Sunday, June 20, 2010

No sdon na bakra sturu

prodo beri waka barrel.

te yu e bori yu brafu when you are brewing a soup

sabi san yu e poti na ini beware of the spices you use

na yu srefi na a fosi tesiman since you will be the first to taste

Elfriede Baarn – Dijksteel

Charl Landvreugd and Iris Kensmil invite you to:

No sdon na bakra sturu (do not sit on the white man’s chair)

Homage to Elfriede Baarn – Dijksteel

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Elfriede Baarn-Dijksteel was the President of the social and cultural society NAKS, Na Afrikan Kulturu fu Sranan (The African Culture of Suriname). The 63 year old institution advocates, self-awareness and the celebration of heritage of people of Afro-Surinamese descent. Under Elfriede Baarn – Dijksteel’s visionary leadership NAKS emerged as the prime institute cultivating and promoting African heritage in Suriname, especially amongst youngsters.
She viewed knowledge of self and respect of one’s own tools to gain empowerment, confidence and build thriving communities.
Elfriede strongly believed that
Suriname’s cultural diversity and its history should be leveraged as an asset, in economic and social development.

Elfriede Baarn-Dijksteel passed away on February 1, 2010.

____________________________________

You are cordially invited to celebrate the spirit of Elfriede Baarn-Dijksteel, as well as a lineage of other wise man and women who dedicated their lives to the emancipation of the black people

In an installation of Iris Kensmil and Charl Landvreugd, poems of
Elfriede Baarn – Dijksteel and selected others will be read accompanied by ancestral drums.

As a guest you are invited to bring a (small) symbolic gift like you would bring in your own
culture to pay tribute to the deceased The present will become part of the installation.

The newly published book of poetry by Elfriede Baarn–Dijksteel will be available.

Location: 6-8 months space, 265 West 37th St. @18th. New York

date: Saturday, June 26, from 7 to 9 p.m.

please BYOB

Special thanks to Jennifer Baarn.

This event is made possible through generous facilitation by “6 to 8 months” project space:

http://www.charll.com http://www.iriskensmil.nl

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Hi everybody.
Now we have a blog to share information, thoughts text even art. We can add posts, share information and manage our content using the same password, as for our email account.
I will be mainntaining the blogg if needed. Till soon, my best, Lior
“6-8 Months” Mission Statement

As an artist, I am interested in facilitating discussion and fostering a participatory environment with the project, “6-8Months” which will run from May-December 2010.

The idea for “6-8 Months” came from a series of conversations with Eungie Joo. Eungie, with 30 collaborators, including artists, writers, and curators, established a blueprint for this kind of participatory collaborative alternative space with her project “6 Months” in Los Angeles 7 years ago. The goal of her project was to create an environment, both spatially and psychologically outside of the commercial art world, including galleries, museums, and publications. The current “6-8 Months” project is inspired by the original “6 Months,” which was a success in establishing the an alternative creative outlet as well as a strong sense of community amongst many disciplines and boundaries.

I would like to include many artists of color, am interested in the idea of exploring the constraints of color and race in the American art world today. Another limitation that I believe is worth exploring is the demand placed on artists and curators by the commercial nature of the artworld.

We will have a meeting to begin this project on Tuesday May 11th at 6pm. I would like to hear from artists, curators, and other creative people involved in the arts, what they would like to do with the space. “6-8 Months” will be a collaborative and participatory project.

For example, if someone wants to make a publication, postcard, poster, or other promotion for his/her project or performance, they are welcome to do so. Exhibitions will be self-organized including installation, deinstallation, cleaning, and maintaining public hours. Everyone will use his/her own network to invite participants to present works and ideas in informal settings. Everyone involved will be able to do what they like as long as they occupy the space for no longer than one week, abide by all reasonable safety precautions (no open flames, no injurious performances etc) and return it to the condition that they received it in. Activities may include various site-specific projects, discussions, lectures, performance, dance and music events, and many short exhibitions.

I will not curate or organize events and shows that take place in “6-8 Months.” I will pay the rent, loan out the keys, and perhaps, donate a bottle of wine for the openings. I look forward to the chance to interact with young artists and others who possess an enthusiasm for collaboration and commitment to their practice.

-Kara Walker, 2010
On May 28th 2010
6-8 months hosted Tarek Atoui---

"Excerpts from the Un-drum series

a Sound performance by Tarek Atoui

Tarek Atoui’s Un-drum performances are a series of complex interactions between music composition, movement, performance, and computer and electronic engineering. They are intense physical sound performances that Tarek Atoui started to develop in 2009 and that he has shown this month at the New Museum, as part of his Museum as Hub residency.

Tarek Atoui was born in Lebanon in 1980 and moved to Paris in 1998 where he studied contemporary and electronic music at the French National Conservatory of Reims. He was co-artistic director of the STEIM Studios in Amsterdam in 2008, and released his first solo album in the Mort Aux Vaches series for the label Staalplaat (Amsterdam/Berlin). Atoui is an electro-acoustic musician who initiates and curates multidisciplinary interventions, events, concerts, and workshops.

Many thanks to all who helped this event happen on such short notice. was an amazing evening.