Our third day in NYC allowed us to recharge….a little. We didn’t have any screenings or performances scheduled, but we did have a little networking to do. Two of the “Going on 13” funders, Chicken & Egg Pictures and Working Films, held a reception for 3 films they produced that were part of the festival. The whole crew attended and got a chance to rub elbows with some big wigs. After dinner I had to make sure I kept my promise to Ryah to take her to Times Square. Lets just say she was on top of the world!
On the fourth day, we found ourselves back in the mix. We had a short screening and performance on the agenda. We were scheduled to visit the Lower East Side Girls Club(a very cool place BTW) and have Ryah participate in their weekly performance workshop with local female musicians. The LESGC also had a private screening of the movie trailer and film shorts that were produced by the some of the young ladies in the film.
The LESGC is an awesome space where the girls learn entrepreneurship by running a cafe, can work in a multi-media lab, and learn about environmental awareness and leadership. Ryah was asked to participate in a workshop where the girls would ask questions about her performance experience and background as an artist. Ryah was joined by Eagle Nebula and Erika Rose, both of whom are well regarded independent artists. Once the talk ended it was time to ‘Rock the Mic’ as they say. As the opening artist I wasn’t sure if Ryah was nervous about her first “show” in New York City. But, like the consummate professional that she is, she stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park.
Our second day in NYC was all about business. We had to put the sampler CD’s together. We had to prepare for the sound check. We had to shake off the jetlag. And, most importantly we had to get ready for the World Premiere Screening of “GOING ON 13.”
We met up at the production office and began the assembly line for the Bay Area Video Coalition/Vaquera Films Sampler CD’s. I was really pleased with how these turned out. Thanks to my BAVC Photoshop class was I able to design the cover for the CD(my first). As the ladies in the group got beautified we found out that Ryah’s performance at the 1st screening wasn’t going to happened as originally planned. Like a champ Ryah brushed it off. We thought about just going “Guerrilla Style” by grabbing a mic and taking over the Q&A accompanied by some beat-boxing by yours truly. We kept it professional though.
Arriving in New York City always seems to give me goosebumps. Having been there, to many times to count, I never really know why I get so excited. Is it the anticipation of how much fun I’m GOING to have? Is it the natural energy of the city? Or, is it just my own nerves getting the best of me. Who knows, and who cares. I love New York.
I was especially excited to go on this trip because I was going to have a chance to take one of my youth(Ryah Nikole) with me. Our trip was centered around the much heralded Tribeca Film Festival. Ryah wrote, produced and performed a song for a film called “Going on 13” which was being screened at the festival and they asked Ryah to perform. I would argue that it’s one of the top 5 film festivals in the US. So, the opportunity to not only attend, but also have a chance to perform is major.
The group stayed in a really cool apartment in the lower east side not far from Soho. After arriving at the crash pad the young ladies in the group had one thing on their minds……”SHOPPING.” I won’t get in the nasty details but lets just say that Canal Street received a real dose of Bay Area swap meet negotiating skills ;).
The director/producers(Dawn & Kristy who are awesome BTW) of the film had some friends that were from NYC and hosted a BBQ in my favorite borough(BROOKLYN), so the youth got to experience the New York Subway. It was a day of firsts and it was great to know that we had so much more to experience throughout the week.
by Matt Price, East Bay Manager, BUMP Beats (a program of Next Gen Programs at BAVC)
Middle School is a lot different now compared to when I attended 15 years ago. In many ways, the world has become much more accommodating to early teens. No longer is the joke about a teenager hogging the family phone all night applicable because today everyone has their own cell phone. Embarrassing notes are no longer confiscated and read by teachers because such top secret information can be passed over text messages, typed in a pocket, without even looking at the phone!
However, with all these modern conveniences come modern distractions. I teach middle school students how to make digital music on a computer using the software Reason. Since we are on computers about 75% of the time, the Internet is a constant distraction. In my first year teaching the class, I fought the use of the Internet and turned it off while the students were doing their lessons. This year, it wasn’t so easy since I couldn’t just pull out an ethernet cable like I could in my old classroom. This lead to daily battles for students’ attention between lessons on how to make drum beats and the newest online games. At some point, I had enough. I would never win a fight against the Internet. Instead, I decided to embrace the Internet and put the lessons online on a blog. This way the students would get the satisfaction of being on the Internet, but also keep focused on their daily lessons. I took it a step further and working with middle schoolers’ natural social tendencies, I asked each student to create their own blog so that they could have a place to post their songs, thoughts and interests. Right now I am in the middle of the second class in which I’ve incorporated personal blogs and so far, I like the results. The underlining goal of my classes is to improve the computer literacy of the students and the blog has been an excellent way to meet this objective.
BAVC is pleased to welcome Naomi Kawamura, our new Associate Director of Next Gen programs. Naomi will be working with the Next Gen Director to set strategic direction and priorities for Next Generation Programs, and manage the implementation of programs and program improvements. Noami has a Masters Degree in Education and nearly ten years of experience working with youth in diverse art and social service organizations. Most recently, Naomi was the Director of School Programs at the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA) in Oakland. And prior to that, she served as the Director of Education and Community Programs at the Richmond Art Center. Oh, and she is a sculptor too with an undergrad degree in fine arts. Here comes the newbie hazing . . .
