A SIMPLE THANK YOU

There are so many artists in the Bay Area that have put this region on the map! This year we decided to thank artists who are in the trenches and make a global impact!

JOIN US in saying Thank You to the following artists:

Davey D

Davey D is a Hip Hop historian, journalist, deejay, media and community activist. Originally from the Bronx, Davey D’s been down with Hip Hop since since 1977 where he started out as an emcee for two crews TDK [Total Def Krew] out of Co-op City and the Avengers out of the Marble Hill Section of the Bronx. He moved from New York to Cali to attend college and is a graduate of UC Berekely

He is the current host of Hard Knock Radio a syndicated daily afternoon show that focuses on Hip Hop culture and politics. The show originates on KPFA 94.1 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area and is heard in Seattle, Atlanta, Portland and Fresno. HKR has been on the air since 1999 and was recently cited as best on air show by the East-Bay Express with Davey D being voted Best on air personality.

He is the program director and co-founder of a radio project and online radio station called Breakdown FM which is heard primarily through podcasts on several radio stations and cell phone outlets.

Davey D is the co-author of 2 books ‘How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office‘ and ‘BAF-Be A Father to Your Child‘ He also contributed to the annual Project Censored 2004 Edition.

DJ QBert

Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969), known by his stage name DJ Qbert, is an Filipno American Turntablist and composer. He is often referred to as the Jimi Hendrix of the turntables, known to make them sing in complex and subtle ways. He invented the first musical annotation system for scratching, battling and composing on vinyl.

Growing up in San Francisco‘s Excelsior District on Moscow Street, he graduated from Luther Burbank Middle School and in 1987 from Balboa High School.^[1][2]. Qbert started playing with records at the age of 15, although he got his first Fisher-Price turntable as a toddler. He was influenced by the street performers and graffiti artists of the local hip hop community in the mid 1980s. It was at Balboa’s school cafeteria that he went up against Mix Master Mike in his first DJ battle and lost.^[3] He is of Filipino descent.

QBert, along with other Skratch Piklz, created a series of videos entitled Turntable TV. Now out of print, the first 5 episodes were released on VHS and contained demonstrations, showcases, skits, and other dj related content.

Irene Hernandez-Feiks

She is a fashion designer and wanted to create a platform for herself and other designers and artists.  Irene started Chillin’ eleven years ago to provide a platform for emerging SF & Bay area designers. Today, Chillin’ is a huge event that attracts designers within SF and across the country. The event is produced four times a year and features 60 fashion designers, 60painters/photographers, 60 filmmakers, 7 DJ’s and live music under one roof attracting over 2,000 consumers at each event who come to take it all in and shop, shop, shop! The cost of admission to the event is only $6.00 plus all featured artists/designers get to keep all of the profits they make from their sales! Over time, I’ve had the chance to cover the Chillin’ event as well as sponsor some of the events. I was thinking this is just a perfect avenue for African inspired and focused fashion designers to sell directly to American consumers. She is an entrepreneur/producer/fashion designer who speaks four languages (Spanish, English, German and Italian). WOW!

Keba Konte

A San Francisco native and graduate of San Francisco State University with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Photojournalism. He is also the co-founder of the Kijiji Grows, which is an urban garden system that installs aquaponic garden tables in schools throughout the Bay Area and provides green jobs for youth.
Here's what Keba has to say about his work...

My work is about beauty in unexpected places. – Sweet Bissau
My work is about emotions for which I have no language. – Stigmata
My work is sincere. – Blue Heart Be Free
My work is a visceral experience. – Goat Tee
My work is that of a visual griot.  (the village historical documentarian/ story teller) – Jumping Over Places I’d Rather Not Be: Prison Industrial Complex
My work has long titles.
My work is international I scope.
My work is ancient, contemporary, and futuristic.
My work is not easily categorized.

My medium is: wood, photography, montage, paint, and found objects rich in texture and history.

My process is more intuitive, less conceptual. I utilize fire, charcoal, water, oil and power tools. I commonly work on many different pieces at once. My process is labor intensive.

