Tis the season to GIVE!

 

It's a good time to give!

Micro-donations make a difference - so don't feel like you can't give!  Even donations as small as a dollar add up if you spread the word, too!

In the spirit of the season, here are a few places your donations will make a contribution to the quality of life of many people.

KCRW

Los Angeles' public radio station and one of the best radio stations in the world.  They bring culture to Los Angeles, and they tie together all the different cultural media and institutions.  At the moment I'm crushing on Edward Goldman's Art Talk, but who can live without Evan Kleiman's Good Food, or MBE w/Jason Bentley, and my always personal fave - Jeremy Sole?

DOWNTOWN WOMEN'S CENTER

Giving shelter to women who need it in times of trouble.  Think on it - this is very necessary.


BEYOND BAROQUE

Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center has been holding down poetry in Venice for DECADES.  What other poetry venue can you think of that has kept it together for so long and brought out so many voices from our local scene?  They are going through some radical transition and need dollars and members to transform into the 21st Century organization they are going to become.

United States Artists

A micro-financing site for artists of all disciplines with projects they are hoping to fund.  Just scroll through and pick a project you'd like to see come to fruition.  Imagine it was that easy to get your project going...it is!

All of these are practically one-click donatable!

Feel free to suggest your own below!

Monday's Quote - Garland

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else."

-Judy Garland

Monday's Quote - Jefferson

"It is neither wealth nor splendor, but occupation and tranquility which give happiness."

- Thomas Jefferson

Practivist of the Week - Dean Atta

DEAN ATTA

Photo by Naomi Waddis

Practivist Questionnaire

How old are you, if you don’t mind?

I'm 26 and proud! I'm technically no longer a 'young person', I'm a man. I'm a man with a plan.

A lot of people think I'm younger than I am, I have a young energy and people think I'm in my late teens or early twenties, but if you do your homework or ask around or even Google me you'll see that I've been around for quite a while.

What is the main focus of your practivism at this time and how does that manifest?

I speak for change and I don't write without a reason.   I  produce events to raise awareness for a cause or to support a specific community.

Recently I was commissioned by The Damilola Taylor Trust to write a tribute poem to mark 10 years since his death.  I performed the piece  at the Spirit of London Awards. As the only poet in the line-up of artists including chart-toppers Labrinth, Alexandra Burke, Roll Deep and Daley, I am reaching mainstream audiences in big venues. It was great to be back at the Spirit of London Awards as a performer as I was there last year picking up the award for Achievement through the Arts. 

Earlier this year I produced an event called 'Gay Africa' to bring together artists and activists to discuss LGBT rights and equality in Africa, as well as the need for support from, and asylum in the UK.  Before the last General Election, I launched the  'Silence Is Not Golden' (SING) campaign to get more young people engaged with politics.  SING is an on going movement to give a voice to marginalized and disenfranchised people using music, poetry, drama, and lively debate. 

I'm a member of poetry collective Point Blank Poets (PBP) which includes the talents of Sabrina Mahfouz, Deanna Rodger, Chimene Suleyman, Bridget Minamore and others. Our first project was Rhymes Won't Wait,  funded by the Ideas Tap.  Since then, we have collaborated with charities and socially conscious organizations such as Fairtrade, TRAID, Object Against Female Objectification, English PEN and Love Music Hate Racism to help further the reach of their message. In 2011, we will represent the UK at the next International Young Artists Biennale in Morocco.

Next up, I will be launching a brand new project called Recycled Tunes, to educate young people about recycling and sustainability through recording music made from recyclable objects, and writing lyrics about sustainability to make credible tunes with a positive message. This project has already gained support from the BBC, Recycled for London, Sound Connections and Veolia waste management services, and has the potential to be a London-wide, Nationwide and International project.

What route did you take to get here?

I always follow my heart and my conscience and try to do things that will make my mum proud.

Monday's Quote - Stoppard

"It is a defect of God's humour that he directs our hearts everywhere but to those who have a right to them."


- Tom Stoppard

From one of my favorite plays.  

Monday's Quote - Chandler

Oh - this is a long one.  It's from The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler and the heading is "Great Thought" and I think, perhaps, it is...anyway, it's in keeping my latest science and art themes.

"There are two kinds of truth:  the truth that lights the way and the truth that warms the heart.  The first of these is science, and the second is art.  Neither is independent of the other or more important than the other.  Without art science would be as useless as a pair of high froceps in the hands of a plumber.  Without science art would become a crude mess of folklore and emotional quackery.  The truth of art keeps science from becoming inhuman, and the truth of science keeps art from becoming ridiculous.

-Raymond Chandler