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AHA MEDIA and W2 Community Media Art Society are proud to present Tragic Magic featuring Silas Howard and Heather Ács + Vancouver DJs: Dance Mix Ninety-Six, Ugly, OCDJ, Women&Song – Sunday, August 2, 10pm-4am, $5.
TRAGIC MAGIC
featuring Silas Howard and Heather Ács
+ Vancouver DJs: Dance Mix Ninety-Six, Ugly, OCDJ, Women&Song
W2 Flack Block Gallery
click here for W2 website event listing and flyer
157 W Hastings @ Cambie
Sunday, August 2, 10pm-4am, $5.
Silas Howard of Tribe 8 and New York City downtown performance artist Heather Ács present an evening of new solo works, traversing through a multi-media world of string theory, social trespassing & loopholes in the American dream. Through ruminations on desire, shame, and loss these two escape artists invite us into a non-linear landscape scattered with fragmented mothers, renegade chickens, tranny jazzmen, and the mysterious figure of Mr. Hollywood in order to ask what is the price of letting go, selling out, or rewriting the script?
“Tragic Magic was so good it hurt…Thank Goodness I brought moist towelettes!” Justin Bond
Heather Ács’ piece “what the brain forgets and the heart denies, the body remembers…” explores illness, death, grieving and loss refracted through working class Appalachian and Mexican cultural imagery, creating a nonlinear world layered with movement, gesture, storytelling, soundscape, video, and installation. In this multi-media solo performance piece, time and testimonies loop, break apart, burrow, reemerge, and cross over. Breath taking, glass breaking, gifts are bestowed. Sparrows descend, tortillas and tears sizzle on the comal, a river flows with dirt and glitter. Lesley Gore croons cotton candy lyrics laced with razor blades while dust gathers in an empty house. Stitch it all together with string theory and skeleton keys, stuff into a mason jar, shake until your heart might break, check your pulse, make a wish, and see what rises to the surface.
Howard’s Thank you for Being Urgent is a textured tale of a transman coming up in the queer punk world of San Francisco and spilling into the crappy and exalted glitter of Hollywood. He searches for true tales of fierce outsiders and re-imagines the mainstream, never loosening his grip on the underground. Our hero begs sanity from mystery man Mr. Hollywood through playful and plaintive letters, ruminating on desire, shame, and the infinite loopholes in the American Dream. Traversing serendipitous heights and punishing ironies, Thank you for Being Urgent chronicles burlesque dancers with dementia, tranny jazzmen and film executives, using archival photos, monologues and charm.
Bios:
HEATHER M. ÁCS
Heather M. Ács is a multi-media theatre performance artist, activist, educator and high-femme troublemaker. Her gritty, glittery work has been featured at the Culture Project, HERE Arts Center , the Kitchen, the Public Theater, Theater for the New City , and the New York City International Fringe Festival. She performs and facilitates workshops at community spaces, colleges and conferences from coast to coast. Heather has worked with Nao Bustamante, Karen Finley, Claude Michelle-Wampler, J. Ed Araiza of the SITI Company, and Steven Soderbergh. Heather is also a dedicated teaching artist. She uses theatre as a tool for social change with low-income youth in cities throughout the U.S. and has studied with Cornerstone Theatre Company, Sojourn Theatre, and Augusto Boal.
SILAS HOWARD
Silas Howard, (writer, director, and musician), co-directed his first feature, By Hook Or By Crook, with Harry Dodge. The indie classic was a 2002 Sundance Film Festival premiere and five-time Best Feature winner. Silas Howard’s next film, Exactly Like You, (co-written with Nina Landey), is based on the life of Billy Tipton. Howard’s short documentary, What I Love About Dying also premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
For eight years, Howard toured with his band Tribe 8, the notorious queer punk band (a band boycotted by republicans and women at Michigan womyn’s music festival). The band has been featured in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, and The Los Angeles Times. You can check out Howard’s music videos, short musical and documentaries which have aired on MTV and LOGO networks and at Disneyland, Anaheim (weird, yet true). Howard’s writing is also featured in the anthologies, “Without a Net: Growing Up WorkingClass” and “Live Through This ,” as well as the artists’ journal, “LTTR.” Currently Silas is working on a novel set in San Francisco’s mid-90’s homocore scene.
