Top 10 Liberated Muse Highlights of 2009

This year for Liberated Muse Productions was one of many highs which I would like to take the time to share today on New Year's Eve. If you participated in any of the highlights mentioned, would love to read your feedback and comments. Thanks for being part of the LiberatedMuse.com community!

Cheers,

Moon of LiberatedMuse.com

(In Photos: The first live reading from the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul, at the Potter's House in Washington DC, featuring various artists from the LiberatedMuse.com community, including Margaux Delotte-Bennett, Stone/Wright, James Terrell, Quineice Clarkson, Gary Young and Anonamas)

Highlights of 2009- LiberatedMuse.com

10. Liberated Muse Joins the World of Facebook and Twitter!

In 2009, the LiberatedMuse.com expanded its realm of communication when Liberated Muse started a fan page and profile page on Facebook and began an online Twitter feed. The world of Facebook and Twitter has enabled members to interact more readily and determine more easily the level of connection they wish to have their community. Facebook has allowed more real time updates to reach members and is a great platform for members to tag photos of themselves and add photos from Liberated Muse events from their own Facebook photo albums. The Facebook fan page has already exceeded 800 members and continues to exceed the number of active members on the LiberatedMuse.com Ning network.

9. Liberated Muse members Dee Stone and Head-Roc are nominated for Washington Area Music Association (WAMMIE) Awards

We always love to broadcast good news about our members and this news was well-deserved. We wrote about it HERE in an earlier blog.

8. Liberated Muse Continues to Be Home to Some of the DC Area's Hottest Artist All-Stars

The caliber of talented folk on LiberatedMuse.com continue to be impressive. Award-winning doll artist Sherry Burton of Sankofa Doll Artistry, the talented LOVEthepoet, songstress Teisha Marie and hip-hop dynamo Substantial are just a glimpse into how rich the flavor of the membership is on LiberatedMuse.com. Contributing to forums, interacting with each other off and online, the Liberated Muse community continues to thrive and is one of the highlights we are most grateful for this year.

7. Liberated Muse (LM) Partners with the 2009 International Soul Music Summit (ISMS)

While in 2008 Liberated Muse co-founder Khadijah "Moon" Ali-Coleman was a panelist in the International Soul Music Summit in Atlanta, GA, nothing could be more pleasing than seeing a partnership form between LM and the ISMS which entailed members receiving a discount to participate in the summit and members from the network actually performing at the event. Big ups to those Liberated Muse members who performed and participated, including Chaquis Maliq, Al Chestnut, and Colie Williams. Co-founder of LM, Maceo Thomas got to see first-hand some of the members doing their thang in Atlanta, an arts mecca for performers of color.

6. Liberated Muse's 2nd Annual Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest a Summer Hit Again

Featuring phenomenal performances by numerous acts from the nation's capital and beyond, the CHHSF was a hit, despite park renovations at the festival site and a scorching heat index. The event headliners included Bomani Armah, Head-Roc & GODISHEUS, Teisha Marie, Marcell & the Truth and other faves that were captured in photos you can check out on www.CapitalHipHopSoulFest.com. The fest led to our next highlight which was...

5. Liberated Muse's Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest featured in the Press

Appearing on FOX 5 with Gwen Tolbart to promote the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest was definitely one of the livest press moments of the festival in 2009. Coverage was much appreciated this year, helping to garner the sponsorship by some of the 2009 sponsors of the fest including the US Census Bureau and State Farm Insurance. Festival director Maceo Thomas made rounds sharing the news of the fest, being featured in several print and online publications including National Geographic.com, The Afro, and Examiner.com. We can't begin to thank our media partners enough for their support, with special thanks to Capital Community News for their continued media sponsorship. Click HERE to read LM press coverage for 2009.

4. Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul Makes a 2009 Debut

Liberated Muse members new and old contributed to this book anthology which features prose, poetry, visual art and essays that interpret the concept of the soul and this thing we call freedom. The book became the featured book in the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest and sold over 100 copies in the first month and a half in print. The release of the first literary anthology produced and edited by Liberated Muse's Khadijah "Moon" Ali-Coleman was a 2009 highlight that led to the following top three highlights...