My influences range
From Mildred Howard to my uncle Ron
From Robert Rauschenberg to Nelson Mandela
From Alice Walker to Will Power
From Githinji Mbire to Che Guevara
From Assata Shakur to Rachel Pawl Konte
From Semion Mohammad to Ptah
From Pam Borrelli to Gordon Parks
From Azibuike Akaba to Romare Bearden

Micaya

Micaya has been an  instructor, and choreographer for over 20 years.
Formally trained in ballet, jazz, modern, and African and Latin dance
forms, she has a diversity that she incorporates into her choreography
and teaching styles. In 1993, she began producing high energy,
underground, sold-out hip-hop dance shows in the heart of San
Francisco’s Mission District . Those shows led up to the creation of
the First Annual San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest in 1999 at Theatre
Artaud. Now in its 10th anniversary year and presented at the historic
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, the San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest has
grown to be THE event that has put San Francsico on the map for
presenting hip hop dance . Acknowledged as the FIRST festival dedicated
specifically to hip hop dance, the DanceFest is a groundbreaking event,
hosting companies from all over the globe.
Micaya’s choreography has been featured in corporate events as well as
music videos,television, nightclubs, festivals, theaters, cabaret, and
touring productions. She is the founder and
director of SoulForce Dance Company, and is the producer of the
popular annual community show called “Mission in the Mix” which
features SoulForce along with up and coming local companies and
students. Micaya’s classes are loved by  Bay Area students of all ages
and backgrounds.

Victor Reyes

(coming soon)

Gail Silva

Gail was the primary force behind Film Arts Foundation for more than 25 years, first as co-director, then executive director and finally president. Now the veteran advocate for indies has become an indie herself, as advisor, curator and mentor to the field.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Gail grew up on a ranch and attended a one-room schoolhouse with her sister, writer-editor Sharon Silva. In the ‘60s, the two sisters left behind the family spread for The City with its jazz clubs, beat poets and budding art film movement. For Gail, it was love at first gaze—at the films of Bruce Connor, Chick Strand and the protest films coming out of San Francisco State University. Little did she know then how she would put to work her degree in Urban Sociology and Psychology, ministering to struggling filmmakers!

During her tenure at Film Arts Foundation, Gail co-established the groundbreaking (1984) Fund for Independent Cinema, the Film Arts Foundation’s grant program. She shepherded hundreds of fiscal sponsored projects from conception to completion. Through her work in organizations like NAMAC, INPUT and National Coalition of Independent Public Television Producers she championed the cause of independent media on the national and international level. She co-created (1996) and then curated (2001-2005) TRUE STORIES, the innovative documentary sneak preview series at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

In 1996, the San Francisco Bay Guardian dubbed her “the doyenne of the Bay Area independent filmmaking community” with their “Local Hero” award. In 2002, her years of dedication to artistic excellence and advocacy were recognized by the presentation of the California Arts Council’s “Directors Award.”

Currently Ms. Silva serves as the President of the Board of California Newsreel, the leading nonprofit distributor of media on the African American experience and African cinema. For the last five years she has represented the interests of independents by serving on the nominating committee of the National Coalition of Independent Public Television Producers (NCIPTP) who select and seat the Board of Directors of the Independent Television Service (ITVS). She has been a panelist for CPB, NEH, NEA, California Arts Council, Rockefeller Foundation Intercultural Fellowships and many others.

Vicki Virk

Born and raised in Punjab, India, Vicki Virk has been dancing Bhangra all of her life. After attending law school and becoming a licensed attorney, her love for dance inspired her to give up her career as a lawyer and pursue her real calling.

Beginning in 2004, Vicki Virk with her best friend Suman Raj, co-founded Dholrhythms, an organization dedicated to promoting the cultural and artistic arts of India by teaching and performing the folk dances of Punjab (known as Bhangra and Giddha). Vicki teaches regular weekly classes and monthly workshops at various San Francisco Bay Area studios, non-profit organizations, youth camps, and after school programs. She also leads the Dholrhythms Dance Troupe, a multiethnic performance group of women who are all her former students.

In 2005, Vicki and her partners began hosting the monthly Non Stop Bhangra event, now a staple in the landscape of San Francisco nightlife. Attracting hundreds of participants each month, Non Stop Bhangra offers a varied mix of dance lessons, music and dance performances, visual artists, and DJs all dedicated to celebrating the spirit of bhangra.

Inspired by the success of Non Stop Bhangra, Vicki along with other artists and performers, created a live music and dance group called Non Stop Bhangra Collective, a genre-blending elixir of North Indian bhangra, hip-hop, and electronica.

Vicki has performed on some of San Francisco’s biggest stages including Stern Grove Festival, Yerba Buena, and Michael Franti’s Power to the Peaceful Festival in Golden Gate Park.

Vicki strives to bring people of diverse backgrounds together to express themselves freely through dance. She continues to teach and perform throughout the Bay Area and beyond, sharing her passion with the world.

“I love teaching Bhangra because it’s a celebration of life. It’s done with energy, zest, and passion and that’s exactly how life should be lived.” Vicki Virk

Related posts:

1. Psssssst!
2. DAVEY D – Epitome of Art and Social Responsibility