VONY presents :: KIDS DREAM IN COLOR [Support us by signing up!]

VONY is an organization I've been involved with as a teaching artist at the Visual Arts program. We had teamed up a few months ago with a New York-based architectural design firm <a href="http://www.realestatearts.com/" style="color: #13cf8f; text-decoration: none;">Real Estate Arts</a> (REA) to hold a week long art workshop called Kids Dream In Color (KDIC). Ten super talented kids were chosen to participate in a week-long workshop at the firm to recreate the Empire State Building using common, eco-friendly art materials and re-envision the building in the year 2020 as a green, earth-friendly building, a futuristic symbol of a new Empire State of Mind. We had kids who knew how to do stop-motion animation or had their own comic books drawn. At the end of the program, we had an exhibit where they could showcase and demonstrate their work. I incorporated my piece DORJE as an imaginary guide to the Galaxy of Kats, which the kids visited in their imagination to collect wisdom about how to preserve energy on Earth using natural resources during their visualization exercise. Here is the documentary that our amazing team put together.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><i>Director of Photography:</i> Aric Gutnick <i>Editor: </i>Joel Mejia (Director of Media Dept,VONY/Dare To Dream)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3qGEZ-EOvWU&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3qGEZ-EOvWU&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;">I had a chance to continue to work with a few of the young creators at a more recent workshop dedicated to raise awareness about autism. This time we worked on customizing skateboards, which was exhibited at a group art exhibit/autism fundraiser featuring a number of NY artists. I always love working with QUEST. He is super talented and independent-minded who likes to get himself into all kinds of mischief (such as speed-rooftop-climbing). Here is the board he did. <br /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/VONY-lichiban-quest1.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/VONY-lichiban-quest3.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/VONY-lichiban-quest2.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>WE WOULD LIKE YOUR SUPPORT! </b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Here is a letter from my close friend, Suzanna, founder of Voices of New York (VONY) to the public to   request support for our organization by signing up to our email list on Bloomspot. Each sign-up translates to $5 to the organization. We are currently raising funds for youth programs and workshops, so  any help is appreciated. Here comes her letter...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dear Friends, I wanted to write you personally about a wonderful opportunity for Voices of New York to have $1,000 donated by Bloomspot. Now I know it amounts to a publicity campaign for Bloomspot, but if we can have 200 members joined at our community circle by October 15th, we raise $1,000 which VONY needs!!! All you have to do is join the circle by giving your email. While you will receive a promotional email from Bloomspot, you can unsubscribe (like I have) and still be part of our circle without affecting our chances of earning the cash. We have already raised $280 from them, so I know they are legit.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Click <a href="http://www.bloomspot.com/circles/voices-of-new-york/">HERE</a> to sign-up on BLOOMSPOT.</b></div></div>

VONY presents :: KIDS DREAM IN COLOR [Support us by signing up!]

VONY is an organization I've been involved with as a teaching artist at the Visual Arts program. We had teamed up a few months ago with ...

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VONY presents: The 2nd Annual VONYSpeaks Conference & Benefit Show 2010

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://vonyconference2010.tumblr.com/photo/1280/1144437971/1/tumblr_l8yfejimLR1qdgie2" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://vonyconference2010.tumblr.com/photo/1280/1144437971/1/tumblr_l8yfejimLR1qdgie2" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://vonyconference2010.tumblr.com/photo/1280/1139458550/1/tumblr_l8wwemeVWO1qdgie2" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://vonyconference2010.tumblr.com/photo/1280/1139458550/1/tumblr_l8wwemeVWO1qdgie2" width="320" /></a></div>**<br />Voices of New York (VONY), the organization that I've been part of as a teaching artist/ youth mentor is getting ready for its <i>2nd Annual VONYSpeak Benefit Conference and Show</i>. The conference features an amazing line-up speakers, educators, activist, filmmakers and New York performing and visual artists. If you'd like to get involved or just check out what we are all about, please come and support!  (Here are <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/search/label/VONY"> some previous VONY </a>projects we have done in the past.) I'll be showing a collabo piece with Quan Luv along with a number of other artists/activist, such as Taagen Swa, Alice Mizrahi, The Love Movement, and Cannon & Indira Hersey. <br /><br />To find out more about the program, conference schedule, and panel discussions and film, art and music program, please visit <a href="http://vonyconference2010.tumblr.com/">vonyconference2010</a>.<br /><br />Check out the conference PSA featuring last year's conference speakers and performers.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OOi-ophjFFE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OOi-ophjFFE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>

VONY presents: The 2nd Annual VONYSpeaks Conference & Benefit Show 2010

** Voices of New York (VONY), the organization that I've been part of as a teaching artist/ youth mentor is getting ready for its 2nd An...