3. A Musical Book Tour to Promote Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul

Putting a spin on the tradition book tour which features readings and author Q and A, the Liberated Muse book tour featured writers from the book and musical performances from performing artists who are members of the Liberated Muse network. The kick-off started at the Potter's House and included stops at the Artomatic and the art store ArtSpring in Silver Spring, MD. Special thanks to all those who were featured during the shows: Quineice Clarkson, Gary Young, Farah Lawal, Stone/Wright, James Terrell, Anonamas, Margaux Delotte-Bennett, Alan King, Ananda Leeke, Jade Andwele, Maureen Mulima, Ozara Ode, Colie Williams and to all of those who attended. All of our book tour shows at the Potter's House allowed us to raise money and have our next highlight...

2. Raising Money for Area Groups Serving Our Community

Our first book tour stop in June at the Potter's House allowed us to raise over $400 to assist students in the DC College Success Foundation's Acheivers Program. While the program assists students in paying for college tuition upon successful completion of high school requirements, the program did not assist with fees associated with room and board application fees, student activities fees, etc. The money raised helped four low-income students pay for these fees and begin school this past Fall 2009. Our show on September 11, 2009 raised funds for the arts collective The Saartjie Project and our last show on November 20, 2009 at the Potter's House raised funds for arts programming at Southeast Ministry, a nonprofit that helps adults earn their GED and fine-tune employment skills.

1. Transforming Places Into Art Spaces: Our First Art Exhibit

The Potter's House became the official brick and mortar home of Liberated Muse in 2009 when the wonderful bookstore, performance venue, restaurant, etc. became the art gallery home of our first art exhibit-- Celebration of Freedom, curated by Liberated Muse member Sharon Burton. The exhibit, inspired by the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul featured artists from the book and other artists from the Liberated Muse network, including Prudence Bonds, Stephan Cox, Keisha Cox, and other artists. Read our past blogs about this wonderful exhibit which ran from Sept. 11 to Dec. 1.

Amazing Evening Last Night

If you missed our event last night, then you missed an extremely exhilirating experience. Check out the videos below:












The event Capital Rhythm & Soul was a fundraising event for the nonprofit Southeast Ministry that benefits adults and youth in GED prep and literacy education. The event was part of the Potter's House Sounds of House benefit concert series.

Featured artists included: Anonamas, Farah Lawal, C. Love, James Terrell and Khadijah "Moon" Ali-Coleman, featuring Gary Young. The Walidane Drummers performed the finale.

What an evening of thankfulness; a perfect pre-cursor to Thanksgiving.

If you couldn't make it but would like to donate to Southeast Ministry, email us at LiberatedMuseProductions for more information.

Prudence Bonds: Paintings of Life in Color

(In photo: "Sun is shining" by Prudence Bonds, currently in the Liberated Muse exhibit @ the Potter's House in DC)

Born in Florida and raised in Washington, DC since infancy, Prudence inherited the “creative
gene” and started to draw at age four. Throughout childhood and adolescence, Prudence
expressed several methods of creativity including sewing dolls’ clothes and writing poems and
short stories to relate to her drawings. As a teenager, she attended the Corcoran School of Art
for figure drawing and photography & film development. She began painting consistently in
2001 and in April 2003 participated in the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center’s 10th Annual
Scholarship Fund benefit auction. Prudence donated “Girl Tantalus”, an original work of acrylic
on canvas portraying the fabled origins of the word tantalize.

(In photo: "Femininity" by Prudence Bonds which is currently in the Potter's House exhibit curated by Sharon Burton and presented by Liberated Muse. The piece sold at the start of the exhibit yet is still displayed)

Artist Statement
I depict people living throughout the African Diaspora, and beyond, by using color, texture, and
introspection. Since acceptable images of human concepts such as love and beauty are
perpetuated through art, literature, music, and the media, my pieces echo the attempt made by
people of color to redefine and re-present those concepts in their terms.

Visit her work in the current Liberated Muse art exhibit at the Potter's House in Washington, DC @The Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC.

The art exhibit is curated by Sharon Burton of Authentic Contemporary Art. The artwork is from artists from the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul and the network http://www.liberatedmuse.com/.

