judith Sloan’s Yo Miss! at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre.

February 13, Warren Lehrer – guest lecture, The Visual Literature of Warren Lehrer, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts

2011

November 22, Crossing the BLVD lecture and performance at Peace and Conflict Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

November 3, 4, 5, 6 Judith Sloan’s Yo Miss! at Nuyorican Poets Cafe, NYC

September 14 and 15 Crossing the BLVD performances at Waterman Theatre, Tyler Hall, SUNY Oswego.

August 29 Crossing the BLVD exhibition opens at Tyler Art Gallery, SUNY Oswego.

July 11 Crossing the BLVD performance, with Judith Sloan at the New York Institute of Technology.

June 10 and 11 Performances at the Spanish Repertory Theater. NY, NY.

April 9- Benefit Performance hosted by Brian Lehrer at New York Society for Ethical Culture, to support EarSay’s Transforming Trauma Into Art Youth program for immigrant teenagers. Performances by Judith Sloan, Carl Hancock Rux, Universes, Warren Lehrer, honoring Deb Margolin and Ninotchka Rosca.

March 26 and April 6- Crossing the BLVD exhibition closes at Ohio State University, Urban Arts Space, and Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers University, Newark NJ.

March 19: Judith Sloan and EarSay team for Transforming Trauma Into Art at CCNY Immigration and Education Conference. Panel with Judith Sloan, Robert Winn, Jen Blier, and Percy Lujan.

March 3: Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan at SUNY Oswego. Sneak preview of Crossing the BLVD exhibition and workshops schedules for fall 2011. As part of campus-wide Telling Tales project.

February 14: Opening of selected images of Crossing the BLVD, at Rutgers University, Paul Robeson Galleries, Gallery talk with Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan.

February 11 and 12: Crossing the Cultural Divide. Performance featuring Parul Shah, NYCSubway Girl, and Aronic at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Curated and hosted by Judith Sloan.

January 28 and 29: Judith Sloan performance at Ohio State University, Urban Arts Center opening and reception for Crossing the BLVD traveling exhibition. Saturday Jan 29: Sloan conducted workshop on storytelling and art of the interview.  

January 24: Warren Lehrer – guest lecture, The Visual Literature of Warren Lehrer, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts

2010

December 1 and 2: Judith Sloan, performance of Yo Miss! at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center

October 22 and 23: Warren Lehrer lectures and presents at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

October 14: Judith Sloan Crossing the BLVD presentation at New York Foundation for the Arts panel on Art, Social Justice, and Engaging Immigrant Communities.

October 3: Judith Sloan Crossing the BLVD presentation at The Ethical Culture Society of Westchester, NY

Sept. 29: Crossing the BLVD/Crossing the Cultural Divide, Performance with Judith Sloan, Lemon Andersen, Mahina Movement, AKIR, Hasan Salaam, Elise Knudson. LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, LIC Queens, NY.

July 12: Judith Sloan performs Crossing the BLVD at New York Institute of Technology

July 11: Judith Sloan, keynote speaker at New York Society for Ethical Culture

April 30: Work-in-progress of Judith Sloan’s Yo Miss! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide Vol 1, Nuyorican Poets Café. Directed by Michael Dinwiddie, Music Director Frank London.   

April 16 and 23: Crossing the BLVD performance at Nuyorican Poets Café

April 7: Warren Lehrer, Keynote Speaker, The Morristown and Morris Township Library’s Third Annual Book Arts Series

March 25th: Judith Sloan on panel for Full Spectrum series, The Griots, Powerhouse Arena Books.

March 4, 5, 6: Work-in-progress of Judith Sloan’s Yo Miss! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide, Vol. 1, Nuyorican Poets Café. Directed by Michael Dinwiddie, Music Director Frank London.

February 23: Crossing the Cultural Divide, dialogue on prison and art with Anthony Papa and Immortal Technique. International High School at LaGuardia Community College.