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UPCOMING SHOWS: WHITE TRAIN “Create. Collaborate. Inspire”Group Show (FRIDAY) & Across The Board: Artists For Autism Awareness (SATURDAY)

<a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/45784_420103531746_330063151746_5281193_6650635_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/45784_420103531746_330063151746_5281193_6650635_n.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height" /></a><b>I'll be part of two group shows this weekend. The roster is pretty exciting, don't miss these!</b><div><br /><div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>FRIDAY: The</b> <b><a href="http://whitetrain.com/">White Train</a></b> is excited to announce the first of a 3 part series of events, called “Create. Collaborate. Inspire”. In this first event titled Space on White, we have broken down our creative platform into three sections:<br /><br />The GROUND LEVEL will introduce our photographers, as well as showcasing the products of our online store.<br />The BOTTOM LEVEL will re-introduce our artists and their new works since the Launch Event.<br />The UPPER LEVEL will unveil new artists and their works.<br /><br />Space on White<br />Friday, August 27th<br />6 to 10pm,<br />81 White Street<br />New York, NY 10013<br /></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.SpaceOnWhite.com/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; color: rgb(59, 89, 152); text-decoration: none; " target="_blank">www.SpaceOnWhite.com</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.SpaceOnWhite.com/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; color: rgb(59, 89, 152); text-decoration: none; " target="_blank"></a></span><br /><br /><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/AA_Flyer_R3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/AA_Flyer_R3.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/AA_Flyer_R3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; font-size: 12px; border-collapse: collapse; "><b>SATURDAY: Across The Board: Artists For Autism Awareness</b></span></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">On Saturday, August 28, 2010, the Soapstone Gallery in midtown NYC will host over 30 artists transforming raw skateboards into one of a kind works of art. All pieces will be on sale with a portion of each sale donated to Autism Speaks.</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; letter-spacing: 0px; "> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>Across the Board: Artists For Autism Awareness at Soapstone Gallery NYC:</b> Organized and conceptualized by Laurie Markiewicz, her love for skateboarding, art and most of all her child, Jack. At 2 years of age, Jack was diagnosed with PDD-NOS(a non-specified type of autism). It has been Laurie’s mission to raise autism awareness and advocate for more programs and services for families within the NYC autism community. <b><i>“Across The Board” </i></b>is one way of achieving her goal. Featuring artists such as Miguel Paredes, One9, BlusterOne, TooFly, Alice Mizrachi, Gigi Bio, MERES, Marthalicia, Lichiban, 2ESAE, and Damion Silver, </span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; letter-spacing: 0px; ">veteran as well as emerging </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">artists give voice not only to autism awareness, but to relevant community issues. “Across The Board” is an open discussion, but a dialogue that is ultimately designed to create a greater urgency about Autism.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">In keeping with that mission, premiering at the event is <b>“The Across The Board Project” </b>a short documentary filmed and edited by participants from VONYʼs (Voices Of New York) “Dare To Dream Project” youth program</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; ">. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; ">Featuring autistic children, participants from VONYʼs (Voices Of New York) “Kids Dream In Color” youth program with teaching artist Lichiban, artist mentor Marthalicia, singer Bilal, and art therapist Lina Meza-Murillo. The Across the Board project is a workshop produced and organized by Laurie Markiewicz (Across The Board) and Suzanna Ali-Oliver (VONY Executive Director) offering children on the spectrum a chance to partner up with VONY kids to design and paint their own skateboards to premier at the “Across The Board” event.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>Saturday, August 28, 2010 from 7pm-Midnight</b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b><a href="http://www.soapstonegalleryonline.com/">Soapstone Galle</a>ry</b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>11 West 36th Street 5th Floor</b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>New York, NY 10018</b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b></b></span><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>Open to All Ages</b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>$5-10 suggested donation</b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b>Light refreshments served</b></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><b><br /></b></span></div></span></div></div></div>

UPCOMING SHOWS: WHITE TRAIN “Create. Collaborate. Inspire”Group Show (FRIDAY) & Across The Board: Artists For Autism Awareness (SATURDAY)

I'll be part of two group shows this weekend. The roster is pretty exciting, don't miss these! FRIDAY: The White Train is excited ...

