| Check Point | OPENING PERFORMANCE |
| THURSDAY JUNE 19/2003, 9 PM | WINCHESTER PUB |
The celebratory kick off to Negotiations, Check Point features poetry by special guest Lee Maracle; music and spoken word inspirations by Trish Salah & Reena Katz; Middle Eastern/South American/African beat by Suleiman Warwar & Milad Bouchaaya; Palestinian/American Hip-Hop rhymes of Iron Sheik; and the unique TekArabic music of John Farah. Acknowledging the diversity of expression, the urgency and imperatives of political responsibility and the transcultural collaborations that characterize Negotiations, Check Point is a space for resisting colonization and displacement, negotiating the borders of identity and building creative solidarity.
Oona Padgham
• MC: OONA PADGHAM •
PERFORMERS
Lee Maracle is the author of many critically acclaimed literary works including Sojourners and Sundogs (Polestar/Raincoast), Ravensong (Polestar/Raincoast), and Bobbi Lee (Scholars/Women's Press), and the co-editor of a number of anthologies including My Home as I Remember (Natural Heritage Books). Born in North Vancouver, a member of the Sto:loh Nation, mother and grandmother, Ms. Maracle is an award-winning author, a celebrated mentor and a much-admired orator. She is currently Distinguished Visiting Professor of Canadian Culture at Western Washington University.
Trish Salah is a Toronto-based writer and union activist. Her writing has appeared in a variety of zines, journals and anthologies, most recently in Fireweed and in Brazen Femme: Queering Femininity (Arsenal Pulp). Her first book of poetry, Wanting in Arabic, was published by TSAR in the fall of 2002.
Reena Katz is a Toronto-based violinist, teacher and audio artist. Her work engages with memory, diaspora and anachronisms. She has collaborated on numerous occasions with local video and performance artists and dancers.
Suleiman Warwar is a Palestinian percussionist currently working on his first album. In addition to the tablah, duff and katim (Middle Eastern instruments), Suleiman also plays congas, banjos, udo, jambay and many other South American and African percussions.
Milad Bouchaaya is a Lebanese percussionist currently residing in Canada. Milad also plays the oud and the violin.
Iron Sheik is a Palestinian-American MC working out of the Bay Area, California. He recently completed his first full-length album, Camel Clutch 2003. He is touring Rhyme for Palestine this summer in North America. http://www.ironsheik.biz
John Kameel Farah is a composer, pianist and sound artist who focuses on merging contemporary classical, jazz, free improvisation, and Middle-Eastern musical genres in electronica/techno collages. In TekArabic, Farah performs keyboard improvisations over sequences on a computer. A recipient of Glenn Gould Composition Award in 1994 and 1995, he gave recitals and workshops for young music students in East Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem in November 2002. http://webhome.idirect.com/~ffarah
WINCHESTER PUB: 537 Parliament St.
Parliament, north of Carlton ‚ 416-929-1875
TICKET PRICE: $12 or pwyc
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