Harlem Arts Alliance Presents: On the ‘A’ w/Souleo
So what do you do after winning an Academy Award and having the entertainment industry fawning over your next move? If you’re actress-comedian Mo’Nique, you count your blessings and take a break from it all to enjoy life. The actress has been conspicuously absent from the big screen since her Oscar win for her role in Precious. She recently revealed what she’s been up to and was decidedly vague when asked about any plans to jump back onto the big screen.
“I have truly been enjoying life and that’s what’s going on,” she says. “It’s been enjoyable to have a period where I can watch my babies go off to school, make the field trips, and that’s priceless. While I’m in the moment I will stay in it.”
Visual artist Daniel Hauben is relishing his moment in the spotlight. Hauben was recently the recipient of the largest commission in the Bronx since the 1930s for a series of paintings at the Bronx Community College’s new library. For him, the achievement heralds a new day as the Bronx seeks to further advance its cultural life and prove the economic power of the arts. “I’m hoping that this is the beginning of a new era in the Bronx so that a more sustainable possibility can be established,” he says. “I think it’s great these organizations like the Bronx Chamber of Commerce are dipping their toes in the cultural waters. There has to be key people in that business world who realize art is to their benefit for real estate and the potential of luring people into different areas.”
The Bronx isn’t the only locale seeking to make its presence known on the global cultural market. You can add to the list, Brazil. The country’s cultural contributions were recognized this past week at CELEBRATE BRAZIL, a music, film and fine art experience presented by ImageNation, Afrobeat and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The event included music created by Brazilian scholar and popular musician Beatriz Azevedo, a film screening of 5x Favela, Now by Ourselves, and a two-man exhibition of artworks created by Brazilian artist Andre Cypriano and U.S. artist Cannon Hersey. The exhibition will soon travel from Lincoln Center to Imagenation’s RAW SPACE.
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