The exhibit runs from Sept. 11-Dec. 1

James Terrell--- Musician & Painter--- Exhibits Work in Potter's House Exhibit

James Terrell is a renaissance man-- singer, musician, and painter who is currently featured in the Liberated Muse exhibit at the Potter's House in DC. James is a strong performer who's vocal stylings are unique and poignantly emotional and his artwork is from the same element.

Born and Raised in DC, James Terrell is a singer songwriter guitarist and figurative painter.He graduated from Howard University with a BFA in painting. He graduated from Parsons School of Design in NYC with a MFA in painting. He received his M. Div from Columbia University/Union Theological Seminary in NYC with a focus on Theology and the Arts (painting and music). He has exhibited his paintings in Galleries from DC to NYC. He has performed his music on stages between DC and NYC. The music and art of James Stephen Terrell crosses cultural lines.

James' music incorporates the basic principles of urban folk, country, gospel and blues. The music is a breath of fresh air. The music is not based on fades, seduction, degradation, decadence and materialism. The music and art of James Terrell is a reflection of everyday working people. It represents and speaks to people who live, die and struggle to make their dreams a reality. The music and art of James Terrell is said to be a commentary on the world in which we live.

Visit his page on LiberatedMuse.com HERE

Visit his work in the current Liberated Muse art exhibit at the Potter's House in Washington, DC @The Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC.

The art exhibit is curated by Sharon Burton of Authentic Contemporary Art. The artwork is from artists from the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul and the network http://www.liberatedmuse.com/.

The exhibit runs from Sept. 11-Dec. 1

Actress, Poet & Visual Artist Jade Andwele

Jade Andwele (writer/performer) is a visual artist, actress, creator and writer who focuses on healing and connecting through the arts and creativity. Jade is an advocate for women, the Black community, and youth focusing on social justice, and sexual and mental health. She is currently a founding mother/member of the Saartjie Project and is working on several projects including a play on depression in the Black community, her memoir, visual art, and completing her poetry chapbook When the Music is too Loud: A Book of Love Poems. The piece above is currently in the Liberated Muse exhibit Celebration of Freedom @ the Potter's House. It was recently purchased but will remain part of the exhibit which runs from Sept. 11 to Dec. 1. Jade is a member of the http://www.liberatedmuse.com/ community. You can visit her page HERE.

She can be reached at jadeandwele@gmail.com and you can read her blog at

http://www.jade-andwele.blogspot.com/

Visit her work in the current Liberated Muse art exhibit at the Potter's House in Washington, DC @

The Potter's House

1658 Columbia Rd NWWashington, DC

The art exhibit is curated by Sharon Burton of Authentic Contemporary Art. The artwork is from artists from the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul and the network http://www.liberatedmuse.com/.

Join Jade and all of the artists on Sat., November 14 for an Artist Reception at the Potter's House.

The Artist CHOKE is featured in Liberated Muse exhibit

(in photo: a painting by the artist CHOKE which was recently sold. This painting and more of CHOKE's work is featured in the Liberated Muse exhibit at the Potter's House in DC)

Marina “Choke” Munoz, 22, is the epitome of the artist on the grind, often seen in a flurry with her canvases under her arm or toting around artistic gems she’s created, whether it’s the butterfly adorned journals or the mirrors meticulously adorned with Choke’s signature use of the color palette. Her use of color always reveres her Puerto Rican heritage with the flagrant use of bright greens, perky orange and deep red hues.

While she likes to work on her art with her nose and mouth covered, when you are in conversation, her face is uncovered and her youthful and pleasant face is often broken out into grin. Whether she is doing live art—painting on display while some form of entertainment is taking place—or setting up shop at a local festival to sell her artistic creations, Choke is most likely taking care of business. She has been in the east of the river area a lot this past summer—seen doing live art at the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest and selling her wares and engaged in numerous outdoors activities in the area all summer.