1. The story of your life starts out with which 10 words?
She was on Kawamura time and arrived later than expected.
2. Do you know your astrological sign? What is it?
Yup - I am a Taurus.
3. How do you take your coffee?
With a little bit of cream and a little bit of sugar.
4. Name two things you believe in.
Spirits in nature. My mama.
5. What’s the last song/movie you paid money for?
Bad Plus.
6. Who would play you in the BAVC movie and why?
Bruce Lee. Not a lot of Japanese-American actors out there. Might as well choose him.
7. Most embarrassing job?
House painter.
8. What snacks do you eat at the movies?
Sour Patch Kids.
9. What are you most likely to be doing at 9pm on a Thursday?
Jazz show.
10. What are you looking forward to most in your new job at BAVC?
Bringing my new pet dog to work!
Chris Runde has been working part-time with BAVC for the last few months, and recently started full-time as the Manager of our San Francisco based BUMP programs (part of our Next Gen programming). He’s a talented musician and music instructor who is responsible for helping to craft BAVC’s youth music curriculum and ensure the quality of our music program.
Here comes the Newbie hazing . . .
1. The story of your life starts out with which 10 words?
After 14 hours of labor I stopped torturing my mother.
2. Do you know your astrological sign? What is it?
Taurus (on the cusp with Gemini)
3. How do you take your coffee?
Blacker than Beelzebub’s soul.
4. Name two things you believe in.
Karma and caffeine.
5. What’s the last song/movie you paid money for?
“Calle Go Lem” by Go Lem System feat. Manu Chao
6. Who would play you in the BAVC movie and why?
This is a really hard question that I’ve thought a lot about. The closest I could come up with is The Count from Sesame Street. I don’t really like math though. I’m open to suggestions.
7. Most embarrassing job?
Making photocopies of academic journals for a guy who made his whole living by exploiting the U.C. library system.
8. What snacks do you eat at the movies?
Junior Mints.
9. What are you most likely to be doing at 9pm on a Thursday?
Barting/walking home to Oakland after teaching Digital Pathways.
10. What are you looking forward to most in your new job at BAVC?
Working with really talented and compassionate people in creating unique new opportunities for youth. And champagne at staff meetings.
I’m a white girl who grew up in capital “S” suburban Maryland where a hot, high-school Friday night included sipping wine coolers in the parking lot of the Friendly’s Ice Cream store and tipping cows at the Naval Academy dairy (no lie). When I left high school, I went straight to Washington, DC, and straight into an indie punk scene that pretty much saved my life. I even hooked up with a few anarchist punks who crossed over into hip-hop and graffiti writing. They let me “tag” along when they bombed walls in Eastern Market (near the Capital building) and it pretty much started my obsession with graffiti and street art.
Needless to say I was psyched last December when an old friend from DC invited me over to a holiday “throwie” party at their house in the Western Addition. When I walked in to a table full of little multi-colored LED lights, lithium batteries, and super strong magnets, however, I have to admit that I was a little worried that maybe he was going a little Weather Underground.
By Jazmin Jones, BAVC Youth Producer (Digital Pathways and YouthLink Grad)
Last Monday I boarded a plane to Austin, TX so that I could attend
the NAMAC Austin Conference: The Frontier is Here. Yianeth Saen, a fellow young filmmaker and member of BAVC’s Factory video program, was my travel companion and roommate for the week. Yianeth and I arrived at the Sheraton in Austin just in time to meet up with some of the other young adults attending the conference. Over chips and salsa
at a nearby Mexican restaurant, Yianeth and I had the opportunity to
learn all about the other teens who had also traveled from out of state.
By Dillon Thomas, BAVC Youth Productions Instructor
BAVC Youth Productions has employed 26 youth in the last 18 months while producing over two and a half hours of original media content and instruction for 22 different Community Based Organization’s (CBO), educational institutions, and government agencies across the Bay Area. With work aired on the big screen and small screen locally, BAVC Youth Productions is having an amazing impact on the youth who work in the program. They see for themselves the creative work and effort they put into a project, and how it is then put to proud use by their client organization/agency. One recent video, which BYP produced for the County of Alameda, featured the work of youth in the Tri-Valley area working together with mentors to tell their personal stories of addiction, self mutilation, and teenage pregnancy. The resulting video has had such an impact, that people were begging to buy copies of it. One parent, who as a result of participating in the video, chose to change careers and become a teenager counselor. Another example of our good work is a PSA that was produced for STAND Against DV, a Concord CBO dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence. (more…)
The LESGC is an awesome space where the girls learn entrepreneurship by running a cafe, can work in a multi-media lab, and learn about environmental awareness and leadership. Ryah was asked to participate in a workshop where the girls would ask questions about her performance experience and background as an artist. Ryah was joined by Eagle Nebula and Erika Rose, both of whom are well regarded independent artists. Once the talk ended it was time to ‘Rock the Mic’ as they say. As the opening artist I wasn’t sure if Ryah was nervous about her first “show” in New York City. But, like the consummate professional that she is, she stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park.
Last Monday I boarded a plane to 
