for immediate release – d’bi.young anitafrika’s YEMOYA international artist residency AUGUST 2014 being hosted in HAWAII!!!
Toronto Canada May 3rd, 2014
CLICK HERE FOR YEMOYA APPLICATION
Internationally acclaimed dubpoet, monodramatist, and educator d’bi.young anitafrika is taking her YEMOYA international artist residency to the Big Island of Hawaii in August 2014. Fresh off of touring globally and having recently returned to Toronto Canada to design and facilitate The Inaugural Arts Academy of The Stephen Lewis Foundation – using her Sorplusi Method – d’bi. is preparing to curate the upcoming YEMOYA at the breathtaking Ohana House. This magical field-forest dwelling is near the ocean and on the mountain-side, providing an enchanting and adventurous environment for an artist to cocoon and blossom.
YEMOYA
YEMOYA is a three week international artist residency, developed by d’bi., that combines trans-disciplinary arts training with wellness practices for the (w)holistic development of people. Founded in summer 2008 in Toronto Canada, YEMOYA’s intensive twenty-one day program focuses on the creative, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth and development of its resident artists, using the Sorplusi Method. YEMOYA alumni include international artists such as Ngozi Paul, Kemba King, Titilope Sonuga, Jamilah Malika, Ria Hartley, Che Kothari, Bahia Watson, Mriga Kapadiya, LInda Kaoma, Amanda Parris, Adiyana Morris, Liza Paul, Julene Robinson, Raphael Cohen, Lishai Peel, Colanthony Humphreys, Kalmplex, Erin Bosenberg, Webster McDonald and Geordie Gescha. Residencies have been hosted in Canada, England, South Africa, Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas.
The Sorplusi Method
The Sorplusi Methodology is a framework for 1) self-actualization 2) artistic creation and 3) public engagement towards community mobilization, that (a) focuses on the holistic development of the practitioner in the process of self-discovery/recovery, before, during, and after rigorous self-exploration; (b) helps the practitioner to identify their personal and professional integrities in art creation and dissemination (c) equips the practitioner with the tools to mentor others in their development towards the development of community. Based on seminal work of pioneer dubpoet Anita Stewart (d’bi’s mother), these ideas form a comprehensive eco-system of accountability and responsibility between the practitioner and their communities.
There are eight guiding principles in the method: Self-knowledge, Orality, Rhythm, Political Content and Context, Language, Urgency, Sacredness and Integrity. These are balanced by and explored through the practitioner’s five bodies: the physical, emotional, mental, creative and spiritual. Each principle challenges us to live to our deepest integrities; to not only be self-invested but to (re)position to the centre of our micro and macro communities. Like a storyteller sitting under a tree, at the centre of the village, telling stories to the community gathered, the practitioner’s re-positioning urges them to become both accountable and responsible (able to account for and respond to) their communities. Participants of the residency create works of art catalyzed by their biographical experiences during the course of the residency.
d’bi.young anitafrika
d’bi.young anitafrika is an internationally celebrated African-Jamaican-Canadian dubpoet, monodramatist, educator and mother to her sons Moon and Phoenix. She is the published author of two collections of poetry, eight plays, two dubpoetry albums, and The Sankofa Trilogy. d’bi. is the recipient of two Dora Mavor Moore Awards, the K.M. Hunter Theatre Award, Toronto Mayor’s Arts Council Award, the Women of Resilience Award, the Canadian Poet of Honor Award and the Best Spoken Word Artist Award. She is the Artistic Director of YEMOYA International Artist Residency and the originator of the self-actualization-towards-community-mobilization methodology, Sorplusi. d’bi. is also the Program Designer and Facilitator of the Arts, Activism and AIDS Academy – a recent project of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the Director of WATAH Womb Arts Academy of Healing. Her storytelling and mentorship have taken her to Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia, North America, Europe and the United Nations, where she has shared her passion for equality and integrity with all whom she meets. d’bi.’s latest unfolding is The Art(is)t Shaman: Sacred Gatherings at The Crossroads of Life, Art, Healing, Ritual and Magic. dbi333.com
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Interested applicants can visit www.yemoya.org for more information on the upcoming residency.
For Application and Other Inquires, Please Contact:
Ayse Kapaklili, YEMOYA Portfolio Manager: admin@yemoya.org
THE OHANA HOUSE HAWAII