“I have a serious obsession for the sun,” Choke gushes. “When I am out in the sun I just want to paint. I love how the sun can take me back to the better times in childhood, fun summers and living in Miami. Colorful memories like those are always inspiration for my creations.”
In the Works
________________________________________________________________
Visit Choke’s blog online at chokephotography.blogspot.com. Her work is currently exhibited in the exhibit “Celebration of Freedom” at the Potter’s House on Columbia Road, NW, Washington, DC. For inquiries, contact her at (571) 278-8932 . The art exhibit is curated by Sharon Burton of Authentic Contemporary Art. The artwork is from artists from the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul and the network www.LiberatedMuse.com.

Keisha Carroll, Artist Extraordinaire Featured in Liberated Muse Art Exhibit @ the Potter's House

Art imitates life imitates art”.

This is the philosophy that inspires me as I conceptualize my next painting.

I am inspired by my community, my culture, and people that I admire.

While life experiences serve as inspiration, my style, technique, and skill are a result of natural talent, university-level training, and spiritual revelations.

A former professor would comment that I have the ability to capture the spirit of a posing subject. I attribute this to a willingness to go beneath the surface level to learn about my subject. Focusing on the “why” instead of the “what” is, in my opinion, the shortcut to harmony, understanding, and brotherhood. It was around middle school when I discovered a passion for creating art.

After graduating from high school, I went on to study Art Management and Art History at Howard University. My style flows from abstract, through surrealism, and into realism. I do not believe in limiting nor categorizing who I am and what I do as an artist. My influences are the variety of communities I have lived in -New York, Michigan, D.C. My work is a melting pot of Midwestern, Southern and East Coast experiences. Growing up as a daughter of a seamstress, I am often inclined to mimic the appearance of fabric in my work through patterning, folding and dimension. I also incorporate symbolism in most of my work.

I often use West African Adinkra symbols, but sometimes I will develop my own symbols.

-Keisha Carroll

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Visit Keisha on http://www.liberatedmuse.com/ to view more photos and read more about her by clicking HERE

Visit her work in the current Liberated Muse art exhibit at the Potter's House in Washington, DC @

The Potter's House

1658 Columbia Rd NW

Washington, DC

The art exhibit is curated by Sharon Burton of Authentic Contemporary Art. The artwork is from artists from the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul and the network www.LiberatedMuse.com.

Liberated Muse Brings Another Celebration of Freedom

This Friday, September 11 @ 7pm, Liberated Muse Productions brings another Celebration of Freedom to the Potter's House in Adams Morgan in Washington DC. The live music extravaganza will feature artists Colie Williams, Ozara Ode, Craig Von, Quineice Clarkson and Gary Young and spoken word artistry from Jade Andwele and Margaux Delotte-Bennett of the Saartjie Project. Andwele and Delotte-Bennett are featured writers in the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul, the first volume in the Liberated Muse anthology series.

This performance event is part of the book tour for Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed my Soul. Tour stops have included this past summer's Artomatic, the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest and a previous appearance at the Potter's House during the Friday Sound of Hope benefit concert series produced by Mary Shapiro in June. Proceeds from the June showcase went to students from DC's east of the river area who were beginning college this Fall as part of the DC College Success Foundation program. Proceeds helped the students pay for entrance fees, including housing deposits.

This Friday, Sept. 11, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Saartjie Project's outreach work with young people. The Saartjie Project is an artist collaborative that performs work inspired by the life of Saartjie Baartman, the woman known as the Hottentot Venus.

The Celebration of Freedom Continues

This is one of the upcoming stops on the book tour for Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul. Hope you can make it out!

Join the Liberated Muse Fam @ the Artomatic on July 3rd

The celebration of the new Liberated Muse book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul continues @ the Artomatic on Friday, July 3rd @ 8pm in Washington DC on the Solo Stage. Join us as contributors to the book, Margaux Delotte-Bennett & Ananda Leeke read pieces from the book as well as original pieces. Also, enjoy the musical stylings of Anonamas of Infinite Soul Music, Gary Young and Quineice Clarkson. A Limited Open Mic will follow. Renowned writer Alan King will also share some of his most recent writings. Come early to sign-up!

For questions, email us at LiberatedMuseProductions@gmail.com

Check out photos from our Liberated Muse weekend @ the Potter's House and the Artomatic June 19-20 by clicking HERE and HERE

The Liberated Muse Weekend Was a Hit!

