206 Urban Arts Community Meeting Minutes
Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006
2:30-4:00pm (2:06 sign-in)
At LANGSTON HUGHES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
104 17th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 684-4757
Facilitator: Jace, Silent Lambs Project
Represented Organizations/Collectives:
Seattle Art Museum, Nynth Trybe Studies, UW Student Group, 206 Zulu, Red Army, Mind Movers, Spectrum, MadK, BYC, Project Mayhem/ 1st Platoon, Think Big Foundation, Aim 4 Peace, Hip Hop Congress, Seattle University, KBCS, Community Radio, Silent Lamb Project, YMCA, dRED.i, Wicked X, Social Justice TV, Obese Productions, Reclaim the Media, Coolout Network , WAPIFASA, 6 Deep, Power of Hope, Massline, Langston Hughes Cultural Center, Washington State Parks and Recreation
Introductions, agenda overview, and opening discussion:
Jace starts the meeting, and opening introductions commence. When asked why people chose to attend the meeting, answers included: to build and dialogue in the community, to bridge gaps between academia and the streets, to see Hip Hop unify the world, to look and listen, to document the local scene, to work in schools, to promote Seattle Hip Hop, to see unity in the scene, and for the love.
TOPIC ONE: The Hip Hop in Education Movement
-After establishing a consensus on the effectiveness of Hip Hop in education, and the high number of teaching Hip Hop artists in the community, the discussion moves to the necessity and benefits of organizing teaching artists. Julies notes:
-Hip Hop in education is popular, especially in the after-school, workshop, and residency formats because it speaks to youth. In Seattle, where we supposedly have the highest number of non-profits serving the community, most teaching Hip Hop artists find opportunities to pass down their craft, share their experiences, and act as positive role models and mentors for young people through stipends from programs funded or implemented by non-profits, or by starting their own.
Though the rising demand for teaching artists is a positive thing, it is obvious that the same systems of privilege and oppression that operate on an institutional level in this society show up on the grassroots level. Sometimes teaching Hip Hop artists are deliberately exploited by non-profits, other times teaching artists are simply not being compensated for the full value of their work because many of us will do it for the love.
-Greg, of dRED.i, speaks on the challenges of working with non-profits and the experience of teaching artists not being truly valued or not being supported by the institutions that are moderating.
Organizing teaching Hip Hop artists- The social entreprenuerialship model
A social entrepreneur identifies and solves social problems on a large scale. Just as business entrepreneurs create and transform whole industries, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss in order to improve systems, invent and disseminate new approaches and advance sustainable solutions that create social value
-Julie introduces H2Ed mission, goals, and projects (www.h2ed.net), presents THA 5th Element Conference Tour rationale and objectives, as an action plan for
1) creating a systemized network of teaching artists by spotlighting the movement
2) advocating Hip Hop in education locally
Note: Laura Piece Kelley, added to this conversation later, speaking on the importance of providing professional development resources for teaching artists. Amos Miller offered to take on compiling a local teaching Hip Hop artist database.
Question/discussion Summary:
Funding for THA 5th Element Tour was brought up, and people were concerned about the interests of funders overshadowing the mission of the project. It is asserted that the message and mission of this project will not be compromised for funding, and that our priority now is establishing a board/conference committee, which will oganize the teaching artists network/coalition and finalizing the mission, objectives, and plan of action for the tour.
TOPIC TWO: Hip Hop and Media
This discussion was opened up by first acknowledging the importance of independent media sources and their relationship to local industry and community. The benefits of sharing knowledge and resources between grassroots sources and doing more outreach to local artists was brought up.
-Julie C presented the media action item to establish an inclusive Northwest Urban Arts Media Coalition that will:
1) Serve as a resource for local artists by participating/creating campaigns and projects that encourage
-artists to produce and submit quality music videos to the local media outlets
-artists and Hip Hop practitioners to promote and listen in to local media outlets
-Hip Hop enthusiasts to take an active roll in requesting local artists music and videos
-Hip Hop artists and enthusiasts to create more independent media outlets
-cross promotion of media outlets
-local media to become more active in the local urban arts scene
-diversity in commercial media
2) Highlight and support activism in the urban arts community
3) Work with existing local and national grassroots media networks and campaigns to serve as the voice of independent media advocacy for the Hip Hop Community
-Karen Toering and Sabrina Roach, of Reclaim the Media, and Peter Graff and Barbie-Danielle DeCarlo of KBCS, Community Radio discuss the vulnerability of grassroots media sources given how policy and legislation affect media ownership and content. They highlight the importance of advocacy, organization, and self-representation in the facilitation of democratic media that empowers the community.
Question/Discussion Summary:
Kym, of CI, brought up the responsibility of community radio and other independent media outlets to make themselves visible and active in the communities they wish to serve.
Karens comments on the power of Hip Hop as a culture in the struggle for democratic media: Cultural events get people in the room. Get them there and then educate them. Hip Hop is Media. The need to gather a core group of organizers and representatives from local independent urban arts media sources (TV, Community/College Radio, Print, Internet etc.), to develop a structure for systemizing networks of information and clearly identify entrepreneurial and social-change objectives for the coalition.
Community-based projects:
Website (www.206zulu.com)
-Daniel Khazm Kogita presents all call for 206 Zulu Web project:
-An informative and ultimate resource for upcoming events in the NW, an extensive directory that will include online resources and various curriculum, video shows, radio shows, magazines, Hip Hop specialty record stores, venues, promoters, and artist listings.
Northwest Hip Hop Timeline
-Khazm presents all call for timeline project
-Documenting the history/herstory of Hip Hop in the Northwest and having it accessible to the public, online at www.206zulu.com, as an easily navigational and legitimate source of information. 206 Zulu will be conducting extensive outreach and meticulous preparations to accurately document the history/herstory. It is crucial that all Hip Hop practitioners participate in this project.
-Searching for information, stories, videos, audio, flyers, posters, records, CDs, stickers, photos, graff flicks, black books, memorabilia, and vintage materials.
-206 Zulu has working relations with The Universal Federation For the Preservation of Hip Hop and will be contributing the Northwest Hip Hop Timeline and additional support for the National Center for the Study and Preservation of Hip Hop Culture.
Established in New York City in 2003, The Universal Federation for the Preservation of Hip Hop is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that preserves Hip Hop culture and provides instruction on the ramifications, significance, social history, and placement of Hip Hop culture.
The Federation is the nations first non-profit organization which includes the actual inventors of Hip Hop music and culture. Members include Afrika Bambaataa, GrandMaster Caz, GrandMaster Melle Mel, Lovebug Starski, among others.
The immediate goal is to create the National Center for the Study and Preservation of Hip Hop Culture. This multi-million dollar, state of the art Center, will be located in the Bronxthe birthplace of Hip Hop. The Center will house the archives of the chronological evolution of Hip Hop music through the preservation of documents, artifacts, musical compositions, collections, artist biographical information and other memorabilia. Simultaneously, an educational program will be developed to serve as an international place of study.
Closing:
-Jace closes the meeting
Contact for Information on meeting outcomes/specific projects:
Julie Chang Schulman
H2Ed, Aim 4 Peace, 206 Zulu
(425) 223-7787
juliec.206@gmail.com