February 8: Warren Lehrer – guest lecture, The Visual Literature of Warren Lehrer, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts

January 11: Judith Sloan’s documentary on Immortal Technique aired on WGBH/BBC/PRI’s THE WORLD, host Marco Werman. Click here: From Harlem to Kabul

2009

December 6: Crossing the Cultural Divide event at Nuyorican Poets Café NYC with Kahlil Almustafa, Judith Sloan, Chenits Pettigrew, Warren Lehrer, Vanessa Hidary and more.

November 13: Warren Lehrer Guest Lecture, College of Arts and Humanities, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah
Warren Lehrer, 2009-2010 The Dean W. and Carol W. Hurst Artist/Scholar in Residence, College of Arts and Humanities, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah

October 24: Judith Sloan, work-in-progress Yo Miss! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide, Vol. 1, Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY

October 12 through November 22: Crossing the BLVD Exhibition, Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah.

October 1-3: Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan present lectures and conduct workshops, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

October 2: Judith Sloan performs Crossing the BLVD. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

September 28: Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan, Featured Speakers, I and Thou: The Book as Community: The 15th Annual New Jersey Book Arts Symposium, Rutgers University

September 15: EarSay benefit with guest artists including Frank London, Deb Margolin, Immortal Technique, Ken White, Judith Sloan, Warren Lehrer, honoring Tony Papa, 13th Street Theatre, New York City.

September 12: Work-in-progress of Judith Sloan’s Yo Miss! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide, Vol. 1, Danny Simmons Gallery, Brooklyn NY. Directed by Michael Dinwiddie, performed live with Ken White and Luke Santy sound engineer.

August 11: Judith Sloan and Chen Lo and the Liberation Family, double bill at Bowery Poetry Club, NYC

May: Judith Sloan wins first place and first runner up in Missouri Review National Audio Competition. First Place, Dayenu written, produced and performed by Judith Sloan, music by Frank London and Judith Sloan. First Runner Up, What’s Your Status, written, produced and performed by Judith Sloan, music produced and performed by Taylor Rivelli.

April 24: Performance of Crossing the BLVD, Bennington College

April 13: Feature in New York Times on EarSay’s project with youth directed by Judith Sloan, Click to read Pain Into Performance

April 5: Crossing the BLVD/Crossing the Cultural Divide event at Queens Museum of Art, Queens NY. Multiple artists including Basya Schecter, Chenits Pettigrew, Editha Rosario, hosted by Judith Sloan.

November 13: Warren Lehrer Guest Lecture, College of Arts and Humanities, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah
Warren Lehrer, 2009-2010 The Dean W. and Carol W. Hurst Artist/Scholar in Residence, College of Arts and Humanities, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah

October 24: Judith Sloan, work-in-progress Yo Miss! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide, Vol. 1, Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY

October 12 through November 22: Crossing the BLVD Exhibition, Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah.

October 1-3: Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan present lectures and conduct workshops, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

October 2: Judith Sloan performs Crossing the BLVD. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

September 28: Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan, Featured Speakers, I and Thou: The Book as Community: The 15th Annual New Jersey Book Arts Symposium, Rutgers University

September 15: EarSay benefit with guest artists including Frank London, Deb Margolin, Immortal Technique, Ken White, Judith Sloan, Warren Lehrer, honoring Tony Papa, 13th Street Theatre, New York City.

September 12: Work-in-progress of Judith Sloan’s Yo Miss! Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide, Vol. 1, Danny Simmons Gallery, Brooklyn NY. Directed by Michael Dinwiddie, performed live with Ken White and Luke Santy sound engineer.

August 11: Judith Sloan and Chen Lo and the Liberation Family, double bill at Bowery Poetry Club, NYC

May: Judith Sloan wins first place and first runner up in Missouri Review National Audio Competition. First Place, Dayenu written, produced and performed by Judith Sloan, music by Frank London and Judith Sloan. First Runner Up, What’s Your Status, written, produced and performed by Judith Sloan, music produced and performed by Taylor Rivelli.