W2 Community Media Arts Society
#205 – 163 W. Hastings St. (Flack Block)
Vancouver, BC V6B 1H5
www.creativetechnology.org
Mobile: 604.644.4349 • Fax 604.844.7441
Twitter: @W2Woodwards @FearlessCity
AHA MEDIA is proud to present – First United Church on Hastings Street in Vancouver Downtown Eastside to be part of First Tweetmyride Global Campaign To Raise $1 Million For Charity Via Twitter
First United Church and First United Mission is an inner city ministry of the United Church … 320 Hastings Street E. Vancouver, BC, V6A 1P4 604 681-8365
First Tweetmyride Global Campaign To Raise $1 Million For Charity Via Twitter
Vancouver, Canada –
Around the world in the lead up to Vancouver-based Australian, Gavin Romanis, participating in the international mountain bike race, La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica from November 11-14, 2009
(www.adventurerace.com) – known as one of the toughest on the planet.
Inspired by Ashton Kutcher and CNN’s challenge to gain 1 million followers on Twitter, and fuelled by the vibrant biking community of Vancouver, Canada, the basis behind the tweetmyride global campaign is to encourage global giving to avariety of causes.
Co-founders Leoni Milano and Gavin Romanis integrated these ideas to create a campaign with global reach, utilizing Twitter to help achieve their goal to raise $1 million over the 4-month period that runs from July 30 – November 30, 2009.
“When I realised how gruelling La Ruta de los Conquistadores was going to be, I knew that I would need more than my own determination to get me through it – so the idea of doing it to help charities across the world seemed like the ideal inspiration” says Gavin Romanis, who has no prior experience in mountain bike racing, but was seduced by the challenge’s combination of travel and outdoor adventure.
Milano and Romanis wanted to create something that would have a global impact – hence the campaign’s tagline:
“Twitter has no boundaries – neither should we”. Tweetmyride will demonstrate the power of social networking and show that contributions – no matter how small – all help to build something incredibly worthwhile.
tweetmyride is a Twitter-driven global charity campaign, created to raise money for 10 charities
“There are literally thousands of charities out there doing incredible work, and we’re thrilled to have these carefully chosen charities on board. For some, this will be their first foray into experimenting with social networking and they have all embraced this unique style of fundraising and awareness with keen enthusiasm,” says co-founder Leoni Milano.
Twitter allows each of the charities the opportunity to connect and communicate on a more tangible level with their followers, donors and supporters, which in turn helps develop relationships for a deeper impact. It gives the charities a voice that helps people connect on a personal level, rather than just being a donor.
The campaign’s vision is to also encourage others to hold their own ‘tweetmyride’ biking events around the world and have family and friends donate (towards their rides) to the participating charities, which they can then tweet about.
Donors get to go online to the tweetmyride website and choose which charity they wish to support from those participating in the campaign. All donations will go directly to each charity.
The participating charities (including twitter names) being supported in the campaign are:
1. charity: water, USA – www.twitter.com/charitywater
2. First United Church, Canada – www.twitter.com/fucm
3. Fred Hollows Foundation, Australia – www.twitter.com/FredHollows
4. Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders, Canada – www.twitter.com/MSF_canada
5. National Breast Cancer Foundation, Australia – www.twitter.com/NBCFAus
6. Oxfam Canada, Canada – www.twitter.com/oxfamcanada
7. Starlight Children’s Foundation, Australia – www.twitter.com/Starlight_star
8. Team Fox for The Michael J. Fox Foundation, USA – www.twitter.com/TEAMFOX
9. The CREAR Association, Costa Rica – www.twitter.com/CostaRicaCREAR
10. World Vision, UK – www.twitter.com/WVUKnews
Contact:
Nora Weber
Media Relations
Terracom Communications
+1 425 418 4555
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Leoni Milano, Co-founder
tweetmyride
+1 778 237 7840
AHA MEDIA is pleased to meet Peter Conway who speaks about his friend Tara McAteer and Truckstop Dining Society who helps feed Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
AHA MEDIA is very pleased to hear from Peter Conway who speaks about his friend Tara McAteer and Truckstop Dining Society who helps feed Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES).
Today, Saturday July 25th at Crab Park, there is Free BBQ and Live Music from 12 Noon to 7 PM
This was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter.
For the last three years, Tara McAteer has worked part-time in the film industry in the Craft Service department. Her job is to provide a constant selection of beverages, pastries, healthy snacks and light meals to a crew of 100 non-stop for a 14 hour work day. She works out of a one tonne truck loaded with a full facility kitchen that is parked on set.
Our small, grassroots organization, Truckstop Dining Society, is the byproduct of having access to a film food service truck and looking for ways in which to use it to benefit people who need food. In 2007, Tara decided to do something different for Christmas. On Christmas Eve she placed an ad for help on Craigslist and started preparing food. The next morning she drove the film industry food service truck to the Downtown Eastside, joined by two strangers who answered her ad, and fed hot turkey sandwiches to nearly 200 people.