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VONY x REA present :: 'Kids Dream In Color' Spring Workshop x Lichiban

The organization I've been involved with as a teaching artist/ art mentor<a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1716028565"> Voices of New York</a> (VONY) recently teamed up with a New York-based architectural design firm <a href="http://www.realestatearts.com/">Real Estate Arts</a> (REA) to hold a week long art workshop called Kids Dream In Color (KDIC). Ten super talented kids were chosen to participate in a one of a kind art immersion where they had to recreate the Empire State Building using common, eco-friendly art materials. The challenge was to re-envision the building in the year 2400 as a green, earth-friendly building, a futuristic symbol of a new Empire State of Mind.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/VONY-REA/VONY_REA_lichiban-3-title2.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/VONY-REA/VONY_REA_lichibanblog2-.jpg" /><br />We used a 10-minute visualization exercise using my work, <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-work-dorje-teacher-of-mountains.html">DORJE </a>to time & space travel to the galaxy where DORJE would serve as an imaginary guide to introduce the kids to alternative ways of imagining a green future. I loved every minute of it: I was really impressed with all the kids' creativity & they were connecting with my cats, which gave me a lot of inspiration to push forward with the vision. Thanks to the kids, VONY & the amazingly hospitable staff of REA to make this possible! Check out more info & pics on <a href="http://wronglips.blogspot.com/2010/04/vony-x-rea.html">Wronglips</a>.<br /></div>

VONY x REA present :: 'Kids Dream In Color' Spring Workshop x Lichiban

The organization I've been involved with as a teaching artist/ art mentor Voices of New York (VONY) recently teamed up with a New York...

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PRESS::: VONY at RISE UP RADIO!

<a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/vony-radio-lichi-suzy-keish.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class="on down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"><img alt="Link" border="0" class="gl_link" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /></span></span><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class="on down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"><img alt="Link" border="0" class="gl_link" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /></span></span><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/vony-radio-lichi-suzy-keish.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 486px; height: 365px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Voices of New York </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (VONY)</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span> movement is evolving beautifully. VONY's founder, Suzie and I have been given an opportunity to talk about our work at </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.wbai.org/" onclick="'ft(" target="_blank">Rise Up Radio - WBAI-FM, New York</a> a couple of months ago (This was actually my second time at the radio. Back in December, I had a chance to talk about my solo show the <span style="font-style: italic;">Secret Lives of Samurais </span>on this dope program). The show this time focused on education and on some of the flaws inherent in the public educational system, and it touched on some less serious tabloid stories. We came in at the second half of the show discussing the alarming phenomenon of the reduction of funds from art education and how VONY tries to counteract the negative effects of this by creating and implementing mentoring workshops that encourage creativity at an early stage of child development. I believe that art, among other things, is the foundation of culture, and it is the voice of a community; hence it has a powerful political potential. So if you take away the arts, you practically undermine a community's (and of course the individual's) creative power for self-determination and expression. This is why I think as artists it is very important for us to give back and nurture the next generation of visionaries to create, dream and believe in their vision...to have a VOICE! Big shout out to our lovely hosts TastyKeish & the boys Digo and Divino for having us on the show and doing a great job with the program. Thank you!<br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">You can listen to the show on RiseUp Radio <a href="http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/090904_210001rur.MP3">HERE </a>(we come in on the second half of the show.)<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;">You can see some of the video footage from our first youth media arts conference & fundraiser concert with BILAL, 88-Keys, Jesse Boykins & Honey LaRochelle from this past summer <a href="http://lichiban.blogspot.com/2009/07/bilal-jesse-boykins-iii-at-vony-benefit.html">here</a><a href="http://vonyspeaks.blogspot.com/">. Check the VONY blog</a> for more info and become a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Voices-of-New-York/86591056607">fan of Voices of New York on facebook</a>. New website coming soon.<br /></span><br /></div><br /></div>

PRESS::: VONY at RISE UP RADIO!

