OneBeat is excited to announce three recipients of the first OneBeat Accelerator. The OneBeat Accelerator provides a micro-grant to Alumni for the development and implementation of follow-on projects which support democratic principles and address topics such as access to education, community resilience, economic empowerment, media literacy, and youth empowerment.
Congratulations to the following Fellows and best of luck on their upcoming projects:
Dahlak Brathwaite | OneBeat 2014 | Los Angeles, CA
“Adapting History” is an oral telling of American music through history and American history through music. Using spoken word poetry and hip-hop sampling to narrate and re-imagine the complex history of our nation, this musical chronicles the inception and conflicted cultural climates around some of the most innovative music of the 20th century. “Adapting History” was created in collaboration with and commissioned by OneBeat partner Montalvo Arts Center’s Education Department in 2016.
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Ama Diaka | OneBeat 2016 | Accra, Ghana
After attending OneBeat, Accra-based poet and performer Ama Diaka was inspired to co-found Black Girls Glow (BGG), a Ghana-based feminist collective and initiative “to foster collaboration among women artists and explore ways that art can build community.” Ama launched this project in summer 2017, and has continued to run the program each summer with the help of local partners and her core team. The program centers around a short intensive residency outside of Accra to create new works, using musical exercises such as round robins, soundpainting, “speed dating” duos and trios, and more. Following the residency, the cohort leads performances, workshops and recording sessions with volunteer producers around Accra in an effort to build networks of support for Ghanaian artists.
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Paulo Sartori & Johanna Amaya | OneBeat 2017 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Bogotá, Colombia
Todas las Puertas (TLP) is a multidisciplinary art project led by 2017 alumni Paulo Sartori & Johanna Amaya that took place in 2019 and produced a 16-day residency and tour in Colombia, inviting alumni Lyn Rye (USA), Daniel de Mendoza (Colombia) and Felipe José (Brazil), as well as local artists, to focus on developing multimedia performances incorporating music, dance, visual arts and literature, exploring the relevance of artistic expression in society and strengthening bonds within the artistic community. The project also received additional funding support from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.
