BY Led Black (@Led_Black)
Photography by Art By Dj Boy (@ArtByDjBoy)
I had the privilege of moderating a panel on marketing for artists at the Shabazz Center this past weekend as part of NoMAA’s Technical Assistance Institute. The illustrious panel included new media artist Hector Canonge, visual artist Andrea Arroyo, the artistic director for Underworld Productions Gina Crusco and finally the co-founder of Fractious Press and Word Up Books Veronica Liu. It was an engaging panel and one that brought home the necessity of having a make-it-happen mentality. Don’t wait for someone else, or for better circumstances to do the things that need to be done. Veronica Liu saw the need for a bookstore in the center of Washington Heights, so she galvanized the community to make it a reality. The same applies to each of the panelists, each of them felt there was something that they needed to bring to the table so that is exactly what they did.
That to me was the take home message. If you see a void in your community, then it becomes your job to see that rectified. The fact that the panel was held at the venerable Shabazz Center was for me an added bonus. I don’t think there is a more fitting place to drive home the point of self-determination than at the institution dedicated to the legacy of the late, great Malcolm X. Kudos goes out to NoMAA for putting this informative and insightful event together.
To learn more about NoMAA: https://www.nomaanyc.org/
See below for links for the panelists.
Andrea Arroyo – www.andreaarroyo.com
Hector Canonge – www.hectorcanonge.net
Gina Crusco – www.underworldprod.com
Veronica Liu – http://wordupbooks.wordpress.com/
Led Black – www.ledblack.com
Click here to see more pictures of this venerable and vital institution courtesy of Jay Franco.
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