PASS New York
Wednesday 11 November runnings
PASS is live and orbiting in NYC. We kicks things off with a conversation with Chimurenga Library NYC residents Brooklyn based African Record Centre and Yoruba Book Centre (established 1971); artist and educator Nontsikelelo Mutiti, who is running an African Hair Braiding Salon in the space; and poet, choreographer and Afrosonics archivist Harmony Holiday.
Next, Nontsikelelo curates a sound collab between multimedia artist Dyani Douze, code-switcher and Throw Vision member Taja Cheek (Throw Vision) and musician and composer Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa. Expect anything from electronics to mbiras.
Vivek Narayanan is a poet and a coeditor at the literary magazine Almost Island. He samples his new book of poems, that attempts to “write through” the Ramayana of Valmiki (the earliest Sanskrit poet) in fragmented, unpredictable and contrary ways.
Photographer Marilyn Nance has captured unique moments in the cultural history of the US and the African diaspora, which together amount to an archive of images of late 20th century African American life. She joins us to share tales from FESTAC ’77 in Lagos where she was photographer for the North American Zone.
Next, curator and choreographer, Rashida Bumbray hosts a conversation with Dr Segun Shabaka, current Chairperson of the International African Arts Festival, Brooklyn (1971-2015). Started as a venture of independent African-centered education centres, The East and Uhuru Sasa Shule, the 43-year-old annual Brooklyn International African Arts Festival celebrates African art with music, dance, storytelling, handcrafted goods, and food vendors.
Tune in from 3pm – 8pm on PASS Radio. Or join as at the improvised, pop-up Chimurenga Library, which functions as both radio studio and market, running out the Performa Hub.
PASS in NY: Africa is a Country and guests

Founded by Sean Jacobs, Africa is a Country is a blog about media, politics, music, events and football. For PASS, Africa is a Country managing editor and music section curator, Boima Tucker, invites friends and colleagues to present: Block The Road: The Sound of Afrosoca with Rishi Nath; DLife, Adrift: A soundtrack for migration with DJ Ushka (Thanu Yakupitiyage) and Sierra Leonean electronic music producer Lamin Fofana; and a discussion on photography with Zachary Rosen, Awam Amkpa, and Delphine Fawundu. …
PASS in NY: African Record Centre and Yoruba Book Centre

The Brooklyn-based African Record Centre and Yoruba Book Centre, which played a key role in introducing the cultures of the African diaspora to the United States, invite visitors to come dig in their crates. “We introduced African music to the United States. I will make that statement humbly but boastfully at the same time.” – Roger Francis (African Record Centre) Roger Francis and Rudy Francis own the African Record Centre and Yoruba Book Center in Brooklyn, New York. Roger Francis …
PASS in NY: Freedwomen’s Bureau (Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts)

Freedwomen’s Bureau (Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts) presents a marathon reading of We Charge Genocide: The Historic Petition to the United Nations for Relief From a Crime of The United States Government Against the Negro People (1951). “We maintain, therefore, that the oppressed Negro citizens of the United States, segregated, discriminated against and long the target of violence, suffer from genocide as the result of the consistent, conscious, unified policies of every branch of government.” We Charge Genocide (1951) Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts is the …
PASS in NY: Omar Berrada with Ambrose Bye

Writer and translator Omar Berrada offers a meditation on poetry when it holds on to the imperative of “defending the dead,” among the traumas of history and the silences of archives. He does so via recordings of performances by NourbeSe Philip, sampled with the help of Ambrose Bye (Fast Speaking Music). “Zong! not only deals with an historical event (i.e. the massacre of enslaved Africans on board the Zong in 1784), but also speaks to contemporary times, in the sense that …
PASS in NY: Rashida Bumbray with Dr. Segun Shabaka

Curator and choreographer, Rashida Bumbray hosts a conversation with Dr Segun Shabaka, Chairperson of the International African Arts Festival, Brooklyn (1971-2015). Started as a venture of independent African-centered education centres, The East and Uhuru Sasa Shule, the 43-year-old annual Brooklyn International African Arts Festival celebrates African art with music, dance, storytelling, handcrafted goods, and food vendors. “The primary driving force behind the International African Arts Festival is family – immediate, extended, community and global.” International African Arts Festival, Mission Statement …
PASS in NY: Giovanni Russonello

CapitalBop.com editor and JazzTimes contributor, Giovanni Russonello talks and listens in on South African jazz. “It was created as a redemptive force by a racially, economically marginalized community of people, and it has always had a remarkable emotional nuance to it – James Baldwin called jazz “double-edged,” and he says it has an “ironic tenacity” to it. He’s right: It’s music that thrives on both the toughness of struggle and the joy of transcendence. ” – Giovanni Russonello Giovanni Russonello is the …
PASS in NY: Marilyn Nance – FESTAC 77

Photographer and visual artist Marilyn Nance has produced exceptional photographs of unique moments in the cultural history of the United States and the African Diaspora, and possesses an archive of images of late 20th century African American life. For PASS at the Performa Hub, Marilyn will join us on Wednesday afternoon to share tales from FESTAC ’77 in Lagos where she was photographer for the North American Zone. A two-time finalist for the W. Eugene Smith Award in Humanistic Photography for her body …
PASS in NY: Coco Fusco

Coco Fusco is a Cuban-American artist and writer whose work examines the relationship between women and society, war, politics, and race. For PASS in New York, Coco draws on her new book, Dangerous Moves, to discuss performance and politics in Cuba, with a focus on Cuban hip hop. “I think all art all over the world can be understood in relation to politics, not just in Cuba. My focus is on artists who address political phenomena. Making art for me …
PASS in NY: Triple Canopy

For PASS at Peforma 15, Triple Canopy, a magazine based in New York, present a performative reading of their new series, Passage of a Rumor, edited with Ralph Lemon, considers how and why we talk about the value and potential acquisition of ephemeral works of art. “I and others make stuff up about what’s happening, and, more compellingly, about what might happen, knowing that one cannot predict what will happen, given life’s ephemeral relationship to life and life’s partially ephemeral …