This past weekend on June 19 and June 20, members of the Liberated Muse community joined forces to kick-off the celebration of the new book "Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul".

On Fri, June 19, actress Farah Lawal and poets Maureen Mulima & Margaux Delotte-Bennett shared readings from the book while musical guests James Terrell, Dee Stone, Gary Young, Quiniece Clarkson and Anonamas entertained the crowd with their musical prowess. The event was also a benefit show raising money for four students who are scholarship recipients from the DC College Success Foundation. Although, they are set to receive an Achievers Scholarship, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, these students are not helped with the up front costs such as housing deposits and enrollment fees necessary to even begin school and utilize the scholarship. Almost $400 was raised to on June 19 to assist with these costs.

(In photo: Dee Stone @ the Artomatic)

On Sat, June 20, Liberated Muse took the show to the Artomatic in DC. Performer Teisha Marie joined Farah Lawal, Gary Young and Quineice Clarkson for this hour-long show as the crowd learned about the new book and the upcoming Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest.

(In photo: Farah Lawal @ the Artomatic)

If you missed it, don't worry. You can catch us on Fri, July 3 @ the Artomatic as we kick off the 4th of July weekend!

(In photo: Quineice Clarkson and Gary Young @ the Artomatic)

Visit the network at http://www.liberatedmuse.com/ to view more photos from both shows at the Potter's House and the Artomatic.

Make sure you buy the book "Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul" by clicking HERE

TODAY!!!!!

Join Liberated Muse for Fun-Packed Weekend (Fri & Sat)

Mark your calendars for a Liberated Muse weekend which kicks off on June 19 @ the Potter's House in DC. Celebrating the publishing of the first anthology in the Liberated Muse Volume series, there will be live music performances accenting the readings of pieces from the book.

Featured performers include Dee Stone, James Terrell, Anonamas, Gary Young, Quiniece Clarkson, Farah Lawal and more!

On June 20, catch a continuation of the celebration festivities at the Artomatic arts festival in DC. This time you will catch a recap of some of the performers above with original works performed by writer Alan King who is also May's Liberated Muse member of the month.

A can't miss weekend!

Email us at LiberatedMuseProductions@gmail.com for more information. We will post more info as we get closer to the dates!

Binahkaye Joy & Friends @ the Potter's House this Month

Dancer, writer, actress and humanitarian Binahkaye Joy is a spirit who you get a chance to meet every once in a while. Her persona is as endearing as her name and stage characters she presents whether she is dancing, acting, performing spoken word or facilitating workshops. A member of our Liberated Muse network, Binahkaye blogs about her work as an OSA dancer and her work with different populations as she uses dancing as a healing agent. According to Binahkaye, OSA "Open Space Activation" Dance is a transformative, organic-art experience that evolves as movement in public spaces. "Activation" is a dance process that transforms idle, static spaces into active, creative laboratories and initiates awakenings inside everyone in the space. Visit her wonderful blog HERE.

Binahkaye will be performing this month at the Potter's House in Washington DC doing a performance she titles "Joyism". The performance is hosted by Sounds of Music and will be a fusion of dance, words, sounds, and fun, inviting everyone to participate in the dance that, she says, "belongs to all of us". She will be accompanied by the cosmic melodies of Manatho "Moonhead" Masani on mbira, (the thumb piano). Sounds of Hope is a benefit concert series that happens EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT from 7pm to 10:30pm at The Potter’s House, 1658 Columbia Road NW in Washington DC.

Binahkaye is a member of the artist collective The Saartjie Project who she has invited to do excerpts from the show during her performance set. Doors open @ 7:30pm and the suggested donation is $15 All tickets sold at the door! The Facebook invite is HERE.

Host: Sounds of Hope @ The Potter's House
Date: Friday, March 20, 2009
Time: 8:00pm - 11:00pm
Location: The Potter's House
Street: 1658 Columbia Rd NW
City/Town: Washington, DC

The Potter's House is a restaurant, a bookstore, a gift shop, a concert venue, a theatre, and an art gallery. The Potter's House is maintained by the Potter's House church of Washington DC. For more information, call (202) 232-5483