In celebration of a successful collaboration, members of @brivelemusic, @shpilkisseattle, and the wider Samovar Art Collective put solidarity and ubuntu into practice by joining with Seattle @demsocialists in activating our shared exhibit space with a semi-sanctioned parade connecting the sing-along stage at the Cornish Courtyard with the Center Theatre, where you can still see our installation, THE RAISED FIST.
Thank you @nwfolklife for accommodating a little bit of anarchy today. This was such a thrill! I loved seeing the wide smiles on your staffers’ faces, despite our making their lives a little more complicated for 20 or so minutes 🌹 solidarity forever! x
“Didn’t that feel powerful??”
With a rebel yell, Gary brought our musical march through @nwfolklife yesterday to a close at the steps of the Center Theatre. And it really did.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this art “happening” happen.
Bella ciao, ciao, ciao!
Our @nwfolklife “happening” started with an anti-fascist sing-along with @brivelemusic.
Ever since an old comrade of Sicilian Jewish ancestry introduced me to Yiddish folk and klezmer some two decades ago, when we both lived in Beirut, I’ve felt a strangely spiritual connection to the sound; like I know it from a past life, or something.
It’s an odd notion to entertain that has at times made me mildly uncomfortable, given our cultural differences and the occasional shame of my indifference to the sounds the nationalisms of my birth would tell me I ought to enjoy at least just as much. But I couldn’t help myself; the rhythms and melodies move me most naturally.
But I’ve come to realize something; this music speaks to me because it’s always pushed back against borders. Not just in words, but in its very textures, made up of all the peoples of my region, flung wide and brought together by empires near and far. It sounds so resonant because it’s always been multi-kulti: makhlouta, tutto fa brodo, throw everything in the pot and stir.
More shots from our march of raised fists at @nwfolklife.