From The Hunter Envoy
The Movement in Motion Artists and Activists Collective, a crew of musicians, filmmakers and innovators, have spent the past few years touring this side of the country, spreading their message about the influence of art in the struggle for freedom. This February, The Art of Love and Struggle Tour will take the global stage, with stops in Germany, Holland, France and Palestine.
Organized by EyesInfinite Films and Movement in Motion, the intention of the tour is to explore the role of the arts in today's struggle for peace and justice. The artists wish to examine the issues of institutionalized racism and poverty from a creative perspective, while exploring music and media as effective tools for working towards social change. The participants involved in the tour's workshops, performances and film festivals will learn ways to channel their artistic energy into effective mobilizing strategies and raise awareness in their own communities.
The tour features performances by Spiritchild, who you may have seen on stage with his band, Mental Notes, at the CUNY Social Forum back in October. Mental Notes has consistently added to the pulse of New York's musical and social heartbeat. Bassist David Dovo's diverse talent has led him to create remixes for rap pioneers Public Enemy, work with such acclaimed jazz artists as saxophonist Daniel Carter and share the stage with Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin and Wood. Collectively, the members of Mental Notes have collaborated with a series of diverse artists including legendary producer Hank Shocklee, hip-hop virtuosos Dead Prez, Black Moon, soul-funk horn legends Tower of Power and even Gloria Estefan.
Spiritchild's music blends hip hop, jazz, and experimental rhythms with poetic lyricism and a desire for change. A Bronx-bred, self-proclaimed Black Feminist, his poetics educate and inspire a higher level of social and political consciousness. While often criticizing the injustices of our current (dis)order (opening a performance at a rally by calling out "Are you Republican? Or Democrat? You put money in the system, do they give it back?"), he also speaks about the positive energy of music and love. This energy has the power to make people move their bodies (in fact, it is nearly impossible not to dance at a Mental Notes concert), and perhaps inspire them to move towards change.
The global tour also acts as a traveling film festival for Jessica Habie's films, including The Art of Love and Struggle, Another World is Possible, Beyond Blue and Gray and Art and Apathy, which won Best Short Documentary in 2007 at the Cannes Film Festival and in 2008 at the Tribeca Film Festival. Art and Apathy takes a look at the relationship between conflict and creativity in Israel and Palestine. The project is a conversation between four short poetic pieces that describe the effects of the Israel-Palestine conflict on Israeli artists.
Before The Art of Love and Struggle Tour leaves for Europe, the artists are having a public performance and send off party on Jan. 30. At 11 p.m., Mental Notes will wave goodbye to New York with a concert at Rose Live Music (Grand Street between Havenmeyer and Marcy) in Brooklyn.
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