April 24: Performance of Crossing the BLVD, Bennington College

April 13: Feature in New York Times on EarSay’s project with youth directed by Judith Sloan, Click to read:  Voicing Pain Through Performance

April 5: Crossing the BLVD/Crossing the Cultural Divide event at Queens Museum of Art, Queens NY. Multiple artists including Basya Schecter, Chenits Pettigrew, Editha Rosario, hosted by Judith Sloan.

After seven years of loving toil, Warren Lehrer is just now putting the final touches on A LIFE IN BOOKS: The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley, an illuminated novel that contains 101 books within it, all written and designed by Lehrer’s protagonist, who finds himself in prison looking back on his life and career. Mobley’s autobiography/apologia is paired with a review of all his books. Each book is represented by its first edition cover design and catalog copy, and more than a third of his books are excerpted. The resulting retrospective contrasts the published writings (which read like short stories) with the author’s confessional memoir, forming a most unusual portrait of a well-intentioned, obsessively inventive (but ethically challenged) visionary.

Warren was just awarded a NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts) grant in ‘Electronic Media and Film’ to complete and program the enhanced ebook edition of A Life In Books, which will include animations, video and audio performances, annotations, break out galleries, and other interactive components. He also received a LAB residency—at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in LIC—to workshop and produce the multimedia performance presentation of A Life in Books, which will culminate in a performance in Fall 2013 to coincide with the publication of the book. Stay tuned for more information on the book, Warren’s reading and performance tour, and the traveling exhibition.

Read about the book and project in The Atlantic

Lecture by Warren Lehrer on his work as a writer, designer, and pioneering practitioner of visual literature. Lehrer talks about his obsessions with capturing the shape of thought, reuniting the pictorial and oral roots of storytelling with the printed word, and bridging documentary and expressive forms. He discusses his pilgrimage with language through art and design into literature, and deconstructs and performs excerpts of his books and multi-media projects including i mean you know, FRENCH FRIES, The Portrait Series, Crossing the BLVD, and his new illuminated novel in progress, The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley: a life in books, which contains 101 books within it. One part artist lecture, one part author reading, one part performance, this presentation is as entertaining as it is informative and thought provoking.

Students from our Youth Arts and Activism projects: Transforming Trauma Into Art and Cross-Cultural Dialogue Through the Arts program in partnership with the International High School at LaGuardia Community College will perform in April at EarSay’s benefit event hosted by Brian Lehrer of the Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC radio. More details to come. Read about Judith Sloan’s work with immigrant teenagers in the New York Times. Transforming Trauma Into Art is a new initiative of EarSay’s, directed by Judith Sloan, born out of our partnership with the International High School at LaGuardia Community College where many students come from war-zones and conflict. The premise of this workshop is based on healing through artistic expression using a combination of music, movement, theatre and storytelling. This process helps release the stories and stressors that prevent people—who have been traumatized by war, economic or natural disasters—from moving forward. This program is specifically designed for teenagers who recently migrated to the United States. It brings an understanding of confronting obstacles through artistic expression to communities that are poor, displaced, or don’t have access to artistic training, serving approximately 450 students. The project grows out of our commitment to education and the creation of artistic works that evolve out of individual experience and community. In this case, the community is immigrant and refugee teenagers attending school in New York City. The program currently takes place on a weekly basis under the direction of Judith Sloan, with teaching artists Laura Doggett and Robert Winn, guest teaching artist/hip hop educator Hasan Salaam, CUNY Graduate Assistant Jen Bleier, NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study students Alden Ehrenreich and Zoe Rosenberg, and Bard College High School intern Paulus Van Horne. View video trailer of project’s history below.

EarSay Arts and Activism Workshops for Youth Founded by Judith Sloan from EarSay Inc on Vimeo.