Despite services already available, there is still a need for wholesome, easily-accessible meals not just at Christmas, but year round. This year, we took the film industry food service truck to Oppenheimer Park and with the help of executive chefs and local dignitaries served Easter dinner to over 1,100 people.
Although there are hundreds of hungry people who appreciate a hot meal, we believe there is a greater need in our city-the need for unity and more inclusive community. We feel that sharing food is an important step to breaking social barriers, creating community and de-mystifying this area of our city. We hope through providing meals to those who are hungry and those who want to learn more, together, we can look more closely at the issues of the DTES.
AHA MEDIA is very proud to present CABARET L’AMOUR FOU!Thursday, July 23rd and Friday the 24th at The Russian Hall, 600 Cambell Ave in Strathcona area of East Vancouver
We , the Ancient Rugged Revival, in association with The Dusty Flower Pot Cabaret do cordially invite you to an evening of delectable theatre and revelry…. . .. .
Casting anchor down on weathered docks,
the Ancient Rugged Revival arrives
Is it a band, or is it a play?
Is it a vaudville act or a didactic fable?
A barrage of sailor’s songs,
tap dancing,
shadow puppetry,
erotic mumblings,
gale storms and mutiny
C’EST CABARET L’AMOUR FOU!
we present
CABARET L’AMOUR FOU!
at The Russian Hall, 600 Cambell Ave in Strathcona
Tickets $15-25 sliding scale
CABARET L’AMOUR FOU! offers up a 12-person spectacle of genre-bending collaboration by East Vancouver’s Ancient Rugged Revival. Recently returned from the Montreal Fringe Festival, here is what folks have been saying about this viewer-rated FESTIVAL TOP TEN performance:
“Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant… hilarious… truly entertaining.” — The Montreal Hour
“Over the top joyous and maddening as love itself” — The Montreal Hour
AHA MEDIA is very proud to present Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories July 24-25, 2009 in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
![Traces-Digital-Postcard[1]](https://ahamedia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/traces-digital-postcard1.jpg?w=595 "Traces-Digital-Postcard[1]")
Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories
July 24-25, 2009, 9:15-11:00pm
various venues along 400-block East Hastings
between Jackson and Dunlevy
August 1, 2009, 9:15-10:30pm
Woodland Park
as part of the Powell Street Festival
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Traces to activate and illuminate Hastings Corridor
It’s only a few days until a stretch of Vancouver’s East Hastings Street will be animated and illuminated by Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories. The latest community art project from Media Undefined, Traces is inspired by the Strathcona and Downtown Eastside neighbourhoods, their people, and their stories. The project will be unveiled in a series of outdoor screenings on the evenings of July 24 and 25.
For the past several months, teams of artist mentors and youth interns have been interviewing merchants, seniors, and longtime residents in the neighbourhood and turning their stories into works of video, animation, and shadow puppetry. Participants have been struck by their common interests, including the role of food in the neighbourhood (which boasts a number of thriving community gardens), and the relationship between people and architecture. That latter relationship will be a central focus for the project’s shadow puppetry play, which will animate buildings through the stories of people who live there. The multi-lingual video component of the event will zero in on stories of people from the four corners of Hastings and Jackson. The stop motion animation piece features the story of a neighbourhood resident and his dog’s neighbourhood wanderings to reflect the type of conversations and interactions artists and youth have been having through the project.
AHA MEDIA is proud to announce that our Director, Hendrik Beune’s image has been made into a puppet form and has a hilarious story in Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories!!
Venues for the event, all located along the East Hastings corridor, are the storefront window at the Patricia Hotel, the empty lot at the corner of Hastings Street and Jackson Avenue, and outside the Chapel Arts Centre on Dunlevy Street. The work will also be presented at Woodland Park as part of the Powell Street Festival on August 1. And in September 2009, Traces will travel to community gathering places throughout the neighbourhood including schools, libraries, and community centres.
Traces is being developed by Media Undefined’s Jaimie Robson in partnership with the Strathcona Community Centre. Robson and mentoring artists Tamara Unroe, Madoka Hara, Diana Leung, along with Alicia Horner and Hoi Bing Mo, are working with a team of youth interns collecting stories from longtime residents of the neighbourhood. Paul Bennett is producing a short documentary about the project. Youth interns for the project are Alicia Anderson, Lisa Cao, Jane Chow, Jessica Coccimiglio, Leticia Coutinho, Ernst Klaussen, Faber Neifer, Robin Prince, Geoffrey E A Vincent, and Patrick White, and Maggie Winston. For more detailed information on the project, visit www.mediaundefined.ca.
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