OY! SUMMER 2005. "INSURGENCY: Activist Performances, Protest Breakbeats and Solidarity

Featured Performers:

Shailja Patel is a nationally acclaimed Kenyan Indian spoken word artist, She was the 2001 Lambda Slam Champion and 2000 Santa Cruz Slam champion. Recent highly-acclaimed, standing ovation performances include Exiled Ink at London's Poetry Café, the 2003 Diverse Arts Showcase in Glasgow, Women Against War in San Francisco, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz; the 2003 San Francisco Dyke March, keynote address at Brown University's South Asian Identity Week, and the Radical Performance Fest (a Bay Area Critics Choice Selection). Shailja shared the stage with Holly Near, Michael Franti, and Ram Dass at "Our Grief Is Not A Cry For War", the 9/11 anniversary concert at San Francisco's Justin Hermann Plaza; and performed for an audience of over 50,000 at San Francisco's "Not In Our Name Rally" in 2002.
Maneesh the Twister (Dhamaal SF), Maneesh the Twister is co-founder of Best of the Bay Artist Collective, Dhamaal, which has been championing hybrids of South Asian audio and visual art for over 6 years. Maneesh has quite varied tastes and spins Dub Reggae, breakbeat, drum’n’bass, dancehall, hip hop, & bhangra. His deep influence of Dub Reggae can be heard in his latest project under the moniker Echotwist. Maneesh presents the rich tradition of S. Asian classical music forms in a completely new and innovative hybridization, which is true to his roots yet pushing creative boundaries forward into uncharted territory. Maneesh has shared the stage with Adrian Sherwood (On-U sound), Badmarsh & Shri, State of Bengal, Karsh Kale, Bobby & Nihal (BBC), Cheb I Sabbah, & Scientist.
Aimee Suzara is a poet, arts educator and activist currently at Youth Speaks as Arts-in-Education Associate Director. A longtime community advocate and cultural worker, Aimee has also worked with San Francisco Women Against Rape, Dancers Without Borders, and is a founding member of the Filipino/American Coalition for Environmental Solutions (FACES). She is a member of Kreatibo, a queer Pin@y arts collective, whose recent show "Dalagas & Tomboys: A Family Affair" was performed to sold-out audiences. She has featured as a spoken word artist at various events throughout the Bay Area including the Power to the Peaceful Festival, the Radical Performance Festival, Spoken City, Coming Up Coming Out, Queeriosity and Voices Rising. Aimee’s writing has been published in The Womanist, Maganda magazine, Filipinas Magazine, Philippine News, and aired on KPFA (Hard Knock Radio, APEX Express, Terra Verde) and KQED. She recently released her first poetry chapbook and cd entitled "rootsongs" and is pursuing her M.F.A. in Poetry at Mills College.

Get your groove on following the performances…

…beats dropped by Maneesh the Twister (Dhamaal SF) and DJ Nomadeeq aka Calder (Flavor Group).

The Organizing Youth (OY!) Collective aims to facilitate the self-empowerment of youth from the South Asian diaspora to organize for political, social, economic and environmental justice.


invites you to An evening of Activist Performances, Protest Breakbeats and Solidarity When: Friday, August 12^th, 8.00 pm to midnight Where: Kearny Street Workshop, Space 180 (180 Capp St. @ 17^th), San Francisco, CA Free until 10:00 p.m. $5 - $10 suggested donation afterwards.
Featured Performers: Shailja Patel is a nationally acclaimed Kenyan Indian spoken word artist, She was the 2001 Lambda Slam Champion and 2000 Santa Cruz Slam champion. Recent highly-acclaimed, standing ovation performances include Exiled Ink at London's Poetry Café, the 2003 Diverse Arts Showcase in Glasgow, Women Against War in San Francisco, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz; the 2003 San Francisco Dyke March, keynote address at Brown University's South Asian Identity Week, and the Radical Performance Fest (a Bay Area Critics Choice Selection). Shailja shared the stage with Holly Near, Michael Franti, and Ram Dass at "Our Grief Is Not A Cry For War", the 9/11 anniversary concert at San Francisco's Justin Hermann Plaza; and performed for an audience of over 50,000 at San Francisco's "Not In Our Name Rally" in 2002. Maneesh the Twister (Dhamaal SF), Maneesh the Twister is co-founder of Best of the Bay Artist Collective, Dhamaal, which has been championing hybrids of South Asian audio and visual art for over 6 years. Maneesh has quite varied tastes and spins Dub Reggae, breakbeat, drum’n’bass, dancehall, hip hop, & bhangra. His deep influence of Dub Reggae can be heard in his latest project under the moniker Echotwist. Maneesh presents the rich tradition of S. Asian classical music forms in a completely new and innovative hybridization, which is true to his roots yet pushing creative boundaries forward into uncharted territory. Maneesh has shared the stage with Adrian Sherwood (On-U sound), Badmarsh & Shri, State of Bengal, Karsh Kale, Bobby & Nihal (BBC), Cheb I Sabbah, & Scientist. Aimee Suzara is a poet, arts educator and activist currently at Youth Speaks as Arts-in-Education Associate Director. A longtime community advocate and cultural worker, Aimee has also worked with San Francisco Women Against Rape, Dancers Without Borders, and is a founding member of the Filipino/American Coalition for Environmental Solutions (FACES). She is a member of Kreatibo, a queer Pin@y arts collective, whose recent show "Dalagas & Tomboys: A Family Affair" was performed to sold-out audiences. She has featured as a spoken word artist at various events throughout the Bay Area including the Power to the Peaceful Festival, the Radical Performance Festival, Spoken City, Coming Up Coming Out, Queeriosity and Voices Rising. Aimee’s writing has been published in The Womanist, Maganda magazine, Filipinas Magazine, Philippine News, and aired on KPFA (Hard Knock Radio, APEX Express, Terra Verde) and KQED. She recently released her first poetry chapbook and cd entitled "rootsongs" and is pursuing her M.F.A. in Poetry at Mills College. Get your groove on following the performances… …beats dropped by Maneesh the Twister (Dhamaal SF) and DJ Nomadeeq aka Calder (Flavor Group). The Organizing Youth (OY!) Collective aims to facilitate the self-empowerment of youth from the South Asian diaspora to organize for political, social, economic and environmental justice.
Supported in part by the Vanguard Public Foundation, the RESIST Foundation, and the Rainbow Grocery Cooperative.