The Voices of New York (VONY) movement is evolving beautifully. VONY's founder, Suzie and I have been given an opportunity to talk a...

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BROOKLYN DIARIES:: FLOW FOR CHANGE : Vony Speaks FUNDRAISER & VONY PSA Premiere Screening

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3h4ZKG9wVCmjPGBRoN0VcM5QHlGfVtjjZG5jSv64L53jqDjNNHnQjvGHIhnijPxOp_NlaZ5v9S9aoieOeBaNfp01jKz6PLqzXdzCXFuWP7wmIAZIMQwq7DPtnrllxlut95PVqKJLCMyc/s1600-h/lichibanVONYshootsolo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337415992445187970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3h4ZKG9wVCmjPGBRoN0VcM5QHlGfVtjjZG5jSv64L53jqDjNNHnQjvGHIhnijPxOp_NlaZ5v9S9aoieOeBaNfp01jKz6PLqzXdzCXFuWP7wmIAZIMQwq7DPtnrllxlut95PVqKJLCMyc/s400/lichibanVONYshootsolo.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" /></a>A little over a month ago, I participated in the PSA shoot for <a href="http://www.vonyspeak-conference.org/">Voices of New York (VONY)</a> a wonderful and much-needed educational project of my good friend Suzanna (<a href="http://vonyspeaks.blogspot.com/">aka Suzanna Ali</a> (read an interview with her about VONY on <a href="http://cdtbk.com/site/2009/05/vony/">Coup d'Etat BK</a>). I've been a huge supporter of her project, and she's chosen me as one of the main art mentors for her organization, which I'm very excited about, since I always wanted to be part of some kind of art-educational project involving kids. Suzanna is a visionary with a holistic, spiritual outlook on education and she has in mind to build a program that would nurture a new generation of youth with a focus on encouraging creative expression from an early stage onward. She is planning to involve artists as art mentors who could also serve as role models for the youth. We used a work of mine that I did as collabo project with my good friend, Jelsen Jargon, called <span style="font-style: italic;">We Are (</span>read my post about the collabo <a href="http://wronglips.blogspot.com/2008/05/world-at-largelove-without-borders.html">here</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span>.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This Tuesday, May 19th the premiere of our PSA shoot, also featuring <a href="http://www.myspace.com/bilaloliver">Bilal </a>and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/88keys">88-Keys</a>, will take place along with a with spoken word performances that serve as a fundraiser for VONY. Def Jam and HBO have partnered with VONY to bring you "FLOW 4 CHANGE" showcasing some of the most talented poets of our time! See the flyer below for details. Here are some flicks from our PSA shoot near the Brooklyn Children Museum...this was back in early April, at the first spring weekend of cherry blossoms and 80 degrees balmy weather....the blossoming trees were shouting new life and flourishing future...a perfect symbol for VONY's growth and the blossoming of a future generation of creatives.<br /><div style="text-align: center;">Suzy, Liz, Rasu of Coup d'Etat with the kids. Joel and Anna were directing the shoot.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/vony_lichiban.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/VONYshootpromolichibanblog.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q202/licsi777/vony_lichiban2.jpg" /><br /><a href="http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c227/NikkiNu123/flowforchange.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c227/NikkiNu123/flowforchange.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 281px; height: 493px;" /></a>The event will be hosted by Bilal & Suzen Baraka with performances by Brave New Voices' Queen Godis and Joshua Bennet, Def Poetry Jam's Staceyann Chin and Black Ice, and our beloved poet and brother, Kesed just to name a few. Your support is greatly appreciated.<br /><br />The VONY is dedicated to nurture a new generation of youth whose creativity is reinforced and guided by art mentors and visionary educators. So come out and support this fundraiser for Voices of New York Speak!</div>

BROOKLYN DIARIES:: FLOW FOR CHANGE : Vony Speaks FUNDRAISER & VONY PSA Premiere Screening

A little over a month ago, I participated in the PSA shoot for Voices of New York (VONY) a wonderful and much-needed educational project of...

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